#french authors

[diana-andraste]

Lars Bo illustrations for Francis Garnung's Le Meneur d'ombres, 1961

Original etching on wove paper

[book51ut]

review of i who have never known men by jacqueline harpman

freaky eerie fucked up! loved it. i have seen this book around so much lately i absolutely did not know it came out in the 90s. also didn’t know it was sci fi. what a fascinating little case study on what happens if a person is raised without culture as we know it. not fearing death, not needing others. and the repeated question of “why must you know something that doesn’t concern you/ will never impact you” is really such an interesting little thought experiment. there is something that is fundamentally more human in an animalistic sense about The Child than the other 39 women in the child’s inherent curiosity and her ability to subsist, but something so foreign and almost inhuman about someone who knows not of social norms. who would i be if I had never looked in the mirror? such a small thing, yet certainly i would be a different person. and again and again, the wonder of experiencing something for the first time, even if that thing is a hell. the women are transported from one prison to another, but The Child is the only one who does not view the escape as such, because she has no frame of reference. 

and the setting is just so spooky. i feel uneasy even after reading it but in the way that good books make you feel things. there are so many levels to consider when thinking about this book and so many questions that will remain unanswered. its so unsatisfying but such a wonderful story. it is unsatisfying for all of the women too. they will never have any of the answers (i just wish i could have them teehee).  

[midnightmuses301]

"𝐖𝐡𝐨𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞."

- 𝐀𝐥𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐭 𝐂𝐚𝐦𝐮𝐬, 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬

[maddiesbookshelves]

2025 really is the year of non-fiction for me

From left to right:

"Resisting", by left-wing activist and journalist Salomé Saqué, on how to identify and recognise far-right rhetoric to prevent it from gaining more ground

"Desiring violence: who/what pop culture teaches us to love", by author and journalist Chloé Thibaud, who decided to analyse how our favorite movies and shows influence how we view romantic relationships and how we act in them (both as men and women)

"Our fathers, our brothers, our friends: in the minds of violent men", by author and journalist Mathieu Palain, who spent 4 years trying to understand why men hit women and where all the violence comes from by going to talking groups, hearings and women's support groups

And yes, all of them are French

[adarkrainbow]

I loved your answer about how Europeans and US Americans adapt fairy tales differently. The bit about how French fantasy writers try to set themselves apart from US American fantasy authors grabbed my attention too and I was wondering if you had any examples of such, and if you knew about Pierre Bottero one of such authors?

EDIT: I received your ask in anonymous and non-anonymous modes. Not knowing exactly which one you intended to send I will use the anonymous ask, just in case. I allow people to send me anonymous asks, better be for something Xp

Oh yes I have! In fact the line about how French fantasy tries to escape the cliches of American fantasy doesn't come from me, but from an article someone wrote about the specificities of French fantasy... I think I posted it somewhere on my main blog, let me check...

Okay, there was this fascinating set of articles I discovered about the fantasy literature in France - some coming from the BNF website (National Library of France), others from this very interesting but very big book that costs quite a bit - I borrowed it at my library - called "Panorama illustré de la fantasy et du merveilleux" (Well I think they re-edited it in smaller and cheaper formats). I loosely translated some years ago (and they are probably very bad translations, because I am not translator) but you can find them around here.

Here we go, here's my old shames: The cosmogony of French fantasy ; The arduous path to French fantasy ; The children of Orpheus & Melusine ; and there's also an article about five "proto-fantasy" novels in French literature - which, by the way, mentions a novel I gave a very positive review of, and that I reblogged here because it is a stand-out of the French fairytale fantasy, Michel Pagel's Les Flammes de la Nuit. I do want to make more reviews of French fantasy works in the future, though.

As for Pierre Bottero, I did hear about him, I know of him... But I never actually read anything of his. His "Fils de Sorcières" (Son of Witches) did caught my eye but I never had time to check it out... and while the Ewilan franchise is one of the big fantasy franchises of the early 21st France, it never interested me as a youth X)

[whaleiumsharkspeare]

No one:

French authors in the 1700-1900s: *writing stories about disfigured men falling in love with beautiful women they usually can’t have*

[aurore-dupin]

It has come to my attention that there is a graphic novel about George Sand, and despite my best efforts I cannot find any information about it online. I feel like you would know about this sort of thing. Do you happen to know the title/where I can buy it? Love your blog!!

Hello there! Thank you for the kind words I run this blog like it is the window to my brain, so anything to make someone else happy.

In terms of George Sand graphic novels, I know of two. They are both in French but are available from global retailers. I myself (surprisingly) do not speak french so I cannot vouch for any dialogue but I do, in fact, love looking at pictures!

On the left is George Sand, fille du siècle by Séverine Vidal and Kim Consigny. I do not know nearly enough about it but I am on the hunt for a reasonably priced copy myself.

On the right is George Sand: Ma vie à Nohant by Chantal van den Heuvel and Nina Jacqmin. I picked this up in the gift shop of the Musée de la Vie romantique in Paris, it is a stunning book and I adore it's art style.

I hope this is what you're looking for : )

[thelastofthebookworms]

Pick a French work.

The Hunchback of Notre-Dame

Madame Bovary

The Phantom of the Opera

The Little Prince

The Flowers of Evil

Père Goriot

The Beast Within

The Count of Monte Cristo

No Exit

Froth on the Daydream

Voting ended onFeb 10, 2023