Blood of Eden

I am going to talk about a fantasy-vampire serie written by Julie Kagawa. It was published in 2012. It is an original novel who talks about vampires, nothing to do with Twilight! ^^

Allie, a young woman, is trapped in a post apocalyptic world where vampires reduced the humans to cattle that are meant to feed their rulers with blood. Those humans are called  the registered, they are integrated in the society, whereas the unregistered live in ghettos surrounded by rabids (humans turned into monsters) and starve to death. Allie is bound to live an adventure that will change her life, she is saved by a vampire, but the only way is to be bit and to be turned into the monster she hated the most…

Living as a bloodthirsty creature, she will have to make sacrifices, and learn how to keep her humanity being a vampire.. On the run, Allie will adapt in a group of resistance pretending to be human. But in this adventure, she will lose the only family she had, and the forbidden, falling in love with a human…

This is a fantastic story, the characters let their feelings flow all through the novel, even if it has been a long time since I read this book!! 🙂

Miss Peregrine’s home for peculiar children

This is a book of dark fantasy, written in 2011 and was published in June. Ransom Riggs is a photo collector, and this book would have been published only containing vintage photos, who remained on the pages but are actually the illustration of a fantastic and horrific story.

To introduce this novel, I can say that the main athmosphere is a lot of mysteries and action, that will unfold as you go through the story. Jacob, an ordinary boy, grew up with his grandfather’s stories. He told him amazing adventures about killing monsters, sailing seas, and the little boy’s imagination was bubbling. Abraham talked about an orphanage, where he had been saved from the monsters, Jacob one day wanted to find out more about his grand father’s past. The only problem is, Jacob didn’t know that his life was about to change forever, and very fast. He would be caught in a deliriousl but real adventure : protect the orphanage from the incoming danger, to save the children. What is so peculiar in this orphanage? Were they still alive, after all these years?  Was his grandfather’s stories only fiction ?

I highly recommend this book, the story is amazing and the pictures are very unusual and interesting, I just can’t wait to go and watch the film!

WHAT WE SEE WHEN WE READ – PETER MENDELSUND

Today, I’m going to talk about a book I read a long time ago which is What we see when we read, released in 2014. It was written by Peter Mendelsund, an American art director and classical pianist.
This book is neither a novel nor an art book. Indeed, it includes big print text and illustration (made by the author), so it makes the book easy to read. Despite its 440 pages, it takes about 3 hours to read it.
You may wonder, what does it deal with? Actually, the title fully describes the topic. It asks questions about the way we read. What is the role of our imagination? Of our memory ?  Why don’t we see the same thing than our neighbor ? What happens in our head when we read ?
Through all these questions, the author never gives an answer. He just wants us to find the answer. It makes us think about the power of words and literature. He explains all of this on whites and blacks pages. In other words, he tells us how to read to develop increasingly our imagination.
What I find interesting about that, is the fact that he provides examples which are meaningful to all such as Tolstoï, Flaubert, Herman Melville, Marcel Proust… but you don’t have to read these books to understand what he is talking about. I advise you to read this book if like me you don’t have time anymore to read anything else than Sophocle and Gide!

WINTER JOURNAL – PAUL AUSTER

For my first article, I’m going to talk about Winter Journal, a book written by Paul Auster. He was an actor, a filmmaker but mostly an author.
Winter Journal was released in 2012 and was his last book. It is not really a novel, neither an autobiography nor a brief. Thirty years after his first book, Auster depicts fragments of his life since he was six.

The author himself said that his book was like a poem, written at the 2nd person. It is as if he were talking to someone (which could be anyone). Given that he was himself a director, he scrolls his life as a scenario, with long sentences which sometimes have not a real sense of the rest of it.
He talks about the passing of time and his sensory data. He tells us about feelings that were lost and found, life’s pleasures and accidents, women reciting Baudelaire’s poems from New York to Paris. Moreover, the book ends the same way it starts.
To sum up, although the author doesn’t consider the book as an autobiography, there is all his life in it and also all his feeling about every important moment of his life such as what he likes eating, place where he lived, his dreams…

“We are all aliens to ourselves, and if we have any sense of who we are, it is only because we live inside the eyes of others.”

The Shining

Lien

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The Shining is an psychological, horror novel wrote by the great american novelist, director and scriptwriter Stephen King and published in 1977. This is his third published novel. This horror novel deals with family issues, alcoholism and the madness that hold the Overlook hotel.

