French Literature

[FairieQueen]

I am really stuck. I have been advised (to help impreove my french) to read some classic/famous french novels. Unfortunately I don't know any!! I have tried searching the internet but have had no success. ( :crash: ) I would really appreciate it if someone could help me out. I enjoy all genres, but I prefere romance.

Please, please help!!

xSx

[SleepyWitch]

I'd recommend the following books:
- Madam Bovary by Flaubert. (I read it in English, so I don't know if it's difficult to read in French, but give it a try)

- Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupery

- La Princesse De Cleves by Madame De La Fayette

[genoveva]

Camus' The Stranger and The Fall, Sarte's Nausea. Was Voltaire French? Verne?

Oh and yes, Charles Baudelaire

[FairieQueen]

Thank you so much. They all sound great to me. :) I'll start reading straight away.
Thank you again, and any more suggestions will be greatfully received.

xSx

[Whifflingpin]

Taking note of "to improve my French" and "I prefer romance:"

I'd agree with Le Petit Prince, a children's book that can be read by adults, or is it vice versa, I'm not sure - it was a cult book amongst French students in the late sixties. Other works by the same author (Terre des Hommes and Vol de Nuit) are fictionalised autobiography describing early aviation (depicting the people, not by any means a technical treatise.)

"Le Grand Meaulnes" by Alain-Fournier is one of the great (and, in France at least, famous) tales of love and loss.

How about books by Francoise Sagan - Bonjour Tristesse, etc. These are romances/coming-of-age/predicament-of-youth and so on, if you're being pretentious. Otherwise they are just damned good reads.

I like Jean Raspail, for stylishly written end-of-civilisation-as-we-know-it prophecies of doom. Try "Sept Cavaliers..." to start, it's short and poetic.

If you like to be depressed, there is Michel Houellebeqc, more doomed and less stylish than Raspail, oh and funny too. Try "Extension du Domaine de la Lutte" ("Whatever")

Did I mention Francoise Sagan?

Omigod, I forgot Pagnol - Jean de Florette, Manon des Sources, Cesar, Marius, Fanny etc. Light and lovely stuff.

oh, and Sagan
.

[mono]

For a starter's novel, you can certainly try Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert, Les Misérables or Notre Dame de Paris by Victor Hugo. Others above gave very good suggestions, too, and I also want to lastly add anything by Honoré de Balzac (perhaps Le Mouton Noir, or The Black Sheep), or anything by Stendhal (I have heard especially good things of Le Rouge Et Le Noir and La Chartreuse De Parme).
Good luck, and happy reading!`

[Bastet]

When I was taking French in college they had us read this novel by Colette titled La Chatte. It's about a couple who has problems because of a cat. I thought it was pretty entertaining and it wasn't that difficult to understand, since I was a medium level learner when I read it. In case you feel like reading something light...

[superunknown]

You can't find web sites on French literature on the internet? You haven't looked very hard. If you type "French literature" into Google you get tons of informative websites. Anyway, here's some of the classics:

Honore de Balzac - Le Pere Goriot
Gustave Flaubert - Madame Bovary
Guy de Maupassant - Pierre et Jean
Moliere - Tartuffe
Voltaire - Candide
Charles Baudelaire - Les fleurs du mal
Victor Hugo - Notre Dame de Paris, Les Miserables
Alain-Fournier - Le Grand Meaulnes
Emile Zola - Germinal, Nana
Alexandre Dumas - Les trois mousquetaires, Le comte de Monte Cristo
Albert Camus - L'etranger, La peste, La chute
Jean-Paul Sartre - La nausee
Boris Vian - J'irai cracher sur vos tombes, Et on tuera tous les affreux, L'ecume des jours

[Woland]

I would suggest Madame Bovary by Flaubert or
any Dumas

[Demona]

the books mentioned suit quite well. However, I wouldn't call Camus "Stranger" something light. As i am doing the same thing that is improving my French by reading i'd rather recommend Sagan's for example 'Bonjour Tristesse'. Interesting and you don't have to peeking into a dictionary for every second word. And also don't forget about Simenon. BUt that's not light...probably.

