From Warsaw to Paris | A French Reading Diary - Winter, 2024

[@danielchavolla1507]

One of the most thoughtful folks on youtube speaking on literature.

[@SherdsTube]

That's very kind of you to say. Thank you :)

[@kieran_forster_artist]

Sam this is probably one of the most truly Sherdish short films and now a favourite… this illustrates what I’ve been saying about what you produce for a long time. It’s far beyond elite book reviews. It’s an atmospheric journey , a journal into a literature. Your voice, with its understated humble projection of the books and the musicality of the actual landscapes, makes the video “tremendously effective”. I can wait for these oneiric immersions into another quiet world. There is nothing like it on the Tube. Please continue leveraging your creativity into more musical accompaniment and voices and enchanted travel. The beard is all!!!

[@SherdsTube]

Thanks so much for saying that, Kieran. I'm very pleased to hear what you say about an "atmospheric journey" - that's always what I'm trying to achieve. Appreciate it!

[@menelvegor]

LOVED this! Every video of yours is a treat ❤️🌞

[@SherdsTube]

Thanks so much for saying so! :))

[@hbaird7258]

love these contemplative videos. please keep making them!

[@SherdsTube]

Very glad you enjoy them! More coming very soon. :)

[@kasianfranmitja5298]

Gorgeous! As always. I dont really know where to start in my praise of your videos. But you should know that what u do is artistic as hell!!! Insanely high quality stuff imo. Big love.

[@SherdsTube]

Thank you so much. It makes me so happy to read that. Truly. :)

[@davidbreitkopf3603]

I discovered your work the other day when I found your video on convolution. Ah, a man after my heart! Such a pleasure to hear about the love of books and reading in this day and age. I've discovered a dozen or more books and writers that I've never heard of from your podcasts. You do ask for recommendations, and knowing that you have read only a limited amount of French authors, I'm wondering if you've ever read Mallarmé? He's been my Northstar for the past 5 plus years. His oeuvre is relatively compact, but every poem is a gem, difficult , and convoluted (in the way you suggest). I have about a half dozen books of his poetry because each translation is so different, it's almost like a different poem. The joke about Mallarmé during his lifetime was that he needed to translate his poems into French. In any even, I would appreciate your take on Mallarmé.

[@claviusrecords8104]

Love the videos! Would you be so kind and recommend a couple of your favorite folk horror books? Thanks in advance! 🙏

[@douloureux.]

This is such a lovely video, i loved hearing your thoughts on these books

[@SherdsTube]

Thanks so much for saying so! You're very kind. :)

[@joachimmagdziak7742]

Thank you for the literary trip to Paris! For me french literature is mostly tremendously underrated “Gargantua and Pantagruel”, in which I see first loomings of works such as “Ulisses” or “Gravity’s Rainbow” - there are some great insights on undertones of Rabelais in Arthur Machen’s essay “Hieroglyphics”. I like also Gide’s “Vatican Cellars”, first prose poems in Bertrand’s “Gaspard of the Night”, and immensely climatic horror fiction of the culturally german Lorrainers Erckmann&Chatrian (“The Man-Wolf” primarily).

[@SherdsTube]

Rabelais is a writer I've been meaning to explore properly for a long time. I really must do so soon. I recall reading Gabriel Josipovici - if I'm remembering correctly - discussing Rabelais as a precursor to modernist writing, alongside Laurence Sterne. Thanks so much these recommendations. :)

[@chrisgomes5048]

As always, your videos are enlightening. I've added The Great Fire of London to my tbr queue. The only francophone horror writer I've read (in translation) is Jean Ray. I became familiar with Oulipo while I was a grad student in math. I read a lot of Harry Mathews. Subsequntly I read Georges Perec while I was teaching overseas. Your videos give me the impetus to read "better" - i.e. challege myself to read outside of my usual interests and to take a chance on something unfamiliar. Thank you. I love your videos and look forward to future releases. I hope you enjoy Foucault's Pendulum.

