Paris in July ... Once More!

July is almost here and my reading list of French literature is ready to be tackled. I love reading in French, especially French authors because, as with Japanese literature, the French writing style is quite different and unique in capturing the French way of living and understanding life.

For this July I decided to read Michel Houellebecq's "Extension du domaine de la lutte" because I enjoyed "Platforme" years ago when I first took part in the challenge managed by Tamara here, and Houellebecq is quite a controversial figure on the French literary scene. Also, I hope to find time to watch the adaptation for the screen of the same book.

I will also read something "easy" because we need to escape the heavy, more serious literature and drown into something romantic, and what is more romantic than falling in love in Paris? So, "Love in Paris" will just come in handy. I have not read anything by the French writer Juliette Sobanet but I hope I will not be disappointed.

Trying to keep up with the novelties, I came across the title "Tigre, Tigre!" by the French writer Margaux Fragoso. Although I know nothing about her, I will give this book a go because the subject of the book is quite controversial and I am curious to see if the book is as good as it was praised by journalists from The Guardian here. 

And since the French mood is nothing without some French music, I will immerse my ears into some French sounds sung by Navii. Here is a taste of his style and his adorable Paris.

BONNE LECTURE A TOUS! 

Ne le Dis a Personne

If you are an avid movie buff like myself, especially when it comes to French movies, you surely have seen at least one starring Francois Cluzet. If you haven't, then it's time to do your homework and you may even start with "Tell No One", and then move to the spectacular "Les Intouchables" which you will surely adore. "Ne le dis a personne" is not the only collaboration between Cluzet and the young director, former actor, Guillaume Canet. In 2010 he also starred in Canet's movie "Les petits mouchoirs", which is also an interesting movie about friends, family and love that ties all that.

"Ne le Dis a Personne" tells the story of a pediatrician who marries his childhood sweetheart, and then, his wife is killed... or so it seems. Then, years later, he is accused of having killed his wife and he finds himself struggling to prove that is not true... Of course, you cannot trust anyone's words in this thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat until you realize the final credits are on the screen. Definitely worth seeing, especially because my favorite actress, the versatile Kristin Scott Thomas, stars as well and I cannot but love it every time she speaks French with that fancy accent of hers :)
Here's the trailer!

Paulo Coelho's "Adultere"

"If life asked you what you did for it, what would your response be?"
"Running after a dream, that comes with a price."
"The most important lesson: learning how to love better and better."
"Love is not only a feeling, it is an art. And just like every other art, inspiration is not enough, it requires a lot of work."  
"We refuse our destiny because it leads to happiness, and we only want security."
"Nothing comes without any effort. You need to have faith."

The French edition of Paulo Coelho's latest book appeared in May this year, three months before the English version, which is bound to appear in August. Needless to say, I could not wait "so much" time and then, why should I?
The book surprised me, not due to its topic, which revolves around cheating, but because I found I could not relate to the main character's problems, more or less imaginary and her struggle to go beyond feeling bored and dissatisfied. I personally believe that you cannot get bored unless you actually want it... but Paulo Coelho felt differently with his character.
The story tells us about Linda, a 31 year old supposedly happily married journalist who decides to have an affair with a former high school lover in order to rekindle the desire and joy within herself. Whether she succeeds or not, or if she jumps - literally and metaphorically - in order to move from the darkness into the light, that's for you to discover while reading the book.
Here's Paulo promoting the book. 

Biolay - la vie, les amours...

Barefoot in Paris

Happy Bastille Day! 
How could we better celebrate La Fete Nationale than with some French cuisine? I am not much of a cook, but when I stumbled upon this book, "Barefoot in Paris" I did want to check some of the (easy) recipes. Actually, the book offers more  than simple ways of cooking a la francaise, the author also writes about French cookware or ingredients and how to dress a table... I have chosen five or six recipes I would like to try in the near future, such as "eggplant gratin", "moules marinieres" or "pain perdu" but nothing beats the classic CROQUE MONSIEUR! Here's the recipe from the book!
Bon appetit!