[Hyacinth Girl]

I am not all that up on French, but some favorites from past courses:
French Women Writers of the 19th Century-
Corrine, or Italy - Mme. de Stael
Indiana - George Sand
French Contemporary Novel-
The Ogre - Michel Tournier (I think the title is Le Roi des Aulnes in French)
The Scapegoat, The Fairy Gunmother - Daniel Pennac
Hope this helps

[superunknown]

However, I wouldn't call Camus "Stranger" something light.
I would. The language is very simple and it's short and easy to read. I finished it in one sitting.

If you're looking for something a bit more modern, Boris Vian is one of the best French writers of the 20th century. He was a novelist as well as a jazz critic, playwright, poet, and songwriter. Some of his books, especially "J'irai cracher sur vos tombes," are quite violent and disturbing, but "L'ecume des jours" is a great and very sad love story (with magical realism added to boot).

[Demona]

I would. The language is very simple and it's short and easy to read. I finished it in one sitting.


By saying that it is not light I didn't mean it's length and language complexity. I was referring to the content...

[Schokokeks]

Bonjour, FairieQueen,

Great that you want to have a go at French lit! :nod: Here's is what I would recommend you:

> Starting somewhat chronologically, if you'd like to read something short but very witty, there's is the Renaissance writer Michel de Montaigne and his Essais that became the model of most modern essays afterwards. His topics include marriage, romantic love, education (very up-to-date, his ideas here!), the conquest of America,... His language is very clear and his mind surely ahead of this time ,which makes him very interesting today, but as you asked for novels, I'll go on here recommending more :D:
> One of the few French women writers was Madame de la Fayette, as SleepyWitch already suggested, you could start with La Princesse de Clèves, certainly a classic novel, considered to be the first French historic novel. She impressed her contemporaries as well as Voltaire and Camus with her deft descriptions of emotions and adventures.
> Next classic on stage is Molière. His comedies are very hilarious and worth reading. However, in my opinion it takes a certain level of command of French to be able to understand all the puns and hints that account for the plays. Maybe you might want to save him for later ;)
> Another classic, largely read in French schools as well, is La Fontaine and his Fables. The are short pieces and fine if you're open for the fairy-tale-kind of writing, but then again it depends on your level of French, but wouldn't do any damage to have a short glance at one...*remembers again that you wanted to know about French -novels- and quickly skips her page in mind*...
> Next French writer who made himself read all over the world is Stendhal. His famous novel is called Le Rouge et le Noir and the hero is a ambitious, passionate man born into the wrong social class. As he climbes the social ladder, he becomes more and more unconscionable, plays with love and women and ... yeah, you'll see! ;) Strongly recommended, that one!
> Gustave Flaubert and his Madame Bovary show what happens if one marries a bore :D Very stirring, but I wouldn't start with that one yet keep it in mind.
> Guy de Maupassant and his short stories, however, would provide for a very good start into French literature, I'd say. They portray the small people, social outsiders, etc. If you like his style, you could give his novel Bel Ami a try, it isn't suuuch a long read.
> Next one, one you've surely heard of and one of my favourites, is Jules Verne, the French father of science-fiction :D Most of his novels have been made into films and his unique characters really stay with you for a long time. I recommend Le Tour du monde en quarte-vingt jours and Voyage au centre de la Terre but you'll have many others to choose from, his short stories are also quite good.
> As for the modern writers, Camus would be a good idea, if you don't mind a more or less heavy and philosophical content, as already discussed above. Probably the best one to start with would be Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt. His novels are short and written in a simple style, but provide some food-for-thought nevertheless, especially concerning religious tolerance. I wouldn't call them great literature (same for Le Petit Prince, in my opinion), but I find them very readable. I like Monsieur Ibrahim et les Fleurs du Coran and Oscar et la dame rose best. As they so short, you'll have plenty of time left for the "big literature" :D.
> In case you're familiar with Antigone by Sophocles, there's an excellent modern "remake" of the classic by Jean Anouilh, also called Antigone. It shamelessly reveals the scences and dialogues between the original characters that Sophocles left out. Very good, indeed, but then again, not a novel...
> And finally: Recently I read Un aller simple by Didier van Cauwelaert, a modern novel about an rootless young man who grew up on the streets of Marseille and is now to be deported back to his country of origin, indicated Marocco at random in his counterfeited passport. So the authorities provide him with an accompagnee to help him to re-integrate, and the two of them drive to a lonely desert village neither of them has ever seen. Quite hilarious, quite psychologically dramatic at times, good for the practise of more modern French.