[@SherdsTube]

Thank you for the very kind words! Very glad to have had an impact on how you approach books - it's the whole reason I make this stuff, so it's lovely to hear. I really hope you enjoy 'The Great Fire of London'. Jean Ray is great fun! :)

[@GyronCinque]

Was introduced to your channel by the wonderful artist, Gea Philes, and - incidentally - one of the things we bonded over when we first started talking, almost 20 years ago, was a shared love of Bataille! Have enjoyed the videos I have seen so far, and will continue watching. When it comes to French writers, I would be curious to hear your thoughts on Raymond Roussel, Alfred Jarry, or René Daumal! Best regards from Northern Norway, Terje S.C.Ø.

[@SherdsTube]

Ah! That was kind of her. I really love her work - hoping to pick up her new collection of postcards soon! Thanks so much for watching - so pleased to hear you've enjoyed the videos so far. Renė Daumal is a new name for me, but he sounds very intriguing!

[@rottenfralort]

This style suits you so well Sam, nothing like it out there. Love the atmosphere in all of your videos, but the personal touch of these diaries really connects with me. I myself have the habit of reading books from every country I visit, and with France, one is certainly spoilt for choice. A lot of good mentions already in the video and comments, so I will just add a few. This is another reason for me to mention At Night All Blood is Black by David Diop, one of the best French language novels I have encountered. In terms of horror, nobody seems to have mentioned The Tenant by Roland Torpor, which would have fit snugly into Sherds' Podcast. Marcel Schwob I could also envisage you and Rob discussing, or maybe The Necrophiliac by Gabrielle Wittkop. And lastly an author I have yet to read myself, but which seems like one of the most interesting contemporary voices from France, Mathias Énard. You have a job on getting to read all of the many great suggestions from the audience, especially with 1000 pages of Les Miserables to go. No matter which way your reading takes you, I'm intrigued to keep following from the sidelines :) All the best from Stavanger Andreas

[@SherdsTube]

Thanks so much, Andreas. I really appreciate your support. The reading diaries are some of my favourites to make - a bit looser and baggier, more digressive. Glad to hear they resonate with you. 'At Night All Blood is Black' is new to me and looks very cool. Schwob, Wittkop, and Énard have all called to me at one point or another, but I haven't managed to get to any of them yet, sadly. It's good to have the encouragment to dive in soon, though. I'm half way through the Hugo now - it's great fun. The narrative is so much breezier than I'd expected. Then there are these stodgy, essayistic moments that are very much to my taste. Interludes on Waterloo, long descriptions of convents etc. Very much digging it. :) Thanks again for the kind words and recommendations!

[@rottenfralort]

​@@SherdsTube Glad to hear that Hugo is not a slog. I'm rarely drawn to monumental classics, but it does remind me that I loved The Count of Monte Cristo many years ago. The quickest 800 pages I've ever read I think. Not a deep work, but tremendously fun.

[@ForrestAguirre]

Moreau is my absolute favorite artist and has been for decades. I've only seen one painting of his in person, but I hope to get to the museum some day.

[@SherdsTube]

Yes, it was quite an experience to stand in the middle of all those dreams. Hope you manage to visit at some point!

[@sputniki5477]

Yourcenar's Memoirs of Hadrian is one of the greatest novels I've read in the past 10 years. Also really enjoyed Robbe-Grillet's The Voyeur and The Erasers.

[@SherdsTube]

Gosh, that's high praise. I will certainly have to try 'Memoirs of Hadrian'! Thanks for the suggestions.

[@ToCutALongStoryShort]

The french author I love is Patrick Modiano .... the ghostly sinews connecting memories to a life lived

[@SherdsTube]

Thanks for sharing! Haven't yet tried his work. :)

[@semiote]

I hope you enjoy Lispector's Cronicas. As in some of her short stories - especially her children's stories - her warmth and vulnerability really shine through in them. When combined with her penchant for off-kilter, mystical turns of phrase, they paint a very compelling portrait of her mind. They often feel almost like letters from an intimate who has taken down all barriers and is baring herself to you.

