| Title | : | Au Revoir, Tristesse: Lessons in Happiness from French Literature |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1419742981 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781419742989 |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 256 |
| Publication | : | First published June 9, 2020 |
Like many people the world over, Viv Groskop wishes she was a little more French. A writer, comedian, and journalist, Groskop studied the language obsessively starting at age 11, and spent every vacation in France, desperate to escape her Englishness and to have some French chic rub off on her. In Au Revoir, Tristesse, Groskop mixes literary history and memoir to explore how the classics of French literature can infuse our lives with joie de vivre and teach us how to say goodbye to sadness. From the frothy hedonism of Colette and the wit of Cyrano de Bergerac to the intoxicating universe of Marguerite Duras and the heady passions of Les Liaisons dangereuses, this is a love letter to great French writers. With chapters on Marcel Proust, Victor Hugo, Gustave Flaubert, Stendhal, Honoré de Balzac, Albert Camus, and of course Françoise Sagan, this is a delectable read for book lovers everywhere.
Au Revoir, Tristesse: Lessons in Happiness from French Literature Reviews
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I was shocked to find this book buried in the New Releases list of the Buzz Books Spring/Summer 2020 edition. I had read The Anna Karenina Fix about a year ago; that book had so much memoir in it that I didn’t think there would be enough autobiographical material leftover to create a second book. But one of the authors who I know is such a Francophile that I couldn’t resist reading this new book with an eye toward recommending it to her.
I took one star away from The Anna Karenina Fix because its mixture of memoir, literary criticism, and author biography was skewed more toward memoir than was suggested by the publisher’s blurb. That much memoir was off-putting to me; I just wanted to read about the books to learn whether any of them suited my needs at the time. With Au Revoir, Tristesse, I feel like the author heard and heeded my lament. The memoir in this book is just for color context - explaining why, at age eleven, she picked up French and why, later in her university years, she tossed French over for Russian. I appreciated her putting subtle markers as to how the timeline of this book fit with the timeline of the earlier book, instead pretending that the prior book didn’t exist.
Au Revoir, Tristesse focuses on a dozen authors within the classic canon of French literature, two or three of whom are female, with which the author feels particular affinity because they are classics. However, the author writes an excellent afterword about the selection of the books for discussion. She is unapologetic about her selections (the most contemporary of whom is Francoise Sagan); however, she also recommends numerous contemporary authors who are female and/or people of color. She tries not to forget the writers of the former French African colonies, who still use French in addition to the local languages.
Each chapter starts with a little bit of memoir, eventually making its way to a plot summary (with spoilers), and then into some literary criticism intertwined with selected bits of author biography, French history, and psychology. It felt like more of cohesive read than the prior book, with much better transitions. And, in the Conclusion chapter, the author ties together everything - the bits of memoir, the plot summaries, the literary criticism, the bits of author biography, etc - into a cohesive theme.
I appreciate this book because it drew my attention to some books (and movies) that I might enjoy. I never knew that Dangerous Liaisons was an epistolary novel, which is one of my favorite types of novel. And if I can find Bonjour, Tristesse in English, that sounds like a light and fun read to add to my list.
Overall, I enjoyed this book enough to be confident in recommending it to my Francophile author friend. The only reason I’m taking away a star is that it had a disproportionate amount of forced intimacy with the reader. Each chapter had its parenthetical asides addressing the reader, which only served to lighten the tone and add some humor. I know that this is catnip for other readers, but it isn’t mine.
I received this book as a digital advance reader copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. -
Olen itse jonkin sortin frankofiili ja nautin siksi erityisesti siitä, miten Groskop pui vuosien mittaan muuttunutta suhdettaan Ranskaan ja ranskan kieleen. Samaistuin useisiin ajatuksiin ja pohdintoihin. Ne ovat ihanan lohdullisia. Pidän myös siitä, miten Groskop on rakentanut teoksensa teosten esittelyn ja oman Ranska-suhteensa dialogiksi. On ihanaa, että Groskop lähestyy teoksia ja ilmiöitä omasta näkökulmastaan. Käsittelytapa tuo teokseen syvyyttä.
