My current library crateful
Well, I'm actually in a French book club (cross-reference: moviesforall.blogspot.com), and have finished reading the twisted web that Sébastien Japrisot wrote, a little book called _Un long dimanche de fiançailles_. It's better known in English as _A Very Long Engagement_, and yes, it was made into the movie starring that Amélie chick.
The book is so much better than the movie. It's told in a very original, albeit very confusing, way. Basic story: Mathilde Donnay has received word that her fiancé, Manech, was killed in World War I. She can't quite believe it, or at least the story of how he died, and goes off on a quest to discover the truth about his death - or perhaps, following a glimmer of hope - the path that will lead her back to him. The story is not told from one point of view, which contributes to its convoluted nature. The story is told through eyewitness accounts gleaned from letters that people pass on to Mathilde and from copies of the letters that soldiers wrote home, through rumors that are passed on through a classified ad to Mathilde, through an omniscient narrator who gets in Mathilde's head, and by comparing different points of view and seemingly isolated events. Everyone has at least one other name by which they are known (Mathilde is Matti; Manech is Jean or Bleuet; Benjamin Gordes is... well, I won't say it, because that kind of gives away a plot point), so make a character map. I'm rereading it again - a paperback of almost 400 pages - for book club next week. Definitely give this one a shot, in French or in English (as your command of either language allows, but preferably in French).
Also on my reading list -
_Life of Pi_ by Yann Martel, one of THE books to read about two or three years ago. I was, contrary to what the person who recommended it to me told me, totally enthralled by the backstory. Now that the boat's sunk and Pi and the tiger are alone on the lifeboat, I'm floundering. I may send it back to its owner without finishing it.
And a book that I'll get back to you on because I just started it. It's the story of the John Coltrane album _A Love Supreme_. It's engrossing reading, and I'm just now finishing the author's introduction. I can't wait to hear the music!
The book is so much better than the movie. It's told in a very original, albeit very confusing, way. Basic story: Mathilde Donnay has received word that her fiancé, Manech, was killed in World War I. She can't quite believe it, or at least the story of how he died, and goes off on a quest to discover the truth about his death - or perhaps, following a glimmer of hope - the path that will lead her back to him. The story is not told from one point of view, which contributes to its convoluted nature. The story is told through eyewitness accounts gleaned from letters that people pass on to Mathilde and from copies of the letters that soldiers wrote home, through rumors that are passed on through a classified ad to Mathilde, through an omniscient narrator who gets in Mathilde's head, and by comparing different points of view and seemingly isolated events. Everyone has at least one other name by which they are known (Mathilde is Matti; Manech is Jean or Bleuet; Benjamin Gordes is... well, I won't say it, because that kind of gives away a plot point), so make a character map. I'm rereading it again - a paperback of almost 400 pages - for book club next week. Definitely give this one a shot, in French or in English (as your command of either language allows, but preferably in French).
Also on my reading list -
_Life of Pi_ by Yann Martel, one of THE books to read about two or three years ago. I was, contrary to what the person who recommended it to me told me, totally enthralled by the backstory. Now that the boat's sunk and Pi and the tiger are alone on the lifeboat, I'm floundering. I may send it back to its owner without finishing it.
And a book that I'll get back to you on because I just started it. It's the story of the John Coltrane album _A Love Supreme_. It's engrossing reading, and I'm just now finishing the author's introduction. I can't wait to hear the music!
posted by Linz at
9:47 PM
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