Hi all! I came across a list of the 10 best French novels. To be honest, I didn’t get along with the French, so I’ll ask the connoisseurs - how do you like the list that you read / didn’t read from it, what would you add / remove from it?
1. Antoine de Saint-Exupery - "The Little Prince"
Most famous work Antoine de Saint-Exupery with author's drawings. A wise and “humane” tale-parable, which simply and heartfeltly speaks of the most important things: friendship and love, duty and fidelity, beauty and intolerance to evil.
“We all come from childhood,” the great Frenchman reminds us and introduces us to the most mysterious and touching hero of world literature.
2. Alexandre Dumas - The Count of Monte Cristo
The plot of the novel was drawn by Alexandre Dumas from the archives of the Parisian police. The real life of François Picot, under the pen of a brilliant master of the historical-adventure genre, turned into a fascinating story about Edmond Dantes, a prisoner of the Château d'If. After a daring escape, he returns to hometown to do justice - to take revenge on those who ruined his life.
3. Gustave Flaubert - Madame Bovary
The main character - Emma Bovary - suffers from the inability to fulfill her dreams of a brilliant, secular life full of romantic passions. Instead, she is forced to drag out the monotonous existence of the wife of a poor provincial doctor. The oppressive atmosphere of the outback suffocates Emma, but all her attempts to break out of the bleak world are doomed to failure: a boring husband cannot satisfy his wife's needs, and her outwardly romantic and attractive lovers are actually self-centered and cruel. Is there a way out of life's impasse?..
4. Gaston Leroux - The Phantom of the Opera
“The Phantom of the Opera really existed” - one of the most sensational French novels is dedicated to the proof of this thesis turn XIX-XX centuries. It belongs to the pen of Gaston Leroux, the master of the police novel, the author of the famous "Secrets of the Yellow Room", "The Fragrance of the Lady in Black". From the first to last page Leroux keeps the reader in suspense.
5. Guy De Maupassant - "Dear friend"
Guy de Maupassant is often called the master of erotic prose. But the novel "Dear Friend" (1885) goes beyond this genre. The story of the career of an ordinary seducer and life-burner Georges Duroy, developing in the spirit of an adventurous novel, becomes a symbolic reflection of the spiritual impoverishment of the hero and society.
6. Simone De Beauvoir - "Second Sex"
Two volumes of the book "The Second Sex" French writer Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1986) - "a born philosopher", according to her husband J.-P. Sartre - are still considered the most complete historical and philosophical study of the whole complex of problems associated with a woman. What is "women's destiny", what is behind the concept of " natural purpose sex”, how and why the position of a woman in this world differs from the position of a man, is a woman capable in principle of becoming a full-fledged person, and if so, under what conditions, what circumstances limit the freedom of a woman and how to overcome them.
7. Cholerlo de Laclos - " Dangerous ties»
"Dangerous Liaisons" is one of the most bright novels The 18th century is the only book by Choderlos de Laclos, a French artillery officer. The heroes of the erotic novel, Viscount de Valmont and Marquise de Merteuil, start a sophisticated intrigue, wanting to take revenge on their opponents. Having developed a cunning strategy and tactics of seducing the young girl Cecile de Volanges, they masterfully play the human weaknesses and shortcomings.
8. Charles Baudelaire - "Flowers of Evil"
Among the masters of world culture, the name of Charles Baudelaire burns like a bright star. This book includes the collection of the poet "Flowers of Evil", which made his name famous, and the brilliant essay "School of the Pagans". The book is preceded by an article by the remarkable Russian poet Nikolai Gumilyov, and ends with a rarely published essay on Baudelaire by the outstanding French poet and thinker Paul Valery.
9. Stendhal - "Parma monastery"
The novel written by Stendhal in just 52 days received world recognition. Dynamism of action, intriguing course of events, dramatic denouement in combination with the image strong characters, capable of anything for the sake of love, are the key moments of the work that do not cease to excite the reader until the last lines. The fate of Fabrizio, the protagonist of the novel, freedom-loving young man, is filled with unexpected ups and downs taking place during the historical turning point in Italy in early XIX century.
10. André Gide - "The Counterfeiters"
A novel that is significant both for the work of André Gide and for French literature of the first half of the 20th century in general. A novel that largely predicted the motives that later became the main ones in the work of the existentialists. The intricate relationships of three families - representatives of the big bourgeoisie, united by crime, vice and a labyrinth of self-destructive passions, become the background for the story of the growing up of two young men - two childhood friends, each of whom will have to go through their own, very difficult school of "education of feelings".