Groskop myös maalaa huumaavia tuokiokuvia. Suosikkejani ovat Françoise Saganin törttöilyt. Groskopin referoima haastatteluvideo, jossa Sagan töytäisee jalankulkijaa, piirtyi verkkokalvoilleni ja tuskin sieltä hevillä poistuu. Etsin siis videon verkosta Groskopin innoittamana. Pätkä todella on hypnoottinen ja onnistuu vangitsemaan jotakin aivan poikkeuksellista. En tiedä, aukeaako video Ranskaa vähemmän tunteville.
Jotkin teoksen yleistykset ja johtopäätökset tuntuvat liialta yrittämiseltä. Ei kaikesta tarvitse aina yrittää saada johdettua jotakin elämää suurempaa. Tämä ei myöskään ollut mielestäni erityisen hauska teos. Tähän tulkintaan voi vaikuttaa, että kuuntelin teoksen äänikirjana. Kenties lukijan äänenpainot eivät onnistuneet välittämään, milloin oli kyse huumorista.
Eniten kuitenkin kärsin ranskan (ja englannin) ääntämyksestä. Minusta yhden kriteerin lukijaa valittaessa pitäisi olla hänen taitonsa ääntää tarvittavia kieliä. Lisäksi pitäisi aina harkita tarkkaan, äännetäänkö nimet enemmän alkuperäiskielen tyyliin vai suomalaisittain. Johanna Kokko ei taida ranskan r-kirjainta (tai mitään varianttia siitä) – ainakaan suomalaisen tekstin seassa. Tuloksena on jonkinlainen h:n ja r:n sekoitus, joka sai minut kiristelemään hampaita jokaisen "ranskalaisen" ärrän kohdalla. Kaikkein raivostuttavinta oli, että Mersault äännettiin [möhh(r)solt] eikä [mörsoo], kuten pitäisi. [Mersoo] tai vaikka [mersault] olisi ollut parempi, mutta ei herranen aika sellaista versiota, joka mukamas yritetään lausua OiKeiN mutta joka menee täysin päin perberiä kaikkien sääntöjen vastaisesti ja r:llä, jollaista ranskassa ei edes ole.
En ole foneetikko tai ääniteknikko enkä handlaa termejä, mutta Kokosta kuulee, että hänen suunsa menee ihan eri asentoon ja jotenkin jännittyy hänen yrittäessään ääntää ranskaa, niin että ranskankieliset nimet ja sitaatit ikään kuin putoavat johonkin sössötysrekisteriin. Olen varma, että jos puhetta seurattaisiin ääninauhalta, huomattaisiin selvä muutos en tiedä missä mutta jossakin. Kirjaa ei siis voi kuunnella rennosti, kun taajuus vaihtelee koko ajan.
Vaikka lukija osaisi ääntää kieltä ns. oikein, on minusta aina tapauskohtaisesti harkittava, kannattaako valita mieluummin esimerkiksi suomalaistettu versio äänneasusta. Jos ranskankielinen nimi toistuu joka virkkeessä, voi olla luontevampaa valita äänneasu, joka ei aina erikseen kiinnitä kuulijan huomiota ja riistä häntä olennaisen ääreltä.
Olen tunnettu siitä, että valitan aina tästä samasta asiasta. Monille olen sen takia snobi ja ikävä ihminen. Joidenkuiden mielestä olen ikävä ihminen toki muistakin syistä. Kielen merkitystä ja kielen ammattilaisia usein ylenkatsotaan, vaikka mm. tällaisessa heistä (meistä) olisi suuri apu.
