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What to read?

I intend to do modern languages and linguistics at uni so im looking for some background reading in the target languages of French and German. I don't have much spare time, so I was wondering if anyone could recommend some books that don't have too much difficult language or vocab and that are not too long (not much over 150 pages)?

Reply 1

kellywood_5

17

I have 'Bonjour Tristesse' by Francoise Sagan and from what I've seen of it, it looks pretty simple. It's not too long either. L'Etranger by Albert Camus is a popular one and isn't that long, but I'm not sure what the language is like as I haven't really looked at it yet. It didn't seem too bad though.

Reply 2

Helenia

20

cphilp41

I intend to do modern languages and linguistics at uni so im looking for some background reading in the target languages of French and German. I don't have much spare time, so I was wondering if anyone could recommend some books that don't have too much difficult language or vocab and that are not too long (not much over 150 pages)?

For my A-Level German I read "Sansibar oder der letzte Grund" by Alfred Andersch (I think) which I really enjoyed, and apparently in Germany it's a fairly standard school reading book (bit like To Kill a Mockingbird or Animal Farm over here). It's relatively short, in quite accessible language and is an interesting view of life in Nazi Germany from various perspectives. I also read "Der Mauerspringer" by Peter Schneider which was shorter, but harder as the language was quite colloquial - as the name suggests, it's about people jumping over the Berlin Wall. Those two are a good start :wink:

Reply 3

Manatee

14

You could try some Sartre plays, for example Les Mains Sales or Huis Clos ("l'enfer c'est les autres"). Alternatively, why not read some Voltaire short stories - Candide is a classic and is a good introduction to Voltaire's work. It's also not too long (about 80 pages in my edition).

Other suggestions off the top of my head: Gide's La porte étroite (the language is not too difficult and it's not too long - though just over your 150 page limit :smile:

) or Zola's Thérèse Raquin (again, not too long, a good introduction to the naturalist school of writing and Zola in general).

Whatever books you end up choosing, I would definitely advise reading them in the original (though it may be a good idea to keep a translation close at hand to help you if the original gets too difficult), as you'll pick up a lot of language without making any conscious effort.

Good luck.

:smile:

Reply 4

cphilp41

OP

Thanks to everyone who replied- thats really helpful. I will definitely follow up all of those suggestions. :smile:

Reply 5

emilie87

cphilp41

I intend to do modern languages and linguistics at uni so im looking for some background reading in the target languages of French and German. I don't have much spare time, so I was wondering if anyone could recommend some books that don't have too much difficult language or vocab and that are not too long (not much over 150 pages)?

I did 'Un Sac de Billes' by Joseph Joffo for A level French. I've also read 'Beni Ou Le Paradis Prive' by Azouz Begag' (Algerien background which is really interesting) and we did bits of 'Le Gone du Chaaba' also by Begag in class, which I'm hoping to read in the near future. xxx :biggrin:

Reply 6

Aitch

2

L'Etranger (as above)

Huis Clos (as above)

Exercices de Style [Raymond Queneau] Sounds arid. Isn't. A must if you're going to study French Lit. Queneau recounts the same incident on a bus 99 times in 99 different styles. Mostly easy, each version being very short... some shorter than others...

http://www.amazon.fr/exec/obidos/ASIN/2070373630/402-3350675-9689711

Aitch

Reply 7

camilla16

1

die velorene Ehre der Katharina Blum is rather lushus give it a try and the film is also bangin

Reply 8

Cirsium

19

If you're not already doing it as A-level work I read ich fuehl mich so fifty-fifty for my unit 5 text. It's a pretty simple story about the Berlin Wall coming down and is like 200 pages max.

What to read?

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