This might be a weird question, but I'm learning French and I've noticed that I learn other languages better by reading, so... do you have any fic or book recs in French?
Not weird, but certainly unexpected! I donât have any fics to rec because I donât read french fics, but I can certainly rec you some books!Â
I donât know your reading level in french, so if youâre just starting I would suggest childrenâs books first, and french versions of your favourite books growing up (I always thought that the translator of Harry Potter did an amazing job with word plays, and I always liked Roald Dahl books).
If you only want french books, of course Iâm going to talk about Le petit prince, by Antoine de Saint-ExupĂŠry, which is a classic. But I was really into fantasy as a child, and I remember reading le livre des ĂŠtoiles, by Erik lâHomme (not really famous, but I remember loving it), and La quĂŞte dâEwilan, by Pierre Bottero (way more famous, but I think I found it a bit clichĂŠ).Â
If youâre comfortable with more complex books and a more diverse vocabulary, of course you can try the most famous authors, like Victor Hugo, Emile Zola, Alexandre Dumas, Voltaire, Molière, Jule Verne, but I would also recommend: Â
Any short stories from Guy de Maupassant, who wrote about how terrible people can be in the 19th century. Bel-Ami is probably his most famous book (god, there is a movie adaptation with Robert Pattinson, I forgot about that) but I always prefered his short stories. I remember really liking Boule de suif and Mademoiselle Fifi, and sometimes I still feel horrible when I think about Pierrot.
Les fleurs du mal, Charles Beaudelaire. Probably the most famous collection of french poetry, I think every french student has studied at least three or four poems from Beaudelaire in school (you can listen to Debussy while reading it, he wrote some pieces based on Beaudelaireâs poems).
Le dieu du carnage, by Yasmina Reza. Not a classic! Itâs a short play, so itâs a bit easier to read but it also means a more casual way of talking, so donât be too upset if you canât understand some expressions. If youâre not sure about it, you can watch the american adaptation, Carnage (2011), with Jodie Foster and Kate Winslet, which is a very good movie.Â
La gloire de mon père, Marcel Pagnol. There arenât enough french books that donât take place in Paris, so here, have a classic that puts you right in the middle of Provence, between a burning sun, singing cicadas and olive trees and will leave you with a longing nostalgia for these endless summer days when you were a child.
Vipère au poing, by HervĂŠ Bazin, which is probably my favourite book I read in school. If you think you have mommy issues, this book will prove to you that no, no you really donât.Â
On ne badine pas avec lâamour, by Alfred de Musset. Also a play, somewhere between a romantic comedy and a drama.Â
Hygiène de lâassassin, by AmĂŠlie Nothomb. Nothomb has a very peculiar style, a bit pompous, a bit âI use big words because I canâ and most of the time people hate or love it. I think I read Hygiène de lâassassin a bit too young and it fucked me up a bit, but I would still recommend trying one of her books, like Stupeur et Tremblements, Les Combustibles or PĂŠplum, because it always leaves you with interesting reflections. If youâre not afraid of complicated words, long dialogues, lot of references and philosophic questions, sheâs the one for you.Â
Les liaisons dangereuses, by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos. Sometimes I remember that our french teacher made us read that at like 13/14 and it still makes me laugh, because this is a story about rich aristocrats using sex and charm on innocent people because theyâre bored. Of course, a scandalous novel for the 18th century (Apparently there are a lot of adaptations of this book, Dangerous Liaisons (1988) and Cruel Intentions (1999) are some of them, but I havenât watch them).Â
