Would love to find a French book - lightish read but not total tripe, available on Kindle. Anyone?

[mrsgboring]

I'm going to France for half term and really want to try to resurrect my French a bit before going. I have goodish, very rusty A-level which is generally good enough to read a book with. My first plan was to get a translated David Lodge novel, but they are not available on Kindle, and I kind of doubt a paper copy would get to me very fast.

Can anyone recommend me something that's not too hard or heavy but not total crap either?

The Scarlett Pimpernel or one of the other books in the series would be pretty good. I'm fairly positive that they were originally written in French.

The Scarlett Pimpernel is a classic work of English fiction .

Why don't you read a popular recent novel with a good film tie-in that you can watch on DVD? I'm thinking of L'élégance du hérisson and Le Hérisson, but there are plenty more.

Oh, whoops :) It's about France anyway...

Bonjour tristesse? Marcel pagnols books?

you can get Victor Hugo novels in the original for kindle

There are some parallel translations available on kindle.

here

I suggest "Et si c'était vrai" by Marc Levy- it's a really easy read, great fun, very trivial but it keeps you turning the pages. It was made into the film "Just Like Heaven" with Reece Witherspoon. Also, I really love Amélie Nothomb, and I'm sure everything she's written will be available on Kindle.

Oh these are all great, thank you very much. Like the DVD tie in idea, as it has to be easy enough that I'll actually do it. (Oh and Pagnol is spot on - I have read some Pagnol!)

Something completely different- what about Daniel Pennac's Malausene books? sort of comic mysteries... Fairy Gunmother is the first, cannot recall French title though...

Or Fred Vargas' 3 apostles books?

That'll be La Fée Carabine, probly? That's a great translation of the title! I thought the first one in the series was Au Bonheur des Ogres? They are excellent, but there might be a bit too much "Parigot" in them for someone trying to get back into French.

yes- they are quite slang-heavy actually (I have only read in translation)
Vargas might be more accessible? Again, I've only read in translation, but they were quite well-written. (and definitely not highbrow/heavy!)

What about Les Grandes Meaulnes by Alain Fournier?

pah- 'Grand', sorry

Anything by Annie Ernaux. Passion simple is my favourite.

Brilliant. I shall never need to lose touch with my French again, thank you.