Cheri & the Last of Cheri

The two "Cheri" books are a tribute to the power of love and the beauty of the human spirit, written as only the divine Colette could have done.In 19th-century Paris, formidable courtesan Lea, a once-breathtaking and sought-after beauty, is still beautiful in middle age, albeit a bit wiser and more wistful. A friend, Mmm. Peloux, herself an aging courtesan, sends Lea her only son Fred (affectionately known as Cheri) to be groomed in the ways of the world.Cheri, a selfish, self-centered young man in his 20s, is almost excessively gorgeous. And Lea, a woman who is well beyond the infatuation stage and certainly well aware of all of his many frailties, is simply besotted with him. Under her care, Cheri is spoiled, pampered, gifted with expensive presents, and indulged in every possible way, from sexual to culinary delights. In his own pompously careless way, Cheri loves Lea as well, calling her "noun-noun," and partaking of her generosity, in bed and out, like a child. And so goes the relationship--Lea, looking over her shoulder at approaching age and the subsequent loss of her looks; and Cheri, taking everything she has to offer with complete abandon. Until his mother declares him groomed quite enough--and arranges a suitable marriage for him with a beautiful young woman.So ends Book I, "Cheri." "The Last of Cheri" is quite a different matter, as chilling in its way as "Cheri" is sensual. The mood of the book is a type of frantic fear. Lea, ever the no-nonsense realist (in her line of work, she has to be) knows from her mirror that her time as a beauty is gone. Without Cheri, the spectre of aging begins to haunt her in a very real way, and with a kind of real terror, she contemplates her lonely and manless future. Money will not be a problem; Lea has invested the gifts from her many celebrated lovers with care and a clear head. But loneliness and the very real anguish over losing her young lover are overtaking her.Cheri has changed too. He is no longer the eager young satyr, but, trapped in a loveless marriage, the gorgeous, greedy child has become a gorgeous, cynical man, almost overwhelmed by ennui. Cheri is in a dangerous depression, but nobody, including Colette herself, had a name for that condition in high-society Paris of the 1800s! Colette describes Cheri's state in unflinching terms. He needs Lea. Lea needs him. Is it possible? Can she still be his mistress?The answer to that question provides the denoument to what really, in the end, is a human tragedy. This doomed couple cannot possibly survive as they are, and they do not. One dies. One survives. And the reader cannot help but sigh for Lea and Cheri, two lovers whose affair of the heart is overwhelmed by the realitis of life.

They are both wonderful novels - so wonderful that it seems a shame NOT to have the proper author credited. The author is COLETTE.

This pair of novels deals with an aging demimondaine (courtesan) and her very much younger lover. It is set in Paris of the Belle Epoque and then in post WWI. Lea is approaching that "certain age" and though still beautiful, knows her time is passing as glamourous member of the demi-monde of Paris. She struggles against the ravages of age, as women who derive their power from their beauty all must. Her lover, Cheri, is a spoiled young man, son of another famous demimondaine and ballet dancer. He is rich, has everything he could want in life--except the will to live. Lea, entranced by his beauty, takes him under her wing to restore his health and they end up, predictably, lovers.But the love affair takes a peculiar turn. Lea turns Cheri loose to marry, as he must, but can't forget him. But worse off is Cheri, who marries his young wife for money and abandons her because she bores him. Lea's inexhaustible zest for life pulls her through any situation, but what of Cheri, whose desire to live has never been as robust?A great set of novels that would have made a wonderful film.

this is one of the best books ever written.sensual,intelligent,romantic.i couldn't put it down it down,or i didn't want to.