Croque Monsieur
SERVES 4 TO 8
One day, my friend Frank Newbold and I found ourselves on the way to the Louvre at lunchtime.
We passed Café Ruc, which is one of the Costes brothers’ restaurants, and spotted two seats
outside under the awning. They serve traditional French food, but with a modern twist. This was
inspired by the delicious croque monsieurs we ate there. These sandwiches are on the small side,
so serve one or two per person, depending on appetites.
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups hot milk
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Pinch of nutmeg
12 ounces Gruyère cheese, grated (5 cups)
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
16 slices white sandwich bread, crusts removed
Dijon mustard
8 ounces baked Virginia ham, sliced but not paper thin.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Melt the butter over low heat in a small saucepan and add the flour all at once, stirring with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes. Slowly pour the hot milk into the butter–flour mixture and cook, whisking constantly, until the sauce is thickened. Off the heat add the salt, pepper, nutmeg, ½ cup grated Gruyère, and the Parmesan and set aside.
To toast the bread, place the slices on two baking sheets and bake for 5 minutes. Turn each slice and bake for another 2 minutes, until toasted.
Lightly brush half the toasted breads with mustard, add a slice of ham to each, and sprinkle with half the remaining Gruyère. Top with another piece of toasted bread. Slather the tops with the cheese sauce, sprinkle with the remaining Gruyère, and bake the sandwiches for 5 minutes. Turn on the broiler and broil for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the topping is bubbly and lightly browned. Serve hot.

Paris in July est la!

To celebrate Paris, France and other lovable things that are related to these, in July, everything turns into French, even the music I listen to ...


On attendra l'hiver
Pour s'écrire qu'on se manque
Que c'était long hier
Que c'est long de s'attendre.

I'm only Happy when it Rains...

If you don't like the rain, then you will love it after you read Martin Page's book "About the Rain". 

Martin Page is a young French writer born in 1975 and who debuted at 25 with his book "How I Became Stupid". The essay - and my first book written by him - "About the Rain" was written in French back in 2007 and so far it has been translated only into Romanian, Greek and Korean. It wonderfully describes the role of the rain in eroticism, music or sacred matters. It represents a beautiful praise, both poetical and philosophical and I found myself wanting to write down every other line so I could remember it later on. However, I stopped at the following lines, mainly because they may be the most mesmerizing ever written about my favorite place in Paris, the Sacre Coeur cathedral and the simple yet miraculous rain.

 "Under the rain I am effervescent from my entire being. I am just like the Sacre Coeur cathedral in Montmartre, built from Chateau - Landon stone, which oozes a white substance when it rains. A chemical process is set off. Like a tablet of aspirin I foam and I quiver. It is not at all unpleasant to mix with the air. Disappearing, my body gains a presence. I am tightly connected with Nature. The drops fall on my skin and, just as on the surface of a swamp, they trace wavy, passing circles that reach my heart."

You can pay Martin Page a visit here.  
P.S. Thank you, Alle, for lending me the book :) 

Sous le Ciel de Paris...

July is over and what a Paris - related month it was, with lots of books and French music and movies! Oh, how I love holidays with worries aside...
Here are some of the movies I have seen this month, hoping you will be curious enough to give them a try:

"Ma Mere" (My Mother), starring Isabelle Huppert, whom we talked about months ago, is a movie based on Georges Bataille's book with the same title and it presents quite a disturbing story between a promiscuous mother and her troubled son. Having watched an interview with the director, I was made aware that the sex shown was meant to make us cross moral boundaries... It is a movie I would recommend to those who want to check where the new French cinema is heading.

"Dieu Est Grand, Je Suis Toute Petite" (God is great, I am Really Small) is a light movie about Michele, played by now the famous Audrey Tautou ("Amelie") , who struggles with becoming Jewish and still keeping her Jewish boyfriend.

"Amour" is probably one of the most beautiful movies I have seen so far and I am so thrilled that such cinematic jewels are still made by talented directors such as Haneke, whose two other movies I will surely watch. "Amour", which premiered in Cannes in 2012 and won Palme d'Or, the highest distinction tells the story of a love beyond common understanding between an old couple. It is definitely a must see for anyone who still believes in the powers of simple yet touching love stories.

"Dans la Maison" (In the House) was such an amazing discovery. The story is so intricate and captivating, the actors (Kristin Scott Thomas included) are so talented that you find yourself on the edge of your seat impatiently waiting to see what will happen next between the bored teacher and the student whose inspiration goes beyond the limit. Excellent movie!

