A French Book Reading Resource

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Olivia_Key
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Re: A French Book Reading Resource

Postby Olivia_Key » Fri May 05, 2023 9:40 am

I wanted to express my gratitude for your recent post regarding French literature. As someone who has recently started learning French, I have been struggling to find interesting books to read that will help me improve my language skills. Your post has provided me with a valuable resource and I am excited to explore the titles you have recommended.

I appreciate the time and effort you put into creating this list of books. I am sure it was not an easy task and I am grateful for your willingness to share your knowledge and expertise with others.

Additionally, I noticed an amazing piece of paper named "Movie Critique Example Essay". As someone who is interested in this field, I am looking forward to reading this essay and learning more about this.

Once again, thank you for your contribution to the community. I will definitely be back with some reviews of the books I read and will continue to follow your work.
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Carmody
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Re: A French Book Reading Resource

Postby Carmody » Sun May 07, 2023 12:59 am

People often hear what I think of French literature but I thought it might be of interest to hear what a Frenchman thinks of the current state of the art:



Would be very interested to hear how people respond to this.
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Re: A French Book Reading Resource

Postby Carmody » Thu May 11, 2023 7:24 pm

Just an update:

Have been enjoying my bien dire magazine which I recommend to all for good vocabulary. Info can be found at
https://biendire.com/en/11280-subscription

Have also started to read Louis XIV, so it might be a while before next I post a review, 600 pages is a lot for me.

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MorkTheFiddle
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Re: A French Book Reading Resource

Postby MorkTheFiddle » Sat May 13, 2023 11:16 pm

Carmody wrote:People often hear what I think of French literature but I thought it might be of interest to hear what a Frenchman thinks of the current state of the art:



Would be very interested to hear how people respond to this.
Nothing in this video encourages me to read anything by Houellebecq. His style as described in the video sounds more like a tic or a cheap trick than literature and he sounds like a natural son of Céline.
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Many things which are false are transmitted from book to book, and gain credit in the world. -- attributed to Samuel Johnson

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Carmody
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Re: A French Book Reading Resource

Postby Carmody » Sun May 14, 2023 12:08 am

MorkTheFiddle

Well I agree with you but we are obviously in the minority........
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Carmody
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Re: A French Book Reading Resource

Postby Carmody » Sat Jun 03, 2023 1:26 am

Well it has been a while. A 592 page history of Louis XIV does take time.

Louis XIV Homme et roi by Thierry Sarmant

What follows is Louis XIV in a nutshell, so you don’t have to spend the time reading up on him.

Louis XIV saw himself of course as King by divine right. At the start of his reign, Louis XIV chose the sun as his personal emblem. The sun is the symbol of Apollo, god of peace and the arts; it is also the star which gives life to all things, rising and setting with unfailing regularity.

He is known for 4 major things during his life time:

-expanding Versailles; it was originally built by XIII as a hunting lodge and he greatly expanded it.

-unnecessary wars and exorbitant taxes to support them. Even in counseling his son who would follow him, he admitted to going to war too easily. That peace was preferable.

-the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, whereby he sought to drive out the Protestants. This was a big mistake. He did not start out as a fanatic Catholic fundamentalist but he became one with time.

It should be noted that he lived a very, very opulent and public life. Everything from getting up to going to bed was public, as was his dying. It was the way things were done then. If you had money and power you Showed it by your lifestyle.

I found this a good book. Louis XIV and Versailles are not exactly my cup of tea but the author brought me around by the end of the book in showing why he did what he did.

Opulence was his trade mark and it carried over to French political life that followed him. Emanuel Macron loves doing his political thing in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles and being compared to Apollo in the papers. The French are very taken with the majesteuse of Louis XIV still. Charles de Gaulle’s majestic vision of France did not come out of thin air.

On a personal note, I would add that the author did what he did well, even if it was not thrilling or engaging writing. He took a man in history that I would not have liked and helped me understand why he did what he did.

I would give this book a
7/10.
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Carmody
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Re: A French Book Reading Resource

Postby Carmody » Wed Jun 14, 2023 4:58 pm

Request for guidance.

Some time ago, Le Baron or someone put up a suggestion of a book to read written by Diderot. Would that person or any persons knowing a good book by Diderot please help out with providing suggested titles for me.

The Indiscreet Jewels?

La Religieuse ?


Thanks.
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Re: A French Book Reading Resource

Postby Le Baron » Wed Jun 14, 2023 10:46 pm

I'm afraid I've only read Jacques le fataliste. It's an episodic type of book like a lot of 18thC 'picaresque'-type novels. If you don't like that type (Don Quixote, Moll Flanders, Candide etc) then it's maybe not a great choice. Though I think it's actually quite a major element in a lot of modern novels, so most people like it. I find the old type of picaresque novels tend to be 'philosophical' in an enlightenment way or overt moral episodes, whereas the modern novel is focused on character psychology and individuals in that sense.

I may have failed to answer your inquiry. :lol:
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Carmody
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Re: A French Book Reading Resource

Postby Carmody » Wed Jun 14, 2023 11:53 pm

Did you read the book yourself? It seems to have gotten a lot of mixed reviews.........

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_the_Fatalist
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Le Baron
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Re: A French Book Reading Resource

Postby Le Baron » Thu Jun 15, 2023 12:23 am

Carmody wrote:Did you read the book yourself? It seems to have gotten a lot of mixed reviews.........

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_the_Fatalist


Yes, I read it 32 years ago. :shock:
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