There’s three main characters; Jack Torrance who’s a very complicated man in Family crisis with driking problems. His wife, Wendy Torrance is deeply in love with her husband, she’s blond, pretty and she’s very confident. Their son, Danny aged of five is quite special because he have the Shining gift which is a extremely strong power. Danny isn’t the only one having this power, Dick Hallorann, the cook of the Overlook hotel also possesses it.

However the movie and the novel are different. In the movie, Kubrick added a maze in order to symbolise a parallel with the hotel. There’s two endings, the one from the novel in which the possesses hotel explodes, and the one from the movie where Jack dies frosted in the snowy maze of the Overlook.

The Shining has been adaptated into a horror movie by the famous Stanley Kubrick,  an american director, scenarist and photographer. Kubrick’s adaptation hasn’t been greatly appreciated by Stephen King, according to him this movies doesn’t deal enough with the alcoholism and the breakdown family.

 


 

  • Some effect in the pop culture:                                                                                   

–  In the video clip of the song The Kill, the band Twenty Seconds to Mars has   been greatly inspired by the movie The Shining with the hotel, the madness, the twins, the bar, the typewriter…                                                                             

 Afficher l'image d'origine–  In the movie Finding Nemo a Disney movie, when Bruce the shark is chasing Dory and Marin  in the submarine, when Bruce is breaking the door and sticks his head into it he says: « Here’s Brucy! » This scene is a reference to the « Here’s Jhonny! » when Jack is chasing his wife.  

– The animated sitcom The Simpsons has done many winks to the movie, one of the most best reference is in the episode entiltled Treehousse of Horror V  the first part « The Shining » is completely a parody of the whole movie. In this episode, Homer try to kill his family in the hotel that he’s guarding for Mr Burns same as Jack who is also trying to his family as well.                                                

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– In the episodic video game Life is Strange, when whe enter into the girls dorm of Blackwell academy, whe can see the word « REDRUM » (which means MURDER backwards) wrote on a slate. This is a reference when the little Jhonny write this with a lipstick. 

– The famous « Here’s Jhonny » becamed a meme on the internet.                                                                             Afficher l'image d'origine                         6a1.jpgheresJohnny.jpg                    

If you haven’t watched this scene yet, I definately advice you to do it now because that’s one of the most cult scene in all the horror movies history.

 

Oh and of course Happy Halloween!!

 

 

Welcome To Night Vale by Joseph Fink

Prepare yourself to enter in a world you won’t certainly understand and to do so, you will have to forget all the things that you know for sure… Welcome to Night Vale !

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Welcome to Night Vale is a novel published in 2015 and based on a popular podcast (in the United States honestly, but not really in France) that has the same title than the novel. In fact, it is one of the most downloaded podcast in the international charts on iTunes (actually, every new episode is in the top 10) and you can easily find it by googling it or searching here and there on Soundcloud and Podbay. Then, you will be able to listen to them and if you have some issues to understand it, you can use transcripts of the episodes that will help you.

Yes, it is a podcast, then it’s a novel too. But, these are special ones. You have to mix the weirdness of David Lynch’s Twin Peaks series and the banality of the American local radio and you obtain this little jewel.

« A friendly desert community where the sun is hot, the moon is beautiful, and mysterious lights pass overhead while we all pretend to sleep.                       Welcome to Night Vale ! »

That’s how the podcast and the novel begin !

I can’t really give you the plot because there is not a story, however several stories. Nevertheless, I will tell you some interesting things and facts about it. First, you need to know that this universe is dark but funny. Then, it’s incredible but impossible to describe to http://pop-verse.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/2xjqylw.pngany friend of yours (even to your family or your english teacher ;)). Indeed, in this universe, angels are coming to help people to change light bulbs, wednesday can be cancelled due to a schedule error and a five-headed dragon can decide to run for municipal elections too !

I read the novel in English because I saw so many times on the Internet that some readers were angry and not convinced about the French translation which is apparently lame, wrong and full of mistakes ! The French translator(s) seems to have taken some liberties of changing names of places and characters which ruins your pleasure of diving into this fascinating novel’s universe when you actually know them in its original language. It is also the fact that there’re plenty of puns that the translation doesn’t manage to keep and has to make some changes that takes out the funny part of the novel.