En siis halua tässä osoittaa syyttävää sormeani yksittäisiä näyttelijöitä kohti. Vastuu on heidät palkkaavilla firmoilla, joiden on huolehdittava siitä, että lukemaan palkataan osaava näyttelijä ja että näyttelijöillä on tarpeeksi palkattua työaikaa taustatyön tekemiseen ja mahdollisuus konsultointiapuun ja uudelleen äänittämiseen. Lisäksi palkkaisin kieli-ihmisiä kouluttamaan ääntämisessä ja arvioimaan ääntämistyön jälkeä ja päättämään yhdessä lukijan kanssa siitä, millainen äänneasu kulloinkin valitaan. Muutenkin voin kuvitella, että keskustelu lukijan ja ohjaajan(?) välillä jää melko vähäiseksi. Eikä auta, vaikka keskustelua olisi kuinka, jos kukaan paikalla olijoista ei tunne ääntämissääntöjä.
No niin. Piti nukkua päiväunet, mutta ränttäsin tänne.
Hyvä kirja, kannattaa lukea. Sekä ylipäätään että siinä mielessä, että itse lukee kuuntelemisen sijaan. -
A little tongue in cheek, a little reminiscing, and a whole lot of academic review sum up Au Revoir, Tristesse. The story reads like a dry literature review sprinkled with a few personal anecdotes. The vignettes themselves are informative and provide great detail to document the importance of french writers. However, it is not the most exciting stuff. I found it a laborious read, not because it was difficult to understand, (it is very well written and easy to follow). Rather, it is just not an enjoyable read. It leans more towards academic study then pleasure reading. If you are looking for recommendations on French classics or need some background info on them, then perhaps you will enjoy this one, but a summer read this is not. The author's anecdotes of her teen and university years are the highlight, unfortunately, they come too late in the book to erase the earlier slog.
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I enjoyed the author's remembrance of times past and her walk down memory lane through the books that meant something special to her then and now. In a candid non pretentious, often humorous, style she romps through time and page of those French novels that fascinated and charmed her Francophile soul and desires. I was glad to accompany her.
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This is the 2nd book that I've read by Viv and enjoyed them both immensely. She combines information, self sharing and humor and I always come away learning a whole bunch of stuff that I never knew before.
A++++++++++ -
Hauska kirja, johon epäröin tartttua - mutta Ranskaan lähtöä edeltävänä päivänä se hyppäsi syliini kirjaston pikalainahyllystä, ja ajattelin sen olevan merkki. Ja olikin. Vaikka mieluusti annan vaikutelman että tunnen kirjallisuuden klassikot, on se totta harvakseltaan ja pinnalisesti. Tämä kirja antaa sopivalla tavalla motivaatiota tutustua kiinnostaviin ranskalaisiin klassikoihin, ja toisaalta antaa luvan olla tarttumatta niihin jotka tuntuvat hankalilta.
Kirjailijan koomikkotausta näkyy, ja teksti on paikoin oikeasti hauskaa, tosin kääntäjältä olisin toivonut (paljon) enemmän - käännöksestä tuli jotenkin kiireinen ja laiska vaikutelma. Toinen ongelma oli - tietenkin - klassikoiden miespainotus. Kirjalija itsekin toteaa, että ei edes pyrkinyt vaikuttamaan kaanoniin ja on valinnut (miesten kirjoittamia) klassikoita esittelyyn. Okei, on siellä kaksi naisten kirjoittamaakin. Vaikka toisaalta ymmärtää kirjailijan ratkaisun, se tuntuu silti helpohkolta ratkaisulta. Joka tapauksessa, luettavien lista piteni ja pariin kirjaan pitää tarttua uudestaan kun tuntuu että en saanut nuorena lukijana irti ihan sitä mitä Groskop tässä esittää. -
A good review of all those French books you never read or forgot or just didn't understand.
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Tykkäsin kovasti Groskopin venäläisiä kirjallisuusklassikoita käsitelleestä teoksesta, joten tartuin tähänkin. Tai tartuin ja tartuin; kuuntelin äänikirjana. Ehkä kirja olisi toiminut paperilla paremmin.
