Hello, I'm really hoping to get my partner a book for Christmas but I'm having some trouble. I'd love to find something written originally (untranslated) in French, as he is always looking for avenues to maintain his French fluency, and different languages can bring different vibes to writing styles. The problem is that I can't speak any French, so perusing books in French is… difficult and overwhelming. I would love some recommendations that would help narrow my search.
If you think you have something that fits what I'm looking for and it's not in French, please suggest it anyway!
To meet his tastes, here are some things that are necessary:
- Compelling and engaging story line. Motives need to be solid and the story shouldn't be too rambly
- Solid, consistent characterization, motivations, and growth. Ideally, not a story where characters do things that seem out of character for the shock value. That annoys us both quite a lot.
- The story needs to be about adults, not teenagers. Ideally, mid-20s and up
- It can have humor in it, but it shouldn't feel gimmicky or like a comedy
Here are some things that would be a bonus:
- Positive queer representation that feels natural and doesn't end in tragedy. Ideally this would be the main characters and not just a gay best friend situation. Men or genderqueer people if it's a romance.
- A longer read. He reads fast, so a light novel will be done in a couple of hours. I would estimate 300 pages minimum
Other criteria:
- He's open to many genres, including romance, things with heavy philosophical themes, etc. but he's not interested in horror/thriller/suspense, pure comedy, and not very interested in scifi. Tragedy might work, but it depends on the context.
- It can include explicit scenes, but they can't feel out of place or gratuitous
- The book doesn't need to include romance at all
- If it's historical, it needs to be accurate. He's really into history and if it's inaccurate, it will really impact his immersion and enjoyment of the book. In some cases, a little historical inaccuracy is fine where it would just be incredibly annoying for the writer and reader alike, but major things need to be right.
- Fantasy is fine but his preferences would lean more toward a hard magic system that's less whimsical and more structured. He likes the magic systems to make sense under scrutiny as it helps with immersion
I hope this list of criteria doesn't scare anyone off; I think it looks worse than it is. Please feel free to make suggestions you think might fall slightly outside some of the things listed and just point out if you think it does!
by CitrineGhost