A French Book Reading Resource

[SCMT]

The Hugos, Balzacs, Sands, and Zolas of the French scene all have their moments, but by and large, they are all bores to me. (But so are Dickens and George Eliot, for that matter).
.

Silas Marner, a bore? Say it isn't so!

Middlemarch might be, though.

And contemporary Henry Fielding's masterwork is one of my favorite novels of any time period.

[Lianne]

Thanks to everyone for their visits.

If you have any suggestions re books to read, please do pass them along.


I would greatly enjoy this thread being a conversation with others contributing their ideas rather than just me in a monologue.

I mean, I could share the books I read in French, but they're all either translations of English books, or original French YA books from Quebec, lol. I pick them by looking on the library shelves. I'm not sure if this information would help anyone!

But currently I'm reading Moi, Simon, 16 ans, homo sapiens, which is the translation of Simon Vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli. I loved the book in English, and I'm finding it to be a relatively easy and informal read in French. There's also an audiobook, which I've been waiting for at the library for months!

[Carmody]

Policy Statement:
This thread is not about me; it is about people sharing interests in reading French with others similarly inclined. So please feel free to post, share, discuss what you read in French.

My own interests are 20th and 21st century fiction and non-fiction books by French authors but that is just me-one person.

Others should feel free to discuss with people whatever genre they choose.
///////////////////////////////////////////////////

MorkTheFiddle » Wed Oct 16, 2019 1:37 pm
You are one of the best read and most widely read members here in French, so it is not always clear how to engage you. You seem to prefer the 20th and 21st centuries, and I am with you on that. The long-winded novels of the 19th century, French and English and Spanish, wear me out, though for whatever reason the works of Austen, Dostoevsky and Tolsoy get a bye. The Hugos, Balzacs, Sands, and Zolas of the French scene all have their moments, but by and large, they are all bores to me. (But so are Dickens and George Eliot, for that matter).
My interests also have always been equally divided between fiction and nonfiction, and my extensive reading has been confined to my youth and my retirement days. The major hurdle, which you seem to face as well, is knowing what to read. As a young man I seemed to pick up titles to read by osmosis. (The same thing happened with popular music. ) Do the French have a contemporary Stephen J. Gould or Richard Feynman or Lynn Margulis?
For the moment, I have started Hugo's Quatrevingt-treize, taking Kanawai's judgment that Hugo's focus stays sharper than with his other novels. Also, as I have said before, Hugo's poetry is a different story from his novels. Hugo keeps his wits about himself when he writes poetry. I don't know where I am going with this. Maybe moving to France for a few years is the only answer for me, though that is not going to happen.

Many thanks for sharing your tastes and experiences; I always learn greatly and am grateful for whenever you contribute.

In the interests of full disclosure and transparency I think I should probably tell you who it is I am and am not.

I have read Thérèse Desqueyroux of François Mauriac at least three times over the past 50 years and so am pretty familiar with it. I am totally prepared to discuss it in detail with anyone choosing to do so. In fact I welcome the opportunity. I mention him here because I find this work symptomatic of the very palpable strain of melancholia and depression that runs through much of French literature past and present.

See Michel Houellebecq's work and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jUMxJDQgiQ

Both Mauriac and Houellebecq luxuriate in melancholia. But melancholia, for me at least, like most things is probably best handled in moderation.

Victor Hugo's L'Homme Qui Rit (The Man Who Laughs) has his major character throw himself off a ship at the very end of the book. I have had this book repeatedly suggested to me by a teacher of French literature in a high school in Strassbourg, France. However, knowing that the leading character commits suicide from the beginning pretty much puts a damper on the idea of my ever reading the book.

The plot line for Victor Hugo's Quatrevingt-treize
is for me very complex. I doubt I could read it in English and understand it. So that is another book I won't be reading.
see also https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8Mx-sY5aeE

Anyone who likes ice cream or literature must by definition have favorite likes and dislikes. All I have done here is mention a few of my dislikes and why. I sincerely welcome people explaining where I am wrong and I will seek to learn. But a person has to start somewhere and these comments are a starting point of sorts showing people my interests.