Culture and Education
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History of French literature. M .: "Higher School", 1987
Darcos X. Histoire de la literature française. P., Hachette Livre, 1992
Meilakh M.B. Medieval Provençal biographies and the courtly culture of the troubadours // Lives of Troubadours. M.: "Science", 1993
French literature. 19451990. M.: Heritage, 1995
Karelsky A.V. Metamorphoses of Orpheus: Conversations on History Western literatures. Issue. 1: French literature XIX century. M.: Russian. state humanit. university, 1998
Western European theater from the Renaissance to the turn of the XIX-XX centuries. Moscow: RGGU, 2001
Meletinsky E.M. From myth to literature. The course of lectures "Theory of myth and historical poetics»
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Zenkin S.N. French romanticism and the idea of culture. Unnaturalness, plurality and relativity in literature. M.: Russian. state humanit. university, 2002
Kosikov G.K. François Villon// Villon F. Poems: Collection. M.: OAO Publishing house "Rainbow", 2002
Zumtor P. Experience in the construction of medieval poetics. St. Petersburg: Aletheya, 2003
Find " FRENCH LITERATURE" on
Famous French writers have made an invaluable contribution to world literature. From the existentialism of Jean-Paul Sartre to commentaries on Flaubert's society, France is well known for bringing examples of literary geniuses to the world. Thanks to the many famous sayings, who quote the masters of literature from France, there is a good chance that you are very familiar with, or at least heard of, works of French literature.
Over the centuries, many great literary works appeared in France. While this list is hardly comprehensive, it contains some of the greatest literary masters that have ever lived. Most likely you have read or at least heard about these famous French writers.
Honoré de Balzac, 1799-1850
Balzac is a French writer and playwright. One of his most famous works, The Human Comedy, was his first real taste of success in literary world. In fact, his personal life has become more of an attempt to try something and fail than an actual success. He is considered by many literary critics to be one of the "founding fathers" of realism because The Human Comedy was a commentary on all aspects of life. This is a collection of all the works he wrote under his own name. Father Goriot is often cited in French literature courses as a classic example of realism. The story of King Lear, set in 1820s Paris, Père Goriot is a Balzacian reflection of a money-loving society.
Samuel Beckett, 1906-1989
Samuel Beckett is actually Irish, however, he is in for the most part wrote in French because he lived in Paris, having moved there in 1937. He is considered the last great modernist and some argue that he is the first postmodernist. Particularly prominent in his personal life was his service in the French Resistance during World War II, when he was under German occupation. Although Beckett has published extensively, he is best known for his theater of the absurd, depicted in the play En attendant Godot (Waiting for Godot).
Cyrano de Bergerac, 1619-1655
Cyrano de Bergerac is best known for a play that Rostand wrote about him called Cyrano de Bergerac. The play was staged and made into films many times. The plot is well known: Cyrano loves Roxanne, but stops courting her in order to read his poems to her on behalf of his not so eloquent friend. Rostand most likely embellishes the real characteristics of de Bergerac's life, although he really was a phenomenal swordsman and a delightful poet.
It can be said that his poetry is better known than Rostand's play. According to the descriptions, he had an extremely large nose which he was very proud of.
Albert Camus, 1913-1960
Albert Camus is an Algerian-born author who received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1957. He was the first African to achieve this and the second youngest writer in literary history. Despite being associated with existentialism, Camus rejects any labels. His most famous two absurd novels: L "Étranger (The Stranger) and Le Mythe de Sisyphe (The Myth of Sisyphus). He was perhaps best known as a philosopher and his work reflects the life of that time. In fact, he wanted to become football player, but contracted tuberculosis at the age of 17 and was bedridden for an extended period of time.
Victor Hugo, 1802-1885
Victor Hugo would describe himself first and foremost as a humanist who used literature to describe the terms of human life and the injustices of society. Both of these themes are easily seen in two of his most famous works: Les misèrables (Les Misérables), and Notre-Dame de Paris (Cathedral Notre Dame of Paris also known from popular name- The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
Alexandre Dumas, father 1802-1870
Alexandre Dumas is considered the most readable author V French history. He is known for his historical novels, which describe dangerous adventures heroes. Dumas was prolific in writing and many of his stories are still retold today:
Three Musketeers
Count of Montecristo
Man in iron mask
1821-1880
His first published novel, Madame Bovary, is perhaps his most famous work. It was originally published as a series of novels, and the French authorities filed a lawsuit against Flaubert for immorality.
