The French Book Club at Live-French is a moment of sharing and pleasure around the reading of books in French intended for all learners of French as a foreign language whose level is at least B1.
In its new version, the Book Club gives the opportunity to study a book in depth and in each session, 2 students also present a book they have read.
Here are some French books read and recommended by our students.
La petite fille de Monsieur Linh – Philippe Claudel
Genre: Novel.
Publication date: 2005.
Themes: traumatized refugees.
Reading: easy.
A beautiful and moving story about an old man who abandons everything because of the war and finds himself in a cold and gray city. This book tackles the theme of friendship and compassion with great sensitivity.
Le quai de Ouistreham – Florence Aubenas
Genre: Autobiographical story.
Publication date: 2010.
Topics: the economic crisis of 2010, search for work, unemployment, precariousness, work of cleaners
Reading: average.
A very factual story, but at the same time very interesting and also sad. The book allows you to get to know a part of another society and to learn new words about the world of work. The dialogues are fascinating. This report will be of interest to anyone who wants to know more about the way of life of others.
Le chat du rabbin – Joann Sfar
Genre: Comic strip.
Publication date: 2002.
Themes: Judaism.
Reading: easy.
With humor and lightness on one side and depth and philosophy on the other, this comic strip is a fable of rare intelligence that will delight lovers of metaphysics.
La tresse – Laetitia Colombani
Genre: Novel.
Publication date: 2018.
Themes: the struggle and the willpower of women who decide to choose a different route than the one society assigned them.
Reading: easy.
A touching and simple book that features strong characters around a very topical theme.
Le bal – Irène Némirovsky
Genre: Fiction novel.
Publication date: 1930.
Themes: the mother-daughter relationship.
Reading: average.
Irène Némirovsky was a French-speaking Russian novelist, born in Kyiv on February 11, 1903, and died on August 19, 1942, in Auschwitz. Her novel depicts Antoinette, a troubled teenager whose relationship with her mother is tumultuous. This book is easy to read, and suitable for both teenagers and adults.
Le bal des folles – Victoria Mas
Genre: historical fiction.
Publication date: 2019.
Themes: illnesses, Charcot’s experiments, and the condition of women in the 19th century.
Reading: easy.
A fascinating and historical subject that speaks of the life of the so-called mad women, locked up in the Salpetriere hospital in Paris in the service of Professor Charcot. A short but poignant novel.
L’équation Africaine – Yasmina Khadra
Genre: Novel.
Publication date: 2011.
Themes: Africa, mourning, death and suicide, love, captivity, volunteering.
Reading: average.
This book covers many essential and important themes of the human condition such as love and death. The language used by the writer is simple. The descriptions, very poetic, is using a language that is more difficult. This book tells a moving and exciting story and the main characters are very well described. The action of book takes place in very difficult conditions of captivity but, despite everything, we find there the hope and the humanity of the people.
Le Chocolat des temps amers – Jean-Louis Barbet
Genre: Novel.
Publication date: 2007.
Themes: war, 6 destinies.
Reading: average.
Inspired by real events, the stories that make up this novel are linked by the period of the Second World War.
Philosophie du Petit Prince:sagesse, identité et bonheur – Gwendal Fossois
Genre: Essay.
Release Date: 2021
Topics: philosophy, sociology.
Reading: average.
We all know the Little Prince, the marvelous tale of Saint-Exupéry. This book proposes to analyze and highlight the philosophical scope of this tale to go further in his reading of the Little Prince.
Do you also want to be part of the Book Club? A new session will take place next month. Register now (early-bird) and you will be able to choose the book that will be studied during the next session!
