Of Mice and Maltesers - artifarti's book

[artifarti]

I haven't read this book for years - not since my A-levels, in fact (so at least oooh three years ago ) But I remember really enjoying the way he writes and it being a good story to boot. If you haven't seen it, there is a very famous film which I would recommend.

BTW, I had to buy a copy which includes the sequel, as that was all that was available in translation - don't feel you have to read both, although obviously if you like it and have the time, go for it!

thanks arti book and choccy arrived today.
will start reading asap and let you know how i'm getting on but it looks a great story !

hi artifarti i have finished reading your book and it was an excellent choice.

this book is probably described as a modern classic and is a great story of good versus bad. all the characters in the book are strong and likeable - even the bad/greedy ones.

however i did find that the book was a little slow moving as a story [ but not in a bad way ] and often too descriptive for me.

i havn't read the sequel which you have included but may well do before posting as i have got enough time.

anyway, this is a good choice and cant wait for the next one

Glad you enjoyed it, aristocat. I haven't actually read it since my French A-levels! It's interesting that you say you sometimes found it too descriptive as I can be a sucker for that (famously, most people hate the start of Hardy's Return of the Native which is very descriptive but I really love it!) I also loved the setting.

I have not read the rest of the thread as don't want to read anything that might spoil this book for me.

It only arrived yesterday and I was out late so didn't find it until 10pm last night. I read the blurb and then said "Oh it's a sad one" to DP. He thought that meant that I had read it but the blurb does state "...they turn a blind eye as events reach a tragic conclusion."

I am not sure if that puts me off (slightly) from reading the book. However, DP (who is not a great reader of fiction novels, but knows the stories from having the films) told me to aim to read both stories as the second one makes the first one less sad.

So, I hope to jump into the first story later today and am looking forward to it. I imagine it is about a family that I can get involved with.

Will check back in when I have made some progress.

An interesting read - even though I still feel that the blurb saying it is has a 'tragic conclusion' dis lead me to making the correct prediction of what happens.

So, despite knowing what was going to happen at some point, I was interested in knowing how the author got us there.

I also found myself feeling rather sorry for the apparent dilemma that Ugolin finds himself in - stuck between a rock and a hard place really as he befriends the family but still has to go along with the Papet's plan.

Ugolin is a sympathetic character whilst I couldn't find anything to particularly like about the Papet. Having said this, the Papet is the character that I found it easiest to picture in my mind.

I didn't feel especially upset when the inevitable happened to Jean - I am unsure whether this is due to the fact that I already knew what would have to happen or because I had not really connected with him as a character. I didn't mind all the description but so much of is was about the scenery and the strategy of farming that the characters didn't seem so real.

That said, as a child character, Manon seems well drawn and I am already eager to see how she gets her own back on these greedy men. I have already read the opening chapters and predict a romance between her and the school teacher but have no idea how she will revenge her father's death but feel sure she has to...

A good choice of book. I am not sure it is something I would choose to read these days - I only usually get to do my reading very late at night/very early in the morning and tend to go for less literary books right now. However, I found myself very absorbed by the story.

Dysgu - I had already covered up the bit on the back where it talks about 'avenging her father's death' or somesuch but do you think it would benefit from covering up the 'tragic conclusion' bit as well?! Talk about spoilers...

I might do that arti although it was still interesting to see how it got there in the story.

I finished Manon des Sources too. In this book I found Ugolin kept switching between being a sympathetic character and just getting on my nerves - the sewing scene was macabre - I had to read it twice to check I understood h had sewn it to himself.

A good choice!

Well, I found this book in a charity shop the other week (I only have a French copy!) and so thought for 50p I would re-read it. In fact, I don't think I ever read Manon of the Springs, as I was at school and so only did what was absolutely necessary! I've just finished it and really enjoyed it and am relieved that it's not crap.