As a conclusion, I liked this book pretty well but I can’t recommend it for everybody. You can read an extract, listen the half of the podcast’s first episode and you will make your own mind about it… And, don’t forget what it is said underneath.

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A clockwork Orange

Hello,

I’m going to talk about the famous film produced by the famous filmmaker Stanley Kubrick. Before being a movie it was an english novel wich was written by Anthony Burgess and adapted to the cinema in 1971. We talk about a si-fi movie.

It’s about a teenager called Alex DeLarge who is a violent boy, they are on the margins of society with his friends who are deliquents, they are always in violence the commit crimes like rapes and burglaries, and that, just for the pleasure to do wrong. they have the sames costumes, and they do not obey in rules been imperative by the law. Alex is the leader of his clan wich is named « the droogies » Alex lives with his parents and is passionate about the celebrated composer Beethoven. We are often sacred about the madness of Alex.

At the end Alex go to the prison and is transferring to a center to try to helps him to cure him against the violence and others crimes he could do again. There is a very a visible change when he gets out the medical center, he became nice and polite. With the treatment that he is suffered he is sick when he becomes to be violent..

He is a new character, he was changed, and the last sentence that the main character said (Alex) is « Oh yes, I was cured for good »

Personnally, I recommend you the book or the movie, both are great !

The maze Runner : The scorch Trials – James Dashner/ Wes Ball

Hey everyone ! I’m going to speak you about a very famous movie :  The Maze Runner.

First, it was a James Dashner’s book who became a best-seller. Wes Ball(the director) decided in 2014 to animate the story into a movie. The Maze Runner series is composed of 3 books with « The Maze runner » written in 2009, « The Maze Runner : The Scorch Trials » wirtten in 2010 and « The Maze runner : The Death Cure » in 2011. So far, only 2 films are released and knew an enormous success around the entire world.

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The Maze runner  is an dystopian and science-fiction movie.In the first, some people were in a square of meadow surrounded by a gigantic Maze.                                                         Every month, a teenager woke up inside a elevator which led him to the square. But they didn’t know why they were here and had any memories of their past life. The only solution to get out : The Maze.

But there is a problem : Indeed, at the night, it change itself  its corridors.. If  Someone don’t come back to the square, and stay into the maze at night he will be killed/ eaten  by the Maze monsters : The « Grievers ». But only runners can go into the Maze. Thomas, the main character was also brought to this place and will trying to find the exit of the Maze which is more difficult than we can think.

(Because of potentials future viewers i will not giving you the end ! NO SPOIL!)

The Maze Runner : The scorch trials is the sequel of the first movie and set into a deshumanized world. The main characters managed to get out the Maze and are now facing to another test : The Scorch. Thomas and others are brought into a center which receives the survivors of the different Mazes around the World. He met Ava Paige, the Headministress of the WCKD (World Catastrophe Killzone Department) an institute in charge of finding a cure against the Flare, a disease which eat the brains and turns the humans into cannibals. Thomas will discover that WCKD inserted the Thomas ‘s friends and him into the Maze because the teenagers are « immune » against the flare and they wanted to test them (although there were a lot of deads). But their practices are really frightening it’s why Thomas and his friends will trying to escape of the centre : they learning that there is a resistance group « Right Hand » hidden in the mountains. It’s the only way to survive.

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I saw the movies and i really found it interresting !  Indeed, there is a lot of suspense, (although it’s sometimes really frightening), and we are completely inside the story with the main characters who risk everytime their lives ! It’s a mixture of all which we like !

Have you read/saw the books/movies ? If  not, i adise you ! It must be seen !  🙂

Here’s the trailer of the first movie:

[youtube]https://youtu.be/Xv8ffeBcRC8 [/youtube]

And the second(Scorch Trials) :

[youtube]https://youtu.be/5jJ8YdQSUWA[/youtube]

Attack on Titan – Hajime Iyasama

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Hello everybody, today i not will speaking about a book, a film or a music, but a Japanese manga which I REALLY love!!!

Attack on Titan  or Shingeki no Kyogin in Japanese original title, was written and illustrated by Hajime Isayama in 2009, it was a bestseller in the entire world among the manga’s world. In fact it’s also now very famous! Indeed, the Japanese mangaka (it’s the name of manga’s illustrator and writer ) has already written 20 series’s book and it’s not completed nowadays.

Moreover, there is an animation of the manga which was created in 2013, whose the second season will come out in 2017!  For the moment, there are only 25 episodes.