En ole lukenut yhtäkään Groskopin esittelemää romaania, en osaa ranskaa enkä tunne ranskalaista kulttuuria sen kummemmin. Kuunneltuna kirjasta tuli mielessäni aika sekava vyyhti, osittain siksi että kaikki ranskalaiset, ranskalaisittain äännetyt nimet menivät minulta jatkuvasti sekaisin. Näin ei varmaan olisi käynyt, jos olisin nähnyt nimet kirjoitettuna.
Että ei tullut suosikkiani tästä, mutta se on nyt enemmän kiinni minusta kuin tästä kirjasta. Aihetta enemmän tuntevalle tämä kaiketi antaa enemmän. -
Au revoir tristesse on sekoitus Groskopin elämänhistoriaa (siis lähinnä nuoruuden opiskelukokemuksia Ranskassa) ja 12 ranskalaisklassikon ruodintaa maustettuna hauskoilla huomioilla ja terävillä tulkinnoilla. Siinä missä samalla muotilla valettu Älä heittäydy junan alle onnistuu olemaan samaan aikaan hersyvän hauska, osuvan kirjallisuustieteellinen ja kipeän omakohtainen, jää Au revoir tristesse valitettavasti vähän vaisummaksi. Ehkä se johtuu siitä, että venäläinen kirjallisuus (ja muu kulttuuri) on molempia kieliä opiskelleelle Groskopille kuitenkin paljon läheisempi, kuin Ranska ja ranska. Siksi venäläisestä kirjallisuudesta (ja Venäjän-kokemuksista) irtosi juttua paljon sujuvammin, kuin ranskalaisesta.
Koko arvio:
https://kirjailujakirjablogi.blogspot... -
I didn’t think it was possible to be so entertained and be educated at the same time. In Au Revoir Tristesse, Viv Groskop is a unique combination of extremely funny and, using her words, ‘no slouch in the brainiac department’ and with this she takes you on a hilarious and insightful tour of France and its literature. I just wish I had been able to read it before started my Degree! Her love and pursuit of Frenchness from childhood through University and into adulthood resonates strongly with me and - as great writers do - she brilliantly puts into words things I have always felt but never articulated. Everyone who loves France, or believes they belong to another culture than their own, must read this book. You will laugh out loud one minute and pause to deeply reflect on life the next. Brilliant.
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Ihana, ihana, inspiroiva kirja - kuten edeltäjänsäkin "Älä heittäydy junan alle ja muita elämänoppeja venäläisistä klassikoista". Tästä pidin ehkä jopa enemmän, mahdollisesti siksi, että venäläisten klassikkojen suhteen olen valikoivampi, mutta myös, koska ranskalaisuus ylipäätäänkin on jotenkin, no, elämäniloisempaa. Lukulistalle tuli useita teoksia, mutta onneksi mukana oli myös tuttujakin kirjoja. Huojentunut olen Groskopin synninpäästöstä koskien Marcel Proustia: jos Kadonnutta aikaa etsimässä -sarjasta riittää, että lukee ensimmäisen ja viimeisen osan niin katson 50% suoritetuksi ja loput 50% saa odottaa vielä hyvän tovin.
Groskop on sekä hauska että oivaltava. Nautin myös siitä, että hän tyylikkäästi sivuuttaa omalle nykyhetkellemme tyypillisen kulttuurisen vastakkainasettelun nykyisyyden ja menneisyyden välillä ja nostaa luonnollisena asiana esiin sen, että klassikot (kuten muukin taide) ovat oman aikansa, arvojensa ja moraalikäsitystensä kuvia. Niistä on oikeus pitää itsenään, eikä se, että nauttii niiden lukemisesta tarkoita niiden edustaman maailman ihannoimista tai nostalgisoimista. -
Groskopin tavoitteena on kertoa ranskalaisista klassikoista helposti lähestyttävällä tavalla kaikille, eli myös heille, jotka eivät ole kyseisiä kirjoja vielä lukeneet tai koskaan aiokaan lukea. Groskop on kirjoittanut venäläisistä klassikoista vastaavan teoksen (suosittelen!), ja nyt lukukokemuksia verratessani totean olevani eri mieltä siitä, etteikö klassikkokirjoja tarvitsisi lukea saadakseen Groskopin kirjoista kaiken irti. Pidin venäläistä kirjallisuutta käsittelevästä teoksesta huomattavasti enemmän ja ymmärsin sen paremmin, sillä olin lukenut suurimman osan kirjassa käsitellyistä klassikoista - toisin kuin Au revoir, tristesse -kirjan tapauksessa.
