Favourite french author?

[Kyriakos]

I have read a few, Baudelaire, Nerval, Gaultier, Hugo, and some later ones which i didnt like so much, but my favourite has to be Guy De Maupassant. Nietzsche once wrote that the Paris of his day was full of great psychologist-writers.
I particularly love all of the dark stories by De Maupassant, although unfortunately he became mad and died so young...

And you, who is your favourite french author? :)

[LuggageFan]

Either Andre Gide, or Anais Nin. Not exactly deep stuff, but entertaining and evocative - both wrote stuff that actually makes you feel like you are in another world. Love it, love it.

[Barbarous]

My favorite has to be the scatological Rabelais. Gargantua et Pantagruel has remained one of my all time favorite novels, despite its age. Although Flaubert, Baudelaire, Proust, and Verlaine all have some of the most superb prose and poetry I have ever read!

[LitNetIsGreat]

Yep probably De Maupassant for me too, Bel-ami and his shorts in particular. Though I also love Balzac, Baudelaire, Flaubert, Zola too. I also want to get back to Proust again as I read the first one a few summers ago and had to forgo the rest because of time, ah that lost time, where does it go?

Speaking of French authors, I have the Verlaine knocking around me now as we're reading him for the next poetry book club. Free free to join in, it's in the poetry section. :thumbs_up

[Alexander III]

I would say Rimbaud followed by Baudelaire

[Kyriakos]

To those of you who have read Proust: i have a collection of his shorter stories, can you suggest which one i should read first? :)

[stlukesguild]

Baudelaire, Proust, and Montaigne.

I would not be able to chose between the three.:cheers2:

[mayneverhave]

Baudelaire, Proust, and Montaigne.

I would not be able to chose between the three.:cheers2:

I'm having trouble getting into Baudelaire. I picked up a bilingual edition of Les Fleurs du Mal, but haven't read much of it.

Proust, without a doubt. As for Montaigne, I just ordered his Essays.

[Alexander III]

I'm having trouble getting into Baudelaire. I picked up a bilingual edition of Les Fleurs du Mal, but haven't read much of it.

Proust, without a doubt. As for Montaigne, I just ordered his Essays.


For Baudelaire, I think a certain mood is required when reading, he writes of the filthy bleak city world, pessimism flowing like wine. You need a certain mood to truly appreciate most of his work.

[Virgil]

I guess Flaubert if I had to choose. Or maybe Stendhal.

[sixsmith]

Baudelaire.

[LitNetIsGreat]

I'm having trouble getting into Baudelaire. I picked up a bilingual edition of Les Fleurs du Mal, but haven't read much of it.

I would be surprised at that.

For me, a word or phase, a mood evoked by him in one of his poems flicked at random has the potential to have me gasping in joyful melancholy.

I think, I sometimes see the worst of myself in Baudelaire or he captures a feeling like that anyway, hard to explain.

Aggh, I dunno, this is why I don't normally drink wine, I make no sense. A bath is needed I think...:blush:

[_Shannon_]

I dunno I really like Flaubert and Stendhal. But I also really like Hugo and Dumas, who despite their romanticism are just an awful lot of fun to read. And well then there's Proust....

[Hawkman]

What? No hits for Moliere (playwrights count as authors, surely) and Voltaire? Zola's good for good old fashioned lefties I suppose. What about Satre, can't go leaving the Existentialist out. and of course there's always de Sade... :D

[dfloyd]

Rabelais, Moliere, Villon, Baudelair, Hugo, Zola, Rostand, Merimee Prosper, Anatole France, Jean Cocteau, Francois Sagon, Daudet, Baudelaire, Balzac, Flaubert, Camus, Rene Maran, Gautier, Alexandre Dumas fils, and Alexandre Dumas pere and probably a few more that I can't remember right now. For sheer enjoyment, I would pick Dumas pere. He is no slackered. He stands above them all in books sold and translated.

[Kyriakos]

Speaking of Prospere Merimee, is there any english etext of his work "Loki"?

:)

[stlukesguild]

I would pick Dumas pere. He is no slackered. He stands above them all in books sold and translated.

Of course it helps when you have a slew of ghost writers fleshing out your plots into full-fledged novels... especially when Nerval is among them.