The Attack on Titan’s story set in a world where the humans live into walls: but why? Because of the titans. A long time ago, they discovered the titans, giants half humans and half “monsters” which are a threat for the humans (They are eating the humans without any reasons).Because of that, they build 3 enormous walls around the different cities: Wall Maria (the first), Wall Rosa (at the middle) and Wall Sina (at the center).Afficher l'image d'origineDuring about 100 years after the walls’s construction, any titans has entered in the city, but one day , the colossal Titan has broken the main wall and allowed to the other titans to enter under the enormous Afficher l'image d'originewhole. Since that day, the humans had to fight against them.

 

The mains characters are Eren Jeäger, his adopted sister Mickasa Ackermann and also his bestfriend, Armin Arlett. After the Eren’s mother’s death by a Titan, he was determined to kill any titans in the area of the Earth. Five years later, they joined the “Scouting legion” one of the three division of the soldiers.

Indeed, there is the “Stationary Guard” in which the soldiers are protecting the city and also the walls, the “military police” are protecting the Royal army and the king, and finally “the scouting legion” are going out of the walls and fighting titans.

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They will fighting against the titans. Will they manage to kill all of them?

——————————————————————————————————————–It’s clearly my FAVOURITE manga among all I’ve ever watched. The story is very interesting because there is a lot of suspense, and it’s sometimes really frightening: especially when there are humans killed by Titans, or when there are a lot of blood but it makes the story more realistic and better! At the beginning, i was a bit frigtened but in the time, I find it REALLY good ! 🙂

Some people don »t like because it’s certainly too disgusting but it’s not just a story about Titans vs Humans, it’s clearly more complicated and interesting !!!!

I saw also the animated adaptationsubtitled in French and after in original version with English subtitles) and it is REALLY REALLY beautiful, and the OST (Original soundtrack) composed by Hiroyuki Sawano, an Japanese composer are so Epic and fantastic ! (He is  very good  and he made a lot  manga’s musics) It fits really to the manga’s universe!!!

I recommend Attack on Titan to you if you like manga because it’s deserves to be seen!!!

Do you know this manga? Have you ever seen that? 🙂

Here is the trailer (It’English subtitled) :

[youtube]https://youtu.be/af6O_McpSEA[/youtube]

Sherlock Holmes « CRIME ALLEYS »

Not long ago I have read Sherlock Holmes Crime alleys written by Sylvain Cordurié.

The story takes place in 1876, Sherlock Holmes was spent his time to solve inquiries. He will meet his largest ennemy when his flatmate will be removed, his name is Moriartry….

I appreciate this kind of comic because it’s suspensful and we can’t get loose of the story when we have started. In this comic, drawings are precises and crowded of details, that returns the story more and more interesting through the pages.

SAGA

Saga is a serie of comics strips written by  Brian K. Vaughan, designed by Fiona Staples. Alana and Marko are falling in love but there are alien and their different sort of alien are ennemy. the story is inspried of the famous saga « star wars ». The couple has got a baby which name is Hazel, this baby is a sign of hope for fight and conquer the « cosmos ».

I have loved this comics because the characters are charming and courageous, we could look into the story and identify the characters to us.

Dan Brown, Inferno

Hello everybody !

Today I would like to speak about the novel Inferno written by Dan Brown.

Dan Brown is an american writer famous for his book Da Vinci Code but also for creating lot of controversery with this same book. Inferno was published in 2013 and it is a thriller.

Inferno is the story about Robert Langdon, Harvard University profesor who wakes up in a hospital. Woundedn he has no memory of the few laters days. Why he is in Florence ? When his world becomes a nightmare, he fled with a young women, Sienna Brooks. He quickly understands that he has a coded message creates by a genious who throughout his life trying to avoid the end of the world. Caught in a race of time, Langdon and Sienna will try to escape their enemies and solve puzzles through the greatest works of Italy like Inferno by Dante Alighieri.

Dan Brown proposes in this book a trip through Florence, Venice, Istanbul with thousands of détails that make us travel. Inferno also learnt me a lot of things about the history of Italy with the Medicis, Boticelli, Michel-Ange…  It is also a reflexion of the evolution of our world and the author denounced the different world’s organizations. So I loved this book, it was very interesting with many suspens !