On the other hand, there are many French authors that I really do enjoy. Among them are:
-A. Nothomb***
-Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt
-Blandine Le Callet ***
-O. Mirbeau ***
-F. Sagan ***
-H. Malot ***
-B. Vian ***
-M. Duras ***
-A. Gide***
-and many more.

[MorkTheFiddle]

The Hugos, Balzacs, Sands, and Zolas of the French scene all have their moments, but by and large, they are all bores to me. (But so are Dickens and George Eliot, for that matter).
.

And contemporary Henry Fielding's masterwork is one of my favorite novels of any time period.

Not to be nit-picky, but Fielding was 18th Century, and I agree that Tom Jones is a masterpiece.

[MorkTheFiddle]

Policy Statement:
This thread is not about me; it is about people sharing interests in reading French with others similarly inclined. So please feel free to post, share, discuss what you read in French.

My own interests are 20th and 21st century fiction and non-fiction books by French authors but that is just me-one person.

Others should feel free to discuss with people whatever genre they choose.
///////////////////////////////////////////////////

MorkTheFiddle » Wed Oct 16, 2019 1:37 pm
You are one of the best read and most widely read members here in French, so it is not always clear how to engage you. You seem to prefer the 20th and 21st centuries, and I am with you on that. The long-winded novels of the 19th century, French and English and Spanish, wear me out, though for whatever reason the works of Austen, Dostoevsky and Tolsoy get a bye. The Hugos, Balzacs, Sands, and Zolas of the French scene all have their moments, but by and large, they are all bores to me. (But so are Dickens and George Eliot, for that matter).
My interests also have always been equally divided between fiction and nonfiction, and my extensive reading has been confined to my youth and my retirement days. The major hurdle, which you seem to face as well, is knowing what to read. As a young man I seemed to pick up titles to read by osmosis. (The same thing happened with popular music. ) Do the French have a contemporary Stephen J. Gould or Richard Feynman or Lynn Margulis?
For the moment, I have started Hugo's Quatrevingt-treize, taking Kanawai's judgment that Hugo's focus stays sharper than with his other novels. Also, as I have said before, Hugo's poetry is a different story from his novels. Hugo keeps his wits about himself when he writes poetry. I don't know where I am going with this. Maybe moving to France for a few years is the only answer for me, though that is not going to happen.

Many thanks for sharing your tastes and experiences; I always learn greatly and am grateful for whenever you contribute.

In the interests of full disclosure and transparency I think I should probably tell you who it is I am and am not.

I have read Thérèse Desqueyroux of François Mauriac at least three times over the past 50 years and so am pretty familiar with it. I am totally prepared to discuss it in detail with anyone choosing to do so. In fact I welcome the opportunity. I mention him here because I find this work symptomatic of the very palpable strain of melancholia and depression that runs through much of French literature past and present.

See Michel Houellebecq's work and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jUMxJDQgiQ

Both Mauriac and Houellebecq luxuriate in melancholia. But melancholia, for me at least, like most things is probably best handled in moderation.

Victor Hugo's L'Homme Qui Rit (The Man Who Laughs) has his major character throw himself off a ship at the very end of the book. I have had this book repeatedly suggested to me by a teacher of French literature in a high school in Strassbourg, France. However, knowing that the leading character commits suicide from the beginning pretty much puts a damper on the idea of my ever reading the book.

The plot line for Victor Hugo's Quatrevingt-treize
is for me very complex. I doubt I could read it in English and understand it. So that is another book I won't be reading.
see also https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8Mx-sY5aeE

Anyone who likes ice cream or literature must by definition have favorite likes and dislikes. All I have done here is mention a few of my dislikes and why. I sincerely welcome people explaining where I am wrong and I will seek to learn. But a person has to start somewhere and these comments are a starting point of sorts showing people my interests.

On the other hand, there are many French authors that I really do enjoy. Among them are:
-A. Nothomb***
-Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt
-Blandine Le Callet ***
-O. Mirbeau ***
-F. Sagan ***
-H. Malot ***
-B. Vian ***
-M. Duras ***
-A. Gide***
-and many more.

