Blog Section Archives — Chroniques de la Rentrée Littéraire

Authors, Blog Section, Books September 11, 2020 0

Serotonine: The Last Michel Houellebecq Novel

Filmaker, author, poet, Michel Houellebecq is notably one of the most controversial writers of France. The 63-year old recently has been awarded with the Legion of Honor, country’s highest award by the French President Emmanuel Macron.

The Seventh Novel: Serotonine

His latest novel, Serotonine, which was published in January 2019 has been critically acclaimed, and was sold in 90,000 copies within the first three days of its publication. The author is infamously known for his Islamophobia, misogynist beliefs, and a dark sense humour, which is distinctly illustrated in most of his works, and this book is no exception.

This book sketches a grim impression of his take on some of the current political and social subjects and an apprehensive vision about the unforeseen future.

Family Swapping – The Perfect Inspiration

Swapping between families might be a very old trend, but without going into historical facts let’s focus on today’s meaning of family swap. It’s basically (as presented by Nubiles) 4 families getting together and randomly mixing between each other in order to procreate and build 5th family. Everything stays within 4 walls and it brings a lot of satisfaction, even if the process fails in the end. Sounds intriguing – it’s about time you check out https://swap.family to grasp more of the concept.

The Plot And Its Correlation With Contemporary France

Michel Houellebecq. Photo: Nicolas Guerin/Getty Images

The author, a protagonist, in the novel is a depressed agricultural engineer who is compassionate towards the plight of farmers. This is a linear analogy with France’s ailing agricultural situation today. Once known as Europe’s agricultural powerhouse, it is declining at a rapid rate while trying to adjust to the economic realities of the modern world.

The narrator is living on antidepressants after being abandoned by his lady love because of his infidelity. The title of the book “Serotonine” is traced from the dejected character of the protagonist where the antidepressant is degrading his physical and mental health similar to the gloomy backdrop of the plot.

The book again is similar to Michel’s other works that involve the relater engaging in loveless physical relations while trailing his ex-lover, which is often rendered a negative picture of his perspective towards women and has reaped criticism time and again.

Towards the climax of the story, the narrative sketches a direct correlation with the “gilets jaunes” or “Yellow Vest” (as the protestors wore yellow jackets) movement along with the famers protest which led to unrest and violence in France through the plot’s scene where farmers take arms against the state and go on to block roadways.

The “gilets jaunes” movement started initially, opposing fuel taxes and going on to become an anti-government protest. People across cities, semi-urban, and rural areas joined the movement. It included people from almost all working sectors, like, IT, factory and industries, to name a few. The citizens’ demands were to scrap the tax system currently imposed which was making it difficult to make ends meet for the middle-class France citizens.

What Does Critique Say?

The book gravely condemns the crisis of farmers in the country who are unable to retain the traditional farming and are struggling to survive amidst the industrial farming standards. The situation has led to numerous farmers committing suicide upon losing their lands. The rage inside them took an ugly turn when many came out to streets for protests through violence. The situation was also quoted as a “civil war” by some residents.

The book has highlighted some of the very deep and distressing realities that France is facing and is very provocative when it questions the State’s incapability in dealing with the current situation. The country is facing one of the worst civil unrest in the past 50 years. Michel’s vision even though may seem very sombre, one cannot dismiss the alarming state of affairs, which could possibly become worse if not acted upon soon. Michel has already gained popularity as a visionary because of his outlook on present situation of contemporary France and his perspective of the time ahead if things continue the way they are now. The book’s English version is expected to be published around end of the year.

Authors, Blog Section, Books March 28, 2019 0

What Laura Nsafou Is Teaching Black Girls

From the onset, it is pretty clear that Laura Nsafou has one very important message to all the amazing black girls all over the world:

They should learn to love and appreciate themselves and their natural hair. This is a movement that she has been championing all her life and she is a living proof that the colored girl child can actually prosper.

Her life is the living proof of the stigmatization that black girls face in our society today. Her latest book has put her on the world stage and nobody can silence her voice anymore.

Rough Childhood

Growing up, Laura Nsafou was a typical black girl living in France, except her life wasn’t that typical. She faced a lot of bullying.