Flowers for Algernon

I’m sure you’ve seen a person like this, at least one day in your life. You know, a person that seems to be normal, this person look banal, speak normaly at first, but when you talk a little bit longer with him, you know, you feel that there is something wron with this person. He speak about thing that you don’t anderstand, or when you speak, this person seems shy or exciting for everything and nothing. You are touched by this person, because you know that he doesn’t anderstand what he’s doing, wrong or right, but some others are nasty, and it hurts you, maybe you are angry or disgust, because people laught at a person that don’t anderstand, don’t know, this person. In a way this person is not responsible for what he did. But sometimes, you can’t restrain yourself, you laught with them. The only thing you hope for the mentally disabled, is that he becames sound of mind. You now that’s impossible for some cases, but you hope.

Well, that what you feel when you read this book. Flowers for Algernon is not an easy book to read. At every moment, you hope for the main character, Charlie Gordon, to evolve and succeed, or defend himself. No spoil but… sad story. In short, this story relate a small part of the life of Charlie but not least : the part when he becomes the subject of a psychological experiment which aims to make him became « smart ». So because he have to maintain a personal dairy, we read his evolution through his eyes. You will know later if you decide to read the book, why it’s cruel.

In this book, Daniel Keyes, the author of this science fiction novel, expresses the cruality of this world. He was an university psychology researcher and he also wrote The minds of Billy Milligan, The Milligan wars and The asylum prophecies, to develop his works he wrote some other books, like complementary works, one for the story of Algernon, and an other for Milligan. He was born in 1927 and died in 2014, so we can easily say that it’s a modern novel and a coeval author.

I couldn’t have read the stories of his second character yet, but when I will have enough time I will do it, because his first character really touched me, I don’t want to spoil you the end, but as Of Mice and Men that’s a very hard story to read and really sad,  we learn a lot at the end.

In my opinion, this kind of books open the mind of the teenagers or the adultes, wich is important for the future of our society.

Of Mice and Men.

John Steinbeck. Famous for writting, knwon primarily for Of Mice and Men and The Grapes of Wrath, he wrote also Torillia Flat, In Dubious Battle, The Pearl, East of Eden  and Travels with Charley and twenty other books less knwon. Born in February 27 1902, he dided in December 20 1968, he was a American with German and Irish origines, at his young age he begin to love books by his teacher, and it can naturaly for him to writte.

Of Mice and Men, is a novel which deal with the povrety and the economical situation in United State at the 20th century. We follow Lennie and George the to main characters of the story, working on a farm for earn money and then have a house together, to live for themselves. The problem is that, Lennie, is a very nice boy, totaly harmless, but his defective, and don’t know the difrence beteween good and bad. He know by the facial expression of George if he did something wrong or not, but can’t real know by himself. So, because of this, he have a lot of problems because of his strength and, George have to protect him, legally speaking.

I don’t want to tell you the end, even if it’s kind of predictable, personally I was touched. In this book certain passages are very hard and without mercy for the reader, at the contrary, some are sweet, they give hope for the future of our heros. Steinbeck writte almost as if we were in a movie. We only have description and almost no emotions are descibed. But, even with that kind of writing, we feel every feelings that Steinbeck want us to feel.

After the novel, there have been many adaptations. Two cinematographic, two TV movies, , and five drama shows. I tried the movie directied by Gary Sinise in 1992, with Gary Sinise as George and John Malkovich as Lennie. But, honsetly, just read the book, I say that for a lot of movies inspired by a novel, but here, the book was really better. Even if the movie wasn’t that bad, if you read the book before, don’t watch the movie, you’ll be disappointed.

The affairs of others

              The affairs of others, Amy Grace Layd :

Biography : Amy Grace Loyd write one book, this is The affairs of others. After she worfk for playboy Magazine and she lived in Brooklyn.

The main character is Celia, whi his husband is dead a disease. She owns an apartment and she has 3 dwellers ( a couple whitout children, an old man he is a captaine and Goerge a teacher, he take a travel for going to France and leaves his apartment in Hope,  she separed from her husband.

Celia doesn’t want to have contact with society, because she is sad with the death of his husband. She take a pharmaceuticals ans alcohol for exemple to sleep.

Hope has lover who beats because she ask it. Then she organized a Party for welcome. Celia doesn’t want to go to the Party but she going .One days, Hope go to the hospitla, because she did a hard Party . His lover has too much drink alcohol and he going to Celia home and he knock a door and Celia too but head of HOpe lover’s. Then Celia has want relationship and she find with Hope. At the end there is a Party and there is a final description of his dwellers.

