French books

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I want to learn French by reading a novel. I guess the novel must be small (150-200 pages) and very gripping (so I wont stop reading after 15 pages) and easy (like James Hadley Chase instead of James Joyce). I don't know shit about french literature, but I guess I'll prefer a thriller. Please recommend.

― Fred (Fred), Tuesday, 20 July 2004 08:36 (twenty-one years ago)

With GCSE level French I managed to read Henri Troyat and Colette, pretty short books and easy language though neither of them could be described as thriller writers. You could try Asterix/Tin Tin too? Or parallel text short stories - Penguin used to publish editions of these but I don't know if they still do.

― Archel (Archel), Tuesday, 20 July 2004 08:43 (twenty-one years ago)

Try 'L'Etranger' by Albert Camus. I read it when I was doing French in school, and it works on several levels: a) the sentences are very short so it's easy to understand; b) it's a totally gripping story; c) it's about the most French book you could ever read; d) it will totally impress hipster chicks (if that's your thing).

― Mog, Tuesday, 20 July 2004 08:45 (twenty-one years ago)

I've already read all the Asterix, Tintin in english when I was a lil kid so I wont find them interesting now. I don't mind checking the dictionary 20 times on every page if the story is good; by "easy" I meant straightforward. And thanks Mog, I'll try to find that book :-)

― Fred (Fred), Tuesday, 20 July 2004 09:02 (twenty-one years ago)

Er, the only french books I've read are Le Petit Prince and Le Petit Nicolas. Pardonez moi.

― Vermont Girl (Vermont Girl), Tuesday, 20 July 2004 11:30 (twenty-one years ago)

Camus for a beginner in French? Please.

Try the Maigret books by George Simenons for engaging plots and easy-ish reading.

― SRH (Skrik), Tuesday, 20 July 2004 12:34 (twenty-one years ago)

Another shout for Le Petit Prince. Not a novel, but Cyrano de Bergerac is quite good for learning figures of speech, since it has all those poems and metaphors (about noses!). And it's wonderfully tragic, too.

― jocelyn (Jocelyn), Tuesday, 20 July 2004 13:24 (twenty-one years ago)

Thanks for the link SRH, it seems interesting.

― Fred (Fred), Tuesday, 20 July 2004 14:02 (twenty-one years ago)

L'Etranger was my first roman in French. I read it in French, then English, then French again. As Mog pointed out, it's very pared down style makes it easy for a beginner. You might also want to look at La Chute or La Peste. Maigret is another good selection. Good mysteries. I can't remember the last one I read. He wrote a zillion of them. My girlfriend, whose French is less than perfect, loved Le Petit Nicholas. Very easy to read and very cute and funny. Doesn't sound like what you're looking for. If you want a very simple, very beautiful novel, read La Pluie d'Eté by Marguerite Duras.

― Michael White (Hereward), Tuesday, 20 July 2004 14:14 (twenty-one years ago)

Bonjour Tristesse by Francoise Sagan is also great (and short).

― Archel (Archel), Tuesday, 20 July 2004 14:32 (twenty-one years ago)

the first novel i read in french was sartre's les jeux sont faits. not exactly a thriller, though i thought it was quite suspenseful.

― lauren (laurenp), Tuesday, 20 July 2004 14:36 (twenty-one years ago)

I was going to suggest Bonjour Tristesse, not because it is easy to read in French, but because I like it.

I've often wondered what the original French sentence was for the "nothing can describe the feeling of evenings in prison" in The Stranger.

I love that sentence (but I think I've slightly paraphrased it from memory).

― Mikey G (Mikey G), Tuesday, 20 July 2004 14:41 (twenty-one years ago)

I like Sartre in english so I might try him. I'll also be searching for the other books mentioned in this thread. Thanks!

― Fred (Fred), Tuesday, 20 July 2004 21:10 (twenty-one years ago)

I've only ever read comics in French - never felt comfortable or fast enough for a whole novel. My favourite for a simple style (and because it was terrific) was Silence, by Didier Comes.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Tuesday, 20 July 2004 21:52 (twenty-one years ago)

I got started with a dual-language version of Candide, which was quite helpful and entertaining at the same time.

― Brian Sawyer, Wednesday, 21 July 2004 15:22 (twenty-one years ago)

Hey, I first read Candide as an easy reader too! I think it's so enjoyable that it just makes you want to keep finding out exactly what the joke was. BTW, if you want sheer reading practice in French that's pretty easy, there are 2 trashy mags you should check out -- my American friend who studied Italian in school and had to move to France in kind of an emergency situation taught herself the language using them. One is "Nous Deux," a housewife magazine with great things in it called photo-romans: basically a cross between a soap opera and a cartoon, they shoot these cheesy actors posing on the same 2 sets all the time and then put in dialogue balloons.

Her more "butch" choice was Nouveau Detective, a grisly true-crime rag.

I wouldn't recommend Sartre as your first book. Unless all you read in English is philosophy books, he's kind of hard to get into.

― Ann Sterzinger (Ann Sterzinger), Wednesday, 21 July 2004 19:34 (twenty-one years ago)

I just bought Raymond Queneau's Exercices de Style. Anyone has read this?

― Fred (Fred), Monday, 26 July 2004 10:13 (twenty-one years ago)

one year passes...

ok do not read bonjour tristesse lol it is very boring and it is not at all short! we're doing it for AS level at the minute and i hate it!

― rebecca corr, Tuesday, 25 April 2006 17:07 (nineteen years ago)

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