A French Book Reading Resource

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guyome
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Re: A French Book Reading Resource

Postby guyome » Thu Jan 26, 2023 7:59 am

Carmody wrote:And while on the topic of entertainment, I must mention that this is one of the very few books that I have read by a French author that is not melancoholic. If people out there know of other French titles that entertain rather than sink into melancohlia then please let me know,
Well, Barthes said that Voltaire was "le dernier des écrivains heureux", so I guess you're out of luck :(

If you want to read more 18th c. literature, you could give a try to authors like Beaumarchais and Marivaux (theatre), or Montesquieu's Lettres persanes. And of course, there's always more Voltaire available for reading (Zadig comes to mind).
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Carmody
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Re: A French Book Reading Resource

Postby Carmody » Thu Jan 26, 2023 3:48 pm

guyome » Wed Jan 25, 2023 8:59 pm

Carmody wrote:
And while on the topic of entertainment, I must mention that this is one of the very few books that I have read by a French author that is not melancoholic. If people out there know of other French titles that entertain rather than sink into melancohlia then please let me know,

Well, Barthes said that Voltaire was "le dernier des écrivains heureux", so I guess you're out of luck :(

If you want to read more 18th c. literature, you could give a try to authors like Beaumarchais and Marivaux (theatre), or Montesquieu's Lettres persanes. And of course, there's always more Voltaire available for reading (Zadig comes to mind).


Thanks so much for sharing the Barthes quote; nice to know I am not alone in my perceptions.

Looks like I have to check out: authors like Beaumarchais and Marivaux (theatre), or Montesquieu's Lettres persanes.
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Carmody
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Re: A French Book Reading Resource

Postby Carmody » Sat Jan 28, 2023 12:08 am

Question:
Name well known French authors since 1759 that have written happy books

ChatBot OpenAI

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (The Little Prince)
Jules Verne (Around the World in Eighty Days)
Alphonse Daudet (Tartarin of Tarascon)
Albert Londres (Le vingtième siècle)
Pierre Boulle (The Bridge over the River Kwai)
Antoine Blondin (Les Cravates de l'Empereur)
Colette (Gigi)
Raymond Queneau (Exercices de style)
Françoise Sagan (Un Certain Sourire)
Alexandre Jardin (Les Enfants Terribles)

Question:
List the most melancohly French fiction authors that have written books since 1759
Gustave Flaubert (Madame Bovary)
Albert Camus (The Stranger, The Plague)
Marcel Proust (In Search of Lost Time)
Françoise Sagan (Bonjour Tristesse)
Jean-Paul Sartre (Being and Nothingness)
Simone de Beauvoir (The Second Sex)
Samuel Beckett (Waiting for Godot)
Marguerite Duras (The Lover)
Georges Simenon (Maigret series)
Jean Genet (The Thief's Journal, The Maids)


Please note that the definition of "melancholic books" is subjective, and these authors and their works may not necessarily be considered "melancholic" by all readers.
Last edited by Carmody on Sat Jan 28, 2023 2:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: A French Book Reading Resource

Postby DaveAgain » Sat Jan 28, 2023 9:31 am

Carmody wrote:Question:
Name well known French authors since 1759 that have written happy books

1. I'm surprised that the bridge over the river kwai was written by a Frenchman!
2. Exercices de style is not a novel.
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Carmody
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Re: A French Book Reading Resource

Postby Carmody » Sat Jan 28, 2023 2:47 pm

Pierre Boulle, the author of "The Bridge Over the River Kwai," "Planet of the Apes" and other novels and short stories, died on Sunday in Paris, The Associated Press reported. He was 81 and lived in Paris. Mr. Boulle was born in Avignon.Feb 1, 1994

It was news to me too.
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Re: A French Book Reading Resource

Postby Le Baron » Sun Jan 29, 2023 2:24 pm

Dare I say I thought he was already departed?! :(
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Carmody
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Re: A French Book Reading Resource

Postby Carmody » Tue Feb 07, 2023 11:20 pm

I was not sure how to do this but here goes with an addenda to my first review...

I have finished Candide a second time and find it even more wonderful. However, readers interested in the book should find themselves a very thorough and professional Annotated Candide by Voltaire to read. There is just so very much going on in this simple little book and it is easy to miss.

Also a note that this is not easy reading, ie, it ain't no Antoine de Saint-Exupéry The Little Prince. I would place it at a C1 level.

Candide by Voltaire

I am of the belief that one can’t just sit down and read the classics-any or all of them. Rather one needs to wait for the opportune moment to do so. Somewhat akin to a planetary alignment making possible the coming together of an author with my appreciation of him.

So it has taken me quite some time but I have finally come around to Candide by Voltaire and am grateful I waited for it.

I found it a short entertaining picaresque novel that I have already started rereading. For those not familiar with picaresque think of a contemporary graphic action novel with lots of action but no pictures, although the action here is clearly graphic.

There is also, lots to learn from this book when it comes to vocabulary and idioms but all of it really interesting.

So often with the classics it turns out that they don’t ring the bell with me that I hoped they would but this one does and I would definitely recommend people give it a try if they are looking for a different paced book that will entertain. Yes, it was written in 1 7 5 9 (264 years ago) but there is something strangely contemporary to the type of entertainment it offers.

And while on the topic of entertainment, I must mention that this is one of the very few books that I have read by a French author that is not melancoholic. If people out there know of other French titles that entertain rather than sink into melancohlia then please let me know, but for me for now Candide remains unique in its joyful galloping, rollicking movement through a landscape of wars, earthquakes and other assorted tragedies that leaves me certainly wanting more.

Score: 8/10

nb: come to think of it The Iliad is pretty rollicking in its own way, but the author was not French.
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Le Baron
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Re: A French Book Reading Resource

Postby Le Baron » Wed Feb 08, 2023 12:04 am

Carmody wrote:If people out there know of other French titles that entertain rather than sink into melancohlia then please let me know

Well, if you haven't already read it, you'll like Jacques le fataliste et son maître.

In general though I don't find that French novels are melancholic, just more interested in realism and black humour.
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Carmody
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Re: A French Book Reading Resource

Postby Carmody » Wed Feb 08, 2023 1:35 am

Many thanks; that is a new title for me.
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Le Baron
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Re: A French Book Reading Resource

Postby Le Baron » Fri Feb 17, 2023 9:48 pm

Over this week I read through La fille de mon meilleur ami - Yves Ravey. Which I picked up in August 2021 according to the old log. It's not a long book, something like 145 pages. So from Sunday I read about 25 pages a night before bed and the last this evening. A sort of literary psychological thriller, but where no-one ever shouts and most of the people act in a matter-of-fact way. I read another one of his books some time ago, Carré Blanc and it had the same economy of prose style. One of his latest Pas Dupe seems to be his most popular to date. I just don't want to especially fork out €17 for a 140 page book. Some joker on Fnac had it listed for €3 second-hand with a postage cost of something like €10. :lol:

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