A ripping yarn
Honestly, reading in French is still a chore.
One of the first things that happened when we arrived is that lots of people gave us books in French, so we have quite a library of Agatha Christies (Christies Agathas in French, of course), countryside novels, political books by future presidents (!) and even some Readers Digest condensed novels. But reading in French is still a chore.
Though Pat and I now read our Bibles in French, we would MUCH rather chuck our French Bibles away and go back to English, because reading in French is still a chore.
Then there's the books we are set at DEFLE. Countryside novels set in Morocco, strange introspective novels about how hard it is to write a novel, or about mobile phones that ring on trains in China, or about cooking cuttlefish (I kid you not) or a man on a bus who has a long neck, a string round his hat and a button missing from his overcoat (that one is actually very entertaining). And history books about the battle of Verdun, of course. Reading in French is still a chore.
I put that word "still" in for two reasons. Firstly, we are both readers, so we both hope and trust that one day it won't be a chore any more. But secondly I just finished my first utterly un-put-downable ripping yarn in French.
It's called "La classe de neige", by Emmanuel Carrère, and you must understand that I hesitate to recommend it because for all I know that nice new vocabulary I have learned is all naughty words. But it really is a ripping yarn.
It was set for us for optional homework. That is, 1200 words by 26 January, but apparently we don't have to do it, because we will have already done four essays, dossiers, etc for that class, and the exams start on 30 Jan. I'm not going to do it because the lecturer who set it is the one who almost always fails me, so if I do this work for her it will put my average mark down seriously! But in a way it is a pity, because it is such a ripping yarn. She sets great books!
One of the first things that happened when we arrived is that lots of people gave us books in French, so we have quite a library of Agatha Christies (Christies Agathas in French, of course), countryside novels, political books by future presidents (!) and even some Readers Digest condensed novels. But reading in French is still a chore.
Though Pat and I now read our Bibles in French, we would MUCH rather chuck our French Bibles away and go back to English, because reading in French is still a chore.
Then there's the books we are set at DEFLE. Countryside novels set in Morocco, strange introspective novels about how hard it is to write a novel, or about mobile phones that ring on trains in China, or about cooking cuttlefish (I kid you not) or a man on a bus who has a long neck, a string round his hat and a button missing from his overcoat (that one is actually very entertaining). And history books about the battle of Verdun, of course. Reading in French is still a chore.
I put that word "still" in for two reasons. Firstly, we are both readers, so we both hope and trust that one day it won't be a chore any more. But secondly I just finished my first utterly un-put-downable ripping yarn in French.
It's called "La classe de neige", by Emmanuel Carrère, and you must understand that I hesitate to recommend it because for all I know that nice new vocabulary I have learned is all naughty words. But it really is a ripping yarn.
It was set for us for optional homework. That is, 1200 words by 26 January, but apparently we don't have to do it, because we will have already done four essays, dossiers, etc for that class, and the exams start on 30 Jan. I'm not going to do it because the lecturer who set it is the one who almost always fails me, so if I do this work for her it will put my average mark down seriously! But in a way it is a pity, because it is such a ripping yarn. She sets great books!
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