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Miracle of the rose

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Language:
English
Description
The work is set in the State prison of Fontevrault. It is the height of the German Occupation and in the prisons of France the convicts, barely subsisting on near-starvation rations, spend their endless days weaving camouflage nets for their German conquerors. Miracle of the Rose is, first of all, an account of life at Fontevrault during that period. But Genet is no realist, and his account of prison life is an extraordinary mixture of dream and reality, past and present. If Fontevrault is the present of his narrative, the past is the Mettray Reformatory, the almost idyllic, flower-covered "prison colony" for boys to which he was sent for theft as a mere child. It was here at Mettray that he was initiated into the life of confinement, into the world of the criminals and homosexuals in which he was to live for the next twenty-five years. Genet's story moves back and forth between Fontevrault and Mettray almost without the reader's being aware of the transition. Doubtless, in Genet's mind, there is no transition. Both prisons and both times fuse into one immense and erotic dream. The boys at Mettray do not pity or despise the hardened criminals at neighboring Fontevrault; on the contrary, they are the "saints" the boys look up to, the heroes they hope to emulate. More than fifteen years after his precocious arrival at the Mettray Reformatory, Genet finally reaches the Fontevrault Prison. Among the pimps and big shots, the crashers and chickens that form the homosexual hierarchy of the convict criminal society, he finds again many of his former boyhood friends and lovers. Foremost among them is Harcamone, a character notable in the narrative for his off-stage presence. Harcamone has been condemned to death for having killed the only guard at Fontevrault who had ever shown him the least bit of kindness. During the month and a half prior to his execution, his presence from his solitary cell on death row both encompasses and dominates the prison. At one point, as Harcamone passes Genet in the prison corridor, the author has a vision in which he sees the chains that bind Harcamone miraculously flower into a garland of white roses. Miracle of the Rose contains many such visions wherein Genet, taking the dross of "evil'' transmutes it into a work of beauty.
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ISBN:
9780802130884
9780802194268
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Grouping Information

Grouped Work IDab187f02-5d2d-fee6-9f67-489cbbcb2b50
Grouping Titlemiracle of the rose
Grouping Authorjean genet
Grouping Categorybook
Grouping LanguageEnglish (eng)
Last Grouping Update2024-03-21 07:18:17AM
Last Indexed2024-03-28 02:40:13AM

Solr Fields

accelerated_reader_point_value
0
accelerated_reader_reading_level
0
author
Genet, Jean, 1910-1986
author2-role
hoopla digital
author_display
Genet, Jean
available_at_catalog
Fair Oaks
detailed_location_catalog
Fair Oaks
display_description
The work is set in the State prison of Fontevrault. It is the height of the German Occupation and in the prisons of France the convicts, barely subsisting on near-starvation rations, spend their endless days weaving camouflage nets for their German conquerors. Miracle of the Rose is, first of all, an account of life at Fontevrault during that period. But Genet is no realist, and his account of prison life is an extraordinary mixture of dream and reality, past and present. If Fontevrault is the present of his narrative, the past is the Mettray Reformatory, the almost idyllic, flower-covered "prison colony" for boys to which he was sent for theft as a mere child. It was here at Mettray that he was initiated into the life of confinement, into the world of the criminals and homosexuals in which he was to live for the next twenty-five years. Genet's story moves back and forth between Fontevrault and Mettray almost without the reader's being aware of the transition. Doubtless, in Genet's mind, there is no transition. Both prisons and both times fuse into one immense and erotic dream. The boys at Mettray do not pity or despise the hardened criminals at neighboring Fontevrault; on the contrary, they are the "saints" the boys look up to, the heroes they hope to emulate. More than fifteen years after his precocious arrival at the Mettray Reformatory, Genet finally reaches the Fontevrault Prison. Among the pimps and big shots, the crashers and chickens that form the homosexual hierarchy of the convict criminal society, he finds again many of his former boyhood friends and lovers. Foremost among them is Harcamone, a character notable in the narrative for his off-stage presence. Harcamone has been condemned to death for having killed the only guard at Fontevrault who had ever shown him the least bit of kindness. During the month and a half prior to his execution, his presence from his solitary cell on death row both encompasses and dominates the prison. At one point, as Harcamone passes Genet in the prison corridor, the author has a vision in which he sees the chains that bind Harcamone miraculously flower into a garland of white roses. Miracle of the Rose contains many such visions wherein Genet, taking the dross of "evil'' transmutes it into a work of beauty.
format_catalog
Book
eBook
format_category_catalog
Books
eBook
id
ab187f02-5d2d-fee6-9f67-489cbbcb2b50
isbn
9780802130884
9780802194268
itype_catalog
Adult Fiction
last_indexed
2024-03-28T09:40:13.103Z
lexile_score
-1
literary_form
Fiction
literary_form_full
Fiction
local_callnumber_catalog
FICTION Genet, J.
owning_library_catalog
Sacramento Public Library
owning_location_catalog
Fair Oaks
primary_isbn
9780802130884
publishDate
1966
1994
publisher
Grove Atlantic
Grove Press
recordtype
grouped_work
subject_facet
Electronic books
France -- Fiction
title_display
Miracle of the rose
title_full
Miracle of the Rose [electronic resource] / Jean Genet
Miracle of the rose. Translated from the French by Bernard Frechtman
title_short
Miracle of the rose
topic_facet
Electronic books

Solr Details Tables

item_details

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ils:.b11868429.i74348887Fair OaksFICTION Genet, J.1falsefalseOn Shelffaiag
hoopla:MWT11817169Online Hoopla CollectionOnline HooplaeBookeBook1falsetrueHooplahttps://www.hoopladigital.com/title/11817169?utm_source=MARC&Lid=hh4435Available Online

record_details

Bib IdFormatFormat CategoryEditionLanguagePublisherPublication DatePhysical DescriptionAbridged
ils:.b11868429BookBooksEnglishGrove Press[c1966]344 p. 21 cm
hoopla:MWT11817169eBookeBookEnglishGrove Atlantic19941 online resource (291 pages)

scoping_details_catalog

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ils:.b11868429.i74348887On ShelfOn Shelffalsetruetruetruefalsetrue0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 18, 19, 20, 22, 24, 26, 31, 32, 33, 34, 36, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 12011
hoopla:MWT11817169Available OnlineAvailable Onlinefalsetruefalsefalsefalsefalse