French books in translation... a recommendations video
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ก.ย. 2024
- Here are some #bookrecommendations for those who want to read French and francophone books in translation, but maybe don't know where to start. These are some of my favorite books I've read in French, but which are available in English. Enjoy!
Books mentioned:
The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
The Belly of Paris by Emile Zola
The Flowers of Evil by Charles Baudelaire
Therese Desqueyroux by Francois Mauriac
The Woman Destroyed by Simone de Beauvoir
Crossing the Mangrove by Maryse Conde
Black Shack Alley by Joseph Zobel
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupery
A Winter's Promise by Christelle Dabos
Lie With Me by Philippe Besson
The End of Eddy by Edouard Louis
#booksintranslation #frenchliterature
Ahhhh! Your spoiler on Madame Bovary!! Guess I'll have to wait a few years to read it, just long enough for me to forget you said that!
@@noteworthyfiction oh no!!! I'm sorry hahaha maybe read Sentimental Education instead??
It is a mistake not reading Madame Bovary simply because you know the end! It is a book beautifuly written,and the point of the book is the journey, not the end. The final chapter is a work of art. I read Madame Bovary after watching all movie adaptations of it (there are many) and the book is still better!
I didn't know these facts about Dumas - interesting!
Oh and clearly I need to read Le Petit Prince!
@@RaspberryReads yes you do! Especially with your love of children's literature. And the time commitment is so small!
It's a bit of a pity not to have any Molière piece, any Victor Hugo, Albert Camus, Marguerite Yourcenar and Jean D'Ormesson book. Hugo's novels Les Misérable and Ninety-Three are incredible, La Légende des siècles (The Legend of the Ages) is one of the most wonderful pieces of poetry in history but also one of the closest thing to the Iliad and the Odyssey since the mythics history of the Francs Kings during the early Medieval Era. The Plague (La Peste) by Camus is a wonderful novel about how to react to absurd horor and a real masterpiece. Another masterpiece of Camus is L'Etranger (translated as The Stranger and as The Outsider), it's one of the most philosophical novel ever and one of the greatest books about Absurdism and the absurdity of live alongside The Myth of Sisyph and Caligula, one of the greatest theather pieces of the 20th Century. Memoirs of Hadrien and The Abyss by Marguerite Yourcenar are really great books, maybe 2 of the 10 or 20 best novels of the 20th Century. Cassimir mène la Grande Vie, Dieu, sa vie, son oeuvre (God, his life, his work) or Je Dirais malgré tout que cette vie fut belle are great books by Jean D'ormesson.
@@leokaizzer4744 thank you for including them in the comments! I thought about including some Hugo or Camus, but they are talked about so often on BookTube that I decided to go off the beaten path and give space to authors English speakers might not have heard of before, authors of the larger French speaking world, and contemporary authors some room to shine. Personally, I worried over whether to include Maupassant in this video, but it was already getting so long!
@@Tristan-L-Space-Books Maupassant is a revered author and he could always figure on such a list but his style is not the most well-made, polished, elaborated. His style is a little simple, not as much as Zola's but style not the most interesting. Still a great author though.
@@Tristan-L-Space-Books I don't think Margierite Yourcenar is very famous in the english speaking countries but she really is a wonderfull writer.
@@leokaizzer4744 I absolutely LOVE Maupassant. One of my all-time favourite authors. His short stories are incredible, and I love his ability to keep it simple and short.
@@trudejensen8512 he is a very good author, especially a very good short-novel author but his style is a little too simple. His realisme prevents him from using hyperbolic writting, epic, but he his not a revonutionnary in the simpleness of his writting either, nor does he imposes himself restrictions to get something unique. He is still very good but a bit bland compared to authors like Hugo, Dumas, Chateaubriand, etc.