dornishscorpion Posted May 2, 2015 Share Posted May 2, 2015 Hey guys , i'll start by saying that i'm an avid reader of russian literature books , in fact my favourite author is Fyodor Dostoyevsky, second favorite Is Lev Tolstoy. And I fell in love so bad with their books , that it got me wanting to learn their language, in the hopes of one day being able of rereading their books in their native tongue (Russian people told me even they, need a dictionary when reading Tolstoy's war and peace though). Now although i'm originally a francophone , i have never really attempted seriously to dive into french literature, due to preconceived ideas ,and i think i am mostly discouraged because i associate it with some sort of bad vibes and feelings from my school days. But on the other hand i feel that i'm missing out a lot but not reading and re exploring french literature , also i'm starting to feel that i'm beginning to neglect mastering a language that is essential in the area where i live, for my speech in french lacks sophistication, impact and eloquence , except when i'm being technical at university ( as opposed to discussions and conversations). So i was wondering if you guys could recommend some books that you think a reader of "the brothers Karamazov" "war and peace" would particularly like. Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lummel Posted May 2, 2015 Share Posted May 2, 2015 Stendhal, Zola, Dumas you might find a little too light if Dostoevsky is your favourite, Camus - surely those sorts of fellows might make a starting point? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dornishscorpion Posted May 2, 2015 Author Share Posted May 2, 2015 I've reae Albert Camus's La peste it was good but no the sort of books that will make a huge impact on your mind or the way you think, at least for me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry of the Lawn Posted May 2, 2015 Share Posted May 2, 2015 I'd avoid Balzac's Maison du Chat Qui Bol or whatever the f it's called. Pretty much ruined my French Lit course sophomore year of college. For drama I really enjoyed Les Mouches. Rest of Sartre's stuff didn't interest me much. Same with Camus, although I did like the one short story he had about a soldier being sent out into the desert in Algeria to execute a prisoner. Guy de Maupassant has some good short stories too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olenna123 Posted May 2, 2015 Share Posted May 2, 2015 I've read Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, The stranger and The Fall by Camus and Nausea by Sartre. All of them were amazing. Camus and Sartre get into philosophical and existencialist territory I think you may enjoy those. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry of the Lawn Posted May 2, 2015 Share Posted May 2, 2015 Letranger made me contemplate putting my eyes out Cishaurim style. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry. Posted May 3, 2015 Share Posted May 3, 2015 Here are a few that I read in French: Assia Djebar, Fantasia Olympe Bhêly-Quenum, Le chant du lac Jean-Marie Blas de Robles, Là ou les tigres sont chez eux Jonathan Littell, Les Bienveillantes Maryse Condé. Moi, Tituba Sorciere Jean Echenoz, 14 Antoine Volodine, Terminus radieux Claudie Hunzinger, La langue des oiseaux There's some variety of themes here, but many of these do delve in some weighty topics without feeling too tedious. Or there's always Le petit prince, which I re-read every 2-3 years... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Highborn Maid Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 Dumas' Count of Monte Cristo nearly has the bombastic scope of War & Peace, with some pretty intense emotional outpourings reminiscent of Dostoevsky. I would go a step further and say it's the rich man's ASOIAF - a gruesome story of competing houses and their various subplots beautifully held together by its powerful theme of providence. The language is also pretty accessible, even an intermediate french speaker could probably read it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronEmperor Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 I'm currently reading The Phantom of Opera by Gaston Leroux. Although, I am reading the Black Coat Press adaptation by Jean-Marc & Randy Lofficier. http://www.blackcoatpress.com/phantom.htmA nice article on the adaptation: http://www.blackcoatpress.com/phantomreview.htmI'm absolutely loving it! If Tarzan is the template for superheroes, then the Phantom of the Opera is the template for caped vigilantes. So damn stealth. It's a very good book so far. I'm actually surprised how much I am enjoying it. Black Coat Press puts out some great stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Arryn Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 I started off with Hugo and Dumas, as well as some French Canadian stuff, a play called La Cuisine Des Anges (for reasons that escape me) and a few others. Camus and Sartre et al I only tackled well after having read the English versions first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horselover Fat Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 The only French stuff I have read in years has been Simenon and Jean Manchette. Not exactly philosophically challenging. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
