/lit/ - Literature

[Anonymous No.17300931]

Post a better French novelist, I'll wait.

[Anonymous No.17300934]

>>17300931
Zola

[Anonymous No.17300941]

>>17300931
Pretty based choice anon. But that's not Rabelais.
>>17300934
Zola is very good but not at the top IMO.

[Anonymous No.17300959]

[Anonymous No.17300963]

[Anonymous No.17300967]

>>17300931
Literally who

[Anonymous No.17300976]

>>17300967
The actual state of this board

[Anonymous No.17300978]

>>17300967
Raymond Queneau, he's pretty well-known in France and he's very based. If you like Calvino or Perec, you'll like him.

[Anonymous No.17300990]

>>17300931
I'm not familiar with that guy's work, so I'll just post the one whose work I like.

[Anonymous No.17300992]

>>17300978
>Calvino or Perec
Literally who

[Anonymous No.17301002]

>>17300978
Calvino actually translated some of his novels in Italian.

[Anonymous No.17301008]

>>17300992
The two dudes who used to double-team your syphilitic mom when there was a discount for big dicks.

[Anonymous No.17301012]

>>17300978
What book of his should I start with?

[Anonymous No.17301015]

>>17301012
Exercice de Style or Zazie in the metro.

[Anonymous No.17301021]

>>17300931

[Anonymous No.17301022]

>>17301002
Didn't Calvino wrote in Italian?

[Anonymous No.17301023]

>>17301008
>your syphilitic mom
>mom
>she
>her

[Anonymous No.17301029]

>>17300931
pic related

/thread

[Anonymous No.17301053]

>>17301022
He's suggesting they have affinities other than language--playful post-structuralism.

[Anonymous No.17301055]

>>17300992
You have to go back

[Anonymous No.17301096]

>>17301022
Oh yes, I mean Calvino translated from French to Italian Queneau's novels. Even Eco translated Exercises in Style.

[Anonymous No.17301145]

>>17300931
Céline is better than every single person posted so far.

[Anonymous No.17301167]

>>17300931
>posting a writer with a dog
come on anon, it's caturday

[Anonymous No.17301169]

>>17301145
He's basically the stereotypical intellectual French writer who only writes sad and edgy stuff. I like him tho.

[Anonymous No.17301171]

>>17301145
I conskite his breeches

[Anonymous No.17301181]

>>17301167
Funniest pic I could find of him.

[Anonymous No.17301272]

[Anonymous No.17301511]

>>17301169
He completely broke away from the overtly purple prose that other people practiced and created a new style. I don't think he is that edgy. He has a bleak view of the world and rightfully so but there is ton of humour and always tiny sliver of hope. He also does the beauty in ugliness thing perfectly.

[Anonymous No.17301600]

>>17300976
Sacre bleu how can ze not know ze francoar mediocre l'writer from a picture

[Anonymous No.17301631]

gracq

queneau is trifling

[Anonymous No.17301646]

>>17300992
the absolute fucking ignorance of some of the simian-browed dimwitted posters on this fucking mentally retarded board always astounds me. even after all these years the stupid is still shocking. you ignorant fucking moron.

[Anonymous No.17301659]

>>17301631
Redpill me on Gracq. Where to start, what's the best, any underrated work I should know about?

[Anonymous No.17301817]

>>17301659
>Redpill me on Gracq
with google you lazy retard

[Anonymous No.17301926]

