Madame Bovary 1/100

by Gustave Flaubert (Lydia Davis translator)

Viking Adult; First Edition edition (September 23, 2010)

384 pages - 27.95 $

En français ici

Why that book

Because one day I discovered with delight some sites where you can read the "old" books and by old, I mean those fallen into the public domain. I therefore told me "Well, I could took the opportunity to read classics, just to see if I want to have them in my library?" This is how I read Madame Bovary (before I bought it cause in truth I love having book on my shelves!) and also because you have to admit, this is a book that must be read once in one's life and it joined my literary  quest for eclecticism with the ulterior goal of having books of literature called "noble" or "white" on my bookshelf next to my many thrillers and fantasy books.

It's also a part of the 100 which therefore left me with 99 others to read!

Synopsis

Charles Bovary, a country doctor, remarried with young Emma Rouault, daughter of a rich farmer in a convent in Normandy.

Fed with romantic novels, she quickly becomes bored with her mediocre and devoted husband and among the middle-class people of her town. Dreaming of a more exciting life, she abandons her maternal role and gives herself to lovers who leave her equally dissatisfied. Emma carries within her the seeds of disease that will prevail: the "bovarysm" ...

What I think of it

Er ... in fact, I really moderately liked it. I do not deny the quality of the writing and vivid descriptions. What I did not like was Emma (which is unfortunate given that the novel revolves around her). It seems that I'm not quite "romantic" enough cause Bovarysm bothers me deeply. I endured with difficulty what I considered like procrastination and whims of young madcap from Emma. That said - and despite my intense desire to slap her by times - the book is a perfect portrait of that kind of inhibited society stuck in its moral precepts.

In a nutshell

A novel to read - if only because it is part of the list ... - or just because it's a classic and the writing is beautiful and transcribes that time very well.

Good to know

The novel caused a scandal at the time. Just think, an author who dares to make a girl of good family raised in a convent a young unfaithful and dissatisfied wife. Flaubert almost end up in jail for making a too realistic portrayal of society, but he was acquitted. Unknowingly he created the concept of Bovarysm that is, according to Lettre.org, a "state of dissatisfaction, emotionally and socially, which occurs especially in certain neurotic young women and results in excessive and vain ambitions, a leak in the imaginary and the romantic "(http://www.lettres.org/files/bovarysme.html).

Good to know 2: the idea for the novel came to him from a real piece of news: the second wife of a doctor (Eugène Delamare) committed suicide after cheating and ruining her husband who in turn commit suicide by poisons. (In French : http://www2.unil.ch/unicom/allez_savoir/as36/pages/5_faits_divers2.html).

Crime and Punishment 4/100

by Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky

Folio classique - 1995

669 pages - 14,75 $

En français ici

Why this book

Because I'm always curious about the classics, because it makes me look serious, because it makes my library eclectic  ... And what decided me to read this book that waited for me in my library ... is that it's part the 100! So here's my fourth book read from the list.

The summary

"Raskolnikov began to shake his body like a man struck by a terrible blow.

- But ... so ... who... is the murderer? he stammered in a broken voice.

Porphyrius Petrovitch sat back in his chair, like a man stunned by a preposterous question.

- Who is the murderer? he repeated, as if he could not believe his ears, but it is you. "

The story without revealing it

Rodion alias Raskolnikov alias Rodka alias Rodia, etc... killed a pawnbroker, spitfire, shrewish and unloved. Why? While reading the book you will know it, that's enough that you know from the start that he killed (but I will not say how many people...)

What I think of it

It is unconventional as we know from the outset who killed, even if said murder happens after only after about 80 pages. Rodia is the murderer, it is written on the back cover, so why 80 pages before killing? This is the time he takes to resolve to commit the crime after long and multiple questions.

Once the crime commited what happens in the 500 pages left? Lengthy and numerous questions on the act itself and on the idea of turning himself in. Rodion babbles incoherently, becomes in turns aggressive, apathetic, delusional, friendly (he helps people), unpleasant (due to his aggressive disdain), tearful, vituperative ... You guessed it, one goes through a myriad of feelings.

Personally, what I least like in classic literature is what I see as self-centered (who am I, or what am I experiencing, where am I going...) and endless thoughts, here I was spoiled! However, I must recognize the genius of Dostoeyvsky who leads us into this spiral of madness over 600 pages, managing to create moments of extraordinary intensity. Moreover, he manages to make Rodia not to look like the monster he is, since everyone look after him (even the police is trying to help).

