The Flowers of Evil - Les Fleurs du Mal: (Bilingual Edition - French and English)

This book focuses on the poems and explore themes of beauty, decadence, love, and mortality. It is an excellent resource for students, language enthusiasts, and lovers of classic literature

The Flowers of Evil is a provocative and beautifully crafted collection of poetry that delves into the complexities of beauty, sin, and human desire, cementing Baudelaire's legacy as a pioneer of modern literature.

This book is a collection of poems that give life lessons. The good, the bad and ugly.From blessing, elevation to our enemies. It shows the dark and the Amazing sides of the human nature.

The poetry is quite diverse - dark, funny, mocking. I feel like not much is 'lost' in translation except maybe some of the rhyming. It's a neat touch having the French and English side by side.The footnote systems is very comprehensive, with multiple footnotes for most poems and 388 footnotes in total. I learnt quite a lot from them!I imagine it's great for newcomers to Baudelaire and to fans (especially if you want to compare French and English side by side).

I could read this countless times and learn something new every time. It was a joy to explore the darker side of human nature. The poet uses great language that is delightful to read

The Flowers of Evil is an extraordinary masterpiece that takes readers deep into the enigmatic and raw beauty of Baudelaire’s work. This bilingual edition offers a captivating journey through the dark, sensuous world of 19th-century French poetry. Baudelaire’s haunting verses capture the human condition with both elegance and brutality, touching on themes of decadence, melancholy, and forbidden desires.The translation is meticulous and preserves the melodic essence of Baudelaire’s original text, making it accessible yet faithful to its core. The 1861 edition is a fitting choice, providing the most complete and authentic reading experience. The added 388 footnotes provide valuable insights into the historical and cultural context, enhancing understanding and appreciation. The formatting is thoughtfully executed, ensuring each poem stands alone in its full splendor.Though the Kindle version doesn’t allow for side-by-side reading of the French and English texts, it doesn’t diminish the immersive nature of this edition. This is a book to savor slowly, to revisit repeatedly, and to find new depths in with each reading. Baudelaire’s work truly revolutionized modern poetry, as T.S. Eliot aptly noted, making this collection an essential read for both poetry lovers and those exploring the darker side of human nature.

The author I’d a beautiful job at honouring and celebrating Charles Baudelaire works. Love the side by side translation and the foot notes are a wonderful addition to help understand the brilliant mind behind the words.This hard covered copy (with beautifully wicked cover art is a wonderful addition to anyone’s collection.If you are like me and enjoy making notes/ thoughts/ doodles of inspiration in your books - there is a lot of space to do so.A treat for the dark cathartic heart!Thank you for your hard work on bringing this beautiful mind to many non French speakers. 🖤🥀

The media could not be loaded. When critics claim that Baudelaire is the greatest French poet, they are underestimating him.He stands as one of the greatest poets of all time.He speaks of life as lived by many, but leaves most of us speechless.This edition of Baudelaire is beautiful - the formatting in particular, with the French and English of each poem on the same page.It's delightful to be able to compare the translation side by side with the original poem on each page.It is a much more pleasurable reading experience than in other bilingual versions of this text, where the translations are only the second half of the book.The index at the beginning makes it easy to find any poem.I like having the hardback edition in my library.I will buy more copies to give to my friends.If I had to recommend one English translation of Baudelaire to my friends, it would be this one.I warmly recommend this version to all lovers of beautiful poetry.

Each time I read this book I am always somewhere different in my life and am always taken by a different poem depending on my circumstances and personal mood.There is a pertinence in Baudelaire that cuts through one's temporal and contextual atmosphere.I enjoyed reading the Kindle edition with links to the carefully compiled notes and learned of the meaning of ‘Gehenna’ amongst other interesting historical and mythical intrigues.I’ve briefly compared translations in the past to find the exact way it is said to hit the right note in my scale. And have found this translation a carefully put together tone and timbre for what hope English may have in capturing the French verses.

"Les Fleurs du Mal" by Charles Baudelaire is a major work in French literature, renowned for its exploration of beauty within decadence and moral ambiguity. I found this particular translation to be quite enjoyable, though I have two minor critiques. Firstly, other reviewers have mentioned the excellent formatting in the paperback version of the book. However, this was not my experience reading it in the Kindle app, where segments of French and English text are placed one after another with no clear delineation.Secondly, there are some nuances and rhythmic qualities inherent to the French language that this translation does not always replicate fully in English. For example, the phrase "Le navire glissant sur les gouffres amers" becomes "The ship sliding on the bitter chasms," which, while conveying the general meaning, loses some of the poetic quality and the stark contrast between the grace of the ship and the abyss below. Nonetheless, this translation does a commendable job at making "Les Fleurs du Mal" accessible to English-speaking readers, preserving its core themes and imagery.