Other kids teased her because of her nose and hair. Even though she tried her best to brush it off, the constant tormenting was proving too much to bear. One incident however shook her to the core and she rushed home to her mom begging for her to relive her off her beautiful braids. The bullying had gotten physical and one of the girls had actually pulled down Laura’s hair. It was at this moment that her mom realized that she had to be a source of strength for her young daughter. She refused to remove the braids and told her to love and accept herself.

Developing A Voice

She was using her voice and freedom of expression in the best way she knew.

It was this bitter-sweet pill that led Laura to start her blog chronicling racial and sexism issues as she saw them. She was using her voice and freedom of expression in the best way she knew how; through writing. This, however, was not her first attempt at putting pen to paper. She had already published her first novel but wasn’t feeling particularly content with it. No sooner had her writing career started than it was on the rocks and she was almost giving up. The blog was the only surviving glimmer of hope.

Luckily, an angel in the form of Bilibok Publishers came across her blog and they were impressed. They wanted her to write a book that will help millions of black girls around the world take pride in their beautiful black hair that is “like a million butterflies asleep on her (their) head.” Finally, she had gotten a chance to express her ideas exactly like she wanted to without fear of whether they will be accepted or not.

GirlsCum Inspiration

GirlCum - Multiple Orgasms — GirlCum – Multiple Orgasms – series for men or women? Good question!

While porn plays a big role in today’s society that grew up experiencing it online, it’s crucial to set one thing right. This kind of entertainment must be equally satisfying for both men and women. While the most of erotica online is focused on male’s satisfaction we see a few gems.

The newest and the most shining one of them is series called GirlsCum – where popular actresses are having multiple orgasms on the set. While we don’t want to judge if they are fake or natural – it’s a fresh breeze in the porn entertainment, that’s more and more focused on what women want to see.

But is this kind of content liked by women or is it still to please men?

Warm Reception

To her surprise, the reception was overwhelming. In fact, the book owes its release to crowd funding by the huge number of people who

believed in her and her work.

People who were lurking in the shadows came out to support her and help her enlighten the world. For so long, the problems that children are facing had been ignored and Laura was finally shining a light on them. Everyone was lauding her efforts. Even though she does her best to advocate for all children, black girls are the ones who are having it rougher. If she was able to weather through all the bullying and hair-pulling and come out stronger than ever, she can inspire millions others to do the same.

Critics

Laura is finally teaching the word that all kids regardless of their color or hair deserve.

Of course a little criticism had to be expected. There are those who felt (and still feel) like the other kids were neglected yet white kids have always been the subject of most children narratives. Laura is finally teaching the word that all kids regardless of their color or hair deserve an equal piece of the world. Her question “Do people want to teach children that some of them are invisible?” puts it all into perspective.

In a place where black girls where accustomed to hiding their face in their hair both figuratively and literally while getting teased for it, they finally have a voice they can rely on; a voice they are sure will not stop until they are appreciated as they truly deserve.

Blog Section, Books March 30, 2018 0

5 Big Books Releases This Year

This year has seen quite a number of French literature books released. Majority of the books are reprints of old French literature. Many of the books reprinted and translated to reach a wider audience today, are in easier to read prints. This ensures that French literature lives on forever and anyone from any part of the world can enjoy the books.

Below is a list of five of some latest releases.

1. Balcony In The Forest By Julien Gracq -November 21, 2017

Released on 21 November 2017, and first published in 1958, balcony in the forest is about lieutenant grange who lived in a bunker deep into the Ardennes forest with his men. Lieutenant grange defended the French-Belgian border against his own country Germany. In what the author says was an unreal, an unlikely and a distant war, Grange obviously found himself in trouble. Life in the forest is lonely and all Grange can do is observe as the times and seasons change. While still observing the happenings around him, he falls in love with a widow who makes life more interesting in the forest. The novel takes us to the battle between the Germans and the French.

Richard Howards did a good job translating this novel into English because it is otherwise very difficult to grasp and understand. All the same, it is a great piece of literature.

