Books I have read in January 2023 & my opinion on them !
Discours sur les sciences et les arts, Discours sur lâorigine et les fondements de lâinĂ©galitĂ© parmi les hommes & Discours sur lâĂ©conomie politique, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, 1749 & 1755 | Mentally preparing to (re)read The Social Contract next month.
Carmilla, Sheridan Le Fanu, 1872 | Liked it! Kinda want to read more classics written in English!!
MĂ©moires, Louise Michel, 1886 | Very well written, a bit repetitive towards the end but really, what a woman ! Her writing shows just how full of life she was, even when she thought she had nothing left but a heart of stone after her mother died. I loved the descriptions of New Caledonia. Her ideas on revolution, especially the role of women - and life in general are still fresh. Really, the best book I have read this month.
AndrĂ©as and other stories, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, 1907-1927 | Nice short stories. The settings vary a lot so the atmospheres were very different but all of them were somewhat obscure and dark. I wasnât a fan of Hofmannsthalâs poetry but those were much more to my taste!
The Stone Face, Â William Gardner Smith, 1963 | I think this was recommended to me here but I am not sure. I didnât like it as much as I thought I would. The theme of the book is brave and interesting, considering the Algerian war of independance is still a very touchy subject in France (a lot of ppl donât call it a war). But the narration is so didactic the book felt like a moral lecture (which I donât need as I am an adult capable of critical thinking and drawing nuanced conclusions). Some details are just unnecessary and weird and not making any of this believable. It takes a lot away from the ending, which is more interesting and touching. Overall, the statements the book makes are lacking nuance and depth.
Sur Lautréamont, Maurice Blanchot, Julien Gracq et J. M. G. Le Clézio, 1987 | Forgot how much I loved Les Chants de Maldoror, kinda want to read it again.
LâĂ©venement, Annie Ernaux, 2000 | I donât know what to  think of this. Some really beautiful parts, some I didnât really like  (authors writing about them writing is not my thing at all, even if in this book, it doesnât  come off as self-centered all the time).  The ending is more bitter than I expected, which I liked (I saw the  movie inspired by the book last year and the ending felt a bit fake). Maybe itâs the kind of book that will stay in my mind for longer than expected but I doubt it. Â
Une histoire de la RĂ©volution française, Eric Hazan, 2012  |  In short, a good synthesis of many different authors who worked on the  Frenc Revolution. It has the quality of displaying various  interpretations of historical events and sometimes adding new  interpretation. Not as complete as Soboulâs book, not a ton of the  authorâs original ideas. I knew a lot of what is presented already but  it was still a good read.