Joten, jos olet lukenut ranskalaisia klassikoita tai tunnet ranskalaista kirjallisuutta enemmän, suosittelen lukemaan tämän! Muussa tapauksessa en välttämättä. Groskop on kylläkin hyvin lahjakas kirjoittaja ja pidän hänen tavastaan punoa omia kokemuksiaan ja ajatuksiaan klassikkoesittelyiden ja -analyysien lomaan, lukisin häneltä erittäin mielelläni muutakin kirjallisuutta. -
French language and literature have always fascinated me. I have tried to get into the language in high school and since then, but it's difficult. This book is inspiring and interesting. I borrowed several classics from my local library. I can't understand anyone getting angry about spoilers. The plot is hardly the point in these books and the books have been published so long ago that I wouldn't consider plot revelations spoilers.
Fortunately the narrator of the Finnish translation is great and I thoroughly enjoyed all the fun background information. I must pick up her book on Russian literature, The Anna Karenina Fix, too when I have read the most interesting books recommended in this book. It will be interesting to see what the author thinks of Anna Karenina and War and Peace. Her views are interestingly British. It's nice twist. -
This Francophile author gives a witty and short analysis on selected French writers alongside each of their notable works. Grospkop creates a compact modern literary companion on 19th and 20th century French literary authors from Sagan to Balzac and from Proust to Camu. She shares the interesting a backgrounds on the French authors, including their imperfect traits like Balzac’s unhealthy consumption of coffee and Maupasssant’s penchant for prostitutes. For each one the novels profiled, she gives plot spoilers to explain reasons why to read the novel. In the case of Les Miserables, she analyzes Victor Hugo’s political views and his poetic sensibilities to make rationale of the stretched coincidences and the heroism in the plot line of his infamous novel.
She concludes slyly by suggesting that seeking the secret to French happiness is a myth, we cannot escape the universal human condition even through foreign literature. French literature reflects how complicated life can be along with its frustrations and sadness and regret. Because the unavoidable human condition is set as the default state of life, it is in spite of these frustrations that we can learn to appreciate those moments happiness when they arrive.
This book is a very entertaining read for one who wants a brief insight and taste of French literary culture with scholarly wit. -
How do the 13. French books reviewed and Miss Groskop suggest ways to be happy?
1. Francoise Sagan and 2.Marguerite Dumas agree not to be too hard on themselves for their youthful indiscretions.
Dumas comes to terms with her life (just let it be) and Flaubert agrees that we need to be realistic about our lives.
3. Emma Bovary (Flaubert) didn't manage to do so. Admirable to stay "true to oneself" but important to understand the implications of our unconstructive behavior. Emma paid a high price for her lack of family regard with her depression (arsenic death).
Ironically, Homais, the pharmacist, fared well despite his hypocrisy (illegal medical practice) but was he really happy -he seemed such a nasty person! Life can be complicated!
4.Colette's Gigi spends time and money on her appearance (not experiences) but manages, unlike Emma Bovary, to make the most of things.
Also, in line with Flaubert’s message (in Emma Bovary), authentic relationships matter for Gigi.
However, social climbing (5.Stendhal's Julien Sorel), self-absorption (egotism) and mistreatment of other people (6.Maupassant's Bel Ami) work against our peace of mind.
Likewise, 7. Balzac's Cousin Bette (reminiscent of Francoise Sagan’s character Cecile) doesn’t get much satisfaction from her family manipulations.
