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<a https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7467335'> Year 12s: what will be the first way you research your future options? >>
<a https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7467335'> Year 12s: what will be the first way you research your future options? >>
<a https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7467335'> Year 12s: what will be the first way you research your future options? >>

Any recommendations for French books?

Hi,
I'm looking for some good books to read in French but I don't really know where to get started. I think I'm at an intermediate level in the language, and I've just started reading No et moi.

Thanks in advance for any help.

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Read Harry Potter in french. I've heard le petit prince is good
BTW I'm in year 10 too but i don't think I have the commitment or money (mostly money) to buy french books.
Original post by Jeparlepas
Read Harry Potter in french. I've heard le petit prince is good
BTW I'm in year 10 too but i don't think I have the commitment or money (mostly money) to buy french books.

I can confirm that le petit prince is a pretty good book indeed :smile:
Original post by Jeparlepas
Read Harry Potter in french. I've heard le petit prince is good
BTW I'm in year 10 too but i don't think I have the commitment or money (mostly money) to buy french books.

Oh that's a good idea, I might try reading the series in French :yep: I've managed to read le petit prince recently :borat:

How are you finding French so far? I was supposed to sit the exam this year but that's not happening so I'm trying to get further into the language. :dontknow: You don't have to have lots of money, you can sometimes find free pdfs online or when the libraries eventually open they'll probably have something.

Thank you for replying!
Original post by Roses_Dreams
Oh that's a good idea, I might try reading the series in French :yep: I've managed to read le petit prince recently :borat:

How are you finding French so far? I was supposed to sit the exam this year but that's not happening so I'm trying to get further into the language. :dontknow: You don't have to have lots of money, you can sometimes find free pdfs online or when the libraries eventually open they'll probably have something.

Thank you for replying!

French is my most favourite subject ever like ahhhh i'm in love. I could go on about it forever.
That's so cool you were gonna do it this year.
I'm pretty good at french if i do say so myself but my school doesn't allow us to sit anything early so :dontknow:.
I'll try and find pdfs and see if there's anything good.

What's your favourite subject?
Agota Kristof has some great, easy to read books. She was a learner herself when she wrote them. I'd recommend starting with Le Grand Cahier. Just do be warned, they can get quite disturbing.
Original post by Jeparlepas
French is my most favourite subject ever like ahhhh i'm in love. I could go on about it forever.
That's so cool you were gonna do it this year.
I'm pretty good at french if i do say so myself but my school doesn't allow us to sit anything early so :dontknow:.
I'll try and find pdfs and see if there's anything good.

What's your favourite subject?

French :lol: I haven't been in a class for about a year though (so I've had to self study and do mocks) and I really miss it.
That's really a shame, I would honestly advice to just explore the language if you love it :yep: have you read anything in French before or would this be your first time?

And good luck!
Original post by Jenna-Mae
Agota Kristof has some great, easy to read books. She was a learner herself when she wrote them. I'd recommend starting with Le Grand Cahier. Just do be warned, they can get quite disturbing.

Thank you!
Disturbing in what way? :K:
Original post by Roses_Dreams
Thank you!
Disturbing in what way? :K:

It's about twin boys (maybe 8 years old) who are surrounded by awful people. They don't have great morals themselves. There's a war going on in the background, and there's some weird sexual stuff. You should be fine, so long as you're not super squeamish :smile:
Original post by Roses_Dreams
French :lol: I haven't been in a class for about a year though (so I've had to self study and do mocks) and I really miss it.
That's really a shame, I would honestly advice to just explore the language if you love it :yep: have you read anything in French before or would this be your first time?

And good luck!

Why haven't you been in class if you don't mind me asking?

It would be my first time reading anything in French unless you count the little extracts you get in the reading paper lol
Although, i do listen to a lot of french music and watch some french YouTubers
Original post by Jenna-Mae
Agota Kristof has some great, easy to read books. She was a learner herself when she wrote them. I'd recommend starting with Le Grand Cahier. Just do be warned, they can get quite disturbing.

Ok but doesn't le grand cahier mean the big book *insert laugh cry emoji here because i can't find it on tsr*
Original post by Roses_Dreams
Hi,
I'm looking for some good books to read in French but I don't really know where to get started. I think I'm at an intermediate level in the language, and I've just started reading No et moi.

Thanks in advance for any help.


If you want to avoid children’s books, most YA English books have been translated (eg CHERUB, Gone series) - you could reread them
alongside an English copy.

For French language originals, Simple by Marie-Aude Murail is a really sweet coming of age story about a 17yo whose older brother has severe disabilities. It might be a bit tough going but definitely feasible.In fact, I’ll recommend the author in general, she’s written lots of excellent books aimed at the teenage market.

Hope that was at all helpful :smile:
Original post by becausethenight
If you want to avoid children’s books, most YA English books have been translated (eg CHERUB, Gone series) - you could reread them
alongside an English copy.

For French language originals, Simple by Marie-Aude Murail is a really sweet coming of age story about a 17yo whose older brother has severe disabilities. It might be a bit tough going but definitely feasible.In fact, I’ll recommend the author in general, she’s written lots of excellent books aimed at the teenage market.

Hope that was at all helpful :smile:

OMG CHERUB I'm screaming I loved it
Original post by Jeparlepas
OMG CHERUB I'm screaming I loved it

Hahaha it’s great isn’t it!
Reply 14
Avatar for Sinnoh
Sinnoh
22
l'Étranger by Albert Camus is a pretty famous one, the language isn't too difficult.
There's also the classics by Jules Verne which were originally written in French.
Le gône du Chaaba is a good read, as is Les petits enfants du siècle - they both offer a really good way into French society in the past 100 years or so, and they're not too complex. I'd also recommend Maupassant's short stories, as they're not too complex (though it's hard for me to judge now aha).
I can only confirm things that others have said, really!

Anything by Camus is a good bet, and l'Etranger should be pretty good for language students as it's very mature in it's presentation but is pretty short by modern standards. Some of the translation differences are very interesting as well.

Le Petit Prince is a book I have a huge personal bias for, as someone who's only just in their later teens. A coming of age book that's really artfully done :')

I haven't read anything else by Jules Verne , so keep that in mind, but I found 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea in translation to be very dull. It's not what I expected a classic action/adventure sci-fi book with a dash of philosophy to be.. Try it out though if you're interested!
(edited 3 years ago)
Original post by Jenna-Mae
It's about twin boys (maybe 8 years old) who are surrounded by awful people. They don't have great morals themselves. There's a war going on in the background, and there's some weird sexual stuff. You should be fine, so long as you're not super squeamish :smile:

Ohhh okay, thank you so much! :smile: I'll definitely try it :yep:
Original post by Jeparlepas
Why haven't you been in class if you don't mind me asking?

It would be my first time reading anything in French unless you count the little extracts you get in the reading paper lol
Although, i do listen to a lot of french music and watch some french YouTubers

I was given the opportunity to take Spanish as an extra GCSE at the start of this year, and both classes are taught at the same time :dontknow:

It's good that you're getting exposure so early :yep: what type of music do you listen to?
Original post by becausethenight
If you want to avoid children’s books, most YA English books have been translated (eg CHERUB, Gone series) - you could reread them
alongside an English copy.

For French language originals, Simple by Marie-Aude Murail is a really sweet coming of age story about a 17yo whose older brother has severe disabilities. It might be a bit tough going but definitely feasible.In fact, I’ll recommend the author in general, she’s written lots of excellent books aimed at the teenage market.

Hope that was at all helpful :smile:

Thank you so much! I really appreciate this :yep:

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