Jules Verne, 1828-1905
Jules Verne is especially famous because he was one of the first authors who wrote science fiction. Many literary critics even consider him one of the founding fathers of the genre. He wrote many novels, here are some of the most famous:
twenty thousand leagues under the sea
Journey to the center of the earth
Around the world in 80 Days
Other French writers
Molière
Emile Zola
Stendhal
George Sand
Musset
Marcel Proust
Rostand
Jean-Paul Sartre
Madame de Scudery
Stendhal
Sully Prudhomme
Anatole France
Simone de Beauvoir
Charles Baudelaire
Voltaire
In France, literature was, and continues to be, driving force philosophy. Paris is fertile ground for new ideas, philosophies and movements that the world has ever seen.
Notable French writers
Famous French writers have made an invaluable contribution to the world
literature. From the existentialism of Jean-Paul Sartre to comments on
Flaubert society, France is well known for the phenomenon of the world of examples
literary geniuses. Thanks to the many well-known sayings that
quote the masters of literature from France, there is a high probability
that you are very familiar with, or at least have heard about
works of French literature.
Over the centuries, many great literary works have appeared
in France. While this list is hardly comprehensive, it contains some
of the greatest literary masters who ever lived. Quicker
everything you have read or at least heard about these famous French
writers.
Honoré de Balzac, 1799-1850
Balzac is a French writer and playwright. One of his most famous
works "The Human Comedy", was his first real taste of success in
literary world. In fact, his personal life has become more of an attempt
try something and fail than real success. He, by
considered by many literary critics to be one of the
"founding fathers" of realism, because The Human Comedy was
commentary on all aspects of life. This is a collection of all the works that he
wrote under his own name. Father Goriot is often cited in courses
French literature as a classic example of realism. History of the King
Lear, which took place in the 1820s in Paris, the book "Father Goriot" is
A Balzacian reflection of a society that loves money.
Samuel Beckett, 1906-1989
Samuel Beckett is actually Irish, however, he mostly wrote
in French because he lived in Paris, having moved there in 1937. He
is considered the last great modernist and some argue that he is -
first postmodernist. Particularly prominent in his personal life was
service in the French Resistance during World War II,
when it was under German occupation. Although Beckett has published extensively,
he is most of all his theater of the absurd, depicted in the play En attendant
Godot (Waiting for Godot).
Cyrano de Bergerac, 1619-1655
Cyrano de Bergerac is best known for the play that was
written about him by Rostand under the title "Cyrano de Bergerac". play
staged and filmed on it many times. The plot is familiar: Cyrano
loves Roxana, but stops courting her so that on behalf of her not
such an eloquent friend to read her his poems. Rostand most likely
embellishes the real characteristics of de Bergerac's life, although he
really was a phenomenal swordsman and a delightful poet.
It can be said that his poetry is better known than Rostand's play. By
he was described as having an extremely large nose which he was very proud of.
Albert Camus, 1913-1960
Albert Camus - Algerian-born author who received
Nobel Prize in Literature in 1957. He was the first African
who achieved this, and the second youngest writer in history
literature. Despite being associated with existentialism, Camus
rejects any labels. His most famous two novels of the absurd are:
L "Étranger (Stranger) and Le Mythe de Sisyphe (The myth of Sisyphus). He was,
perhaps best known as a philosopher and his work - mapping
life of that time. In fact, he wanted to become a football player, but
contracted tuberculosis at the age of 17 and was bedridden in
over a long period of time.
Victor Hugo, 1802-1885
Victor Hugo would describe himself primarily as a humanist who used
literature to describe the terms of human life and injustice
society. Both of these themes are easily seen in two of his most famous
works: Les misèrables (Les Misérables), and Notre-Dame de Paris (Cathedral
Notre Dame is also known by its popular name - The Hunchback of
Notre Dame).
Alexandre Dumas, father 1802-1870
Alexandre Dumas is considered the most widely read author in French history.