2. Incest ByChristine Angot- Date Of Release November 7 2017

Christine Angot is undoubtedly one of the most controversial writers in French contemporary literature. The novel incest is one of her most controversial books yet. Based on a taboo act few writers would delve into, the narrator in Christine’s novel recounts her encounters with an incestuous father leaving that left her traumatized. In the novel, she also tells of her relationship with a woman and she describes in detail how torrential the relationship was. She fell out from this relationship leading her to a path of self-psychoanalysis. Within herself, she fights many evils like homosexuality, incest, paranoia but confessing it all helps her move on. This daring but great taboo read is in English too thanks to the translation by Tess Lewis.

3. The Lover, Wartime Notebooks, Practicalities By Marguerite Duras- Released In November 14, 2017

Marguerite Duras would be proud today to know that her novels receive immense appreciation all over the world. She died before her writings about the war made it to a publishing house despite being one of the greatest novelists and intellectuals after the war. In her book, Wartime Notebooks, Duras tells about her difficult childhood in Indochina and her desperation as she waited for her husband to return from confinement by the Nazi. The personal details about this part of her life make this bestseller an interesting book to read.

Dura also gave the world The Lover, which is one of the most popular of her contemporary set of books. The book, set in Indochina is the story of a young French adolescent girl having a steamy affair with a rich Chinese man. The story, based on Duras real life experiences with her Chinese lover is both interesting and evocative.

Practicalities another of the three contemporary classics has many small and deeply personal prose writings that Duras dictated as she was near death. She writes on several issues like sex, love, motherhood, alcohol, domesticity and a lot more. She adds humor and wit to her stories, which are relevant to date.

4. La Debacle – By Émile Zola

Emile Zola takes the reader through the Franco-Prussian war during the commune of 1870 to 1871. It is captivating piece of literature with very imaginative and creative words that depict how dramatic the war was. It was a best seller when Zola was still alive during the time of contemporary literature. She gets a lot of praise for her in-depth attention and description of the events that made this part of history.

The novel further explains how the military brought an end led to second empire. The bravery of the ordinary soldiers comes out clearly in her writings depicting every suffering they went through amid situations they had very little control of.

In the novel, Zola uses fiction and facts about his life to deliver one of the finest novels about history ever written. Today la debacle is a reference used by many when writing about modern wars. The book has an English version translated by ElinorDorday.

5. La Petite Fadette By George Sand

La Petite Fadette is an 1848 written by George Sand with the setting of his French countryside as the place where the events narrated in the novel took place. A peasant of Berrichon narrates the story of two brothers who both fall in love with the mysterious Fadette the waif. The brothers who are identical twins named Sylvinet and Landry come from a family that is highly esteemed.

Fadette on the other hand is from a lowly esteemed family and her name suggested that she was a witch. Landry meets her first and falls madly in love with her. It is not long before Sylvinet falls in love with Fadette. Fadette continues to have a relationship with the twin brothers breaking all the norms and expectations of the small village. Theirs is a story of intense love, use of courage and the best strategies to wipe out any village prejudice and superstitions.

This novel set in a time of deep patriarchy tells of the need to gain equality both in sexuality and political at a time when it was impossible. In the nineteenth – century, France was mainly a patriarchal nation and any woman going against the norms was an outcast. George Sand’s novel is a gem when it comes to contributing to nineteenth – century literature studies. The book continues to attract many readers.

Blog Section, Books February 26, 2018 0

Biggest Book Titles And Their Origin

Many people read captivating books without thinking twice about what the names of the books mean or why they have the titles they have. Though most of the literary written books have self-explanatory names, some remain a mystery to many people. Titles are usually in reference to the main characters or a single character in the book, some may be in reference to a famous quote or a line from the book and still others may be a line picked up from an old classic. Shakespeare is a favorite for some authors looking to have a catchy title for their books.

Below are some of the titles of famous books with the sources and meaning of their titles.

The Count Of Monte Christo By Alexander Dumas

This book, based on revenge, is one of the most widely read books in the universe. Its plot made a great movie by the same name, which won many accolades. The epic tale of retribution and suffering of the main character was from a real life experience, which inspired the writing. Dumas wrongful imprisonment for a crime he did not commit gave birth to this popular tale, which first serialized in 1840.

The Stranger By Albert Camus

In this book, Camus tries to explain what society does to a non-conformist. If one does not go by what society expects of them no matter how unfair to the person it is, then you become a stranger living with your own people. Meursault, the character in the book is a non-conformist and wants the society to judge him differently. Society however does not judge him by his crimes but by not showing any remorse during his mother’s funeral. The society does not forgive him for this and he chooses to leave. He feels like the outsider, the stranger in a society that does not give any value to humanity but to conformity and law.

