Cyrano de Bergerac (1619–1655)

Very glad to have read this novel, so full of imagination, humour, and suggestions. I was struck by the similarity to Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels, and Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach (Perhaps this letter comparison was partially influenced by the Quentin Blake illustrations).
I loved the way Cyrano incorporated classical myths, biblical figures, scientific and philosophical ideas. Indeed, Descartes has the last word in the novel; and Cyrano's depiction of Earthrise as seen from the moon is inspiring.
Much of the narrative is in the form of discourses between the hero and the beings he meets, and yet the plot follows a smooth transition from the earth, to the moon, to the earth, to the sun.
I was pleased to read somewhere that this is Quentin Blake's favourite story he has illustrated. I would have liked to find some of teh illustrations in colour, but these are all in B&W.… (lisätietoja)