>>17301631
>gracq
extrêmement basé

>>17301659
>Redpill me on Gracq
With pleasure. The dude was buddy with the surrealists without being himself really part of the movement, though his prose poetry book, Liberté grande, is definitely surrealist. His writing style in his novels is peculiar, very slow, very comfy, metaphysical, with minimal dialogues and very small plots, but his prose his absolutely masterful and the surrealist influence is very obvious. Some might call it grandiloquent, and I see what they mean, but I believe that they miss the point because its prose serves a purpose inside the book and create a beautiful poetical incertitude. If I tried to write like him it would be grandiloquent but that's because I don't know what I do. In a way it reminds me a lot of Jünger's novels and I believe the two knew and liked each other (Gracq being a big germanophile and Jünger a big francophile). The Opposing shore was described, very rightfully so in my opinion, as a "wagnerian prelude to the end of the world" if that helps you get a feel of his prose, it's also very close to The Tartar Steppe in its themes and constructions (another book I liked a lot).
A balcony in the forest and The Castle of Argol are also very good but less consistent. His essay Préférences is also enjoyable. It's a collection of critical literary texts but his program is clear: he do not intend to talk about texts he doesn't like, and thus you can feel his love for the texts he is talking about. He talks about Lautréamont, Breton, Balzac, Jünger, Novalis, Poe, d'Aurevilly, Kleist and the state of literature in general in post-war France. He also use a lot of reading grid: Lautréamont with marxism, Poe with Spengler, Balzac with Dante. Definitely a well-read guy who knew and loved what he was talking about. He also makes a very interesting parallel between Lautréamont, Jarry and Rimbaud. In La littérature à l'estomac, he btfos the French literary scene, he obviously despised Sartre.
If you want to give a go, definitely read The Opposing shore.

[Anonymous No.17302020]

>>17301600
>>17301631
/lit/ in a nutshell

[Anonymous No.17302246]

>>17301029
his novels aren't that good especially compared to his poems

[Anonymous No.17302264]

>>17301169
How could you come away from something as hilarious and moving as Death on Credit thinking that he can be boiled down to "sad and edgy"?

[Anonymous No.17303205]

bosse

[Anonymous No.17304268]

>>17302246
Dilate

[Anonymous No.17304280]

>>17301646
chill

[Anonymous No.17304296]

>>17300931
god i hate the french

[Anonymous No.17304472]

>>17301145
based

[Anonymous No.17304901]

>>17301145
Trifles is the peak of literature

[Anonymous No.17305122]

>>17302246
his poems aren't that good especially compared to his poems

[Anonymous No.17305157]

>>17301015
Seconded. They’re both great.

[Anonymous No.17305180]

Taking this opportunity to post Georges Perec and his cat.

Life: a user’s manual is one of my favourite books.

[Anonymous No.17305233]

>>17305180
basé
have you read Species of spaces? it's one of my favourite

[Anonymous No.17305613]

>>17305180
Agreed, personally I really liked un homme qui dort. For me it's one of those books that I read when I want to shut myself in from everything else in the world.

[Anonymous No.17306562]

>>17300978
>Calvino and Perec
*vomit*
>>17301145
Basè

[Anonymous No.17306579]

>>17301015
What after? Used bookstores around where I live only have Zazie or Exercices.
Le Chiendent seems out of print.

[Anonymous No.17308383]

>>17301145
Correct

[Anonymous No.17308402]

>>17300931
Flaubert

[Anonymous No.17308410]

>>17301021
>french

[Anonymous No.17308417]

>>17300978
Ah I'm a big fan of Calvino so I guess I'll give him a try. Are there any books he wrote that have a similar feeling to Invisible Cities?

[Anonymous No.17308428]

>>17306579
>Le Chiendent
Haven't read it, Les Fleurs Bleues and Le vol d'Icare are kino.

>>17306562
Filtré. Essayedur moyenesprit.

[Anonymous No.17308430]

>>17306562
>*vomit*
Take it back, Calvino is one of the greatest writers from a century of great writers.

[Anonymous No.17308436]

>>17308417
Exercises in Style is the same story rewritten 40 times or something, each time in a different style/perspective, so quite like Mr Palomar/Invisible Cities. His novels seem of the same ilk as If on a Winters Night. Looks like fun, I am also just starting to explore him because of the Calvino comparison and it looks to be a very accurate comparison from what I have seen so far.