About the writing itself, the dialogue can be broken, poured out, confused. It sometimes gave me the impression of reading a play. A play with extravagant and over-acting characters that brings us, strangely, even closer to them. The characters are regularly extreme, they do not speak: they shriek, scream, babble, are moved, wring their hands, shiver with fever. The author uses parentheses very often to add information or emphasize a point, which can destabilize or annoy sometimes because it is not natural in a discussion. Last, the Russian names are not fixed: Rodion can be called in several ways and it's the same for all the characters, which sometimes makes it difficult to know who it is.

Yes, I struggled at times: this is not my kind of reading, I have already state that, but the quality of the writing, the power of story, the characterization, the atmosphere created, all this has largely offset some difficult times. I was immersed in the story like never before among people, often whimsical and certainly on the edge of caricature, but that's what makes it easier to feel close to them.

Let's be brief

This is the story of a criminal whose endless thinking about his possible confession is regularly hampered by multiple encounters and stories lived by other characters. You should know that the story takes place about two weeks ... over 600 pages! Human relationships are indeed very important and particularly well covered in this book. For those who love relationships and human history, this novel is a masterpiece. For those who love action and decision-making ... not sure!

Interesting facts

Priceless : looking for Crime and Punishment on the Renaud-Bray site, the bottom of the page suggestion was... tada: 50 shades of Grey!

More seriously, Nietzsche said that Dostoyevsky was the only one from who he had learned something in psychology ... This gives you an idea of ​​the power of the characters you'll encounter in his books, is not it? Reference

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn 3/100

by Mark Twain

Aventure
Flammarion - 1994
Collection : Garnier Flammarion / Littérature étrangère
344 pages - 15.95 $

En français ici

Why this book

During my undergraduate degree in international studies and foreign languages, I took courses in English literature. It was one of the mandatory books (the other one was Life of PI). And also, like so many, I followed Tom Sawyer and Huck's adventures on TV when I was a child so it was a pleasure to immerse myself again in their story. And Hey! It's part of the 100!

Summary

Wild child Huck has to get away. His violent drunk of a father is back in town again, raising Cain. He won't rest until he has Huck's money. So the enterprising boy fakes his own death and sets out in search of adventure and freedom. Teaming up with Jim, an escaped slave with a price on his head, the two fugitives go on the run, travelling down the wide Mississippi River. But Huck finds himself wrestling with his conscience. Should he save Jim, or turn his friend over to a terrible fate? 

What I think of it 

I've read it in English and it was quite difficult. Mark Twain wrote in languages spoken by the different social classes of the time which  makes the book more authentic, certainly, but also quite difficult to understand. However, I can't blame him for the linguistic details that make the book so interesting.

The tone of the book is still quite light, it is written in an autobiographical point of view and the narrator, Huck is a young boy uneducated and quite candid, but also very clever. That said, his candidly description of the people he encounters makes an even more cynical portrait of the society that Mark Twain criticizes. This is a pessimistic and realistic  novel and it puts us in the presence of samples of different social classes (bourgeois, bandit, trapper, etc..) all more cunning or hypocrites than the others.

I liked less how the book treats Black people and the endless questioning of Huck as to whether or not he will return Jim to his life as a slave. After all that Jim had done for him, I did not like that he can still ponder. However, I understand that this is a painting of the society at that time and that such questioning could actually arise.

This book was the precursor of American literary style that uses dialects spoken during the period. The theme of good and evil is very present, but distilled humor makes the book enjoyable to read. This is a realistic and fierce critic of Southern society before the Civil War and that it is very interesting. Just as it is interesting to see how the notion of good and evil could be reversed for the interests of the wealthy (eg, slavery is good).

Let's be brief

A book less known than Tom Sawyer, but very nice to read. A book I recommend for those who want an overview of the society at the time and the evils of slavery. If you like Charles Dickens, you should like Mark Twain.

Ru

by Kim Thúy

Random House Of Canada | September 6, 2012 | Trade Paperback

160 pages - 18.95 $

En français ici

Why this book

For its cover (I know it's lame!) For the poetry it exuded even before you open it. For the originality of the narrative form ... which I must say was a good point because I thought ... after all, even if it is not terrible,I will finish it quickly!

