#french books

[triflingthing]

books at a market in montpellier

[frenchlitclub]

👋 Hi all! I appreciate your responses on the book club idea so far! Now, if among those interested, we have a disparity in the levels of reading comprehension, I would divide the club in two groups : one of people who can already read whole books in French/fluent/native french speakers, and another group of people currently learning the language who want to practice reading in French and maybe would like the support of others in the same situation.

Each group would read a different book every month to be better suited to both levels; and at the end of the month, we can share our thoughts between groups in various ways. (If done on discord, we could set up voice chat sessions, or have meetings where we read a summary of the book we read, or our review of it...).

I personally would love to be in a group with fellow native french speakers who want to read more french. 99% of what I read is in English, and I've been wanting to reconnect and re-spark interest in my first language. So if that also feels relatable to any of you, you would be so welcome to join this. It would be nice to have a variety of people there.

❤️Like this post if you would like to join, and tell me in the notes/ask/DM if you'd be on Tumblr and/or Discord so I can plan accordingly. Thank you! ✨

[amanufacturedheaven]

The First Vampire Was a Lesbian.

Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu

Source

[adarkrainbow]

Huh... I just discovered there was a recent French book that is a Hansel and Gretel retelling... that takes place in Brazil and is called "Hansel and Gretel and Saci Pererê"

The story is that Hansel and Gretel are now children of a gold-searcher living in Brazil... One day as the hungry children wander in the woods they meet the Saci Pererê, who decides to takes them on a magical adventure through time, to discover several of the great historical figures of Brazil - with food and sweets being a running theme unifying the whole book... At least that's what the back cover says.

@ariel-seagull-wings @themousefromfantasyland

EDIT: Wow okay... so apparently this is but one of an ENTIRE series of books centered around traditional European fairytales doing a crossover with either fairytale characters of non-European stories, or folkloric beings of Europe not usually seen in literary tales. Beyond the one above we have...

Donkey Skin and the Tanukis

Beauty and Ganesh

Red Riding Hood and the Chinese Dragon

Bluebeard and B'rer Rabbit

Cinderella and the Fire Bird

Little Thumbling and the Minotaur

Godilocks and Jean de l'Ours

Snow White and the Korrigans

The One Thousand and One Nights of Sleeping Beauty

Wow... Just wow. I definitively need to get my hands onto one of those

[maddiesbookshelves]

Book haul 📚✨

I rarely buy stuff I haven't read before nowadays and I'm proud to say that these did NOT disappoint! The Yakuza's Guide to Babysitting is the continuation of a series but it was probably my favorite volume so far

Book titles and little descriptions under the cut

Rivages Lointains - Anaïs Flogny

Chicago, 1930's. Jules's life gets shaken up when his path crosses Adam's, an influential member of the local mafia. Together, they will do anything to rise to the top

Rebis - Carlotta Dicataldo (Illustration) & Irene Marchesini (translated by Claudia Migliaccio)

Shunned by his village and his own father, a young albino takes refuge with a witch and her community

Everyday is a Good Day, Noeko Nishi (translated by Alexandre Fournier)

Toki and Chihiro lost touch 5 years ago. Tragedy brings them back together and Chihiro helps Toki take care of Asahi, his deceased sister's child

The Yakuza's Guide to Babysitting vol.7, Tsukiya (translated by Aline Kukor)

Where a member of a yakuza clan is tasked with taking care of his boss' daughter (comedy and feelings ensues)

[belovedapollo]

The Little Prince 40th Anniversary cover ⭐ reblog ok, don't repost

[holmesoldfellow]

"Dans la tête de Sherlock Holmes – L’Affaire du ticket scandaleux" ("Inside the Mind of Sherlock Holmes – The Scandalous Ticket Affair") by Cyril Lieron and Benoît Dahan (published by Ankama, 2019)

[dooareyastudy]

Lais, Marie de France, around 1165.

I finished reading those last week. Marie de France is the first poet known to have written in vernacular french. We know very little about her and her life. Even her presence at the court of Henry II of England seems to remain uncertain.

The Lais are short stories in old French, inspired by the tales of Breton minstrels. They are about love rather than adventure : it's a light reading, fun at times and touching all over.

Concisely written, it's easy to tell the Lais were meant to be read out loud. Sadly, I read those in modern french (old french is much harder to read than I first thought) and the "translation" lost the rhyming, therefore a part of the beauty of the Lais.