He is known for his historical novels that describe dangerous
adventures of heroes. Dumas was prolific in writing and many of his
stories are retold today:
Three Musketeers
Count of Montecristo
The Man in the Iron Mask
The Nutcracker (made famous by Tchaikovsky's ballet version)
Gustave Flaubert 1821-1880
His first published novel, Madame Bovary, is perhaps the most
famous for his work. It was originally published as a series
novel, and the French authorities filed a lawsuit against Flaubert for
immorality.
Jules Verne 1828-1905
Jules Verne is especially famous because he was one of the first authors,
who wrote science fiction. Many literary critics even consider
him one of the founding fathers of the genre. He wrote many novels
some of the better known:
twenty thousand leagues under the sea
Journey to the center of the earth
Around the world in 80 Days
Other French writers
There are many other great French writers:
Molière
Emile Zola
Stendhal
George Sand
Musset
Marcel Proust
Rostand
Jean-Paul Sartre
Madame de Scudery
Stendhal
Sully Prudhomme
Anatole France
Simone de Beauvoir
Charles Baudelaire
Voltaire
In France, literature has been, and continues to be, the driving force behind philosophy.
Paris is fertile ground for new ideas, philosophies and movements that
ever seen the world.
French writers are among the most prominent representatives European prose. Many of them are recognized novels and the stories of which served as the basis for the formation of fundamentally new artistic movements and directions. Certainly modern world literature France owes much, the influence of the writers of this country extends far beyond its borders.
Molière
The French writer Molière lived in the 17th century. His real name is Jean-Baptiste Poquelin. Molière is a theatrical pseudonym. He was born in 1622 in Paris. In his youth he studied to be a lawyer, but as a result actor career attracted him more. Over time, he had his own troupe.
In Paris, he made his debut in 1658 in the presence of Louis XIV. Big success had a play "Doctor in Love". In Paris, he takes up writing dramatic works. For 15 years he creates his own best plays, which often caused fierce attacks from others.
One of his first comedies, The Laughing Cossacks, was first staged in 1659.
She tells about two rejected suitors who are coldly received in the house of the bourgeois Gorgibus. They decide to take revenge and teach the capricious and cutesy girls a lesson.
One of the most famous plays French writer Moliere is called "Tartuffe, or the Deceiver". It was written in 1664. The action of this work takes place in Paris. Tartuffe, a modest, learned and disinterested man, is rubbed into the trust of the wealthy owner of the house, Orgon.
Those around Orgon are trying to prove to him that Tartuffe is not as simple as he makes himself out to be, but the owner of the house does not trust anyone except his new friend. Finally, the true essence of Tartuffe is revealed when Orgon entrusts him with the storage of money, transfers his capital and house to him. Only thanks to the intervention of the king can justice be restored.
Tartuffe is punished, and Orgon's property and house are returned. This play made Molière the most famous French writer of his time.
Voltaire
In 1694, another famous French writer, Voltaire, was born in Paris. Interestingly, like Moliere, he had a pseudonym, and his real name was François-Marie Arouet.
He was born into the family of an official. Educated at a Jesuit college. But, like Moliere, he left jurisprudence, opting for literature. He began his career at the palaces of aristocrats as a parasitic poet. Soon he was imprisoned. For satirical poems dedicated to the regent and his daughter, he was imprisoned in the Bastille. Later, he had to suffer more than once for his masterful literary temper.
In 1726, the French writer Voltaire leaves for England, where he devotes three years to the study of philosophy, politics and science. Returning, he writes for which the publisher is imprisoned, and Voltaire manages to escape.
Voltaire, first of all, famous French writer and philosopher. In his writings, he repeatedly criticizes religion, which was unacceptable for that time.
Among the most famous works of this writer in French literature, it is necessary to highlight satirical poem"Orleans virgin". In it, Voltaire presents the successes of Joan of Arc in a comic way, ridicules the courtiers and knights. Voltaire died in 1778 in Paris, it is known that for a long time he corresponded with the Russian Empress Catherine II.
French writer of the 19th century Honore de Balzac was born in the town of Tours. His father made a fortune on the resale of land, although he was a peasant. He wanted Balzac to become a lawyer, but he abandoned a legal career, devoting himself entirely to literature.
He published his first book under his own name in 1829. It was historical novel"Shuany", dedicated to the Great french revolution 1799. Glory to him brings the story "Gobsek" about a usurer, for whom avarice turns into mania, and the novel " Shagreen leather"Dedicated to the collision of an inexperienced person with vices modern society. Balzac becomes one of the favorite French writers of the time.