However, I'd recommend you for a start to keep away from Baudelaire's poetry or anything by Zola, as the first is difficult to read if you want to improve your French and the latter is known for his detailed and complex language full of images, which is great to read, but would frustrate you if you're looking for a smooth introduction to the written language. But then again, I don't know about your level of French. You'd better have a look for yourself, and have fun reading! :D

P.S.: What is more, if you'd really like to read all the classics that are compulsary reading at uni, for example, let me know and I'll send you the reading list (I didn't manage to attach it to this file :rolleyes:). Hope you'll enjoy yourself ;)

[SleepyWitch]

i didn't know you study French Lit Schokokeks.
i read some French books (in English) when i was taking "The European Novel" in England... i liked the French books better than the English ones! too bad I'm studying English and don't speak any French!

I'd recommend Stendhal too.. only read a couple of chapters so far, but I loved them.. will finish it some day...

could you send me that list too?

[Mark F.]

A couple of good French authors who haven't been named are Boris Vian and André Gide, they're not easy to read though so it depends on your level of French.

[mono]

Starting somewhat chronologically, if you'd like to read something short but very witty, there's is the Renaissance writer Michel de Montaigne and his Essais that became the model of most modern essays afterwards. His topics include marriage, romantic love, education (very up-to-date, his ideas here!), the conquest of America,... His language is very clear and his mind surely ahead of this time ,which makes him very interesting today, but as you asked for novels, I'll go on here recommending more :D
I love the essays of Michel de Montaigne; among many other thinkers, within our other than this era, I find him quite neglected, unless someone specially studies in philosophy or French.
Certainly, FairieQueen, if you felt like going the 'extra mile,' so to speak, and though you search more for fiction, I would think it difficult to dislike Montaigne. As Schokokeks said, his thought seemed far ahead of his time, and his philosophy absolutely appears more humanistic and down-to-earth, as opposed to other thinkers.
Happy reading!

[superunknown]

A couple of good French authors who haven't been named are Boris Vian and André Gide, they're not easy to read though so it depends on your level of French.
I mentioned Vian in both of my posts, quite extensively in my second one. I haven't read any Gide though, but I've heard about him.

There's also Marcel Proust, but that's not the kind of stuff you read to keep up your French. It's far too dense for that.

[Mark F.]

Hmm, sorry. Must have missed those.

[Schokokeks]

Dear Sleepy, actually, I don't study French (yet ;)), but I visited the University of Strasbourg close to my city and participated in some courses on French lit during the two years while I was doing my Abitur. I liked it very much so far (my French classes were horrible and I felt I needed some more to suffice my appetite for that language :D), but I'll now embark for uni to study English, Latin and Greek and I'll postpone the French for later and keep reading as much as I can meanwhile ;)

However, I failed miserably when trying to attach the list to a private message, so I'll just try to attach it here and hope it works for everyone to open.
Attached: Reading list of compulsory titles for students of French

[SleepyWitch]

thanks for the list...
i didn't know Abitur students can take part in univ courses... did you just audit them (Gasthörer) or was it a special programme for gifted students or something?
andra moi enepe musa etc something blabla ponlynchtropos.. bla bla hos mala pola .. blabla.. :) hehe that's all that's left of my 3 years of Greek at school :) except some funny perfects like pefanka heheheh :)

[Schokokeks]