Celia come back to life!

The morals of this book, is they people can’t live alone. There is a mixe of Celia story the past with the present.

Oliver Twist

      Oliver Twist :

  Charles Dickens was born in February 7, 1817 next to Portsmouth in England and he was dead in june 9, 1870. He was romancer and dramatist but too journalist. His best book is Oliver Twist, and he was published beetwen 1837 at 1839.

  Oliver Twist is an Orphan, her mother is dead. He was to receive by parish.He is educate by Mrs.Mann, she is hypocritical and selfish women. At 9 years old, Oliver go in workhouse and Mr Bumble change a rules. The children fail food. Oliver going in dungeon because he want to food with his friends. Oliver will be take like chimney sweep but then he will dispatched at workhouse. Ahfter he will be take by in undertaker’s but he isn’t happy and he don’t have best life. Oliver will a conflicts in family who he is receive. Oliver decide to escpae in London. He make meet different people who help him to survive. He fall by people where he will « free » but he will to be steal. Mr Brownlow will help Oliver after different event in this story. Whil the story Oliver will be again a different problem but he discover the thruth and then Oliver will be happy.

 

Ther is very emotionein this story because that touch a live of children . And we can see the reality in the old days.

The Lord of the Rings

The Lord of the Rings, is a story in three novels, written byJohn Ronald Reuel Tolkien, and published in 1955.

It’s a story of two hobbit (small man) who must destroy a ring. But this ring must be destroy in the vulcano where he was created. The probleme is that the master’s ring want to recover her ring, for begin a monster of the dark, and govern the world. So he will try to find her ring, and if he must kill for that, he will to do.

I loved this story, because it take place in fantasy world and we can see a magic creature. This story is very fascinating.

Oliver Twist.

Oliver twist, written by Charles Dickens (1812-1870) and published in 1837, is a very famous novel .

Oliver is an orphan, in early, he works in funeral. But one day he decided to go in London. In London, he’s adopted by a band of young thieves, who are working for Fagin. One day he is accused for theft that did not commit, and he won’t denonce his friends. Fagin found Oliver, and forces him to steal in the house of the gentleman.

For me it is a beautiful novel, which made me think.
This story exists too in the form of musical comedy.

Never without my daughter

Never without my daughter is an autobiographical novel by Betty Mahmoody.  Betty Mahmoody is an american writer who is known thanks to this novel where she tells us about eighteen months of calvary when she lived in Iran before to escape from it with her daughter.

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« My fight to return in the United States with my daughter »

« One day, while she suffers from migraines, Betty consults a doctor : Bozorg Mahmoody, of Iranian origin. Betty falls under the spell of this delicate and obliging man whom she marries and whose girl she has. After wedding a few years, the growing political tensions between Iran and the United States are going to weaken their personal and professional situation. The religious extremism, influenced, in particular, by friends and some members of his family who visit them » and… this is the beginning of her hell. Betty can’t do anything, between the threats of her husband, the domestic violence, she is trapped. Will she be able to escape of this hell ? With her daughter ?

I really liked this autobiographical novel because I just found it moving, fascinating, interesting.  I like so much having different points of view on different situations. (And I am fascinated by this kind of story, like Natascha Kampusch by Natascha Kampush or Sold by Betty Mahmoody…) Here, I learnt a lot of things about the Iran. And, it’s an autobiography and I think it is something which denounces someting, indeed : « this novel and the movie were judged by Iranians  and a part of the Muslims as racists, généralisants and offensive »

There is also a film that I’ve never watched, but my mum told me that I should, maybe one day because I’m a little bit scared about being disapointed ! (But, it’s true, I should to do my own opinion! I chose some shots of the film because I find them amazing)

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Mauvais genre (or « bad kind » in English) is a comic by Chloé Cruchaudet, a french scriptwriter and cartoonist.
Inspired by real events, she tells us the story of Paul and Louise during the First World War.

Paul and Louise love each other, but one day, in 1914 in France, during the First World War, they have to be separated. Paul, who wants at all costs escaping to the horror of the trenches, becomes a deserter and joins Louise in Paris.
To be hiden, Paul has to disguise himself in woman. His wife helps him to seem like a real women. He becomes Suzanne.

(The writer declared to have drawn voluntarily indistinct facial features of Paul’s face. In this way, she can feminize him without needing to realize big modifications.)