First of all, I will need time to digest your remarks and think about your favorites.
I like the comparison of reading to ice cream (for me, anything except strawberry! )
The reference to the movie of 93 is perfect because it deftly solves the problem of listening comprehension.
More later.
Cheers,
Mork

[Carmody]

Mork the Fiddle
First of all, I will need time to digest your remarks and think about your favorites.

Sir, you pay me the highest of compliments, and coming from you, a special honor.

[SCMT]

The Hugos, Balzacs, Sands, and Zolas of the French scene all have their moments, but by and large, they are all bores to me. (But so are Dickens and George Eliot, for that matter).
.

And contemporary Henry Fielding's masterwork is one of my favorite novels of any time period.

Not to be nit-picky, but Fielding was 18th Century, and I agree that Tom Jones is a masterpiece.

What's 100 years between friends?

[MorkTheFiddle]

Lately I ranted against French novels of the 19th century, so the only logical result was finding and buying a copy of the Folio Classique edition of Illusions perdues by Balzac, who published it serially between 1837 and 1843. Part of its allure was the fact that it sat on a three-dimensional shelf of a three-dimensional store with living if occasionally grumpy three-dimensional shop keepers (forgive please all these clichés). So I could pick it up and thumb through it and not be stymied by limitations or confined to a largely useless preface. Second, it appealed to me because I had never heard of it! How is this possible? But it turns out there is another Balzac novel I have never heard of, La Rabouilleuse (The Black Sheep (1842), so maybe there is more to this rascal Balzac than I suspected The final enticement was the fact, given the fact that I could read whatever part I wanted, I read the first couple of pages and realized that it was history as much as fiction, and gave me the idea of reading Balzac as historian rather than novelist. (The first couple of pages gives a bit of information about the printing press of the time). So I bought it. At $9.99, a hair under a penny a page, so a bargain.

Then for real history, there was La Grande Guerre des Frençais: 1914-1918 by Jean-Baptiste Duroselle. Almost 500 pages, so plenty detailed even for four years of war. From the point of view of a Frenchman, differing from most histories of either world war that I have read, which were written by Americans, Britains or Russians.

Also I am re-reading the 8th book of Herodotus's Histories, which is slow-going even though I read it once. Bowie's commentary is indispensable for me. I was reading Latin Stories, a collection of medieval stories by Thomas Wright, but the ocr process left so many errors it was too frustrating, given the fact that I cannot find a Latin spellchecker that actually works. So today I turned instead to Pericla Navarchi Magonis, which will be without I hope ocr detritus. I have been unable to find so far any recording of this work.

Finally for Spanish a brief interview with Gabriel García Márquez about literature and cinema .

B2 listening skills in Spanish, maybe advanced B1, will let you understand what he is saying in this interview--his Spanish is not difficult. Be prepared, however, for some incindiary political remarks near the end, which are not for discusson in this forum, please.

Cheers,
Mork

[PfifltriggPi]

La Comédie humaine, the connected universe of Balzac contained about 90 works, so it is not suprising that he wrote many things of which one has not heard. The French Wikipedia has a full list, and there are many within it of which I am fully ignorant.

(For anyone else who is reading this and is intrigued, Sarasine, a novella, is a pretty good introduction to the world and to Balzac's style. I quite enjoy it, and it's a short but still engaging read.)

In regards to a Latin spell checker, the one contained within Firefox (or at least the Linux version thereof) I have found to be pretty good, although it tends to dislike some Mediaeval variants,

[DaveAgain]

The final enticement was the fact, given the fact that I could read whatever part I wanted, I read the first couple of pages and realized that it was history as much as fiction, and gave me the idea of reading Balzac as historian rather than novelist. (The first couple of pages gives a bit of information about the printing press of the time). So I bought it. At $9.99, a hair under a penny a page, so a bargain.

I read Mr Zweig's biography of Balzac last year: Balzac, le roman de sa vie.

If I recall correctly Mr Zweig said that when Mr Balzac was researching Les Chouans (I think his first big success) he visited the Vendee, interviewed as many still living witnesses as he could and walked the areas where the action would play.