[Anonymous No.17308447]

>>17308436
>Exercises in Style is the same story rewritten 40 times or something, each time in a different style/perspective, so quite like Mr Palomar/Invisible Cities. His novels seem of the same ilk as If on a Winters Night. Looks like fun, I am also just starting to explore him because of the Calvino comparison and it looks to be a very accurate comparison from what I have seen so far.
Ah that's great I wish I could relive reading Invisible Cities for the first time and that sounds like a possible alternative.

[Anonymous No.17308502]

>>17308447
>Ah that's great I wish I could relive reading Invisible Cities for the first time and that sounds like a possible alternative.
Don't really expect the same thing though, it's really a lot more about style and the story is always the same. I think it's a great book (and Invisible cities too) and I wouldn't want you to be disappointed.

[Anonymous No.17308507]

>>17308502
>Don't really expect the same thing though, it's really a lot more about style and the story is always the same. I think it's a great book (and Invisible cities too) and I wouldn't want you to be disappointed.
Oh no I wasn't expecting anything like that, it's just this sublime experience of awe and wonder that only Borges and Calvino give me that I'm chasing.

[Anonymous No.17308514]

>>17308502
It would be interesting if he did tell a greater story through the retelling of the same story in different styles.

Anyone know anything like that?

[Anonymous No.17308630]

>>17308430
Where to start?

[Anonymous No.17308641]

>>17308630
Picrel is pretty good but I think starting off with Marcovaldo might be a good idea.

[Anonymous No.17308680]

>>17308641
Thanks.

[Anonymous No.17308691]

>>17308641
I did not know he wrote a theory book. Will be ordering that.

I can not really agree with that chart at all. Cosmicomics/Baron in the Trees are not great starting points. Everyone used to just start with If on a Winters night, it does give a good overview of his entire work.

[Anonymous No.17308713]

>>17308691
There's also a book based off of his lectures called Six Memos for the Next Millennium if that suits your fancy.
>>17308691
>I can not really agree with that chart at all. Cosmicomics/Baron in the Trees are not great starting points. Everyone used to just start with If on a Winters night, it does give a good overview of his entire work.
I disagree, as I think the chart is more so ordered by which texts are easiest to read. Imo Marcovaldo is a good place to start, but I have yet to read If on a Winters night, Difficult Loves, or The Castle of Crossed Destinies so I may be wrong.

[Anonymous No.17308719]

>>17308507
Nice! Exercices in style provokes a very childlike amusement imo, I'd say it's more akin to If by a winter night in that regard. It keeps making you think "oh true you can do that with text ahah".
Calvino and Queneau are very similar to Perec imo, and Borges to Schwobes (who influenced him a lot). You should check them out, I'm sure you'll like them. The Adventurous Heart by Jünger is also a book I'd put in that category.
>>17308514
>It would be interesting if he did tell a greater story through the retelling of the same story in different styles.
I think it's also interesting without telling a greater story because it makes the reader negates the story and as such only keep the style. That being said The Children's Crusade by Marcel Schwob kind of fit what you're looking for, it's a short and great read anyway.

[Anonymous No.17308734]

>>17308719
>Schwobes
Do you mean Schwob? If so I've read Imaginary Lives and it was pretty great.

[Anonymous No.17308739]

>>17308713
Nice, will get Six Memos as well.

Easiest is subjective and not many people find any of his work difficult in my experience.

>>17308719
>I think it's also interesting without telling a greater story
It is interesting and I look forward to it, I am just intrigued by the idea of using a single repeated story to tell a greater whole. Will check out The Children's Crusade, thanks for the rec.

[Anonymous No.17308742]

>>17308734
>Do you mean Schwob?
Yes no idea why I wrote it that way. Check out his other short stories they're as great, especially The King in the golden mask.

[Anonymous No.17308745]

>>17308630
Start with the ancestor trilogy, it's basically three books in one and you'll get a good overview of him. In particular the cloven viscount and the nonexistent Knight are great short novels. From there you can go to his most structuralist side, i.e Cosmicomics, Invisibile Cities and then read the traveller last because unlike the other anon said, it's basically his masterpiece so starting from there will probably ruin the journey. It's like starting to read Eco from Foucault's Pendulum. Also, the more books you have read the better you'll appreciate the traveller.