The idea of the main work of his life comes to him in 1831. He decides to create a multi-volume work, in which he will reflect the picture of the mores of his contemporary society. He later called this work "The Human Comedy". It is philosophical and artistic history France, to the creation of which he devotes the rest of his life. French writer, author human comedy"includes many previously written works, some specially reworks.
Among them are the already mentioned "Gobsek", as well as "The Thirty-Year-Old Woman", "Colonel Chabert", "Father Goriot", "Eugenia Grande", "Lost Illusions", "Shine and Poverty of the Courtesans", "Sarrasine", "Lily of the Valley" and many other works. It is as the author of The Human Comedy that the French writer Honore de Balzac remains in the history of world literature.
Among the French writers of the 19th century, Victor Hugo also stands out. One of the key figures French romanticism. He was born in the town of Besançon in 1802. He began to write at the age of 14, these were poems, in particular, Hugo translated Virgil. In 1823 he published his first novel under the title "Gan the Icelander".
In the 30s and 40s of the 19th century, the work of the French writer V. Hugo was closely connected with the theater; he also published poetry collections.
Among his most famous works is the epic novel "Les Misérables", which is deservedly considered one of the greatest books of all 19th century. Its protagonist, an ex-convict, angry at all of humanity, returns from hard labor, where he spent 19 years due to the theft of bread. He ends up with a Catholic bishop who completely changes his life.
The priest treats him with respect, and when Valjean robs him, he forgives and does not betray him to the authorities. The man who accepted and took pity on him shocked the protagonist so much that he decides to establish a factory for the manufacture of black glassware. Becomes mayor small town, for which the factory turns into a city-forming enterprise.
But when he nevertheless stumbles, the French police rush to search for him, Valjean is forced to hide.
In 1831, another famous work of the French writer Hugo was published - the novel Notre Dame Cathedral. The action takes place in Paris. Main female character- Gypsy Esmeralda, who with her beauty drives everyone around crazy. The priest of Notre Dame Cathedral is secretly in love with her. Fascinated by the girl and his pupil, the hunchback Quasimodo, who works as a bell ringer.
The girl herself remains faithful to the captain of the royal shooters Phoebus de Chateauper. Blinded by jealousy, Frollo wounds Phoebe, and Esmeralda herself becomes the accused. She is sentenced to death penalty. When the girl is brought to the square to be hanged, Frollo and Quasimodo are watching. The hunchback, realizing that it is the priest who is to blame for her troubles, throws him off the top of the cathedral.
Talking about the books of the French writer Victor Hugo, one cannot fail to mention the novel "The Man Who Laughs". The writer creates it in the 60s years XIX century. Its main character is Gwynplaine, who was mutilated as a child by representatives of the criminal community of child traffickers. The fate of Gwynplaine is very similar to the story of Cinderella. From a fair artist, he turns into an English peer. By the way, the action takes place in Britain at the turn of the XVII-XVIII centuries.
Guy de Maupassant, famous French writer, author of the story "Dumpling", the novels "Dear Friend", "Life", was born in 1850. During his studies, he distinguished himself as smart student having an affinity for theatrical art and literature. He went through the Franco-Prussian war as a private, worked as an official in the naval ministry after his family went bankrupt.
The aspiring writer immediately captivated the public with his debut story "Pyshka", in which he spoke about a plump prostitute nicknamed Pyshka, who, along with nuns and representatives higher strata society leaves the besieged Rouen during the war of 1870. The ladies surrounding her at first treat the girl arrogantly, even unite against, but when they run out of food, they willingly treat themselves to her provisions, forgetting about any hostility.
The main themes of Maupassant's work were Normandy, the Franco-Prussian War, women (as a rule, they became victims of violence), and their own pessimism. Over time it gets stronger nervous disease, the themes of hopelessness and depression are increasingly occupying him.
In Russia, his novel "Dear Friend" is very popular, in which the author tells about an adventurer who managed to make brilliant career. It is noteworthy that the hero does not have any talents, except for natural beauty, thanks to which he conquers all the surrounding ladies. He does a lot of meanness, with which he calmly gets along, becoming one of the mighty of the world this.
He was born in 1885 to a wealthy family of Jews from Alsace who converted to Catholicism. He studied at the Rouen Lyceum. At first he worked at his father's cloth factory.