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I think this is one of the best comic which I read. I really liked it, and I found it funny sometimes, for example when Louise tries to disguise and to shave, to wax Paul. I found different messages through this moment, like the fact that the society imposes to women to be shaved, to have make up to be a woman, so Paul has to be perfect, whithout male aspects which could betray him.

I recommend you this beautiful story, this emotional story, which will question you.

I would like, one day, a film adaptation even if I am a little afraid of not finding the moments which are in the comic, like the graphic novel Blue is The Warmest Color by Julie Maroh, (there are many similarities with Mauvais genre, that’s why I mentionned it!) and I was (and I still) really disappointed. The film adaptation by Abdellatif Kechiche is not what I expected, I do not like this film… BUT THE GRAPHIC NOVEL, WOW!!!Résultat d’images pour blue is the warmest color bd

 

So I have mixed feelings, but it won’t change the fact that I really really really love this comic !!!

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children

At the very beginning when I heard about this book, he caught the eye to me at once but the opportunity had appeared never really. But that’s it I finally took the plunge and I plunged into this magnificent book.

Jacob is a very normal young person, with a family which has its secrets and a grandfather in the delirious stories ! But is Grandpa Portman as well crazy as we think of it?

I did not think of being allowed embark so by this history and nevertheless it was the case. Once gone into the novel I wanted to know the end and to understand  if all that we tell to Jacob since he was a child is true or not! But once the quest begun, I began to find it a little bit long, and then the more and more interesting photos arrived and my interest woke up! From the moment Jacob finds « them » I did not know how to any more release the book. I always wanted to learn it more, and especially to learn it more on the monsters which populate this novel.

And then we make THE decisive meeting of the book, that of the Miss Peregrinates, and the story takes another scale. The fantastic part is justified by « monsters » which we know very well in the end … I shall let you discover about whom I speak, but from front pages you will understand very well!

The end of the novel is full of new developments and maintaining it delays me only a thing, to have the continuation to understand where is going to lead this quest. Because we suspect although what we saw in this first volume is just the top of the Machiavellian plan! Deeply!

At the level of the characters I loved a lot Jacob who finally is lost as well as we him would be at his place. He is a just man catapulted in this story. Emma and the other children have this young something who makes that we can only love them, and now I want to have of them news !

The style of the author is really pleasant, even if there are moments longer than others. But photos and drawings which there is throughout the book bring us a discovery furthermore.

To finish, a first volume which makes the mouth water to us for the next !

http://www.ransomriggs.com/images/missperegrine_334x518.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/embed/tV_IhWE4LP0

And you can here, check the website of the author, there are few things about the author, his books and more ! http://www.ransomriggs.com/index.php

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Hey there !

Let it be said, let it be done.

Now it’s time for me to talk about the book that shook the world ! This new phenomenon is the Harry Potter new play.Afficher l'image d'origine

Don’t worry, for sure I won’t spoil you, I’ll just give my opinion (as we know it’s not the truth x’D) as a reader, a Potterhead and just as me. Or some aspects of the story… In fact you’ll see a few lines under.

It was written by J.K Rowling (if you don’t know her, shame on you !), Jack Thorne & John Tiffany. So, so, so let’s point out that first : because of these different authors, as you can guess, that’s not completely as « Harry Potter » as it was with Rowling’s books. The story generally was interesting but sometimes, I  was like « would really this character say so in the books ? » or « is it really the Harry -or someone else- I used to know ? ».

So yeah sometimes that was disturbing for me but I thought that the main playwright was Thorne, and he isn’t our J.K Rwoling. Therefore I & you can understand these differences.

About the story, the main action is time-travelling thanks to a Time-Turner, if you read the book (what you should do anyways) you’ll see. This object is present all along the story ; it plays a very important role. So because of time-travelling some details can change… If you try to prevent someone from dying, maybe that’s someone else who’s going to die. I drew a conclusion of all of this : we should not travel back in time. It’s too complicated and dangerous, but that’s what the characters understood before me, of course ! And last but not least that’s impossible for the best, and for the worst…

Then seeing alternate reality was really interesting though, I really liked it. If you do like these kind of stories about time travel, time machine, timelines, you’ve go a very good and interesting anime called « Steins ; gate » about the science of travelling in time. That’s freaking well-done and the only thing about science I like 😉

Finally if you love Harry Potter, of course you’ll love & enjoy this play but be ready for something different. However we still have a lot of humour, you won’t  be rolling on the floor laughing but that’s nice. Ah ! An important point : you can read it in english (I wanted to read it in english first but seeing that the english version was less expensive than the french one… Of course I took it) there isn’t a very complicated vocabulary so this book is not out of reach if you have a good level (just like all HP books).