[@SherdsTube]

Excited to delve into her work. Perhaps I'll go with the short stories next. Thanks for this recommendation, Mandel!

[@kieran_forster_artist]

Thanks for connecting one of my favourite symbolists Moreau with a discussion of the links between musical forms including the equivalent of the painterly concept of highlight / background which so obviously echoes ur comment about a jazz solo. Really the whole discussion is rich in your connecting many forms of creativity. This is exactly the opposite of the typical somewhat neurotic obsession with one book I often see. Your video journals are showing us the richness and unifying quality of the “highly complex architecture” of books / painting / music / photography etc etc. This makes reading a true “endless flowering”. This might even make more of us choose to read, for the rich tapestry, perhaps even the “thrill” or the “catharsis”.

[@joefaherty3010]

Thank you!

[@SherdsTube]

My pleasure! :)

[@Echoesoflostlibraries]

Great video, so happy to hear people talk about one of my favorite books. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on The Loop and Mathematics as well. You might want a break in reading the French, but I really would love to recommend Pierre Bergounioux (Of Fish and Game and Butterflies), Michel Butor (Degrees is fantastic, the most experimental of my recommendations), Jean Giono (A King Alone is fantastic), Pierre Michon (many to choose from, but Small Lives is excellent), and Julien Gracq (Opposing Shore). Pascal Quignard is interesting as well, but not one I'd recommend quite as highly as the rest. Keep up the good work!

[@SherdsTube]

Thanks so much, Echo! Thrilled to hear you're a fan of Roubaud - I should have guessed! I imagine 'The Loop' and 'Mathematics' get even further into the weeds. So glad I have those experiences ahead of me. Thanks for the recommendations, too!

[@joejs7659]

On the topic of french literature, have you read Celinè’s two first novels? Death on credit is so very beautiful; melancholic to the extreme yet graceful and semi-loving in its display of human complexity.

[@SherdsTube]

I haven't yet read any Céline. Will try to correct that soon!

[@joejs7659]

⁠​⁠@@SherdsTubealso Georges Perec is worth a mention, his “Life: A user’s manual” had a deep impact on me, while inspired by Ulysses I think it outdoes it in some aspects, shame Joyce didn’t live to read it, he would have been proud I think.

[@ellismanning3163]

Album rec and not a book rec but you might enjoy Loren Connors’ Airs, your playing brings him to mind

[@SherdsTube]

Ah yeah! A beautiful record - haven't listened in ages. Thanks for the reminder. Going to play it tonight. :)

[@james_duffy]

Was also a bit disappointed with the mainstream tilt at Shakespeare and Co when I visited last year. Stumbled across The Abbey Bookshop about a block away. Wonderful shop with narrow aisles and floor-to-ceiling stacks. Picked up a used copy of The House of Hunger. Owner even made me a cup of tea.

[@SherdsTube]

Damn, I was planning to go there. I passed by one evening when they were closing up, and made a note to go back, but didn't manage. Next time, for sure. 'The House of Hunger' is amazing!

[@kevinsommerville6693]

Wonderful stuff, Sam. Thinking about French horror: it might seem obvious, but have you read much Guy de Maupassant? And as for hares: The Leaping Hare by Evans & Thomson is worth reading, as well as The Harvesting, a short story by Ted Hughes.

[@SherdsTube]

Thanks a lot, Kevin! I haven't read nearly enough Maupassant - he was a candidate when I was planning to read, but I didn't go for him in the end. Will read more soon. You know, I was certain that Ted Hughes would have written something about hares - I clearly abandoned my search too hastily! Thanks for the recommendations.

[@iamthelabhras]

Another wonderful video, Sam! Maith thú! Please keep making them. Regarding additional works of French literature potentially worth exploring .... If you're not averse to revisiting the Oulipo, I would recommend Marcel Bénabou's _Pourquoi je n'ai écrit aucun de mes livres_ (_Why I Have Not Written Any of My Books_). You may also want to investigate the work of Raymond Roussel. In addition to being one of the Oulipo's "anticipatory plagiarists", Roussel cast a spell on many of the American poets associated with the New York School (e.g. John Ashbery, who wrote about Roussel in his _Other Traditions_), among many others, which makes him an interesting jumping off point for future literary excursions!