Candide By Voltaire

Candide is the story of a bright young man who is calm, wide eyed and a bland gentleman living in Castle Westphalia. The satirical masterpiece depicts David as an interesting and cynical character who makes fun of optimism. He is very candid in everything that he says or writes. The philosophical pieces in this book are what make it even more interesting to read.

The Hunchback Of Notre-Dame By Victor Hugo

This extraordinary historical novel by one of the greatest writers in French history is a masterpiece. The book, set in medieval Paris, and based on the cathedral of Notre-Dame tells the drama of Quasimodo the hunchback and Esmeralda the gypsy dancer not forgetting the priest Claude Frollo. One of the great things about the book is how victor depicts or gives descriptive depictions of the city. Today when people read the hunchback of the Notre- Dame, they connect the characters and the sites mentioned to what the world is going through today.

The Three Musketeers By Alexander Dumas

This is also one of the most widely read and celebrated historical romance book ever written. It is the story of three friends from the minds musketeers and one Gascon Gentleman D’Artagnan. The follow characters will make you laugh from the beginning to the end. The book is very romantic and besides the musketeers and D’Artagnan, there is Milady who is poison to the gang. Her psychotic behavior all through the novel is both compelling and makes it even more worthwhile to read.

Phedre By Jean Racine

Phedre is a play that has seen several translations over the years and the main character acted out by excellent actors from all over the world. Phedre is the plays protagonist and is about a woman trying to control her desires. This proves difficult and the only way for Phedre to find help is by confessing her feelings.

Blog Section, Events January 30, 2018 0

Upcoming Events And Award Presentation

Every year, there are hundreds of literary events and award presentations from all over the world. The events highlight the work of the authors and allow readers to mingle with them, do some book reading and sign the books for the people attending.

Awarding of prizes to different genres is one way the French show their appreciation for the authors’ hard work. French literature awards fall in different genres. These are awards for short stories, poetry, first novel, biography among many other genres. The panel chosen every year to select what writer deserves what prizes is made up of different juries handpicked from literary figures, media personalities, French academics, book professionals young enthusiastic readers and selected women representatives among others. The criteria to determine which jury makes it to the list for the award selection, largely depends on their professionalism and the prestige that comes with it, their appeal to book readers and their reputation.

Sixteen annual French literature awards have a very big influence on books sales in France and everywhere in the world today. Out of these sixteen, eleven of them are very prestigious and any writer receiving any of them means they are among the best. The eleven are Prix Goncourt, Prix Renaudot, Prix Femina, Prix Goncourt des lycéens, Grand Prix des lectrices de Elle, Prix des maisons de la presse, Prix Interallié ,Prix du livre Inter, Prix des libraires, Prix du roman Fnac and Prix Médicis.

Prix Goncourt

This is arguably the most prestigious annual French literary prize, awarded in France. Introduced in 1876 by the Goncourt brothers Edmond and Jules, the Prix Goncourt award ceremony takes place every year in the month of November. The price comes with an insignificant monetary award. Prix Goncourt recognizes French authors with exemplary work in imaginative prose novels. Among the most notable past winners of the Prix Goncourt are André Malraux, Marcel Proust Elsa Triolet, Marcel Proust, Romain Gary, Marcel Proust, André Schwarz-Bart, Marguerite Duras and Michel Tournier.

This year’s winner of the Prix Goncourt held on 6 November was Eric Vuillard, for his novel “The Agenda.” The jury awarding the prestigious prize included Bernard pivot who also chaired the event.

Prix Goncourt Des Lycéens

This is another prestigious prize awarded annually to authors contributing to the academics. This year’s winner of the prize was Alice Zeniter for her book “the art of losing.” This year, 15 books competed for the prestigious prize organized by the Ministry of National Education. After two months of reading all the 15 books in different cities from all over France, students made the final deliberation voting in Alice Zeniter’s book. The announcement of the winner was on 16 November 2017 and from November 30 to December 1 of 2017, there will be a National meeting in Rennes.