girlfrommonday Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 Maurice Druon, Le Rois Maudits series. Amazing books, historically accurate and with the very addictive plot. GRRM said that this is the original Game of Thrones. Enough said ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Arryn Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 Maurice Druon, Le Rois Maudits series. Amazing books, historically accurate and with the very addictive plot. GRRM said that this is the original Game of Thrones. Enough said ;)Grrm actually wrote the forward in my copy, albeit in English. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
girlfrommonday Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 Grrm actually wrote the forward in my copy, albeit in English. Which edition is this? Is it available for kindle? I have a copy in my native language and english bookstores around me are probably not so amazingly equipped but I would very much like to read GRRM's preface. I read Druon years ago before Asoiaf and when I heard GRRM opinion, I remember my fangirl reaction "Yay, George and I read and love the same books" :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Météores D Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 You can start with Maupassant, he wrote many short stories like Le Horlat (horror) Le rouge et le noir, Stendhal (highly, highly recommended) La chartreuse de Parme is excellent too L'éducation sentimentale, Flaubert (the story is more compelling than Madame Bovary which is a character study) Balzac can be hit-or-miss (mostly miss tbh, he was broke all his life and had to write for money and quickly), Illusions perdues is his best work My favorites novels are War & Peace and In search of lost time by Proust, so yeah if you're ready for some wordy, long prose... you can give it a shot (good luck!) Gide and Mauriac might interest you a swell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Arryn Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 Which edition is this? Is it available for kindle? I have a copy in my native language and english bookstores around me are probably not so amazingly equipped but I would very much like to read GRRM's preface. I read Druon years ago before Asoiaf and when I heard GRRM opinion, I remember my fangirl reaction "Yay, George and I read and love the same books" :)It's the Harper version, tr. by Humphrey Hare, and it is the kindle version. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veltigar Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 You can start with Maupassant, he wrote many short stories like Le Horlat (horror) Yeah, I second Guy de Maupassant. What I have read of him (only a selection mind you) was great. I'm usually not a big fan short stories but he does a great job. You can never go wrong with Dumas. The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo are both absolute classics :) Candide by Voltaire is another absolute must read and it's pretty funny. Personally, I wasn't really a big fan of Madame de Bovary, but I do think it's one of those novels that you should read if you really want to explore French Literature. Another author that hasn't been mentioned yet and is a must read is François Rabelais. And you can go back even further to someone like Chrétien de Troyes if you're into medieval literature. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astromech Posted May 24, 2015 Share Posted May 24, 2015 Guy de Maupassant is extremely accessible. His short story, Boule de Suif is set during the Franco-Prussian War and would probably give a slight War and Peace feel. If you are looking for longer (much longer) works, Hugo's Les Miserables is a personal favorite. Emile Zola's les Rougon-Macquart series may interest you as well. Germinal, Nana, l'Assomoir, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronEmperor Posted May 26, 2015 Share Posted May 26, 2015 Nearly halfway through Phantom of the Opera. I'm finding all the Opera-centric portions to be very captivating, but the Raoul and Christine scenes are getting pretty tiresome. It appears it's finally going somewhere, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucindaMara Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 From French fiction, try Candide by Voltaire, The Charterhouse of Parma or The Red and the Black by Stendahl, Father Goriot by Balzac, Madame Bovary by Flaubert, Germinal by Zola, Remembrance of Things Past by Proust, No Exit by Sartre, The Mandarins by de Beauvoir, The Stranger by Camus. In Russian literature, I suggest A Hero of Our Time by Lermontov, Dead Souls by Gogol, Anna Karenina by Tolstoy, Petersburg by Bely, Oblomoov by Gontcharov, Fathers and Sons by Turgenev, and Mother by Gorki. Of course, you should not overlook Nabokov, who wrote in English but was forever Russian Lolita is a great book. Speak, Memory is a memoir of his life in Russia. Enjoy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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