Rating: 
Summary: Passionate but complex
Review: An interesting tale of the rise and fall of Julien Sorel, a carpenter's son who elevates his social standing , with the help of the clergy, to become the secretary of a Parisian marquis. Julien is cunning and ambitious, constantly suspicious of his wealthy employers, manages to assimilate well to noble drawing rooms, but loses his focus when love intervenes. The novel is complicated by a multitude of political references which, even with the help of lengthy footnotes, are difficult to grasp unless you're a French historian. Also, Julien's monastery stay is a dull diversion from the main story and adds little to the reader's overall impression. Very dense, sometimes not an easy read, but philosophical, thought-provoking, and definitely passionate.
Rating: 
Summary: I Highly Recommend The Red and the Black
Review: I read The Red and the Black in high school. And 30 years later I still remember the enjoyment I had in reading this great book.
Rating:
Summary: Apres
Review: I think this book can be read as a reaction against romanticism, or as exemplified in the character of Julien Sorel, an example of how someone could take advantage of a still lingering romanticism. Stendhal was writing at a time when romanticism had already played itself out and so what could follow that movement. An aftermath movement. Stendhals is a cynicism that naturally follows any idealistic movement that has failed. Julien Sorel is not likeable as Fabrice, his later hero, is. Julien is nothing more than a gigolo and an especially detestable one because he preys on the emotions of others,that is his entree into society, but there is nothing romantic about Julien. He is simply playing the necessary part and that is a theme which is in all of Stendhals work. That strange indefiniteness of identity, as if we are all playing interchangeable roles. Julien works his way up in society by playing with the hearts of the wives of men in influential households but he does not get far and perhaps he doesn't really care or perhaps he does. There is a mystery as to the true nature of this low born soul that is never solved. This is Stendhals tragic hero. He is not romantic, just born to a particular time and forced perhaps to play the only cards he has to play. Charterhouse of Parma is Stendhals comedy. More fun than this work and in recent years it seems to have eclipsed Red and the Black in regards to most favored book status but it is a captivating read about a transitional moment in French society(and literature). Stendahls characters are never as complex as Stendahl himself. Reading him one is constantly wondering just what his literary statements are. Cynical he is, but with a love for drama. Perhaps cynicism allows one the proper distance to really enjoy the human comedy, but ironically it also serves as an impetus to act because action, even misguided action in Stendhals work, is preferable to torpor. So maybe he is a romantic after all but one that has ceased to believe in the direction his heart takes him but goes anyway. There is no other choice.
Rating: 
Summary: Opera without the Music
Review: I was told that you have to read this book twice to really enjoy it, well I question that premise. Why would you want or have the time to read a book twice just to enjoy it, when there is so many wonderful books out there to read? Anyway to me this book was like a bad opera without the music. Things keep happening that just don't make sense to move a fantastical plot along. The Dad the brothers the women he loves are just so unbelievable that I could only think opera.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent book for the seasoned reader 14year-old student
Review: I'll keep this short. When reading this book I couldn't help but smile while reading Stendal's masterfull use of discriptive language and character building. Julien will stop at nothing to achieve nobility in French society. He does whatever possible to achieve this but the road is tough because he was born the son of a carpenter. Along the way he has lustful relationships and great adventure. He earns respect and jelousy from his at the seminary. This book kept me interested the whole way through which is a hard task. If you you like complicated love stories. This is the book for you.
Peter
Rating:
Summary: It's all there in black and white.
Review: The Red and the Black is a profound and witty book about the rise of a poor, handsome and intellectually gifted, young provincial into the salons of High Society in Paris. This novel is also a portrait of an era in 19th century France after the exile of Napoleon to St. Helena. The powerful, witty epigrams that appear in page after page of gorgeous prose left me almost as intrigued by the talent of the author as by the unexpected twists in the exhausting love life and fascinating careers in church and state of Julian Sorel. The language of the Gard translation was truly a joy to read -- it was lyrical and rich. Stendhal's novel is an astonishing but lesser read masterpiece from the salons of Paris, which produced Moliere, Balzac and Proust to name only a few. I can't recommend highly enough this worthy and rapturous novel by Stendhal. If this is Al Gore's favorite novel, then my respect for him has gone up a notch.
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Summary: Desire
Review: The title of this book can refer to the red uniforms of Napoleon's soldiers and the black robes of priests or to colors on a roulette wheel or perhaps the colors of blood and mourning, death. The main theme here seems to be desire, or desire beyond our basic instincts, how we come to desire what we do by imitating culture, history, and selected others. The fictional town Verrieres, a panoramic view of which we see in the opening pages along with hearing the loud sounds of the mayor's nail factory, in French means windows. Stendhal boosts us up to a window and we see Julien Sorel who crafts his desires from Napoleon's Memorial de Saint-Helene, Rousseau's Confessions, and a collection of bulletins of the Grand Army. He moves from being the despised son of a saw mill owner to a tutor for the mayor's children and onward from there as the novel progresses. As we read and the author lets us peer through more windows we realize that we are witness to a comic opera as well as to a study of human motivation and desire. The narrator who often speaks to us and takes us under his wing with a confidence or two likens a novel to a man carrying a mirror on his back down a muddy road, sometimes we see the clear blue sky sometimes the muddy road. Is this a reliable narrator to tell us this? You read and decide. "The Red and the Black" is unlike anything I have read before and it is certainly one of the best novels I have experienced reading. If there is a moral for me to be had from this novel it is that people will always get their desire from somewhere whether it's novels, history, or other people but if we can be aware of this process then we can select our influences more consciously.
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Summary: A Novel told from the point of view of a villain.
Review: This book looks at things from the main character's viewpoint, and that main character is a villain through and through. Julien Sorel is wonderfully portrayed in this masterpiece that was written in the very early nineteenth century. In the book, Stendahl, analyzes the psychological undercurrents of Sorel's personality. He shows clearly how struggle and temptation helped shaped Sorel's twisted nature. For anyone who likes to read modern psychological thrillers like Barbara Vine or Minette Walters, I hightly recommend this book. It could have been the handbook for psychological thrillers, actually. Don't miss this complex thriller.
Rating:
Summary: Al Gore's favorite book???
Review: This book operates on two levels. First, it is a stunning psychological portrayal of Julien Sorel, a peasant who, despite his revolt against society, ends up succumbing to it through hypocrisy. Second, this is a biting satire of 19th century France, its elitism, its hypocrisy, its pretention. Sociologist Pablo Serrato said it best: "Stendahl believed that bourgeois society rules dominate, and all one can do is try to succeed within it, and do what one must in order to move up..." And we see that manifested directly with Julien. He hates the world that has created him, yet he has no other choice but to act according to its rules. Serrato opines that "social mobility hinges on flattery and calculation." Why must Julien abide to these rules? Love. His love for women of high society chains him to the dictums of these very patricians. Ironically, this love is reflective of his values. Yet, in the end, he must sacrifice the values that have made his love possible. As we see, Julien hates himself because he must sacrifice his principles for the sake of love, which becomes in the process essentially meaningless. This is a tale replete with splendid imagery, charming dialogue, and quick wit. It's a sad state of our times when books like "Catcher in the Rye" are conferred with the status of speaking for our generation. Books like "Red and Black" hit home harder, although roughly 200 years old. This book is truly timeless. I agree with the reviewers who claim that this book must be read twice in order to be appreciated. A veritable masterpiece!
Rating:
Summary: EXCELLENT
Review: This is another typical exemple of French literature. The breath-taking story is framed by the perfect language. This is excellent reading.
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