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David Bellos
David Bellos (born 1945) is an English-born translator and biographer. Bellos is Meredith Howland Pyne Professor of French Literature and Professor of Comparative Literature at Princeton University in the United States. He was director of Princeton's Program in Translation and Intercultural Communication from its inception in 2007 until July 1, 2019. Biography Bellos' research topics have included Honoré de Balzac and Georges Perec. Bellos published a translation of Perec's most famous novel, ''Life A User's Manual'', in 1987. He won the first Man Booker International Prize for translation in 2005 for his translations of works by Albanian author Ismail Kadare, despite not speaking Albanian. His translations were done from previous French translations."The Englishing of Ismail Kadare" by David Bellos, '' [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
French Literature
French literature () generally speaking, is literature written in the French language, particularly by citizens of France; it may also refer to literature written by people living in France who speak traditional languages of France other than French. Literature written in the French language, by citizens of other nations such as Belgium, Switzerland, Canada, Senegal, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, etc. is referred to as Francophone literature. France itself ranks first on the list of Nobel Prizes in literature by country. For centuries, French literature has been an object of national pride for French people, and it has been one of the most influential components of the literature of Europe. One of the first known examples of French literature is the Song of Roland, the first major work in a series of poems known as, " chansons de geste". The French language is a Romance language derived from Latin and heavily influenced principally by Celtic and Frankish. Beginning in the 11th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
W, Or The Memory Of Childhood
''W, or the Memory of Childhood'' (french: W ou le souvenir d'enfance) is a semi-autobiographical work of fiction by Georges Perec, published in 1975. Perec's novel consists of alternating chapters of autobiography and of a fictional story, divided into two parts. The autobiographical thread is a collection of uncertain memories, as well as descriptions of photos which preserve moments from Perec's childhood. The memories in the first part of the book lead up to Perec's separation from his mother when he was evacuated in the Second World War. The second part recollects his life as an evacuee. The adult narrator sometimes provides interpretations of the childhood memories, and often comments on details of the memories which his research showed to be false or borrowed. Plot In the first part, the fictional narrator is contacted by a mysterious individual, who informs him of the disappearance of a deaf and dumb boy in a shipwreck. The boy is also called Gaspard Winkler—the adult na ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Georges Simenon
Georges Joseph Christian Simenon (; 13 February 1903 – 4 September 1989) was a Belgian writer. He published nearly 500 novels and numerous short works, and was the creator of the fictional detective Jules Maigret. Early life and education Simenon was born at 26 (now number 24) to Désiré Simenon and his wife Henriette Brüll. Désiré Simenon worked in an accounting office at an insurance company and had married Henriette in April 1902. Although Simenon was born on Friday 13 February 1903, superstition resulted in his birth being registered as having been on the 12th. This story of his birth is recounted at the beginning of his novel '' Pedigree''. The Simenon family traces its origins back to Belgian Limburg. Simenon could trace his line back to peasants living in the area since as early as 1580. His mother had origins from Limburg, the Netherlands and Germany while his father was of Walloon origin.Becker, Lucille Frackman. "Georges Simenon (1903-1989)." In: Amoia, Al ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hocus Bogus
''Hocus Bogus'' (french: Pseudo) is a 1976 novel by the French writer Romain Gary, published under the pseudonym Émile Ajar. The book was written after Paul Pavlowitch, the son of Gary's cousin, had been presented as the man behind the pseudonym Ajar. It asserts to tell the story of Pavlowitch's literary experiences from his own perspective, and comments on the recent success with '' The Life Before Us'', the subsequent speculation that the author might be Gary, as well as explains his reclusiveness with the revelation that he has schizophrenia. Reception Michael Dirda reviewed the book in ''The Washington Post'' in 2010, and wrote that "In truth, ''Hocus Bogus'' is an utterly convincing impersonation of an artistically gifted schizophrenic, worthy to stand on the same shelf as Paul Ableman's classic ''I Hear Voices'' and Louis Wolfson's ''Le Schizo et les Langues''." Dirda commented on how the book successfully had suppressed the rumours that Ajar was somebody else than Pavlowitc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Romain Gary
Romain Gary (; 2 December 1980), born Roman Kacew (, and also known by the pen name Émile Ajar), was a French novelist, diplomat, film director, and World War II aviator. He is the only author to have won the Prix Goncourt under two names. He is considered a major writer of French literature of the second half of the 20th century. He was married to Lesley Blanch, then Jean Seberg. Early life Gary was born Roman Kacew ( yi, ''Roman Katsev'', russian: link=no, Рома́н Ле́йбович Ка́цев, ''Roman Leibovich Katsev'') in Vilnius (at that time in the Russian Empire). In his books and interviews, he presented many different versions of his parents' origins, ancestry, occupation and his own childhood. His mother, Mina Owczyńska (1879—1941), was a Jewish actress from Švenčionys (Svintsyán) and his father was a businessman named Arieh-Leib Kacew (1883—1942) from Trakai (Trok), also a Lithuanian Jew. The couple broke in 1925 and Arieh-Leib remarried. Gary late ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hélène Berr
Hélène Berr (27 March 1921 – 10 April 1945) was a French woman of Jewish ancestry and faith, who documented her life in a diary during the time of Nazi occupation of France. In France she is considered to be a "French Anne Frank". Life Hélène Berr was born in Paris, France, a member of a Jewish family that had lived in France for several generations. She studied Russian and English literature at the Sorbonne university. She also played the violin. She was not able to pass her final exam at the university because the anti-Semitic laws of the Vichy regime prevented her from doing so. She was active in the ''Union générale des israélites de France'' (UGIF, General Organization of Jews in France). On 8 March 1944 Hélène and her parents were captured and taken to Drancy internment camp and from there were deported to the Auschwitz concentration camp on 27 March 1944. In early November 1944 Hélène was transferred to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, where s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
