A French Book Reading Resource

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Carmody
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Re: A French Book Reading Resource

Postby Carmody » Fri Jan 20, 2023 12:56 am

ChatGPT


My question to ChatGPT:
What are the 20 most necesssary books that a person must read in French literature to be considered well read; include books from throughout the history of France?

Answer from ChatGPT:
It is subjective to say which books are "necessary" for someone to be considered well-read in French literature, as different people may have different opinions on what constitutes a "must-read" book. However, here is a list of 20 notable and influential books from French literature throughout history:
1. "Les Misérables" by Victor Hugo (1862)
2. "Madame Bovary" by Gustave Flaubert (1857)
3. "Candide" by Voltaire (1759)
4. "Les Fleurs du Mal" by Charles Baudelaire (1857)
5. "Les Liaisons dangereuses" by Choderlos de Laclos (1782)
6. "Les Trois Mousquetaires" by Alexandre Dumas (1844)
7. "L'Étranger" by Albert Camus (1942)
8. "Les Chants de Maldoror" by Lautréamont (1869)
9. "Les Mains Sales" by Jean-Paul Sartre (1948)
10. "Le Rouge et le Noir" by Stendhal (1830)
11. "Le Père Goriot" by Honoré de Balzac (1835)
12. "Les Contemplations" by Victor Hugo (1856)
13. "Les Fleurs du Mal" by Charles Baudelaire (1857)
14. "Les Revenants" by Albert Camus (1942)
15. "Les Enfants Terribles" by Jean Cocteau (1950)
16. "A La Recherche Du Temps Perdu" by Marcel Proust (1913-1927)
17. "L'Ecole des Femmes" by Molière (1662)
18. "Les Misérables" by Victor Hugo (1862)
19. "La Bête Humaine" by Emile Zola (1890)
20. "Les Châtiments" by Victor Hugo (1853)
Keep in mind that this is just a sample list and there are many other books that are considered to be important in French literature, this list is not exhaustive and not in a particular order, it's just a bunch of famous books that any French literature lover should have read.

Do people have suggestions as to additions or deletions?
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Re: A French Book Reading Resource

Postby luke » Fri Jan 20, 2023 10:27 am

Carmody wrote:What are the 20 most necesssary books that a person must read in French literature to be considered well read; include books from throughout the history of France?

Answer from ChatGPT:
1. "Les Misérables" by Victor Hugo (1862)
18. "Les Misérables" by Victor Hugo (1862)

Les Mis must be muy importante :shock:
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Re: A French Book Reading Resource

Postby tractor » Fri Jan 20, 2023 1:40 pm

luke wrote:
Carmody wrote:What are the 20 most necesssary books that a person must read in French literature to be considered well read; include books from throughout the history of France?

Answer from ChatGPT:
1. "Les Misérables" by Victor Hugo (1862)
18. "Les Misérables" by Victor Hugo (1862)

Les Mis must be muy importante :shock:

Has to be read twice,
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Re: A French Book Reading Resource

Postby Le Baron » Fri Jan 20, 2023 2:40 pm

luke wrote:
Carmody wrote:What are the 20 most necesssary books that a person must read in French literature to be considered well read; include books from throughout the history of France?

Answer from ChatGPT:
1. "Les Misérables" by Victor Hugo (1862)
18. "Les Misérables" by Victor Hugo (1862)

Les Mis must be muy importante :shock:

And also:

4. "Les Fleurs du Mal" by Charles Baudelaire (1857)
13. "Les Fleurs du Mal" by Charles Baudelaire (1857)

ChatGPT needs a kick up the bracket.
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Re: A French Book Reading Resource

Postby Le Baron » Fri Jan 20, 2023 2:59 pm

The chat can be very annoying at times. I recently asked for a list of the most widely-read French novels published in the 21st century. You have to be specific or it just pulls up any old rubbish. First of all it gave me only 10 and added links for websites to sunstroke aftercare. I asked where the others were and it gave me the other 10, which were all old books except one, and in the first list most were old and half were translated from English.
I informed the chat that this was erroneous and that I had asked for 21st century novels, not old books. It said it had 'double-checked' the information which was correct. :lol: So I posted:

You are trying to deceive me. I will ask again for a list of the most widely-read modern French novels and all of them MUST have been published after the year 2000.

The answer:
Due to high demand, I'm experiencing issues briefly. Please try again later or use the All tab to get an answer in the meantime.

This is par for the course now. It also thinks Charles Baudelaire is still alive.
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Re: A French Book Reading Resource

Postby MorkTheFiddle » Fri Jan 20, 2023 6:30 pm

Questionable to leave out Montaigne, Pascal, La Rochefoucauld, Descartes and maybe Colette, Duras, Malraux, and Gide, but definitely something by Zola, maybe Germinal, and Apollinaire, should be included.
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Re: A French Book Reading Resource

Postby AroAro » Fri Jan 20, 2023 7:15 pm

Carmody wrote:Do people have suggestions as to additions or deletions?


I would include more books written in 20th century, delete most of Victor Hugo ("Les Miserables" is enough). Also, not a single book written by a woman? There should be space on the list for Marguerite Duras ("Un barrage contre le Pacifique"), Anna Langfus ("Le sel et le soufre") or Simone de Beauvoir (I cannot vouch for that one though as I haven't read "Les Mandarins").
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Re: A French Book Reading Resource

Postby jeffers » Fri Jan 20, 2023 10:46 pm

How did ChatGPT leave René Goscinny off the list????
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Re: A French Book Reading Resource

Postby Le Baron » Sat Jan 21, 2023 12:12 am

In line with AroAro I think generally people shouldn't flock so quickly to these 19th century novels. And so easily to Les Mis, which is very long and not easy. I have nothing against 19th century literature as literature, but why it is so often the 'go to' choice for language learning is a mystery to me. It's like turning up for your first maths lesson at secondary school and the teacher slapping a copy of Principia Mathematica onto your desk.

Early 20th century literature is now 100+ years old and even some of that is a challenge.
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Carmody
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Re: A French Book Reading Resource

Postby Carmody » Sat Jan 21, 2023 3:12 pm

My question:
What is the best book of French fiction written since 2000


ChatGPT
It is difficult to determine the best book of French fiction written since 2000, as opinions on what constitutes the "best" book are subjective and can vary widely. However, several French novels have received widespread critical acclaim and have been widely considered as some of the best French fiction written since 2000 include:

"La Carte et le Territoire" by Michel Houellebecq, which won the 2010 Prix Goncourt
"Les Bienveillantes" by Jonathan Littell, which won the 2006 Prix Goncourt
"La vie des oiseaux" by Jean-Baptiste Del Amo, which won the 2019 Prix Goncourt
"Encore des morts" by Eric Vuillard, which won the 2017 Goncourt des Lycéens

These are some examples of critically acclaimed novels, but it's important to keep in mind that this is a personal opinion and other novels could also be considered as best French fiction written since 2000.

Well, I read "La Carte et le Territoire" by Michel Houellebecq, which won the 2010 Prix Goncourt and I am here to tell you the book and the Prix Goncourt are grossly over rated.
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