The French writer, André Gide, Nobel Laureate in Literature in 1947, wrote ‘The Fruits of the Earth’ while suffering from tuberculosis. In the form of a long letter or discourse to an imaginary correspondent – Nathanael, an idealized disciple and companion – it appears to be a hymn to the intoxicating pleasures of everyday life, truly appreciable only by someone close to death, for whom each breath is miraculous. It speaks of sensations such as the taste of blackberries, the flavor of lemons, and the peculiar feeling that one can only obtain in the shade of certain well-kept gardens. The central idea is that we should let our senses guide us, without any repression, without any anguish: traveling without a destination, savoring every small detail that nature reserves for our pleasure. Gide wrote ‘The Fruits of the Earth’ while still young and managed to infuse his work with an intensity and sense of urgency that few writers have achieved.
About the author
André Paul Guillaume Gide (Paris, November 22, 1869 — Paris, February 19, 1951) was a French writer who received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1947. Coming from a family of the upper bourgeoisie, he was the founder of the Gallimard Publishing House and the Nouvelle Revue Française magazine. Gide was an openly homosexual man and spoke openly in favor of gay rights. Between 1910 and 1924, he wrote and published a book aimed at combating the homophobic prejudices of his time, ‘Corydon, ‘ rejecting moral and puritanical restrictions. His work revolves around the constant pursuit of intellectual honesty: how to be true to oneself, to the extent of embracing his pederasty and homosexuality. Among his most important works are ‘The Fruits of the Earth, ‘ the aforementioned ‘Corydon, ‘ ‘The Pastoral Symphony, ‘ ‘The Immoralist, ‘ and ‘The Counterfeiters.’
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