Moliere? Oui!

de Sade? Non! All the aesthetic worth of Mein Kampf.:sick:

[mortalterror]

1)Racine: France's answer to Shakespeare. Classic clarity and precision.
2)Baudelaire: the father of modern poetry, decadent, and sensual.
3)Montaigne: wisdom and philosophy wrapped in a charming personality
4)Flaubert: concise and polished in every detail
5)Hugo: shining lyrical romantic prose poetry and plays.
6)Dumas: born storyteller, fecund with action and invention, a thrill a minute.
7)La Rochefoucould: the cynics answer to the worldly wisdom of Montaigne.
8)De Maupassant: France's greatest short story writer.

[stlukesguild]

mortal... I was waiting for you to show up with Racine. I still must give him another look. I still haven't seen his brilliance yet.:sosp:

[Desolation]

Louis-Ferdinand Celine, without a doubt.

Then there's Sartre, Camus, Stendhal, Rimbaud, Voltaire, and Proust.

[Olga4real]

I would like to add to your list Antoine de Saint-Exupery!

[de Renal]

Zola, Hugo, Stendhal - in that order!
And modern ones - Nothomb, Houellebecq.

[mal4mac]

Montaigne

[wessexgirl]

Zola and de Maupassant.

[Olga4real]

What about George Sand?

[stlukesguild]

What about George Sand?

Who?:biggrin5:

[dfloyd]

but most critics admit he wrote most of the dialog. It is interesting to note, that none of the supposed authors he had pen some of his works were able to make it on their own. Personally, I would rather read one of the key chapters of Monte Cristo than all the poetry of Baudelaire and Rimbaud combined.

[Olga4real]

What about George Sand?

Who?:biggrin5:

I am really sad if you are not familiar with her, I thought it is a literature forum and it is not necessary to explain to anybody here who George Sand was. Ok, maybe she is not the best French writer but definitely one of the best female authors.

Are you familiar with Chopin?

P.S. We are not supposed to argue about tastes here, are we?

[Kyriakos]

Wasnt George Sand a friend of Flaubert & someone Baudelaire claimed was "possessed'? :)

[LuggageFan]

What about George Sand?

I have her The Black City on my bookshelf, but like many of my other books, I never seem able to find time to actually read it - would you recommend it? If not, which of her works would you recommend?

For the record, don't laugh, but I was first familiarized with her name as a child browsing through The Book Of Lists, and she was naturally an author whose works were banned by the Vatican on their infamous Index. Which, of course, means it must be really good stuff, lol. :)

you know what? I just finished what I was reading, and The Black City comes next! Will write a review, too. :)

[dfloyd]

I only know that she dressed in male attire frequently and was purported to be the mistress of Cornel Wilde (Chopin).

[Emil Miller]

I only know that she dressed in male attire frequently and was purported to be the mistress of Cornel Wild (Chopin).

She was indeed the mistress of Chopin( Cornell Wilde featured in the American imagination of the 1940/50s and is unknown to the present day generation; as is much else). However, we can identify her as an early example of exhibitionism and, whatever her literary qualities, not to be taken seriously.

[JuniperWoolf]

Like every scholarly filly my age, I have a thing for Rimbaud.

[stlukesguild]

I am really sad if you are not familiar with her, I thought it is a literature forum and it is not necessary to explain to anybody here who George Sand was. Ok, maybe she is not the best French writer but definitely one of the best female authors.

I am well aware of who Ms. Sand was. Did you catch the::biggrin5:? I have her Haunted Pool on my shelf next to my volumes of Alexandre Dumas... neither of whom I imagine are truly major writers... French... female... or otherwise.

Are you familiar with Chopin?

Her lover was a far greater artist, albeit within the realm of music.

P.S. We are not supposed to argue about tastes here, are we?

Why not?:devil:

[stlukesguild]

but most critics admit he wrote most of the dialog. It is interesting to note, that none of the supposed authors he had pen some of his works were able to make it on their own.

That depends upon what you mean by "making it". I suppose if you are judging works of literature upon the financial success of the writer, well then certainly you are right. If you are judging purely on aesthetic terms... well then a good many might argue that Nerval most certainly succeeded quite well... establishing an interesting niche... in poetry and prose... that leads toward Baudelaire, Surrealism, and even Kafka.

Personally, I would rather read one of the key chapters of Monte Cristo than all the poetry of Baudelaire and Rimbaud combined.

And to me there are poems by Baudelaire, Rimbaud, and Verlaine that are worth more the whole of Dumas... although he makes for a fun read.

