July 2020 Reading Wrap-Up

[@Felidae-ts9wp]

Thanks for sharing your reading list. I enjoy your videos immensely. 📚

[@thefrancophilereader8943]

Thank YOU Felidae :)

[@dancing-lawn]

Well I'll be staying away from L' Amant... Thanks for your honest thoughts on it. I remember enjoying Moderato Cantabile by Duras, which I plan to revisit soon.

[@acruelreadersthesis5868]

I'm definitely interested in The Quest of the Holy Grail. I read Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur a couple years ago, and while it was a struggle to get through at times, I ended up loving it--and one of the parts of it that fascinated me was the section on the quest for the Grail. As I understand it, the Quest of the Holy Grail also features the Fisher King? Maybe? Not sure if I'm remembering that right, but I got interested in the Fisher King after reading T.S. Eliot's The Wasteland. Good luck on your qualifying exam! Mine is August 13. 😬 However it goes, it's going to be over soon!!

[@thefrancophilereader8943]

Yes. The Fisher King is an important character. Galahad must heal the Fisher King with a drop of blood taken from the Graal.

[@ramblingraconteur1616]

Hi Fariba, thanks for sharing your thoughts on all of these. Have you read Quest for the Holy Grail or the earlier portions of the Lancelot du Lac (not sure on the spelling there) in both French and English? I agree that the imagery is incredible in the Quest. It doesn’t always “move” as a narrative, but it’s deeply visual. I’ve never read any Corneille, something I plan to rectify in the next year. Best, Jack

[@thefrancophilereader8943]

You spelled Lancelot du Lac correctly :) In the video, I confused the Prose Lancelot with the Lancelot-Grail (which is also known as the Vulgate Cycle). The Prose Lancelot, like the Quest of the Holy Grail, is one of several books that make up the Lancelot-Grail. I want to read Chretien de Troyes' original before attempting to reread The Once and Future King by T.H. White (which I found excruciatingly boring the first time I read it). I have read the Prose Lancelot, Merlin, and the Quest of the Holy Grail in modern French translations only.

[@Leebearify]

Will you please explain why these are part of the French 'canon'. I know that canon means but I cannot associate the books with the canon. Thank you so much !

[@thefrancophilereader8943]

The literary canon is rarely one, closed list of books. However, there are books that are often raised as important for understanding major literary events. Thus, the English literary canon will include Shakespeare for the Renaissance and Toni Morrison for the 20th-century. Shakespeare and Morrison are authors whose books have marked the history of English and American literature respectively. Likewise, the French literary canon is made up of books that are considered "important" for their literary influence. For 19th-century, Balzac, Zola, and Flaubert are authors whose books are often included in French book lists. For 20th, there's Proust, Breton, Duras, etc. Of course, in each century, there may be several literary movements. While I don't like "Nadja", the author Andre Breton was a leader of the surrealist literary movement. This book is often cited as an important literary work in the movement. Working through the PhD reading list (which covers books from the 13th through the 20th centuries) has taught me to appreciate the literary significance of books even when I don't like them personally. Now, literary canons are not unbiased. They have historically not included books by marginal authors. The French literary canon has traditionally been made up of books by French authors and not Francophone authors (French-speaking authors from former French colonies). Thankfully, some Francophone authors were included on my list. In conclusion, there is no fixed canon but there are books that are commonly cited as having had a marked influence in the history of literature. Hopefully, they withstand the test of time, but they don't always. Hope that helps.

[@Leebearify]

@@thefrancophilereader8943 I understand, thank you very much! As you were talking at the beginning I kept expecting to see Dumas on one of the lists and now I see why he was not there. First we were in the wrong time period and secondly he was not a 'main author' of many of his books. Such an interesting way to look at literature! Thank you !! I appreciate the time you took to answer my question.

[@thefrancophilereader8943]

@@Leebearify No problem :) This was not a video about the canon but about the books I read in July. I'll make a video about all of the books I was asked to read for my exam. Dumas wasn't included on that list perhaps because he is considered by academics to be too popular (as in a bestseller but not particularly literary), but so is Hugo and he was included. Notre-Dame de Paris is on my list. I personally consider Dumas to be canonical and literary. But yeah, I'll make a video about the books I was asked to read and I'll talk about what other books I'd include on the list.

[@Leebearify]

@@thefrancophilereader8943 Yipeee! I can't wait. LOL Dumas wrote for magazines in installments (plus he had a stable of helpers) so I can see how he really didn't influence the literature. However, we have to remember that without Dumas Richelieu would not have become as well known outside of France. Oh I can't wait for your video. THANK YOU

[@kind-heartedgoddess]

Love your videos 🌟