During the First World War, he was a liaison officer and military translator. His first success came in 1918 when he published The Silent Colonel Bramble.
Later he participated in the French Resistance. He also served during World War II. After France capitulated to the fascist troops, he left for the USA, in America he wrote biographies of General Eisenhower, Washington, Franklin, Chopin. He returned to France in 1946.
In addition to biographical works, Maurois was famous as a master psychological novel. Among the most notable books of this genre are the novels: "The Family Circle", "The Vicissitudes of Love", "Memoirs", published in 1970.
Albert Camus is a famous French writer and publicist who was close to the current of existentialism. Camus was born in Algiers in 1913, who at the time was French colony. His father died in World War I, after which he and his mother lived in poverty.
In the 1930s, Camus studied philosophy at the University of Algiers. He was carried away by socialist ideas, even was a member of the French Communist Party, until he was expelled, suspected of "Trotskyism."
In 1940, Camus completed his first famous work - the story "The Outsider", which is considered classic illustration ideas of existentialism. The story is told on behalf of a 30-year-old Frenchman named Meursault, who lives in colonial Algeria. Three main events of his life take place on the pages of the story - the death of his mother, the murder local resident and the ensuing trial, from time to time he starts a relationship with a girl.
In 1947, the most famous camus novel called "Plague". This book is largely an allegory for the recently defeated "brown plague" in Europe - fascism. At the same time, Camus himself admitted that he put evil in general into this image, without which it is impossible to imagine being.
In 1957, the Nobel Committee awarded him the Literature Prize for works that highlighted the importance of human conscience.
The famous French writer Jean-Paul Sartre, like Camus, was an adherent of the ideas of existentialism. By the way, he was also awarded Nobel Prize(in 1964), but Sartre refused it. He was born in Paris in 1905.
He showed himself not only in literature, but also in journalism. In the 1950s, working in the New Times magazine, he supported the desire of the Algerian people to gain independence. He advocated freedom of self-determination of peoples, against torture and colonialism. The French nationalists repeatedly threatened him, twice blew up his apartment, located in the center of the capital, and the militants repeatedly seized the editorial office of the magazine.
Sartre supported the Cuban Revolution and took part in student riots in 1968.
His most famous work- Nausea novel. He wrote it back in 1938. Before the reader is the diary of a certain Antoine Roquentin, who leads him with one single purpose - to get to the bottom of the essence. He is worried about the changes taking place with him, in which the hero cannot figure it out. Nausea, which from time to time overcomes Antoine, becomes the main symbol of the novel.
Soon after October revolution there was such a thing as Russian-French writers. A large number of Russian writers were forced to emigrate, many found shelter in France. The French name is given to the writer Gaito Gazdanov, who was born in St. Petersburg in 1903.
During civil war in 1919, Gazdanov joined Wrangel's volunteer army, even though he was only 16 at the time. He served as a soldier on an armored train. When white army was forced to retreat, ended up in the Crimea, from there sailed on a steamer to Constantinople. He settled in Paris in 1923, where he spent most of his life.
His fate was not easy. He worked as a steam locomotive washer, a loader in the port, a mechanic at the Citroen plant, when he could not find any work, he spent the night on the street, he lived like a clochard.
At the same time, he studied for four years at the Historical and Philological University at the famous French Sorbonne University. Even becoming famous writer, did not have financial viability for a long time, was forced to work as a taxi driver at night.
In 1929, he published his first novel, An Evening at Claire's. The novel is conditionally divided into two parts. The first tells about the events that happened to the hero before meeting Claire. And the second part is devoted to memories of the Civil War in Russia, the novel is largely autobiographical. The thematic centers of the work are the death of the protagonist's father, the situation that prevails in cadet corps, Claire. One of central images is an armored train that serves as a symbol of constant departure, the desire to always learn something new.
Interestingly, critics divide Gazdanov's novels into "French" and "Russian". They can be used to track the formation of the creative self-awareness of the author. In "Russian" novels, the plot, as a rule, is based on an adventurous strategy, the author's experience as a "traveler" is manifested, as well as many personal impressions and events. Gazdanov's autobiographical works are the most sincere and frank.
