Episode 34|3 : A Year in the Merde

Searching for Justice: Proust and the Dreyfus Affair – Les Bookworms

We're back on the Proust train. This episode covers the first chapter of Volume 3 – The Guermantes Way (Le Côté de Guermantes). We focus on the Dreyfus Affair and its role in French society at the time of Proust and today.

1. Searching for Justice: Proust and the Dreyfus Affair 40:50
2. Through the Pages of Time 55:01
3. In Search of Lost Podcasts: Les Bookworms Revival 28:08
4. 2 Down 5 to Go: Reflections on Volume II of Proust 30:07
5. A mix of gumption and courage: Paris memoirs 26:56

Overview

A Year in the Merde by Stephen Clarke (2006) was originally published under the pen name Paul West (the protagonist in the book). The book explores Clarke’s own experiences of moving to Paris and figuring out the city, the people and the French culture. Written as a comedic representation, Clarke offers a Anglo-male perspective of an often repeated story of landing in the City of Lights and finding a home.

Country

France

How does this book question the idea of the Francophonie? (Does it go against the grain? Does it stay stereotypical?) 

This book is based on the stereotypes of France and the French. It isn’t revolutionary or original in its critique of the French culture. It stays pretty much on surface of your basic tropes. In the episode, we discussed how the characters – notably the French women represented in the book- were rather one dimensional and written to be self-serving. While the protagonist is a bit of a misogynistic prick, the book did create a broader conversation on the difference in the French workforce, how people approach moving abroad and of course, the perception of humor being heavily impacted by culture and language.

All the Light We Cannot See

Author

Anthony Doerr

Back Cover

“Marie-Laure lives in Paris near the Museum of Natural History, where her father works. When she is twelve, the Nazis occupy Paris and father and daughter flee to the walled citadel of Saint-Malo, where Marie-Laure’s reclusive great uncle lives in a tall house by the sea. With them they carry what might be the museum’s most valuable and dangerous jewel.

In a mining town in Germany, Werner Pfennig, an orphan, grows up with his younger sister, enchanted by a crude radio they find that brings them news and stories from places they have never seen or imagined. Werner becomes an expert at building and fixing these crucial new instruments and is enlisted to use his talent to track down the resistance. Deftly interweaving the lives of Marie-Laure and Werner, Doerr illuminates the ways, against all odds, people try to be good to one another.”

Our Thoughts

While the book is on the longer side, the pace is relatively easy to read. The dual narrative kept me intrigued to see where, when and how the two stories would intersect. However, there were a few times I found myself flipping back to the date page because the years weren’t necessarily chronological which made it a bit confusing at times…

I can understand why this book has been well loved but I wouldn’t say it’s my favorite historical fiction from this time period. I was a bit disappointed with the end and felt short changed after having spent so much time invested in the story.

If you did like All the Light We Cannot See, I’d recommend “And There Was Light” by Jacques Lusseyran which is mentioned in the acknowledgements as well as The Paris Library which also a dual narrative historical fiction during the same time period. Check out our blog posts on the other books if you’re curious!

Genre:

Historical Fiction

Page Count: 530

Banana Girl

Author

Kei Lam

Back Cover

Coming to France as a young girl, Kei Lam grew up in Paris, sharing two cultures – the dim sum and the camembert, the Moon Festival and the Epiphany, tiger balm and holy water. Life has not always been easy for this little Chinese girl in Paris, but she found herself and forged her own identity little by little, combining her multiple identities. In this graphic novel, Kei embraces the fluidity and intersectionality of her identity and finds joy in a label once forced upon her – the banana, yellow on the outside and white on the inside.

Our Thoughts

Thanks to bookstagram and the Feminist Book Club (Paris) for a great suggestion! We both loved that this story was told in the form of a graphic novel. Banana Girl illustrates how important culture, identity and art can be in forging a path in a city like Paris. The storyline and illustrations highlight this as they play off of each other throughout, which makes for a very enjoyable read. Lam introduced us to a new immigration story in Paris through her childhood memories and experiences in Paris. Being thrust into new environment, culture and life is never easy, especially with labels and mockery thrown around the playground. Overall, we highly recommend this book for its beautiful simplicity and its intricate complexity of race, culture and identity.

While the graphic novel is written in French, it remains accessible for most levels of French. Having the illustrations really helps learn and identify new French vocabulary!

Genre:

Memoir/Graphic Novel

Page Count: 184

Episode 33|3: Banana Girl

Searching for Justice: Proust and the Dreyfus Affair – Les Bookworms

We're back on the Proust train. This episode covers the first chapter of Volume 3 – The Guermantes Way (Le Côté de Guermantes). We focus on the Dreyfus Affair and its role in French society at the time of Proust and today.

1. Searching for Justice: Proust and the Dreyfus Affair 40:50
2. Through the Pages of Time 55:01
3. In Search of Lost Podcasts: Les Bookworms Revival 28:08
4. 2 Down 5 to Go: Reflections on Volume II of Proust 30:07
5. A mix of gumption and courage: Paris memoirs 26:56

Aperçu du livre

Kei a grandi en France, partagée entre deux cultures : les dim sum et le camembert, la fête de la lune et l’épiphanie, le baume du tigre et l eau bénite…La vie n est pas toujours simple pour une petite Chinoise à Paris, mais peu à peu elle se forge une identité faite de ces références multiples. Aujourd’hui, Kei revendique son métissage culturel et assume joyeusement l’étiquette de banane, jaune à l’extérieur et blanche à l’intérieur…

Pays

France

Comment ce livre raviver, approfondir, ou contester ton idée de la francophonie?

La bande dessinée est un genre iconique en France et Banana Girl est la première BD pour notre podcast. Cette BD est une autobiographie de Kei Lam qui présente son enfance en France. Elle raconte sa vie et son expérience d’immigration. C’est une histoire touchante avec les illustrations incroyables ! Tandis que les illustrations et le texte sont assez simples, la lecture est profonde. Elle examine ce qu’il est d’être parisienne et française. Elle assume son identité avec cette BD et approfondit l’idée de la francophonie.  

And There Was Light

Author

Jacques Lusseyran

Back Cover

“When Jacques Lusseyran was an eight-year-old Parisian schoolboy, he was blinded in an accident. He finished his schooling determined to participate in the world around him. In 1941, when he was seventeen, that world was Nazi-occupied France. Lusseyran formed a resistance group with fifty-two boys and used his heightened senses to recruit the best. Eventually, Lusseyran was arrested and sent to the Buchenwald concentration camp in a transport of two thousand resistance fighters. He was one of only thirty from the transport to survive. His gripping story is one of the most powerful and insightful descriptions of living and thriving with blindness, or indeed any challenge, ever published.”

Our Thoughts

This book was given as gift years ago when I was just beginning my journey of learning the French language. It traveled with me on my very first trip to France where I quickly forgot to read it, using my ticket to Musée d’Orsay as a bookmark on page 9. Fast forward many years later, I finally picked up this memoir.

The cadence and writing style of the memoir was nice. It made for a pleasant read which is not always the case with autobiographies. The way in which Lusseyran describes life and his experience as a blind child was beautifully written. However, the book is more well-known for his participation in the French resistance. Lusseyran provides an intimate look into how his band of friends became a resistance organisation and how they grew and expanded, joining forces with others resistance pockets throughout France. The straightforwardness of his account made the book worth reading for me. It was not a glorified tale of heroes during wartime but encompassed the mundane as well as the heroics. His focus was not on his time spent in the camps during the war but always the connection he felt with others. While it took me years to finally pick up off my bookshelf, I’m happy I did.

Genre:

Memoir

Page Count: 316