[uwmspeccoll]

Fine Press Friday 

This week we are sharing Notre Dame de Paris, by Victor Hugo, translated by Jessie Haynes, illustrated by Flemish artist Frans Masereel (1889-1972), and printed by French printer and typographer Robert Coulouma for the members of the Limited Editions Club in 1930. Victor Hugo’s novel Notre-Dame de Paris was originally published in Paris in 1831, and first published in English in 1833.

This edition, illustrated in wood-engravings by Masereel, is printed in two volumes which are divided into 11 books, each book begins with one full page illustration and a chapter header. Including the frontispiece there are 23 unique illustrations.

Masereel worked primarily in France. He produced many wordless graphic novels in relief printmaking and has been described as a father of the modern graphic novel. He was also key figure in the revival of the relief print, which has been used to illustrate books since the introduction of moveable type in the 15th century. Masereel’s cleanly cut, easy-to-read relief prints compliment the typography making it well suited to the book format.

The paper is Velin d’Arches and he book was set in Monotype Bodoni and printed by Robert Coulouma, master printer in Argenteuil, under the supervision of artist and designer Henri Barthélemy. Both Volumes are bound in a soft paper cover.

Our copy is a gift of Loryn Ramadka, from the collection of Austin Frederic Lutter.  Printed in an edition of 1500 copies, our copy is number 1113, the number for long-standing LEC member Austin Fredric Lutter of Waukesha, Wisconsin. This set is signed by the illustrator in the colophon. 

View more Limited Edition Club posts. 

View more Fine Press Friday posts.

View another Fran Masereel post. 

Teddy, Special Collections Graduate Intern

[aliteraryprincess]

Looking for French Books

One of my goals for next year (yes it’s February and I’m already planning for 2024; leave me alone) is to read some books in French. But that requires getting some books in French first, and I have to say, I don’t really know where to start other than The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. 

So, French-speaking side of booklr, what are some books you would recommend?       

[littleredwritinghoodsclub]

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry 🌹

November's book of the month has been decided! We are reading "The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, "a short story of a man who crash lands his plane in a remote part of the desert. The man meets a little fellow, The Little Prince, who regales him with his tales of his travels around the universe." Synopsis taken from Goodreads. This story was chosen for this month due to lots of members participating in NanoWriMo. It's only about 93 pages long with lots of illustrations by the author himself, so those who want to get some reading in this month, but don't have time for a regular-sized novel can still do so.

Happy November Everyone!!

ε (*´･ω･) з

Interested in learning about our club? You can read about our club activities at this post linked here.

divider taken from @cafekitsune

[frenchlitclub]

Here it is! The French book club is now waiting for you! 🤗

@seven-pillows @tangerinefrictave @belgianfry @animabelle58 @mhvy @none-ofthisnonsense @butchdazai @herbeloveve @captaindelilahbard @genius-dumbass @fablesdelajoie @wallflowerjournal @germanlang @amrass @tickettobarcelona-blog @impossiblebiscuit @cruxpirate

[letsstudieren]

On a fini Arsène Lupin Gentleman Cambrioleur avec @romansfeuilletons! (merci bcp pour les e-mails!)

Et j'ai a-do-ré!

Dès le premier chapitre, c'était fascinant ne pas savoir où ou quand Arsène apparaîtrait. Parfois il était évident, mais cela ne diminuait jamais l'émotion de la révélation.

L'homme est tellement captivant. Carrément intelligent, mais il possède aussi un sens de l'humeur génial. Sa sûreté en tout moment était toujours une de mes choses préférées à lui. Ainsi que la facon dont il s'associe avec ses adversaires. Le fait qu'ils tous le respectent en tant que professionel et presque génie, me semble splendide.

Malgré qu'il est un voleur, et par conséquence quelqu'un dont le parole on ne pourraît avoir confiance, personne ne doute qu'il tiendra à la sienne toujours, n'importe quoi. Je trouve époustouflant qu'il a pu renforcer sa légende a tel point.

Pour les autres personnages, il est un fantôme, il peut tout le faire, mais j'adore que nous les lecteurs pouvons apercevoir ses erreurs et ses petits moments de faiblaisse, sourtout avec un personnage en particulière que je n'attendais pas revoir dans ce livre. J'était tellement ravie de la revoir.

Bref, c'est un chef d'oeuvre, et dans ma liste pour acheter une copie papier parce que j'aimerais bien le relire un jour.

