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  Getting Started in French Literature

  Vanwa. I got started the same way--only 45 years ago. After finishing 4 years of high-school French, I didn't want to lose it. Upon enrolling in college, I decided to take one French course a semester just to keep my skills intact. If you take just one course a semester, starting at the intermediate level or above, you will find it easy to major in French, and French will become second-nature to you.
  
  Alors, depuis ce temps-la, j'ai lu une bonne partie de la litterature francaise. Et je peux vous dire que je ne regrette rien. Il y a des merveilles qui vous attendent! Bonne chance.

  Chesscoach started this discussion 1 year ago. ( reply )

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  Vanwa 

  wow, you still know french after all this time! My mom is the same way, except all she knew how to do was swear. Which can come in handy from time to time. We both treat it like a secret code - whenever we wanted to talk about something in front of others, just use French!! It's such a wonderful language.

  posted 1 year ago. ( reply )

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    PurpleZebra 

    Hi. What are the best books to read, (in fairly simple French, and not too long so that the effort doesn't kill me)? It is a while since I studied French, but I have always promised myself that I would speak it fluently one day and it's about time I started! I reckon reading some French is a good way in. Parallel texts is probably the best but you don't see them often.
    Any suggestions?

    posted 1 year ago. ( reply )

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    Chesscoach (edited)

    You ask a good question. Zebra. It depends a bit on your current level of proficiency and your personal tastes.
    
    At the most basic level, there is Easy French Reader by R. de Roussy de Sales. Penguin has some parallel texts of short stories (French Short Stories 1 - Nouvelles francaises 1 Parallel Text). You may or may not like their selection of stories, and the vocabulary may be a bit overwhelming.
    
    If you review the forms of the passé simple, you can read Saint-Exupéry's Le Petit Prince without too much difficulty. It is often read at the intermediate level. Try 15-30 minutes a day.
    
    Personally, I think Voltaire's Candide is fun for intermediates to read in short bites. When I was young, I read Alphonse Daudet's Lettres de mon moulin with some pleasure and success. I also recommend that beginning readers read plays because there are fewer words per page but a story nonetheless. I like Eugene Ionesco's La Cantatrice chauve, for example, or La Leçon.
    
    Eventually, you might enjoy trying some articles in a magazine like Paris Match. What is important is to develop the habit of reading a little every day. My son takes a French Bible to church and reads from it. The Bonnes nouvelles d'aujourd'hui translation of the New Testament is a fairly easy read. I am presently reading Le Coran in French. It has a lot of repetition and is not too hard either.
    
    Try to read a page a day, and before long it will be more and more enjoyable. Bon courage et bonne lecture.

    posted 1 year ago. ( reply )

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    PurpleZebra 

    HI Chesscoach. Thanks for your reply and all the info. I have copied and pasted it somewhere safe to refer to it again.
    I almost got a copy of the Little Prince a few weeks ago. I have also read the odd magazine over the years, which is easier in some respects because you can guess some of the things you don't know and also just take bites. I always find it difficult to find a french magazine in UK, but I might check out WH Smiths next week.
    I have study books and dictionaries, so plenty of back up.
    I'm very grateful for the info. Thanks again.

    posted 1 year ago. ( reply )

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    ericalynnb 

    Le Petit Nicolas is a great easy read in French; it's cute and funny and you don't even need to know passe simple! We read it in my French class this year and I loved it. I'll add it to the group shelf.

    posted 1 year ago. ( reply )

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    PurpleZebra 

    Thanks ericalynnb. I will make a note of it as well.

    posted 1 year ago. ( reply )

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    Toraspanda 

    Purple Zebra, tu pourrais essayer "Le Petit Prince" de Saint-Exupéry. C'est charmant, touchant, et pas trop difficile à comprendre.
    
    Best to take something not too challenging to start with - I remember the titles of the first complete books I read in French, when I was about 16 (that's 50 years ago now!), and I must have been mad, because the titles are just about all I do remember of them! The first was "La Tulipe Noire" by Alexandre Dumas, and the second, Pierre Loti's "Madame Chrysanthème. Bpoth far too advanced for a beginner .
    
    I don't think I understood more than one sentence in ten, but I persevered, and by the third book - whose title I don't even remember now - I suddenly found I could understand practically everything!
    
    What I would strongly recommend is that you read not too much at a time, but very regularly. Try to read at least one page a day, and never mind if you feel you don't understand much. Try to read "globally", that is, not stopping over each unfamiliar word, but trying to make sense of each sentence , or paragraph as a whole.
    
    Another tip (you can tell I used to be a teacher, can't you? :D): If you notice the same unfamiliar word cropping up several times, don't look it up at once, but note it, wîth the page number. Then, when you have read your quota for the day, look it up, and go back to check in context. You'll be amazed at how quickly you make progress and become fluent again!

    posted 1 year ago. ( reply )

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    Teo 

    One of the first books that I read in French was "Les Liaisons dangereuses" by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos. It's a easy to read book because it's all composed from letters and the laguage isn't very elaborated. So you won't find complex landscape descriptions and the words which are used aren't very difficult.
    Hope you will like it as much as I did!
    
    

    posted 11 months ago. ( reply )

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  NomyL 

  When I started reading French books and I had an elementary vocabulary, I didn't want to limit myself to children's book, which for the most part, I found boring. But, I really enjoyed reading the 'Asterix and Obelix' Band Dessinée books (cartoons)which are very funny for the both children and adults. I then graduated to reading books by Nicole de Buron, which are pretty easy to understand (and also funny). She was recommended to me by my friend Marge Cocina, another member of this group. Bonne chance!

  posted 11 months ago. ( reply )

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  Tulipa 

  This summer I might travel to France and I'm going to buy some french books to improve my language. French is my 3rd language and its rarely used here in Kuwait. I'm so thankful for you all cuz I had a great idea about what to read and how to get myself more in french Literature. :)

  posted 5 months ago. ( reply )

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