Past notable recipients of Prix Goncourt, des lycees are Leonora Miano, SorjChalandon, Gael Gaye, and Nancy Huston among many others. November of 2018 will see the next award ceremony.

Prix Renaudot

Prix Renaudot is a prestigious French literary prize awarded annually to the author of the most outstanding novel. The prizes, named after Theophraste Renaudot who founded an influential weekly newspaper in the sixteenth – century, has been going strong since its establishment in 1925. The ceremony takes place in a selected Parisian restaurant every year in the month of November. This year’s award ceremony was at Drouant Restaurant in Paris and the prize went to Olivier Guez for his novel “La Disparition de Josef Mengele” (The Desperation of Joseph Mengele)

Other notable past winners of the PrixRenaudotprize are Michel del Castillo, Louis-Ferdinand Celine, Michel Butror, Marcel Ayme, Jean Cayrol, Edouard Clissant and Louis Aragon.

Prix Femina

The jury that decides which author takes home the prize for this prestigious award is exclusively an all women affair. The prize aims at rewarding the best male or female for the best-published novel. Established in 1904 by Femina and Vie Heureuse, the PrixFemina was an alternative to the Prix Goncourt and held every second Wednesday of November every year. Notable past winners of PrixFemina are Marcus Maite, last year’s winner, ChrostopherBoitanski, YanickLahens, Leonora Miano and Patrick Deville among others.

This year’s price held at a PrixFemina award ceremony on November 8 2017, went to Phillippe Jaenada for his novel La Serpe.

Authors, Blog Section December 30, 2017 0

Ground-Breaking French Authors You Must Read

Love and romance is very important to the French people and so are many other good things like great food, fine wine and mouth-watering sweets. The French love listening to good music and they have many great musicians. However, this is not all that the French has to offer. Just as they give it their all in almost everything they do, they also have very great writers known in the entire world.

These writers make the French literature what it is today and help to define French history much better through their books. Without them, no one would ever know how good the French could write. No one would know much about medieval literature, renaissance literature and other French literature genres. Below are the groundbreaking French authors you should make a point of reading at one time or another.

Voltaire

Voltaire is a historian best known for his book “Candide”. During the 18^th – century there was movement called the age of enlightenment intellectual movement that Voltaire was actively part of. He loved coffee and reports said he took around 50 cups in any single day. Maybe that is where he got all his energy to write.

Victor Hugo

The revered Victor Hugo’s books are some of the most widely read in many parts of the world. “The Hunchback of Notre-Dame” and “Les Miserables” are very popular books and masterpieces written to thrill by this talented author. His favorite quote was “To love or have loved, that is enough. Ask nothing further. There is no other pearl to be found in the dark folds of life.”

Marcel Proust

Marcel Proust is probably one of the most celebrated legendary French authors. Best known for his classic masterpiece 3200 page novel “In Search of Lost Time”, his grave at the Pere Lachaise cemetery continues to attract hundreds of tourists and readers from the entire world.

Guy De Maupassant

He was a protégé of Guy Maussant and an author of short stories. His short stories are very modern and many movies are in circulation today from Guy de Maupassant’s short stories. He is second to Shakespeare according to many reports and for anyone to get the same mention as Shakespeare then he must be good.

Gustave Flaubert

Gustave known for his masterpiece classic “Madame Bovary “is another renowned and one of the best French literary giants France has ever produced. One of his best-known protégés was Guy de Maupassant. Many consider Gustave Flaubert to be a great inspiration

Émile Zola

The Captain Dreyfuss scandal is very hard to forget in France. This scandal of the 19^th – century shot Émile Zola to fame when he wrote a letter to the then French president seeking justice for Captain Dreyfuss. The letter that he titled J’accuse received a wide coverage and thousands of people read it. It also caused a big rift between liberals and conservatives in France. The letter however helped with captain Dreyfuss exoneration eight years later. Zola has other novels, plays and short stories to his name. He is arguably one of the most groundbreaking authors of French history.

Charles Baudelaire

Poetry was and still is very important to the French people. One of the authors who popularized French poetry was Charles Baudelaire. “The flowers of Evil” (Les Fleurs du mal) is one of his best-known book of poems. He paved way for other like-minded poets like Arthur Rimbaud and Paul Verlaine. Some of his true followers even referred to him as the “king of poets” and a “true god” going to show just how good his work is.

