French book (as in, adult fiction in French) recommendations please

[geekgirl]

reposted here as I've not had a reply in adult fiction:
I am trying to revive my rusty French and have been doing an evening class for the past 8 months - I think I am at approx. A level standard now (which to be honest doesn't say much about the standard of A levels these days ).
When I was at school learning languages I read a lot of foreign-language books for children and teens - could you recommend some easy & gripping books for adults in French please? I have all the Petit Nicholas books, but at 34 I have outgrown them now. It needs to be straightforward (as my French isn't that great) and gripping (as otherwise I'll just put it down and forget about it) - something along the lines of Richard & Judy book club books iykwim.

I replied in adult fiction!

I thought I was hallucinating when I saw the thread title again with no replies!

L'etranger is good for that level, which is why it's a standard A level text.

Things like Shopaholic have been translated into French and are readily available on Amazon and Fnac - similarly, crime novels by the likes of Ruth Rendell.

I like a writer called Amelie Nothomb (her books exist in English too if you want to "try before you buy.") You may also like Anne Wiazemsky though she is quite "literary".

i'm being quite weak and dull here because, without knowing more about your standard, I'm afraid of recommending something too hard and putting you off. At least with translations of English novels, you will start the book with a "feel" for the language. Similarly, literary writers tend to use less slang than more "popular2 novelists, which can make them a more straightforward read.

Is this any use - or, alternatively, can you give me a bit more idea of what you do and don't like and your level (for example, can you read a magazine like "Le point" or "Paris Match" or French Cosmo without a dictionary?)

Hi MIFLAW, I can generally manage magazines and newspapers - probably more thanks due to 6 years of Latin at secondary than my mediocre & rusty French though. I have just finished a 'French intermediate' course.
I'll try L'Etranger - I read The Plague in German and liked it.

I would say that L'Etranger is loads better than La Peste. Camus is quite an easy writer to read in general - you might also try his short stories in L'Exil et le Royaume or La Chute.

If you like short stories, Maupassant is also fairly timeless, and probably would have been on the dick and Jude list of his day.

What genres do you like in English? (or German ... or Latin ...)

mmh novels I suppose. My favourite authors are Rose Tremain, Helen Dunmore, Hans Fallada... Rosie Thomas for a bit of light reading.
I read Suite française in English and that was right up my street.
I don't really like crime stuff - other than Donna Leon's books.

Haven't read "suite francaise". Try Nothomb and Wiazemsky.

Of course, a lot of people swear by Duras and she is also sometimes on A level reading lists.

you could try Alexandre Dumas, most of his novel are gripping and are build like soap opera (which they were in their time). You don't have to read all the descriptions but focus on the action, or read the abbreviated stories for kids.
I started reading aghata cristies to learn english, we don't have her in france...but you could try Arsene lupin by maurice leblanc.
I like Nothomb, but I have no idea of what the A level "level" is, it seems a bit difficult as the stories are not always straightforward and very scarcastic, but "stupeurs et tremblements" should be OK as it is her japanese autobiographie.
Duras is also difficult and from my point of view quite boring, "l'amant" made a much better movie than book.
Francoise Sagan is another alternative, less philosophical but still interesting.
Marc Levy is a popular new autor, his book are quite easy to read.
short stories could be nice, like Maupassant or Beaudelaire translations of alan edgar poe.
I liked "la peste" better than "l'etranger", but I am probably the only one, "la chute" is good too.
good luck

Oh, I forgot Sagan - good call, mamaloco!

I've just read Marc Levy's 2 new books and would recommend them.

There's some colloquial langauge and random specialist archaelogy/astrophysics vocab but on the whole I managed without a dictionary!

Another recommendation for Marc Levy, but don't bother with "mes amis, mes amours" which isn't as good as his other books.

You could also try Guillaume Musso, similar type of thing.

I like short stories, and enjoyed Anna Gavalda's "Je voudrais que quelqu'un m'attende quelque part"

I'm in the middle of a Guillaume Musso and, though I confess it's a page-turner, I don't really like it - I'm ready it against my better judgement!

It reminds me of one of the clunky French translations you get of British and American crime writers - I keep having to remind myself that this is the "original" text!

Oh I agree MIFLAW. I've just finished my first Guillaume Musso and it was like reading a description in French of a Hollywood movie. It felt 'wrong' to read a novel in French and have all the loose ends were tied up at the end.

Suite Française is an excellent book, but I think it is quite difficult in the original - I know my mother (who is very well read in French) gave up and read it in English instead.

I am not a fan of modern novel(ist)s in general, and in particular not of French ones, but I quite enjoyed L'élégance du hérisson by Muriel Barbery. I'm a poor judge of how accessible it is to non-fluent French speakers, however.

If you like science fiction, Barjavel is fairly straightforward.

Hi,

I agree with the recommendation on Amelie Nothomb, esp. Stupeur et Tremblements (a book about a Belgian woman's culture-shock working in Japan).
I also enjoyed Kiffe Kiffe Demain (by Faiza Gueze), about a young woman living in a council estate & the sort of things happening in her world, it's written in a very natural & convincing style.
And the Esprit de Famille series by Janine Boissard (six books on the story of four sisters growing up near Paris, their love lifes, arguments, etc).
My French was rusty too & I managed through these and thoroughly enjoyed them : )

I am currently very much enjoying "un secret" by Grimbert (though it's not a laugh a minute) - also made into a film.

I really liked 'Les Liaisons Dangereuses' by Laclos, and Voltaire is a good read, esp Candide.
Don't know anything more modern as have also let my French slip...

I did 'Les Petits Enfants du Siecle' at school but it is quite an adult book.

If my French was good enough I'd love to read Simone de Beauvoir's Second Sex.

If your French is really rusty why not get one of your favourite books in translation. You can read a section in French then the same section in English to see if you have really understood it.

Just get books you'd normally read in the French translation. Also recommend watching dvds in french with subtitles in english or in english audio with the french text.

Also look at magazines - Voici for a laugh at the celebs & for general interest Science & Vie, Geo - also in Junior editions. You can get many great general interest mags in french that don't exist in english. - check out milan Presse & Groupe Bayard. The womens mags are all about sliming so I avoid them & parenting mags all about nonattachment parenting so I don't get these.