Els Falsificadors de moneda (1925)

While there is no doubt that this is an excellently crafted polyphonic novel that successfully leads the reader to a creative (literally, not figuratively) reading process, I did not particularly enjoy the subject material. If there were scales both for "liking" a book and for "quality reading experience," this book would rank much more highly on the second, despite being a bit tricky to follow at times.

The major points of interest to me throughout the reading of this book were the diverse and complicated mess of characters that weave their way through the story, the imposition placed on the reader to read actively, and the frequent occurrences of mise en abîme created by the use of dialogue and multiple narrators who discuss literature in general, the writing process, and the book itself. ( )

It will take me a long time to unpack all of this, all of what it meant... there is so much to mull over. Suffice it to say, 'The Counterfeiters' is the kind of expansive classic that can take over your dreams, even when you are wide awake. It has a plot that is impossible to pin down, but that twists and turns around itself in a way that would make Charlie Kaufman proud - to summarise it would be to re-write it, and I would never want to do that. ( )

> Qu'un jeune garçon apprenne qu'il n'est pas le fils de son père, qu'il décide de ne pas se présenter à ses examens et de partir au hasard de certaines rencontres : jusque-là, rien que de très commun. Mais qu'il croise la route tordue de faussaires en tout genre, d'enfants qui trafiquent de la fausse monnaie ou de tricheurs ès sentiments, et l'histoire se transforme en une folle épopée où les différents fils se mêlent et s'emmêlent pour mieux finir par démêler tous les mensonges.
Singulier roman que cette croisée de destins et de personnages : il surprend et fascine, tant il ne ressemble à rien de connu tout en conservant une structure parfaitement attendue. Manière de symphonie, où Gide, qui tenait Les Faux-Monnayeurs pour l'un de ses textes les plus aboutis, orchestre les thèmes qui lui sont chers : l'adolescence et ses tourments, les troubles d'identité, mais surtout le mensonge, le faux sous toutes ses facettes, qu'il débusque avec acharnement, pour qu'enfin les masques tombent. --Karla Manuele, Amazon.fr

> Par Adrian (Laculturegenerale.com) : Les 150 classiques de la littérature française qu’il faut avoir lus !
07/05/2017 - Une mise en abyme : un roman dans lequel un personnage veut écrire un roman nommé Les Faux-monnayeurs. Vaut pour la très grande originalité de sa construction : des personnages multiples qui expriment autant de points de vue.

The Counterfeiters is a book about writing a book, also called "The Counterfeiters". That is the primary theme of the novel which comes from the title of the book by the writer Edouard. Thus The Counterfeiters is a novel-within-a-novel, with Edouard (the alter ego of Gide) writing a book of the same title. Other stylistic devices are also used, such as an omniscient narrator that sometimes addresses the reader directly, weighs in on the characters' motivations or discusses alternate realities. However, there is also the story of a group of boys who are passing counterfeit coins throughout Paris. Thus we have entered a world where we cannot trust our senses -- what is counterfeit and what is real?

The story of Edouard writing his novel demonstrates his search for knowledge, yet as he associates with a group of his own adolescent relatives it appears as an artificial arrangement; one that displays the effects upon society of youth's corruption of traditional standards and values. The collapse of morality is illustrated with Eduoard's nephew Vincent, who deserts his lover Laura, a married woman, and runs away with Lillian, the mistress of Count Robert de Passavant. His life goes downhill as he murders her and goes insane.
There is also the coming of age story of Bernard and Olivier as they prepare to leave school -- but does this extend beyond their education and emanate from all who are learning about the world? This learning which is required by the changing nature of the everyday, the quotidian reality that is, perhaps, counterfeit.

I found the details of Edouard's struggles with his career, his family, his friendships and love provided images that enhanced the main themes, yet also energized the narrative drive. Another subplot of the novel is homosexuality. Some of the characters are overtly homosexual, like the adolescent Olivier, and the adult writers Count de Passavant and Eduoard. The Count seems to be an evil and corrupting force while the latter is benevolent. Even when the treatment is not overt, there is a homoerotic subtext that runs throughout, which encompasses Olivier's friend, Bernard, and their schoolfellows Gontran and Philippe. The main theme of The Counterfeiters encompasses the issue of sexuality, morality, and social order and lineage in a unique way for his era.

Gide's novel was not received well on its appearance, perhaps because of its homosexual themes and its unusual composition. It is this unusual composition that I thought made it an interesting read; along with which the way Gide demonstrates ideas through his characters and their actions much like Dostoevsky and Thomas Mann. The Counterfeiters has seen its reputation improve in the intervening years and is now generally counted among the great novels of the twentieth century. ( )

Duidelijk Bildungsroman met de jonge Bernard Profitendieu als centrale figuur. Kaleidoscoop aan figuren waarvan sommige duidelijk goed maar zeer onzeker zijn (Edward,Laura…), anderen het slechte voorbeeld geven (Vincent, Georges), en de meesten zich gewoon vals voordoen.
Tussen dat alles verweven zit de wording van de roman van Edward en de worsteling van Edward met het echte leven.
Middenstuk is duidelijk meest voldragen. Laatste deel eerder rommelig.
Thema van de homoseksuele aantrekking duidelijk aanwezig, maar altijd bedekt uitgewerkt.
Mooi zijn de moeilijke intermenselijke verhoudingen tussen de aantrekkingspolen Bernard-Olivier en Olivier-Edward.
Schrijftechnisch valt de modernistische aanpak op. Maar toch zeker niet zo revolutionair als voorgangers Conrad en navolger Faulkner.
Zeker de rijkste roman van Gide, maar toch niet helemaal geslaagd. ( )