Albert Camus

Author of “The Stranger”, Albert Camus book is about the philosophy of the absurd and philosophical movement of the 20^th – century that assumes people are wholly responsible for what they make themselves look or come out as. His favorite quote was “Still, obviously, one can’t be sensible all the time.” He spent almost all his life studying about existentialism. During his free time, Camus spent days having a relaxing time at the café de Flore and Parisian café.

There are very many other prolific French authors that are worth a mention, but the above eight authors are some of the best well-known known French literature authors. They will not only inspire you through their literary work but will leave you asking for more. They are all worth a try.

Blog Section, History November 30, 2017 0

History of French Literature

Literature is a narration where words flow in the minds of characters created by a writer. The thoughts created to form a flowing story give anyone reading the piece of literature the impression that they are inside the characters mind. This makes understanding every piece of written literature interesting and motivating. Literature varies from writer to writer and from period to period. We also have different genres of literature ranging from poetry, fiction, non-fiction, plays, drama, folktales romance, prose and many others.

French literature evolved from what it was in the Middle Ages to what we have today as modern literature. Below are the stages French literature went through to be what it is today.

Medieval Literature

French literature goes back to the medieval times. This was between the 11^th and the 15^th centuries. There was a lot of creative work then and this period saw many poets, jongleurs and clercs display their literary skills through different genres. Some of the best medieval literature poets during this time were Aube, JeuParti, Chanson and Chant Royal. Also among the medieval French writers, using the old French language was Canticle of Saint and Eulalie. Besides poetry and other written work, there were also theatre genres made up of plays of passion, plays of mystery, plays of morality and plays of miracles.

16^th – Century Literature

After Medieval literature, there was French Renaissance literature. This was 16^th – century literary works, which was the highest level of rebirth or French Renaissance. During this period, there was use of middle French language and people could finally read great works of literary work due to the introduction of printing press.

17^th – Century Literature

After French Renaissance literature, things changed tremendously in the literary world. The birth of seventieth – century literature saw many writers and poets with better taste, knowledge and creativity than the renaissance literature writers did. Order and clarity in written work improved and there was better expression and building of characters. Some of the best-known seventieth – century writers are Jean Racine and Madame de la Fayette.

18^th – Century Literature

Thereafter came the eighteenth – century literature when French was going through modernization. Great and prominent playwrights emerged at this time bringing with them interesting literature. Some of the eighteenth – century, literary French giants included Moli

ere, Corneille and Racine.

19^th – Century Literature

Nineteenth – century literature followed the eighteenth – century literature. During this period, France had started developing tremendously and there was a heightened thirst for literature. This period saw literary written work start to bloom. It was during this period that a group of French writers popularly known as “Advanced Romantics” started a romantic movement. This they did from the influence of a similar “Advanced Romantics” group of writers that started in Germany, England and Spain. They wanted to change the old way of viewing romance and bring something different into their stories. Their claims that romance lacked reason saw them create romance stories that had imaginations and emotions. During this period, French literature was a great success both at home and internationally. Besides romance, other genres that made nineteenth – century literature stand out were naturalism, poetry and symbolism.

20^th – Century Literature

From 1900 to 1999, twentieth – century literature made more turnarounds. Literature got better and some happening in other parts of the world greatly influence literature of the twentieth – century. Some of these were French colonialism of some states, African imperialism, and Algerian independence war among others.

Contemporary Literature

Tristan Garcia’s book Faber, The Destroyer

Today, we have contemporary French literature. What influences Todays contemporary French literatures are events happening from across the globe like the spread of terrorism, unemployment that causes a lot of imbalance in the standards of living, racism and violence seen in many parts of the world. Some of the best-known French contemporary writers are Christophe fiat and Tristan Garcia.

From the medieval periods of the 11th – century to today’s contemporary French literature, there has been a tremendous growth of French literature. Some of the best-known writers in the world today, some of them award winning writers, are French and have put French literature in the map worldwide. As the world moves forward and with the onset of technology, French literature continues to grow every day as there is always something influencing its growth. French novels that touch on romantic literature makes love come out as so passionately. If its nature, one can feel the beauty of it in the writings. Writers express themselves much better today than they did back then.