Et maintenant, je peux regarder Lupin 0w0

[adarkrainbow]

Ogre illustrations: Sleeping Beauty

Too many people forget that Sleeping Beauty is an “ogre tale”. Well... The French version of the story, as told by Charles Perrault, is an ogre tale, with the second antagonist being the evil, wicked, old queen/mother-queen of the prince, an ogress with a particular fondness for the Robert sauce. Here is a series of various illustrations putting forward this too-often neglected character.

Illustration of the queen giving the order to her (technically butler but he is dressed as a cook here) to kill little Dawn and cook her at the Robert sauce. Created by Jacques Godefroi-Jean Midderich and Bertall for the 1893 “Contes de fées tirés de Perrault, Mme d’Aulnoy et Mme Leprince de Beaumont”, part of “La bibliothèque rose illustrée”. 

Illustration of the ogress-queen throwing herself into the vat of snakes and toads, taken from Garnier frère’s “Contes des fées par Perrault, Mme d’Aulnoy, Hamilton et Mme Leprince de Beaumont” (date unclear, between 1850 and 1880). Illustrator unknown.

The queen-ogress killing herself upon the arrival of her son the king, 1865. Unknown artist: part of the famous “images d’Epinal”, more precisely the “Scottish series” of the imagerie d’Epinal. 

Character design and costume concept for the role of the ogress, as played by the famous comic actor Tiercelin, in the “folie-comi-parade” play known as “L’ogresse ou La belle au bois dormant” (1811). Costumes by Fortuné Potier, drawing by Joly. 

The mother-queen suspecting her son of hiding a secret. Illustration by Olivier Desvaux for his “La Belle au bois dormant” (2011)

Malcolm Ashman’s illustration of the old queen preparing the vat of snakes and toads, for Kara May’s “French Fairy Tales”, 1992

Harry Clarke’s illustration of the wicked queen asking for her grand-children to be cooked a la “sauce piquante”. From the 1922′s “Fairy Tales of Charles Perrault”, London.

The evil queen jumping into the pit of snakes. Unknown artist, late 19th century.

[maddiesbookshelves]

Le Jardin, Paris, by Gaëlle Geniller

"Le Jardin" (the garden) is a Parisian cabaret owned by a woman meeting growing success. All the women working there are named after a flower and they feel like family. Rose, a 19 years old boy, was born and grew up in this establishment. He also wants to be a dancer and to perform on stage, in front of a crowd, just like his friends. He will quickly become the main attraction.

I absolutely loved this graphic novel. A friend made me discover the artist a while ago and I've been obsessed with her art ever since. So when I had the opportunity to buy this, I did.

It's an adorable story, the themes it deals with (gender, how to deal with people's looks, being perceived as a woman in society...) are approached with subtlety and care.

The relationship between Aimé and Rose is so romantic but can also be read as platonic (unless you follow the author on instagram, haha... even though it's where I got confirmation that Aimé is on the ace spectrum). Anyway, loved it, I can't wait to read Gaëlle Geniller's next book when it comes out in 2024.

French version under the cut

"Le Jardin" est un cabaret parisien au succès grandissant dirigé par une femme. Toutes celles qui y travaillent ont un nom de fleur et l'ambiance y est familiale. Rose, un garçon de 19 ans, est né et a grandi dans cet établissement. Il souhaite à son tour être danseur et se produire sur la scène, devant un public, comme ses amies. Il va rapidement en devenir l'attraction principale.

J’ai absolument adoré cette BD. Une amie m’a fait découvrir l’artiste y’a un moment et depuis je suis obnubilée par ses dessins. Donc, quand j’ai eu l’occasion de l’acheter j’ai sauté dessus.

C’est une histoire adorable, les thèmes abordés (le genre, comment gérer le regard des gens, être perçu comme une femme dans la société…) l’étaient avec subtilité et délicatesse.

La relation entre Aimé et Rose est tellement romantique mais peut aussi être lue comme platonique (si on suit pas l’autrice sur instagram, haha… même si c’est sur insta que j’ai eu la confirmation que Aimé est sur le spectre de l’asexualité donc bon). Bref, gros coup de cœur, j’attends avec hâte 2024 pour la sortie de la prochaine BD de Gaëlle Geniller.

[othmeralia]

Happy Monday 🌞

Histoire generale des drogues, traitant des plantes, des animaux, et des mineraux (1694)