I agree about some of the characters - I didn't really connect with Jean and wasn't really bothered when he died. Also, I didn't connect with Manon. I know she'd had immense tragedy but I just didn't find her very likeable and even started to get a bit annoyed when she didn't unblock the spring for the villagers. Ugolin was very pathetic, bless him and I did actually feel a bit sorry for him when he died (although felt a bit sick at the thought of that ribbon...)

What did people think of the ending? It was almost a bit predictable, given the hints of the Papet's feelings for Florette. But I liked it and felt that the story was all tied off, which I like in a book.

Regarding my French A-levels - I am crap at French now but can still remember the word for hunchback, 'le bossu', which as you can imagine comes in really handy!

Hope everyone else enjoys it too!

Now, I really need to book my French holiday...

I'm trying not to look at the rest of the thread!

I've just started to read the book, and so far so good - never read it before, so pleased about that.

Hi - have had a lovely time with the book(s) this month. Have to admit I also "did" it for A-level (one of our topics was writers of Provence, so we did Pagnol and Daudet. So lovely to spend time imagining myself in the warmth of the south of France - I felt very sorry for people doing tedious stuff like chemistry!), so it was a re-read.

What I loved about these books was the level of detail of description of the country. I think the characters are rather sketchily drawn, but intentionally so because they are the ephemeral actors against the backdrop of the hills of Provence which are always there, the natural forces (the heat, the lack of rain etc) that they have to battle against. I must admit to sort of wishing that Jean Cadoret would succeed this time - perhaps I would really like the Disney version...

So I'm off to sell my house and take the family to go and breed rabbits in a farmhouse in Provence. All that wine drinking in the middle of the day in the heat...

Oh how rubbish I am, I didn't come back to post my thoughts!!

I really liked this book. I hadn't read it before, nor have I seen the films, but I remembered I'd heard about it, so I knew the story somehow. It didn't spoil it though. I agree about most of the characters being quite sketchy - as Dysgu says, the one I felt was most fleshed out was the Papet.

All in all, a very good read!

Coming late to this, because I fully intended to get the sequel from the library and read MdS, too (although I suspect DH may have bought me it for Christmas!).

I hadn't seen the films, although I'd heard good things about them. I think I may have started reading this in French at uni (not because I was studying French - just because I was pretentious) because it was very very vaguely familiar.

I found it really hard to remember who was who in the village, and I think it would have been useful to have a character list and map at the start for those who are concentrationally challenged.

Although I enjoyed the story, there was too much description and not enough action. I wasn't sure what era it was set in, so I couldn't quite get my head round the harsh living conditions. I didn't feel sympathetic towards any of the characters, but I am really looking forward to reading the next one, although it's very unlike my usual style of book.

Thanks for choosing this interesting book.

In spite of the additional month, I have just found that getting round to reading anything other than the bedtime story a chore. I know this is a flimsy excuse ...

However, my mum took me to see the two movies when I was a teenager and I remember being totally enthralled. Perhaps, my reticence in reading the story would be the fact that I kind of knew the story already (another weak excuse)

Sorry Artifarti that I didn't give your choice of book a fair shot ...

Im so glad you included the sequel! I starter M de S straight away as i couldn't bear the ending of J de F. Despite having never seen the films i wasn't able to get the image of Gerard Depardieu out of my mind (i hope it was him who played J de F as if it wasn't i will feel very silly).

I loved the descriptions of the countryside and farming ideas. The villagers got on my wick though - their attitude to Jean and his family completely changed when they realised who he was related to - whereas if they had acted like decent human beings in the first place the tragedy would have been avoided. Gits.

The whole story really sucked me in and i ended up reading when i should have been sleeping - but i dont regret it! I found it very predictable - the teacher romance and the lineage of Jean but it didn't seem to matter. Great book (s) thanks Arti

Oh Arti, I am so sorry but I haven't read your book this month. I left it to read til the end of the month but morning sickness has wiped me out and I haven't had the energy to do any reading

I feel awful as I have read all the others. I'll see if I can get it from my local library and read it before this round closes.