The Little Prince: a Standout French Book
Writing a Journal in French
Play and Learn French
The program is very cheaply available, at only $9.87 on Amazon.com. It’s geared toward ages 4 to 8, making it appropriate for a wide range of ages. In addition to the songs and games, the program also has comic strips and English translations, French culture information, and plenty of other information to provide just the right amount of introductory material to be interesting and fun without overwhelming any kiddos.
I’ve seen how powerful using music and games can be when learning a second language. When I took Spanish, the best lessons that stuck with me were the musical ones, and my college roommate, who was from Japan, learned best through music as well. Television programs, such as Muzzy, are also really helpful—though you can learn a lot by just switching a language on your favorite DVDs.
This is definitely something we would use if my daughter were interested in French; so far, she’s only interested in Korean (courtesy of her taekwondo teacher).
The Elegance of the Hedgehog is philosophy in a readable package
Apartment concierges are usually portrayed as friendly old men whose most difficult task is to shoot the breeze with their residents and hail taxi cabs. Not so in Muriel Barbary’s The Elegance of the Hedgehog. Philosophy professor Barbary’s concierge protagonist Renée Michel thinks about metaphysics and reason in the universe all day in her upscale French apartment building. Her residents would never know it, however. Renée never discusses her huge thoughts with her rich Parisian residents. For readers turned off by philosophical musings, Barbary’s characterizations of the haughty men and women of the apartment building are what makes the book immensely readable. As does Renée’s new friend, Paloma Josse, a 12-year-old who finally can match wits with Renée.
Shadows of Obsession
Shadows of Obsession, An erotic novel that cautions us that sometimes one touch, one taste of undulated ecstasy, or one chance encounter, is all it takes to become the object of someone's affection, or the desire to become someone's obsessional affliction
An erotic psychological thriller that sets the heart racing, and the pulse pounding
An intimate romance that indulges your wildest and illicit fantasies
Personnages de la Littérature Française
"This book is designed for students in the third or fourth year of high school or in the third or fourth semester of college. It was written with the intent of providing students with an introduction to some French literary masterpieces. Before taking a regular course in French literature, in which novels and plays would be studied and analyzed in detail, the readers of this textbook will become acquainted with some famous figures of French fiction. The French-English Vocabulaire at the end of the book includes the words which appear in the text as well as in the exercises. (Preface in English)"
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First Novels Novels / Short Stories, Thrillers, Francophone, Literature, Poetry / Drama, History / Politics, Philosophy / Social Science, Arts & Literature, Cinema, Biography / Autobiography, Travel / Leisure, and more! Therer are many boos that you can find already translated in English for you - how simple is that?
Crime Thriller
Has anyone ever heard of a book called, The Scar, written by Michael Weiner (www.thescarnovel.com)? My friend gave me the book. It was a quick read, but I thought the story was really intense and such a good crime thriller. Does anyone know if he has written anything else?
Émile Zola's Thérèse Raquin (1867)
Born in 1840 in Paris and growing up in Aix-en-Provence afforded Zola with access to some cultural expositions that most could only dream of. This was muted by the fact that his father died when Zola was 7 years old. The family ideal is something that would be visited in his writings, but this early loss should be construed as a marker in Zola’s development as a man and a writer.
In 1867, Zola would issue what’s considered his first major work, although the novels that followed would comprise a series called Les Rougon Macquart, that focused on the a single family. Thérèse Raquin, separate from that lineage, though, was able to impact French culture as deeply as his later work.
Upon its release, the novel was referred to as smut and as something of a pornographic screed. Some folks relate a sort of ‘ahead of its time’ notion in regards to what all transpired in this book, but that’s patently ridiculous. No one can be ahead of its time. The best an artist in any medium can hope for is to aptly represent a singular moment in history – that of his or her own.
Regardless of all that, Thérèse Raquin does sport some of the steamier material that would have been available anywhere during the decade that it was printed.
The namesake of the book, an orphan taken in by her aunt and cousin, is a rather withdrawn child. Repeatedly throughout the book, readers are ostensibly told that her demeanor comes as a result of growing up in such close quarters with her sickly, male cousin. Thérèse isn’t a tom-boy, per se. But she does come off as perpetually aloof.
Growing up in the country and moving to Paris – much like Zola himself – Thérèse is eventually engaged and married to her cousin Camille. Continuing on in much the same manner after the marriage as before, Thérèse does her daily chores in the shop that her aunt has procured for the family in some half run down part of town.
The incessant work with no reward should endear Thérèse’s character and her book to any one seeking to insert some feminist reading into the novel. And considering that post-marriage to Camille, Thérèse is engaged in an escalating series of problematic behavior to get what she pleases, some folks might think the character as a feminist herself. Sadly, her plans basically all fail. The main character is remarried, unhappily, and spends the better portion of the book suffering while trying to conjure some way out of the situation.
Thérèse Raquin has a bit of it all: sex, betrayal, murder, conspiring. Despite its relatively slow opening, the middle portion of the book purports some startling scenes even as it leads to a lackluster ending.