Gazdanov differs from most of his contemporaries by his laconicism, the rejection of the traditional and classical novel form, often he does not have an outset, climax, denouement, or a clearly built plot. At the same time, his narrative is as close as possible to real life, it covers many psychological, philosophical, social and spiritual problems. Most often, Gazdanov is not interested in the events themselves, but in how they change the consciousness of his characters, he tries to interpret the same vital manifestations. His most famous novels: "The story of one trip", "Flight", "Night roads", "The Ghost of Alexander Wolf", "The Return of the Buddha" (after the success of this novel, relative financial independence came to him), "Pilgrims", "Awakening", "Evelina and her friends", "Coup", which was never completed.
No less popular are the stories of the French writer Gazdanov, whom he can fully call himself. These are "Master of the Future", "Comrade Marriage", "Black Swans", "The Society of the Eight of Spades", "Mistake", "Evening Companion", "Ivanov's Letter", "The Beggar", "Lanterns", "The Great Musician".
In 1970, the writer was diagnosed with lung cancer. He steadfastly endured the disease, most of his acquaintances did not even suspect that Gazdanov was ill. Few close people knew how hard it was for him. The prose writer died in Munich, was buried in the cemetery of Sainte-Genevieve de Bois near the French capital.
There are many popular French writers among contemporaries. Perhaps the most famous among the living is Frederic Begbeder. He was born in 1965 near Paris. Received higher education at the Institute of Political Studies, then studied marketing and advertising.
Started working as a copywriter for a large advertising agency. In parallel, he collaborated with magazines as a literary critic. When he was fired from an advertising agency, he took up the novel "99 francs", which brought him worldwide success. This is a bright and frank satire that exposed the ins and outs of the advertising business.
The protagonist is an employee of a large advertising agency, we note that the novel is largely autobiographical. He lives in luxury, has a lot of money, women, dabbles in drugs. His life is turned upside down after two events that make the protagonist take a different look at the world. It's an affair with the agency's most beautiful employee, Sophie, and a meeting at a giant dairy corporation about a commercial he's working on.
The protagonist decides to rebel against the system that gave birth to him. He begins to sabotage his own advertising campaign.
By that time, Begbeder had already published two books - "Memoirs of an Unreasonable Young Man" (the title refers to the novel by Simone de Beauvoir "Memoirs of a well-bred girl"), a collection of short stories "Vacations in a Coma" and the novel "Love Lives for Three Years", subsequently filmed, as well as "99 francs". Moreover, in this film, Begbeder himself acted as a director.
Many of Begbeder's heroes are extravagant playboys, very similar to the author himself.
In 2002, he published the novel "Windows on the World", written exactly one year after the terrorist attack on the World shopping mall in NYC. Begbeder is trying to find words that can express the full horror of the impending reality, which turns out to be worse than the most incredible Hollywood fantasies.
In 2009, he wrote The French Romance, an autobiographical narrative in which the author is placed in a holding cell for cocaine use in public place. There, he begins to remember his forgotten childhood, recalling the meeting of his parents, their divorce, his life with his older brother. Meanwhile, the arrest is extended, the hero begins to be overwhelmed by fear, which makes him reconsider his own life and leave prison as a different person who regained his lost childhood.
One of Begbeder's latest works is the novel "Una and Salinger", which tells about the love of the famous American writer who wrote general ledger teenagers of the XX century "The Catcher in the Rye", and the 15-year-old daughter of the famous Irish playwright Unoy O'Neill.
It is no secret that French literature is one of the oldest and richest in Europe. Below Leyla Budaeva talk about some key works created inXIXcentury.
1. Victor Hugo, Notre Dame Cathedral (1831)
"You think you're unhappy! Alas! You don't know what misfortune is."
The time when novels like this were written was the age of innocence. Beauty Esmeralda, sufferer Quasimodo, sinister archdeacon - in everything famous characters Hugos have so much purity/nobility/violence that they seem to be the perfect quintessence of these concepts. The intensity of their passions is strong and terrible, but still naive. Happiness is to read a book in youth and believe it without reasoning.
But there is something that is noticed only with age. The work is an amazing example of the literature of the era of romanticism with its outstanding characters and violent feelings, but all this fades into the background when Hugo writes about his main character - Cathedral Notre Dame of Paris. He is a revelation embodied in metal and stone, inviolable and eternal. The writer's reflections on the nature of architecture and printing, his attentive look at the medieval city are as important components of the novel as the anxieties and joys of the charming street dancer Esmeralda.