Camus’s 8. Meursault does manage to stay "true to himself" by understanding himself in a way that Emma Bovary doesn't manage to fathom (superficial lovers).
Also Meursault comes to terms with his situation in life. Emma Bovary never really accepts her role as a mother which could have offered so much joy.
This is despite untraditional behavioral patterns he contends with such as his lack of parental mourning.
Being able to come to terms with the nature of existence (philosophical) gives Meursault more peace of mind than social climbers (Julien Sorel) and than a person having a self-centered disregard for people (Bel Ami).
Meursault, facing a murder charge for the death of an Arab man, is forced into a position of thinking carefully about the way he treats his life:
… “it’s the human condition to feel like an outsider, and the more comfortable we are with our outsider status, the more we can let go of it and connect with other people.”
So the author learns something for herself (from all this French reading) and also goes on to show that simple behaviors can make a difference to our sense of contentment:
…”Frenchness was going to have to be something that I lived with and dipped into, rather than something that I tried to assimilate and become”.
Camus was a “good person” ...the sort of person who would accept a lift from a friend rather than take a train journey on his own”.
9. Hugo’s Valjean understands the need to reach out to others and maintain healthy habits.
Moving on to a more challenging writer, we learn that:
10. Proust’s writing is very helpful (reconciling important memories) even though he does this, ironically, by recreating the exclusive French aristocracy of his youth (tres peuple).
Aristocrats are a set of people who, traditionally, had a lot to answer for in terms of happiness (lack of regard for others and so on).
11.Sartre wrote about peoples’ concern with what other people thought about them (l’autre) and its devastating effect on your self-esteem (if you take too much to heart what other people think).
12.Returning to the aristocracy, in Laclos's Les Liaisons Dangereuses the characters are so concerned with how they appear to others that they cannot be true to themselves (happiness is real).
13. Appearance matters to Cyrano de Bergerac too (as in Liaisons Dangereuses), but in a more endearing way (insecurity … is shared by everyone).
Like Gigi, Cyrano tries to make the most of himself, in this case, by poking fun at his large nose.
Overall, French writers have solid messages about the nature of happiness as they try to balance the need for worldly accolades with genuine life experiences:
..."...the lesson here is not so much about happiness as about authenticity". Unless you "...feel ...authentic, honest, (the) real version of yourself, there is no way you can be happy".
Great read! -
The WSJ review caught my eye:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/au-revoi...
Excerpt: "The recurring life lesson of French books is: “If you want to be happy, it’s best to be French.” You must take “real pleasure in every moment, eating the best food, drinking the best drink, falling in love, following your passions”—and also be prepared to shrug when life gives you lemons. Ms. Groskop happily shrugs off the idea of writing a critical tour de force. She follows her literary passions. The result is a tableau vivant, a vividly personal Gallic gallimaufry."
“If you want to be happy, it’s best to be French.”!
" ...a tableau vivant, a vividly personal Gallic gallimaufry."
And the radiant 1955 photo of Françoise Sagan, when she was 20!
Looks like my kind of book!
(Paywalled. As always, I'm happy to email a copy to non-subscribers) -
This personal memoir of reading French literature by the fabulous Viv Groskop did not disappoint. It's very heavily weighted toward canonical texts (a fact which Groskop acknowledges in the epilogue) and also toward 19th/20th century ones. But the choice is explained by the fact that the book is basically an account of what Groskop read in her undergraduate days. I found some chapters more powerful than others (the Laclos and Camus ones were particularly good), but I enjoyed them all. It's not an academic book, obviously, and one result of this is that Groskop's interpretations are mostly thematic, rather than dealing with poetics and form. However, her account of how she slowly came to combine her love of France with feeling comfortable in her own skin is one that I could identify with. Like her, I will never be French enough (or French at all for that matter) -- a fact that is regrettable but still OK!
