Hello! Longtime reader here. For the past couple of years, I've been on a fantasy/sci-fi binge. Now, I am eager to branch out. I've read a couple of French authors like Victor Hugo and Maurice Druon, and I was absolutely enthralled by their books. I decided that for this year, I want to read more French literature. However, I'm not sure where to start. I am vaguely familiar with some of the great French authors of the past like the aforementioned Victor Hugo, Alexander Dumas, and Emile Zola. Aside from that, my knowledge is lacking. I would appreciate any suggestions that could be offered.
by EstablishmentHairy51
10 Comments
Anything by Albert Camus, Bonjour Tristesse by Francoise Sagan, the Maigret series by Georges Simenon. I am a big fan of Emile Zola.
Sartre; especially his play called No Exit
Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux is fantastic, also The Boy with the Cuckoo-clock Heart by Mathias Malzieu
I would reccomend Jules Verne (around the world in 80 days or 20000 leagues under the sea) next then Gustave Flaubert.
I enjoyed the Three Musketeers – a ripping yarn
The Plague was very good, imo
do you want to stay 19th century? if so, then guy de maupassant and octave mirbeau
Annie Ernaux for contemporary French autofiction
Marcel Proust for classic French autofiction
One French author who has become obscure but is really fantastic is Francois Mauriac. He won the Nobel Prize, but he’s barely mentioned anymore. I would start with Desert of Love or A Kiss for the Leper. He’s very Catholic and very poetic.
Count of Monte Cristo – Dumas, is a start….
Albert Uderzo & René Goscinny