mint Posted May 12, 2012 Share Posted May 12, 2012 Summer's nearly here and what nicer way to spend time than to sit outdoors reading something at which one has to work a bit?I have just started a Fred Vargas "rompol" (roman policier) and am enjoying it very much, despite having to ask friends/consult dictionaries about the "familiar" expressions, of which there are many.I should now like to read another one with an English translation to read alongside....just to make sure that I do get into the atmosphere and general "feel" of her books.Can you please recommend a book with Adamsberg? Please give the French as well as the equivalent English titles.Many thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EuroTrash Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 I love 'polars' too and I'm a massive Fred Vargas fan, I've read every single one. Though I have to say that I haven't enjoyed the last couple quite as much as the earlier ones.I would suggest starting at the beginning with the first Adamsberg that she wrote and reading them in chronological order. That way you can see the characters evolve, because the same people appear in all the books and they do develop as characters (e.g. in one book you find out about Adamsberg's grand amour and how it ended, then later on you discover that a son was born that he didn't know about - you also find out more about the station cat!). And Vargas does like referring back to events in earlier stories. (Plus like I said the first ones are IMHO the best!) So my advice would be, start at the beginning.Can't help with a translation I'm afraid, my partner read one using a translation alongside the French and wasn't impressed, he didn't think the translation succeeded in getting the flavour. In fact he said that the translation wouldn't have made him want to read another Vargas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mint Posted May 13, 2012 Author Share Posted May 13, 2012 Goody, goody, a Fred Vargas fan out there who's read everyone of the books............[:D]Alas, my French is not such that I'd get the "atmosphere" though I get by with comprehension. Thus the appeal for recommending a translation to read as a parallel text.....However, I WILL start with the first one and see how I go now that you have intrigued me with Adamsberg's personal life.I'm not sure which is the one I'm reading because I have been given a downloadable version and my friend doesn't know what it's called. It's very exciting, full of ambiance, you can see and smell Paris and you can experience the "fun" and the humour in the exchanges.It starts with a man (whose name doesn't get mentioned until several pages later) who sells sponges from a supermarket trolley and sleeps in the métro. Then, one night, he witnesses a shooting of a woman .........Good, isn't it, Eurotrash?Happy reading! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EuroTrash Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 Hi sweet17 - the one you are reading is called Cinq francs piece in French, I have it as one of 3 Adamsberg stories in a J'ai Lu collection called Coule la Seine. The other 2 are called La Nuit des brutes and Salut et liberte. They're all 3 very good. But I don't know how these 3 fit into the chronology of the full-length novels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mint Posted May 13, 2012 Author Share Posted May 13, 2012 Eurotrash, thanks for all the info.Yes, I have, in fact heard of these 3 though I didn't know the name of the one I have been reading.BTW, do you know any of the paintings of Jo Vargas, Fred's sister?I'd like to find out a bit about what the paintings are like as I am very interested in paintings, sketches, etc.I have had some training on visual presentation as a means of conveying meanings and I find visual "stuff" endlessly fascinating.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EuroTrash Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 No I don't know anything about Jo Vargas, I didn't even know she existed.But if you're interested in that kind of thing, then you should probably look at Les Quatre Fleuves which is a collaboration between Fred Vargas and the artist Edmond Baudoin, it is a polar written entirely in cartoon form, so black and white drawings with speech bubbles etc. I can see that it is interesting and it has a lot of merit but I have to admit that it didn't really do it for me (unfortunately I discovered that after I'd spent 23 euros on buying it!!!). But the cartoon Adamsberg does look pretty much as I pictured him to myself, lanky and slouching around a tad wasted and world-weary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mint Posted May 13, 2012 Author Share Posted May 13, 2012 [quote user="EuroTrash"]No I don't know anything about Jo Vargas, I didn't even know she existed. But if you're interested in that kind of thing, then you should probably look at Les Quatre Fleuves which is a collaboration between Fred Vargas and the artist Edmond Baudoin, it is a polar written entirely in cartoon form, so black and white drawings with speech bubbles etc. I can see that it is interesting and it has a lot of merit but I have to admit that it didn't really do it for me (unfortunately I discovered that after I'd spent 23 euros on buying it!!!). But the cartoon Adamsberg does look pretty much as I pictured him to myself, lanky and slouching around a tad wasted and world-weary.[/quote]Ha, ha, yes, that's exactly how I picture him! Though I don't know anything about Edmond Baudoin or his cartoons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frecossais Posted June 2, 2012 Share Posted June 2, 2012 It's been a while since this thread was posted, but I've just become involved with the Fred Vargas books, though in English. I think the translations are very good, not in the least stilted as some of the Mankell books were in translation in my opinion.I find them very exciting and often hilarious, and having downloaded 5 at once, read them one after the other very quickly. I might now attempt the French versions, well maybe not 5 all at once since I'll have an idea of what's happening. I usually find I can appreciate the French if I know what's happening already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mint Posted June 2, 2012 Author Share Posted June 2, 2012 Ah, yes, I've now bought Coule la Seine from the Book Depository.Funnily enough, all the slang terms and other terms of ambiguous vocabulary were listed in German at the bottom of each page![:D]However, all was not lost as I have a German friend to whom I lent the book. I have now converted her to Fred Vargas!You're right, Frecossais, they are full of what I call "sly humour" (ironic humour if you like) and I, too, find French books much easier to understand once I know their story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathyF Posted June 4, 2012 Share Posted June 4, 2012 I've just finished the first one (chronologically) and thoroughly enjoyed it. The English title is Have Mercy On Us All (French title: Pars Vite Et Reviens Tard) and I thought the translation flowed extremely well and wasn't in the slightest stilted. I've previously read Wash This Blood Clean From My Hand (Sous Les vents De Neptune) (different translator) and enjoyed this too, though the plot was rather more far-fetched. Haven't dared try them in French yet....[:)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mint Posted June 4, 2012 Author Share Posted June 4, 2012 Thanks for those titles, Kathy.I know from past (bitter) experience that the translation of book titles cannot always be relied upon as a means of searching out the originals.Certainly, Vargas is not easy to read in French, at least for me, on account of all the slang but a good dictionary does go some way to resolving that one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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