[Anonymous No.17308756]

>>17308745
I started Calvino with If on a Winter's Night and Eco with Foucault's Pendulum, did not ruin any of their other works. Not sure how they could, both of their bodies of work are strong enough, they are consistently great writers.

[Anonymous No.17308783]

>>17308739
>Easiest is subjective and not many people find any of his work difficult in my experience.
I would agree with you there but if I had to pick which of his works is the easiest, I'd choose Cosmicomics. If I had to redo the chart based of of what I have read I'd say it would be Marcovaldo, The Cloven Viscount, The Nonexistant Knight, The Baron in the Trees, and finally Invisible Cities. I don't know where I'd put Cosmicomics in that list though.
>>17308742
>Check out his other short stories they're as great, especially The King in the golden mask.
I've heard that one is a bit boring, is that the case?

[Anonymous No.17308786]

>>17308756
I mean, I did the same but starting from their best books kinda spoils the journey and the fun of getting to know the author's entire production. You can do that, but I think a different approach is more suitable if you want to dive in and get a bigger picture of their literary production instead of just reading the masterpieces and be done with it.

[Anonymous No.17308880]

>>17308786
I just see If on a Winter's Night as the place to start since it is the culmination of his various styles, it gives a full overview, if you like it you will like other works of his, that can not be said of Baron of the Trees or Cosmicomics. I don't really think he has a masterpiece, he has a group of amazing works and a group of good solid works. Most here seem to view Invisible Cities as his masterpiece.

I would also tell people to read T-Zero before Cosmicomics, if you like it read Cosmicomics as well, T-Zero is the better of the two and not at all dependent on Cosmicomics.

[Anonymous No.17308898]

On the topic of the three books in the ancestor trilogy, how would you rank them? For me it's The Baron of the Trees > The Cloven Viscount > The Nonexistant Knight. The level of detail in The Baron of Trees in crazy.

[Anonymous No.17308940]

>>17308898
I remember liking the Baron of the Trees best, but they did not really grab me. I enjoyed them and will probably reread them someday, but they did not have a great effect on me.

[Anonymous No.17308946]

>>17308940
Really? Which of his works did have an effect on you then?

[Anonymous No.17308954]

>>17300931

[Anonymous No.17308994]

>>17308898
For me it goes Nonexistent Knight > Cloven Discount >>> Baron in the Trees. If you like novels full of details you should try to read any of Eco's novels which are very full of long descriptions and lists. Particularly the Name of the Rose has a wonderful world building and construction.
Also, to give an explanation on why I ranked the Baron last, it kinda felt too repetitive to me, I mean I really liked the original concept and all the beautiful descriptions of the tree and the animals but it isn't as story heavy as the other two which have a lot happening in them and also last half the pages. Particularly the Nonexistent Knight really stuck a chord within me.

[Anonymous No.17309003]

>>17308946
Mr Palomar and T-Zero probably had the most immediate and strong impacts on me, I read them at the right time and place, they were just what I needed and they changed how I looked at things. If on a Winter's Night has had the greatest effect overall, it is his one work I can always revisit, it has grown with me and each time I read it I see it differently.

[Anonymous No.17309086]

>>17308994
Imo all three books are insanely good, it's just a matter of which you like the best. I can see why you dislike The Baron in the Trees, though the repetition doesn't bother me as in my opinion it really burns the images he's painting into your head. I do like Umberto Eco as well so I'd say you have an idea of why I like Calvino. That being said, The reason I put The Nonexistent Knight last was because of it's pacing, it was a bit slow and disjointed in my opinion. Mind you Calvino's slow and disjointed is better than most writer's peak condition works.
>>17309003
Mr Palomar is also really good though I have yet to read either of the other books you mentioned.

[Anonymous No.17309154]

>>17308783
>I've heard that one is a bit boring, is that the case?
I don't think so. It's a short story anyway, so even if one can not like it, you would have to get bored really fast to find it boring.