La vérité sort de la bouche du cheval

'La vérité sort de la bouche du cheval' is our next novel. Meryem Alaoui who's the autor of this book was born i Maroc, so it is important that she is not from France. Thanks to her, the culture of the French-speaking countries can also be known. 

But we can not forget about the book. 

The work of Meryem Alaoui is a moral novel that tells the story of a single mother, Moroccan, who, to survive and be able to support her daughter, practices prostitution. "Il faut en voir, les hommes, pour vivre. Au moins six par jour" - I need to see them, men, to survive. At least six times a day. Jmiaa is a resourceful woman with a strong character who after many difficult experiences must function further. Despite everything, she does not lose her sense of humor, and her retorts and way of observing the world are a source of humor, which gives the book a lightness and builds a very credible figure.

The first-person narrative is conducted from the perspective of the main heroine, which means that we are very close to all situations in her life, even those intimate and violent. One gets the impression that the heroine confides to the reader. Jmiaa sees the world very simply, there are many details and profanity in descriptions. The solutions used by the author allow for creating a specific, dark and lively atmosphere at the same time. The narrator speaks directly to the reader several times, which creates a specific bond between her and the reader. 

„Maîtres et esclaves”

Today we will be talking about another book from our list:  „Maîtres et esclaves” written by Paul Greveillac. 

Paul Greveillac's novel is a historical novel taking place in China in the years 1950-1989 (+ an epilogue in 2000). He tells about the life of a fictional character, which is a painter from the Sichuan village, Tian Kewei. His life and life of people close to him is inseparable from the communist revolution in China, with its most crucial moments. The author very cleverly linked historical events with the fictional characters, and also avoided the temptation of unnecessary translation of the historical background to the reader.

The third-level narrator presents the reader with a medium-wealthy Chinese (proletarian) agricultural family living far away from large cities, among fields, forests and mountains. It is at the foot of the nearby Himalayas that Yongmin, the father of the main character, gives him the secrets of developing the inherited talent of painting. And as Yongmin teaches Kewei, then Kevei will train his own son. Greveillac's aggrandizement of this vision breaks with the events that affect the family. In the country, communism is becoming more and more intense. Peasants with horror and hunger in their eyes work in the field to get the number of points to get a meal. The communist system deprives Kewei of his father and at the same time offers development opportunities. He is chosen as a candidate for the Beijing art school in order to spread propaganda painting, which to some extent improves his situation - he can even provide room and food to his wife and little son.

I think it's really interesting to know history of other countries so this is a good beginig to do that. 

Hello!

The best novel has already been chosen and according to Polish students and according to the original French jury. Opinions are divided, but we are very happy with the choice. In Krakow, at the end of October, we chose "ça ranconte Sarah" as our laureate. But the French jury had a different opinion, even if we were partially in agreement.

Prix Goncourt was awarded to the book by Nicolas Mathieu "Leurs enfants après aux", which was also in our best four along with "Maîtres et esclaves", "La vraie vie" et "ça raconte Sarah".


PS. If you are interested, you can read more about it here:
http://lucyk.blog.tygodnikpowszechny.pl/2018/10/29/wielki-drapacz-glow-czyli-pivot-w-krakowie/?fbclid=IwAR3fZ-P9pUQU0VIODTPs6eYcAxJOphseYouYFOH6c4aadKek5Fme-tfkDho

Ça raconte Sarah - first book of the Goncourt list

Welcome back.
The first book we will deal with is "ça raconte Sarah" by Pauline Delabroy-Allard. This is the story of an overworked woman who has fallen into the routine of life and is not happy anymore. She accidentally meets impulsive and scatterbrained Sarah, the title character who changes the life of the narrator completely. Women get to know each other and fall in love. The relationship develops very quickly and at some point it becomes an obsession. It turns out, however, that Sarah is suffering from breast cancer and the narrator is suffering because of the possibility of losing her partner. She even blames herself for her alleged death and leaves France to escape from despair.
I do not want to reveal more of the content, I will just add that the climax of the novel is shocking. :) The novel is written in first-person narration, very rhythmical and melodic (Sarah was a violinist), which is rendered by extremely short chapters. But I can talk about it, it's worth reading, to see for yourself.

Have a good day :)

Why we need to know something about French literature?

Hello everyone!

French literature was a big influence for a lot of others countries like in our homeland. France was and is right now pioneer of some trends in fashion, art and also literature. At our University Adam Mickiewicz we have a possibility to discover the beauty of that country and their cultural heritage due to Institut of Romance Languages where the jury of Prix Goncourt pick the best French book of the year.
I would like to present some of this books and, maybe, some others not related to that contest.
I hope you would like it, for the first of the 13 competing books, I invite you to return in a week.