All four movies seen for my pleasure but also for Paris in July Challenge :)

My Reading Challenges - July 2013

The not so hot month of July is almost entirely devoted to reading French literature or novels set in Paris because such an addicted fan of everything French cannot stay away from this challenge about which you can find out more here. 
Besides reading my first Romain Gary and Robbe-Grillet, my third Stephen Clarke, which seems quite a funny book, just like the previous ones, and the famous Paris Wife, I am going to tackle one book for the Japanese Literature Reading Challenge, but I am not sure which one (yet) and some non-fiction books, if there is enough time for reading and sleeping and falling asleep while reading :)

Joyeuse lecture! :)

Vanessa et Benjamin

The most beautiful song of Vanessa's album "Love Songs" is definitely this one, mainly because I also love Benjamin Biolay who produced the entire album and signed eight of its songs. Voici la version live "Le Rempart" and I also recommend "Les Roses Roses" :)

Moi j’ai peur du noir
J’ai peur de la nuit du hasard
J’ai peur ici de n’plus savoir
J’ai peur de me perdre, il est tard
Là sans lumière, j’ai quel espoir ?

If you like it and you want to listen to the whole private concert, then click here :) 

Isabelle Huppert - Woman of Many Faces

My passion for French movies is still growing and I have recently discovered a wonderful actress, Isabelle Huppert, who turned 60 but looks a lot younger than that, whose career began in the '70s and who has been nominated (and also won a few prizes for Best Actress) at international film festivals.You can find more info here. 

 Here are my impressions on the three movies she plays in:
"Gabrielle" is the story of a married woman who realizes she does not love her husband anymore and she actually dares to tell him that face to face. The whole movie is centered around the discussion between Gabrielle and her husband who cannot understand her reasons and lack of love. Huppert manages to embody the cold woman perfectly well but what I did not enjoy was the unrealistic ending, or maybe realistic for the 1920s.
"The Piano Teacher" is a masterpiece, just like Elfriede Jelinek's book. Huppert plays the part of the masochistic piano teacher Erika Kohut who feels attracted to one of her students, played by talented Benoit Magimel. The relation between them becomes quite complex and ends tragically. The movie is extremely tense and it shows, one more time, that Isabelle Huppert is an incredible actress.
"My Worst Nightmare" presents the story of a broke guy who is about to lose his child and the relationship/ affair he develops with a married, cold woman, Agathe, played by Huppert. It is one of those cases in which the two characters should never have met, but they did and we realize in the end the reason. Despite Huppert's performance, the ending did not seem plausible at all because the characters seem too different to be together for a long period of time... but then, I am not a director :)

My next stop: Isabelle Huppert in "Madame Bovary", directed by Claude Chabrol, one of Huppert's favorite directors. 

The French Do It Better

At least when it comes to good movies. In the past few months I have been watching a lot of French movies and they all lead me to this conclusion: they are all more emotional, more interesting and less tacky than most/all Hollywood films. You only have to watch "Cafe de Flore" to realize this simple truth. If time allows it, you can also watch "Seraphine" (the story of a housekeeper turned painter) or "Tomboy" (a girl who truly wishes she were a boy). They are both so beautifully filmed, and the stories are so touching you will have a problem watching any other movie that isn't French, because they are so addictive :)

My next stop: Romain Duris' filmography.

Aimez - vous Francoise Sagan?

"Love lasts about seven years. That's how long it takes for the cells of the body to totally replace themselves."



After a Murakami marathon, I decided to take a break and read something "light" but still enjoyable. Francoise Sagan seemed the perfect choice.
"Avec mon meilleur souvenir", written in 1984, is a book about what Sagan loved the most: gambling and how she won her only possession - a big house in Normandy; speeding up, jazz and her Favorite BIllie Holliday for whom she travelled all the way to New York; writers, especially Tennessee Williams whom she considers to be amongst the greatest writers; the theatre, which she started as a way to amuse her entourage but which ended up being a passion that she would never give up, just like gambling.



The book ends with a love letter to Jean - Paul Sartre in which she acknowledges him as the most important writer in French literature, the one that delivered what he had promised in his books: to be true to his words and beliefs. The sequel? A blind Sartre wishes to meet Sagan...

Everything that Sagan writes about is what moved her along the years. She reveals herself in a tender way, while sincerely narrating about the years long past and the fascinating people that she encountered. We discover between the lines a writer that fears loneliness, and who spends nights on end in the casinos of Saint-Tropez.
Still, Sagan returns to literature, fearing the fact that she might not write and reminding us of the four books that she considers to be her guiding light in a troubled universe. These books are Gide's "The Fruits of the Earth", Camus' "The Rebel", Rimbaud's "Illuminations" and Proust's "Albertine gone".

Here are a few of her words of wisdom:

“Jazz music is an intensified feeling of nonchalance.”

“I shall live badly if I do not write, and I shall write badly if I do not live.”

"I have loved to the point of madness; that which is called madness, that which to me, is the only sensible way to love."