... did you just audit them (Gasthörer) or was it a special programme for gifted students or something?
andra moi enepe musa etc something blabla ponlynchtropos.. bla bla hos mala pola .. blabla.. :)

hehe, that looks quite odd written in latin letters :p
Actually, I just sent an email to one of the French professors there and gave him a report of my situation and asked whether he would mind me participating from time to time. He was very understanding and kind and enthusiastic about someone who shares his own enthusiasm :D, so he agreed to my assisting some of his lectures. However, I wasn't admitted to those seminars that were already crowded, of course, but I profited a lot from that time nevertheless.
Hoorah for French literature! :banana: ;)

[SleepyWitch]

wow, you set a shining example for my future pupils :)
did you have any teachers who encouraged initiatives like this or were you running away from bad teachers? oops, maybe this should go in the teacher forums

[Schokokeks]

gee, thanks, Sleepy, I'm blushing! :blush: :)
No, I wasn't encouraged by any teachers (they usually tended to consider me crazy :)), I felt that high-school classes weren't giving me enough, my notion of French lit, e.g., being somewhat different from the teachers' (we read only abridged texts, and abrigded ones in the worst way, never discussed a novel/text, because there weren't many who had read it anyways, and so forth). So I turned to university, considering it to be the ultimate stronghold of knowledge :lol:, and found it was true :D
I do not doubt in the least that you shall be a far better teacher than those I came across :nod:.

[bouquin]

Try also André Gide and François Mauriac. They were Nobel laureats in Literature (1947 and 1952, respectively). Bonne lecture!

[JackShea]

" Next French writer who made himself read all over the world is Stendhal. His famous novel is called Le Rouge et le Noir and the hero is a ambitious, passionate man born into the wrong social class. As he climbes the social ladder, he becomes more and more unconscionable, plays with love and women and ... yeah, you'll see! Strongly recommended, that one!"

Excellent suggestion. I am reading the book now and it is very well written. It was recommended to me when I was in the south of France by a former Professor at UCLA. Alas, I am reading it in English as I do not speak French!?

[blackbird_9]

Phedre by Jean Racine
It's a play. I read this in French III and really enjoyed it. It's an easier read than Camus, but still beautifully written and very entertaining.

[SaGe]

Camus' The Stranger and The Fall, Sarte's Nausea. Was Voltaire French? Verne?

Is the pope catholic? :)

And if you're truly insane, À la recherche du temps perdu [In Search of Lost Time] by Marcel Proust is maybe the best book ever written. It's over four thousand pages, and would undoubtedly increase your competence of the French Language significantly.

[Gibran]

I've read nearly all André Gide's books except The Notebooks of Andre Walter(there's no version here), what fancies me first is Travels of Urien.I think his best work,beyond all doubt, is Fruits of the Earth Ⅰ.

[papercut]

Hm, I'm not sure about your level of French, but most of the historical titles suggested here may be very difficult for a beginning reader because they're not written in common French. They're written in the passé simple. Anyway, Le Petit Prince is beautiful, sweet, and short. That's not too advanced. L'Etranger by Camus is a good novel to explore your French, but I'll warn you, it's a bit gloomy.

If you have a good grasp of the language, I would recommend Balzac's Eugenie Grandet, which is a little bit of a romance. Hugo's Les Misérables is beautiful, moving, and romantic, but the French might be too much. Also, if you like a sense of humor in your reading, you might like Molière. I loved him. :D

[olichka]

I am really stuck. I have been advised (to help impreove my french) to read some classic/famous french novels. Unfortunately I don't know any!! I have tried searching the internet but have had no success. ( :crash: ) I would really appreciate it if someone could help me out. I enjoy all genres, but I prefere romance.

Please, please help!!

xSx

" Le Comte de Monte Cristo " isn't very difficult to read, try that.

Other than that, in order to improve your French, try going on a French immersion course of some sort, or take an oral French course. Reading can help a lot with building your vocabulary, but you can only improve your conversational skills by taking a conversational course.