A language learners’ forum

kanewai wrote:À la recherche - This sounds like it would be intimidating on audiobook. You didn't get lost in his stream-of-conscious digressions?

I uploaded some dual-language texts onto my Google Drive. These are all public domain works that folks shared on the old HTLAL forum. Any of these would be a good place to start!

Françoise Sagan - Bonjour tristesse
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry - Vol de nuit
André Gide -L'immoraliste
Alain-Fournier - Le grand Meaulnes
Marguerite Yourcenar -Mémoires d'Hadrien

Listening to Proust is like listening to a favorite song. Without the music of the song, it would read rather dry. With the sound of a good voice, Proust is pleasant listening.
I agree with your recommendations for a start, except that I have not read Gide or Yourcenar.

Will return to discuss Le Grand Meaulnes later, but just as an update:

Started La Vie Comme Éva (by Fanny Jola). It was free and the cartoons inside look a little like Jackie Fleming’s, who I find very funny. However, it’s truly terrible and I’ve given up. It’s kind of Bridget Jones style, young single woman screwing up her life. But I didn’t find it funny and one sequence leans pretty strongly towards homophobia. Could not recommend, 1/10.

I've just finished Occupe-toi d'Amélie by Georges Feydeau. A very funny play. 4/5.

There's a nice film adaption too, with Danielle Darrieux in the title role.

Are these book suitable for beginners?

Well this is an embarrassing and truly humiliating admission. The Jean Giono book called Regain, that everyone raves about is simply beyond my understanding. Seriously. Everyone raves about it in the book reviews, but the subtlety, symbolism, and manner of writing is simply beyond my skill set to comprehend.

I mean I did try. I even read a Thesis Submitted in Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS of Rhodes University by Hermione Abel, 1985. Reading through the thesis just underlined how totally out of my depth I was to even think to read it. The thesis details the Greek Mythology and symbolism of the book that I could never even begin to grasp. And I love Greek Mythology. If you are curious the thesis is at:
https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/145040903.pdf

Maybe if I had read this book in English first I would have had a chance. However I must confess I was lost from beginning to end in the French version.

I have never had a similar experience with a book in any language in my life.

So in summary, I confess I cannot give this book a grade, as is my custom, but must leave that to others wiser than myself. If you do read and truly understand the book in all its subtleties then, please, by all means fill me in. I understand the basic plot but other than that I am totally and humiliatingly lost.

LoveLanguages wrote:Are these book suitable for beginners?

If you scroll down from Lysander's post there are some suggestions for beginners.

If you're looking for a beginner's course, the french resources thread lists some options.

EDIT
Welcome to the forum!

Ok, I know this is using very bad judgement, however I am thinking about reading Les Misérables.

There seem to be many different editions of this in French but I have no idea which is the best French version to buy. If in fact I do read it (which I shouldn't, since I don't always exercise good judgement in all matters) which version should I try?

Carmody wrote:Ok, I know this is using very bad judgement, however I am thinking about reading Les Misérables.

There seem to be many different editions of this in French but I have no idea which is the best French version to buy. If in fact I do read it (which I shouldn't, since I don't always exercise good judgement in all matters) which version should I try?

Read the free one. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/17489/17 ... 7489-h.htm

EDIT: Changed link to English translation to Vol I of French work.

I just finished "Une pièce montée" by Blandine le Callet today, and goodness gracious, it was amazing.

For those of you who don't know, it is a 2006 novella which describes the wedding and reception of an upper class family in France, from the perspectives of numerous attendees, ranging from the obvious, such as the bride and groom, to the unlikely, such as the 7 year old cousin of the bride and a random acquaintance of the bride's family who really only comes in an attempt to find someone to seduce. It is relatively short and reasonably straightforward, so it would be good for an intermediate class.

With each change of character, of course, also comes a change of tone, and that ability is one of the most remarkable characteristics of the book: the authors style varies wildly, sometimes childlike poetry of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, sometimes the breathtaking descriptions of Albert Camus, sometimes the emotional ferocity of Andrée Ferretti. As the story winds on mysteries are built, clarified and then take a sudden twist again, and the reader's opinions about most of the characters will see-saw wildly as who it is who is describing them changes.

All in all, I would probably rate the book an 8.5/10.

PfifltriggPi

Thanks so much for your in depth review and rating.
I will definitely be reading it soon.