Written in 1897 by one of the most famous writers of his time, this
is an exploration of the true nature of happiness experienced
through all the senses. Reacting against the limitations imposed by
the strict Catholicism of the time and a literature which was
'imbued with a close and artificial atmosphere', Gide embarks on a
three-year journey of sensual discovery, of 'unlearning', in which
he resolves to forget all that he has learnt with his head. The
impetus is his contracting of tuberculosis and it is to this that
he attributes, in his Preface to the 1927 edition, the 'exuberance
of someone to whom life is precious because he has been on the
point of losing it'. Gide himself tells us that he resolved to put
no personalities in his book and indeed there are no characters and
no plot to distract the reader from the primary sensations of
sight, sound, touch and taste in which he immerses himself. Written
in a combination of poetry and prose, the book swings between the
warm and vibrant landscape of Florence, the wet dreariness of
agricultural Normandy and the exoticism of Algeria. For every
location there is a different taste sensation to be had, from
luscious fruit staining the lips with its juice to the sourness of
freshly made cheese. And accompanying these is the ever-present
suggestion, never explicit, of sexual adventure as the author
throws off the constraints of conventional morality to satisfy his
overwhelming desires, whether for a Venetian courtesan, a cabin boy
at sea or an Arab goatherd. The second part of the work, published
some 18 years later, has the confidence and discipline of an author
who has 'grown up' both as a person and as a writer. Beautiful
verse combines with philosophical discussion to present a more
considered and mature view on the nature of love, religion and
happiness. (Kirkus UK)
During the author's travels, he meets Menalcas, a caricature of Oscar Wilde, who relates his fantastic life story. But for all his brilliance, Menalcas is only Gide's yesterday self, a discarded wraith who leaves Gide free to stop exalting the ego and embrace bodily and spiritual joy. Later Fruits of the Earth, written in 1935 during Gide's short-lived spell of communism, reaffirms the doctrine of the earlier book. But now he sees happiness not as freedom, but a submission to heroism. In a series of 'Encounters', Gide describes a Negro tramp, a drowned child, a lunatic and other casualties of life. These reconcile him to suffering, death and religion, causing him to insist that 'today's Utopia' be 'tomorrow's reality'.
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