[@sputniki5477]

I'm in the middle of Locus Solus right now.

[@SherdsTube]

Thanks so much for the kind words and recommendations. Actually, I have two Roussel books waiting patiently on my shelves. Will try to liberate them soon. :)

[@MichaelSlovin]

I must read The Great Fire of London. Thank you so much for sharing your experience with it. I'm planning to read some novels by Alain Robbe-Grillet this year, maybe some Clezio too. French authors I've recently enjoyed include Marguerite Duras (The Lover and The Vice-Consul, in particular), Maurice Blanchot, and Raymond Queneau. I was surprised to discover how little The Story of the Eye had to offer me when I read it a few years ago, even after going over the Barthes and Sontag essays. Some of this I attribute to a lousy visual imagination, which dulls me to shocking depictions of sex and violence, and some to impatience with the novella's more juvenile and melodramatic tendencies. I should revisit it, but I fear its appeal will always dodge me.

[@SherdsTube]

I hope you end up digging The Great Fire of London. I was seriously impressed by it. Completely get your reaction to 'The Story of the Eye'. I found the Barthes and Sontag far less illuminating than Bataille's own comments. I think it's tricky to impose any kind of logic upon the book, but I'd be interested to read more criticism about it. Strangely enough, I almost read Blanchot for the video instead of Bataille. I'll certainly give him a go at some point. I've only read one Duras book, which didn't particularly affect me. That was many years ago. I know how much people rate 'The Lover', so I won't give up just yet.

[@MichaelSlovin]

@@SherdsTube Bataille is a fascinating character. I have another book of his, The Impossible, that I'm looking forward to reading, despite my disappointment with his Eye. I would also love to delve into his theoretical work at some point. His essay "The Psychological Structure of Fascism" greatly impressed me. The first novel of Duras's I read was Blue Eyes, Black Hair, and I hated it. Nothing works in that one (these characters never stop weeping, my god). The Lover won me back over and The Vice-Consul kept me there. I would recommend The Vice-Consul over The Lover, as much as I enjoy the latter. Its themes are more numerous and complex, and the story itself proceeds with great tension and dignity. Give it a go. Her novels are very short, anyway, so if Duras does nothing for you, in the end, at least it will not have cost you much time. I made the mistake last year of resolving to finish a highly rated longer novel, of which I despised almost every page. You don't get those months back.

[@olegwiththeknowledge1729]

I see Jaques Roubad in person, we talk and he so nice guy.

[@SherdsTube]

Great to hear that! He certainly comes across that way on the page. :)

[@olegwiththeknowledge1729]

Yes he so old and direct. They want him to read a few poem but the clock came late and he just say one small poem then he say I am old and tired you young people have good evening. He stand outside in deep evening waiting for car, we talk a bit. Like two calculators with too much soul. @@SherdsTube

[@jan-willemvankaathoven914]

Currently I'm majoring in Chinese and I highly encourage your resolution to read more Chinese literature. Yu Hua, Han Shaogong and Shi Tiesheng are some modern writers who'll likely suit your taste.

[@SherdsTube]

Oh brilliant - thanks for these suggestions. I've also been thinking of trying Can Xue soon, whose work is published in those beautiful Margellos World Republic of Letters editions. Have you had any experience with her work?

[@jan-willemvankaathoven914]

@@SherdsTube Thanks in return for mentioning Can Xue. I hadn't heard of her before, but disovered that her story 'The Summons' is included in an anthology which I had on the shelve. I just read it and am curious to find out if her other works are as mysterious as that short piece.

[@kingastanczuk8521]

That's your chance for a discount from Shakespeare and Company gone forever ;)

[@AlexanderLaurence]

Maurice Blanchot

[@SherdsTube]

Blanchot was actually a candidate for this reading diary, but I opted for Bataille in the end. I'd still very much like to read him, though.