Summary

At ten years old, Kim Thúy fled Vietnam on a boat with her family, leaving behind a grand house and the many less tangible riches of their home country: the ponds of lotus blossoms, the songs of soup-vendors. The family arrived in Quebec, where they found clothes at the flea market, and mattresses with actual fleas. Kim learned French and English, and as she grew older, seized what opportunities an immigrant could; she put herself through school picking vegetables and sewing clothes, worked as a lawyer and interpreter, and later as a restaurateur. She was married and a mother when the urge to write struck her, and she found herself scribbling words at every opportunity - pulling out her notebook at stoplights and missing the change to green. The story emerging was one of a Vietnamese émigré on a boat to an unknown future: her own story fictionalized and crafted into a stunning novel.

The novel's title, Ru, has meaning in both Kim's native and adoptive languages: in Vietnamese, ru is a lullaby; in French, a stream. And it provides the perfect name for this slim yet potent novel. With prose that soothes and sings, Ru weaves through time, flows and transports: a river of sensuous memories gathering power. It's a classic immigrant story told in a breathtaking new way.

What I think about it

This is the story of Kim, a young  boat People, arrived in Canada and who builts her identity : a mixture of her native Vietnam and her new homeland. She gives us a series of stories about her, her family or her knowledge, and through anecdotes we understand what was life in Vietnam after the departure of Western and what is the life of refugees..

I loved it. It reads very quickly (one day only). In fact, I devoured it. I loved her style : poetic and decent despite the horrors told. Never negative, even if it is sometimes nostalgic, the author gives no moral lesson but presents her reality with humor and kindness. Even the style of the book is original: each anecdote or story idea starts on a new page, even if the previous one is only ten lines long. 

This book proves that you can tell the darkness of this world and of life without falling into misery. Proves that life is not pretty but you can tell it beautifully.

Let's be brief

A book to give or to treat yourself to that will delight the most sad souls because at the end of the book they'll know that life if beautiful... nevertheless 

Midnight's Children 2/100

by Salman Rushdie
Vintage Canada Edition - 2006
533 pages - 22 $

En Français ici

Why this book

I wanted to read at least one book by this great author I've heard about at the exit of The Satanic Verses thanks to the scandal it generated. I said to myself "I should read an author who unleashed such passion, be it for whether he is worth it." And most importantly, the Satanic Verses not tempted me a lot... the story of a guy who flies and turns to end up with horns and hoofs ... how to say: too metaphorical for me? Anyway, I decided to try this author with Midnight's Children whose summary tempted me more.

Summary

Saleem Sinai is born at the stroke of midnight on August 15, 1947, the very moment of India's independence. Greeted by fireworks displays, cheering crowds, and Prime Minister Nehru himself, Saleem grows up to learn the ominous consequences of this coincidence. His every act is mirrored and magnified in events that sway the course of national affairs; his health and well-being are inextricably bound to those of his nation; his life is inseparable, at times indistinguishable, from the history of his country. Perhaps most remarkable are the telepathic powers linking him with India's 1,000 other "midnight's children," all born in that initial hour and endowed with magical gifts.

This novel is at once a fascinating family saga and an astonishing evocation of a vast land and its people-a brilliant incarnation of the universal human comedy. Twenty-five years after its publication, Midnight's Children stands apart as both an epochal work of fiction and a brilliant performance by one of the great literary voices of our time.

What I think about it

Rushdie is undoubtedly a master in the art of carrying us into a world of magic and poetry. He is capable of creating a world full of color, brilliance and magic. Reading the book I had the impression of being in a setting of the Thousand and One Nights and for that alone, it's worth it. It is rare that a book enchants me by his descriptions and settings. As for the story, it is also powerful and for who knows or loves India, it's parallel with the history of this country and Pakistan is not to be underestimated. I also liked to see what I enjoyed in India: that every action, every gesture, every adventure is fraught with meaning. Nothing is left to chance and the rich context of this country is an endless source of discoveries. Midnight's Children is no exception and everything that happens there makes sense.

For cons, I found some passages a little too long - euphemism: I was bored - especially the chapter in the forest. I also had trouble with the multiple metaphors the author uses, resulting in completely fantastical scenes - in my case - hard to understand, but as I said earlier: metaphors and me ...

Let's be brief

A book to read for its magic and richness of imagination in which we are transported - even imported - but that's also serious and concrete. After all, it's not every day that a country political history is also written in such a pretty way!