More ideas for modern French literature please

[Jotty]

Readers of this thread might be interested in an article in today's Observer

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2008/sep/21/fiction.france?gusrc=rss&feed=networkfront

[odile]

vieux motard que j'aimais Chessfou! (miux vaut tard que jamais - a la San Antonio!) - have you given up yet? Tell us how you are getting on (oh dear!)

[odile]

Chessfou ne Fenian - sorry really made me chuckle - Fenian sounds like .....      And you such a hard and dedicated worker.

[5-element]

[quote user="Jotty"]Readers of this thread might be interested in an article in today's Observer
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2008/sep/21/fiction.france?gusrc=rss&feed=networkfront
[/quote]

Thank you for this article, Jotty. I hardly read any French fiction these days, but will look out for Christine Angot in my médiatheque.

My curiosity has been piqued, and I want to find for myself whether "Le marché des amants" is really a deep social critique of the new brand of French conservatism, or whether it is just a lurid and detailed description of her kama sutra encounters with Doc Gynéco.

[odile]

Chessfou, just finished reading 'The Story of French'   San Antonio, Frederic Dard get a special mention on page 378. For mixing argot, regional forms and making up 10.000 new words and expressions! How are you getting on?

[Jotty]

Désert by le Clezio looks interesting. He has just won the  Nobel prize

[chessfou]

Have given up on San Antonio - just got bored with them (I also tried the BD Histoire de France by Marie Marie) - lots of quantity, some chuckles but not convinced by the quality.

Instead I've been reading the excellent French translation of Patrick Sueskind's book (Le Parfum) - trans by Bernard Lortholary (from the original German). I found this one thanks to the recommendations made by Pennac in Comme un roman.

[Caribouuu]

You can try Daniel Pennac if you like litterature that is non-serious but still well written, it is really funny and refreshing. It is somehow related to "detective" stories, but in a funny way. It is a "serie", there are several books. It takes place in Paris, but not the touristic Paris. The protagonist is a professional scapegoat.

Amazon's review describe it in a more intelligible english than I do:

Benjamin Malaussene is the saint who solves the crime and confounds the

wicked ogres in an exuberant crime story set in the Belleville district

of Paris. Employed in a large department store, his job description is

a joke: when enraged customers make a complaint to the manager, he must

accept all the blame, plead guilty and feign such abject contrition

that they forget their wrath and end up sympathizing with him. It's not

an appealing way to earn a living but he needs the work, for Malaussene

takes care of all his brothers and sisters, from little Half Pint to

Therese who claims to have second sight. When a series of explosions in

the store finds Malaussene suspiciously near the scene of the crimes he

is grilled by the police. But this is the least of his worries; his dog

has an epileptic fit, another sister becomes pregnant and he is mugged

by his workmates. There is only one thing to do - he must investigate

and solve the mystery himself. Extraordinary scenes, hilarious dialogue

and sympathetic characters keep the reader turning the pages. A great

read. (Kirkus UK)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Scapegoat-Daniel-Pennac/dp/1860466117/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1232669477&sr=8-3

http://www.amazon.fr/Au-bonheur-ogres-Daniel-Pennac/dp/2070403696/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1232669828&sr=8-2

The first novel is "Au bonheur des Ogres" in french, and "The Scapegoat" in english.