The Short Reign of Pippin IV
Steinbeck's only work of political satire turns the French Revolution on its head, as amateur astronomer Pippin Heristal is drafted in to rule the unruly French. Enchanting comedy ensues as Steinbeck creates the most hilarious royal court ever around the brief, bold reign of the corduroy-clad Pippin, his social-climbing wife Maria, his star-struck daughter Clotilde and her Californian beau, Todd. Featuring a motley crew of courtiers and con men, guards and gardeners, Steinbeck's late comic novel is an entrancing read about politics, power and the daily struggle not to lose one's head!
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What Hacker News says
- "Expositional Adventure" should be the title of a book about OSS/CIA action in europe during and after the war.
I like to think of the coffee and wine drunk to write all those artists manifestos the French intellectuals insist on publishing, all paid for by the almighty US dollar.
"the short reign of Pippin IV" by John Steinbeck (1957) is an amusing work about euro communism, royalty, youth culture and the american fascination with postwar france.
I would be very disappointed if it turns out "Shakspear et Cie" was in fact, part of this.
- Although I am dispirited by the rise of more extreme right wing politics, I am comforted that a dialogue outside of the far right which sometimes becomes "my enemies enemy is my friend" has at last recognised how destructive that is. In the french context it means left voters will hold their nose, and reluctantly vote for the medallion man with a hairy chest, to keep the even worse consequences out. I have to keep reminding myself "Mélenchon" is not the same as (Philip) Melanchthon.
France has been here before in the days of the popular front, before WW2. A bit of the defeatism around the german advance stems from a history of internal dissent amongst the french about confronting their own left-right split.
Postwar France had its brief moment of ugliness (l'epuration) and then again during the Algerian independence campaign, and then again (in parallel really) during the Indochina war (which became the Vietnam war) and possibly during '68 and semi-annually since then by farmers over something about the EEC/EU, although it keeps changing exactly what they want from it: more lakes, or less price support?
I Struggle with Le Pen, and the two Ms Mussolini in Italy. The idea that the right wing of Europe is intergenerational really confuses me. Dynasties? I thought they got rid of their monarchy!
A great read is "the Short Reign of Pippin IV" by John Steinbeck, set in the mid/late 1950s but applicable to so much of France's recent political history.
Le Pen wants to break the EU. A lot of french agree. A lot of french are very angry about technocrat government, about life, about their horrendous anomie with the role of france in the modern world, with the Australians for making good wine and then refusing to buy french submarines, with the New Caledonians for wanting independence, with the Germans for having the temerity to want to work harder and running their economy and europe, but I think they're pretty content with the Belgians: They lasted 2+ years without a government, something the French look at wistfully I think.
Really the french should thank Boris Johnson for taking britain out of the EU, and making a complete basket case of his national economy: it made France look much better.
- Have you read John Steinbeck's "The Short Reign of Pippin IV?" [0] All political sides in France frustrated decide to create a constitutional monarchy. The Communists supported the idea because it would give everyone something to revolt against.
[0]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Short_Reign_of_Pippin_IV
- The second HN article in a week in which I can refer to John Steinbeck's work "The Short Reign Of Pippin IV" (1957)