Today, the novel may seem somewhat archaic, but you can’t refuse it in any way in beauty and genuine humanity.
2. Honore de Balzac, Woman of Thirty (1842)
“To reason where you need to feel is the property of a wingless soul”
The life story of Julie d'Aiglemont is a story of mistakes made for the sake of an indefatigable imagination and blind stubbornness. Indulging her own enthusiasm, this chaste and not at all stupid woman ruined her beloved man - absurdly, thoughtlessly, senselessly.
Balzac's novels are always more than romances. The plot in them, in general, is secondary - the characters are not important either. Its main characters are morals. Mores that dictate the way of thinking and way of life; morals, equally capable of poisoning a pure soul and whitewashing the very embodiment of vice.
The book is ambiguous. She is witty, sometimes fantastic, but always accurate and truthful in depicting movements. human soul. Balzac does not moralize, does not accuse or justify. He only tells with deep respect about a life lived according to the dictates of a heart that has known joy and pain in equal measure.
3. Gustave Flaubert, Madame Bovary (1857)
“... why did that on which she tried to rely instantly decay?”
Today it is one of the key novels of the world fiction, but in 1857 he was considered immoral and the author was brought to trial.
Exhausted by a dull life and fruitless fantasies about better share, Emma Bovary cheats on her husband, spends money on empty whims, gets confused in own lies and, being unable to pay off his debts, takes poison.
How to judge her? Before us is not a fatal femme fatale, but a sentimental young woman capable of reveling in feelings to self-forgetfulness. She feels sorry for herself. Is it fair to live in the provinces, be the wife of a mediocre doctor and lead the life of a middle-class bourgeois?
She craves luxury and beauty - and this is understandable. But, having neither one nor the other, he withdraws into himself, gets angry and falls into despondency. She is pretty - no wonder they pay attention to her. But neither the husband nor the lovers see, and do not want to see who she really is - an enthusiastic and ingenuous boarder who wants to hand herself over to her beloved and run away with him to the ends of the world. She is not stupid, but she hardly knows what it is real life. The whole world is enclosed in the object of her affection, the rest are conventions, which are better to close your eyes to. A terrible denouement is natural and predetermined. It couldn't be otherwise.
The book is stylistically verified - Flaubert has always been famous for his ability to choose words perfectly. And placing the main accents, the writer over and over again reminds of one thing: "do not judge."
4. Anatole France, Thais (1890)
"Be careful not to offend Venus - her revenge is terrible"
A novel on the theme of the legend about the conversion to Christianity of the famous Alexandrian courtesan Thais. In 1890, the book caused open discontent and was recognized as anti-clerical. Why? Because France contrasted the idea of religious passion with carnal passion and created a genuine drama.
The righteous Paphnutius decides to turn Thais away from vice and convinces her to leave pagan Alexandria in order to retire to a convent. What drives them? Unshakable faith? Yes, he thinks. But what is the reason for his jealousy and burning anxiety? He knows this woman - and for many years he loves her, not daring to admit it to himself. The painful struggle of his will with feeling, that is, with Venus (the mythical goddess of love and beauty), determines the philosophical side of the novel.
The fact that on the way to Thais, Pafnuty is guided not only by convictions, but also by passion, in which he is not aware of himself, is obvious from the first pages. It is all the more painful to watch how his world, once whole and clear, crumbles to dust. After all, mistaking lust for a thirst to save a lost soul, he deceived himself - and for this he was punished.
Frans brilliantly recreated the aesthetics of the late ancient world and way of life of Christians of the first centuries of our era. And this is the undeniable charm and value of the book.
5. Prosper Merimee, short stories
"... we find some solace for self-esteem, considering our weakness from the height of our pride"
I will complete the collection with a collection short prose. "Venus of Ill", "Double Error", "Etruscan Vase" - elegant sketches of feelings in all their vulnerability, spontaneity and novelty. Little tragedies, where the retribution for an unfortunate mistake or desperate self-deception will be own life- ridiculous, simple and inevitable ... In the story "Lokis" the count in love will turn out to be a fierce beast - why not the story of beauty and the beast, just the other way around? Merimee's well-aimed, concise prose gives goosebumps, but the author's cold irony quickly comes to the rescue. The truth of human characters debunks illusions, and the mind enlightens feelings, so reading these short stories is just right.