[Olga4real]

I am really sad if you are not familiar with her, I thought it is a literature forum and it is not necessary to explain to anybody here who George Sand was. Ok, maybe she is not the best French writer but definitely one of the best female authors.

I am well aware of who Ms. Sand was. Did you catch the::biggrin5:? I have her Haunted Pool on my shelf next to my volumes of Alexandre Dumas... neither of whom I imagine are truly major writers... French... female... or otherwise.

Are you familiar with Chopin?

Her lover was a far greater artist, albeit within the realm of music.

P.S. We are not supposed to argue about tastes here, are we?

Why not?:devil:

Dear Stlukesguild, I noticed your smiley in the end of your question and regarded it as indication of irony or even sarcasm. This Thread is called 'Favourite French writers' isn't it? Sand is one of my favourites, however I read her short stories several years ago - more than 30(!) - so I need to refresh my memories to be able to say anything regarding her talent. Until then I post some views on her work from other writers of her period:


Flaubert, who was by no means an indulgent or forbearing critic, held unabashed admiration for her, as did Marcel Proust.
Honoré de Balzac, another French novelist who knew Sand personally, once said that if someone thought George Sand wrote badly, it was because their own standards of criticism were inadequate. He also noted that her treatment of imagery in her works showed that her writing had an exceptional subtlety, having the ability to 'virtually put the image in the word'.
I really love this one:


"There is only one happiness in life, to love and be loved." George Sand

[free]

Alexandre Dumas, father. I love all his novels, although he is not considered to be the first class writer, I admire his talent to be so entertaining storyteller.

[wordeater]

Victor Hugo. The lesser known of his three novels, "The Man Who Laughs" is as good as the other two, "Les Misérables" and "The Hunchback of Notre Dame".

[Whifflingpin]

favourite? Marcel Pagnol or Maurice Leblanc.

[Darcy88]

Camus is one of my favourite few writers from any country overall, so he would be first for me. Then it is close between Baudelaire and Rimabud, not really sure who I'd put ahead of who between those two.

[free]

I, also, like Jacques Prévert's poetry.

[Dark Muse]

I have not thus far read a great many French authors, but going by what I have read I would say Dumas and Guy De Maupassant

[Iain Sparrow]

Jules Verne... loved his stories as a kid.
Tried reading Les Misérables by that other French writer, you know, the one who gets all the respect. My god, it was awfully cumbersome reading. I did however see the musical performed in Toronto, and that was alright.

[Mystrx]

I suppose Hugo. Then Zola and Proust.

[johnnywalkitoff]

Celine and Reverdy come to mind

[Jackson Richardson]

I'm going on holiday in France in a few weeks and I usually pack a number of books to read. I haven't read Maupassant since school, so i've just bought a selection of short stories. (I was enjoying Somerset Maugham and thought I might as well read his inspiration.)

I got the French text of Racine's plays on my ipad - from yesterday - and slowly reading Britannicus in the Penguin translation line by line and in the original. It's slow work but I think the centime is beginning to drop with me and Racine.

I read a lot of Balzac in my day - he was a set text at school - and I'll re-read something by him, probably Le Père Goriot,

Nobody has mentioned Colette and I'll try her again.

But there is something a bit un-fun about all French literature to me. The only exception I can think of is Georges Perec and Life - A User's Manual. But despite his playing with structure (which he might have got from Sterne) he is very anglophile.

[Pike Bishop]

Favorite French Authors/Poets/Writers

1. Marcel Proust
2. Jacques Derrida
3. Stephane Mallarme
4. Gustave Flaubert
5. Honore de Balzac
6. Charles Baudelaire
7. Jean-Francois Lyotard
8. Arthur Rimbaud
9. Maurice Merlau-Ponty
10. Jean Genet

[Eiseabhal]

Tournier, Dumas, Hugo, Celine, st Exupery

[ladderandbucket]

St Exupery.

Everyone knows him for The Little Prince, which may be the best children's book ever written. His autobiographical novels are less well known but just as special. Flight to Arras is surely one of the great ww2 novels.

[Auddfoote]

I really like Mr . Jules verne...where he has had a wide impact on the abstract cutting edge and on surrealism.

[ajvenigalla]

Maybe Victor Hugo

[biblophile]

I love De Maupassant as well. he is likely one of the best short story writer of his generation. the only one who holds a candle to Chekov. the Horla is one of my favorites.