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I received a copy of this book via Goodreads’ First Reads program. The author does a good job presenting their list of essential French lit classics in the context of their own life and francophilia. Having read most of these books, I especially thought it was interesting to see the way the author viewed the books with a reread in midlife, compared to what she remembered from encountering them as a student. It does make me want to reread a book or two, though I don’t think I’ll ever be motivated enough to tackle the entirety of Proust’s catalogue. Recommended for Francophiles and those who might want an entertaining explanation of authors and their major works, without actually reading said works.
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Groskop takes a delightful and funny look at how French literature, and wanting to be French, shaped her outlook on life. Like me, Groskop was a French literature major in the 1990s, so this book focuses on classics we studied. She acknowledges that her overview of French literature is mostly white and male, and supports diversifying today’s reading lists. An end note suggests works by women and authors of color. I’m particularly in finding Kamel Daoud’s “The Meursault Investigation,” which tells Albert Camus’ “The Stranger” from a North African perspective.
Read this if you are a Francophile, or if you want to understand why we love France so much. But she also has great insights about how reading helps us understand ourselves and others better. -
#happiness
Ever felt you’re missing some je ne sais quoi ... & wish you could be a bit more French? (or Spanish, Italian, ...) This is one of the premises behind the search for “Frenchness”.
This book is - on a more serious level - a highly entertaining whistle-stop tour thru 12 great French classics: equally enjoyable if you’ve read them, or not. It’s also backed up by a wealth of knowledge on French Lit. in general.
Loved it - thank you, @VivGroskop! Am certainly now inspired to dig out some of those books mentioned ... and am further encouraged that apparently it’s perfectly acceptable to read in translation, too. (Phew!) -
This is a fun book that is just as much a memoir and a love letter as it is literary discussion. Groskop writes about when she first read each famous French work and why she keeps returning to it. Some of those books are filled with tristesse, so it seems like her connection to happiness stretches too much at times. Regardless, I still enjoyed it. I love reading books about people finding and relishing their passions, and, well, when that passion includes French books? Delightful. There's nothing that deep in here, so I wasn't wowed by it, but I wasn't expecting to be.
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Au Revoir, Tristesse is a lesson itself in happiness. There is something that feels very sophisticated and cultured about French literature, so reading a book on the topic is a natural pat on the back. But, at the same time, Viv Groskop is truly hilarious and makes classic (and potentially intimidating) books fun and totally approachable. I recommend Au Revoir Tristesse for anyone who likes to laugh or who loves to read or who secretly envies the coolness of the French.
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A chapter each for 12 famous French novels from an avowed English Francophile who spent her summers on an exchange program in France on her road to fluency in the language. She picks not necessarily the most well-known, but her favorites, the ones that marked her the most.
I really enjoyed the book. I would have appreciated this sort of modern, practical summary of book and author for everything I read in high school and college (French or English). Would read more. -
This was a loan from a friend a truly unexpected delight. It's well-written, insightful and laugh out loud funny even if, like me, you have only read some of them, and those in translation. After all, like me, the author's first encounter with Cyrano Dr Bergerac was via Steve Martin in Roxanne.
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An amusing read! I loved it!
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Literature can say a lot about life and through various famous french literary works which are famous, the author takes us through how the french live, love and be. Through bits from novels of French literature of dumas, camus, Colette, flaubert and more you can get more microscopic view of their life and french living. I like the book cos it says much more about the life of french person, culture apart from cliché known to the world. How like any other person, french too can be not happy, romantic, chic and elegant all the time and the way actually they live and think it's written very nicely in this book.
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i’m realizing now that i’m so unlikely to score any book i put on here below a 3 because if i don’t like it chance is i won’t even finish it. Anyway this book was obviously phenomenal now it’s not a typical fiction book becquse it’s like little snippets into french literature but that’s why i liked it because that’s exactly what i wanted. It makes sense to read the novels mentioned in this book first and then this book but also the other way around (how i’m doing it). i enjoyed it because it made what i can assume these difficult to comprehend novels are easier to understand and digest.
