Customer Reviews
The first real autobiography - By: Ian Shine, 04 Aug 2008 
The introduction to this book, & Rousseau's own introduction at the start of the book, talk this up as the first 'warts & alll' autobiography. It certainly is brutallly honest, especiallly in the first half, where he talks about his sexual development & his attractions (often unrequited) to various women, & about how for him sometimes the mere touching of a woman's glove could wrap him up in fantasies for weeks.
Rousseau the man is a troubled soul, one without (so he claims) a trace of malice in his body, & who is constantly tormented by his need to do things of his own accord. Artisticallly, he talks of his inability to work to deadline or to task, and, along the same lines, of his aversion to monetary gain. The later parts of the book deal with the problems that his artistic intergrity lead him into - how Grimm & Diderot (amongst others) found his stances intolerable, & how he was attacked & hounded from one place to another until he eventuallly ends up in England at the end of the book. How much of what he says about these attacks on his character is true is a matter of opinion. As we see from earlier parts of the book, he is a man who often swills past events over in his mind, & as many novelists of the current generation have dwelt upon, the workings of memory often do very little to aid the conveyance of truth. Still, this is arguably the most interesting side of Rousseau's character, if not the most interesting part of the book.
Beyond the psychological level of this graphic peek into a man's soul, 'The Confessions' provides us with a wealth of interesting historical information, & a real insight into the etiquette & developments of the period - most notably during his time as an ambassador in Italy.
This is a real epic book, & although it's said to have been written quite colloquiallly, I found it quite a slog. Maybe this was a combination of the translation & Rousseau's pedantic character, or perhaps the lack of variation in his style of story-telling. Although it took me a while, I'm more than glad that I persisted, & am looking forward to reading more by this distinguished character in literary history.
A genius laid bare - By: Mr. M. Brady, 24 Jul 2006 
The Confessions is acclaimed as the first recognisable autobiography. Early on I was impressed by his honesty & the depth of his analysis of his early sexual life : Freud would owe him credit. An essentiallly middle-class struggle to find a trade, respect, & income, the ultimate failure of which - mainly through his inability to learn & adapt -- led him to make some independent & of course original thoughts. With his autobiography, you can see his other works came about. As a proud outsider who came to be as prickly & proud as a porcupine, why wouldn't he have been thought about the degrading affect of money & status (Origins of Inequality, & The Social Contract) . As an eternal trier & at times embarrassing failure, why wouldn't he eventuallly contribute something musical (Le Devin du Village). That's the beauty of this detailed work: it's the man laid out bare, & it's his genius explained. He was awkward, uncomfortable, & this more than his pride stood him outside of society. His life with the simple Therese; he needed her company, he valued her steady presence over the polygamous Mme Warens he so once worshipped. He gave his children away because (we suspect from the book) he didn't want the child in the hands of Theresa's in-laws. His life is awe-inspiringly tragic due to the proud man at once wanting acceptance (love) from his peers, & then almost simultaneously pulling away from society as a way of protecting himself from their opinions.
Rousseau's painfully honest account of his life. - By: , 25 Sep 2000 This book is another by Rousseau that shows his diversity as a thinker & imagination as writer, as with 'Confessions' he practicallly invented the autobiographic genre.
Unlike most subsequent autobiographers, Rousseau's principle aim is to lay bare his failings & vices without attempting to apologise to the reader for his often surprising revelations; as he often repeats, God will be the judge.
Ultimately, this is a melancholy tale about a man desperately seeking a peaceful, solitary life but unable to escape the demands & injustices of society. The final passages reveal Rousseau to be a tragic character, hounded by critics & apparently unwanted by the public, but stubbornly clinging to his priciples.