There it is, now it’s time to come back to Les Faux-Monnayeurs… Good things always have an end ! ;’)

Curse of the Mummy – Fighting Fantasy

Ahoy guys !

How do you do ?

Originally I wanted to talk about the Harry Potter’s new play but hadn’t enough time to finish it so I had to plot something else… Therefore I remembered I read an amazing book which was called « Curse of the Mummy ».

Wait, no, not so fast it’s not an usual book with a demoniacal mummy that wants to kill ya. Nope, that’s a Fighting Fantasy Gamebook, in other words « a book where you ARE the hero ». It sounds interesting doesn’t it ?

All the things you need to start your adventure is a pencil and a dice. (Yeah sorry we still can’t use swords or magic wands to set sail for an adventure… – I wish I could.) And of course the most important thing is « luck » otherwise you’d die (Because your character has differents stats : Stamina, Health and Luck. You established them at the begining of your journey with your amazing and magical rolling dice.)

With that said let me tell you more about this book. If you know narrative games or visual novel it works approximately the same. You are reading the story but at some moment, you have to select where you want to go, how to fight your ennemies, what you want to buy, etc… You have several options, and for exemple, let’s say you take « option 1 » you’ll have to turn to page 220 for exemple. So you are travelling all across the book but if you are sent to the last page it doesn’t mean that’s it’s the end of the story… To be honest I have never reached the end (for the moment !) and never met a mummy. But i’m pretty sure it’s awaiting for me to come and show how unskilled I am.

All joking aside I find that it’s a cool way to read a book. Indeed, you have to face ennemies (even if you are fighting them with a dice and numbers) and have to make choices to save the country -or your life.
What I loved too is the way other characters are dying : it’s so fierce and your character is just like « oh that’s sad, I will cry for a minute but then let’s resume this adventure as if it had never happened. I’m going to beat’em all yahouu » no time for apologies or sorrow ! Er, of course it’s an hyperbola but it’s almost that… !

Seriously if you have time (since using a dice isn’t as easy and fast as using a sword) and if you are eager to live your own epic adventure, you have to read/play one of these books. That’s really funny and you’ve got many different storys (with wizards, dragons, or mythology, etc) that you’ll inevitably find one you could love. Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson are the two main guys behind these books and trust me, they’ve done an incredibly good job with this series. Their worlds are often dark – but you are here to enlighten them after all – serious and there’s always an interesting story in which you can easily integrate yourself.

So now go grab one of these books, and start your adventure (while sitting on your bed) to beat’em all and become the hero of your own story !

That’s all for me guys, see you next time ! 😀 

Peter Pan, by James Matthew Barrie

Peter Pan is a fictional character created by the Scottish James Matthew Barrie. He appeared for the first time in 1902 in the novel The Little White Bird, in a play called Peter and Wendy and finally in the novel Peter Pan. Everyone know Peter Pan or has already heard about him. He’s in the popular culture. He’s very famous and here, i’m going to talk about the novel Peter Pan, written by J.M Barrie. It’s also known as Peter Pan or The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up.

One friday night, Peter Pan freely visit the house of the Darling Family. Mr and Miss Darling are not at home this night, and the nurse Nana, who’s actually a dog, is chained in the garden. Wendy, John and Micheal, the children, are alone and it’s a good plan for Peter to recover his shadow, that he lost the day before. Unfortunately, he wakes up Wendy, John ad Micheal. He decides to bring them to Neverland because he’s greedyof Wendy’s stories and he wants her to be their mother.  Their journey will be shaken by the Captain Hook, the Indians, the mermaids and the fairy Tinker Bell.

This story and especially the character of Peter are really interesting. At first saw, everythig turn around the subject of the adults. Peter doesn’t want to grow up, his enemy is the Captain Hook who is an adult, The Lost Boys that Peter killed when they are getting too old, because it’s forbidden to be an adult on his island. There’s also Peter who is sired to Neverland : He IS Neverland. When he left it, the island fall asleep, The Lost Boys and the Pirate stop the fight. Everything is about Peter, he controls everything and he’s not really kind as we could think. He’s a stranger of love or any deep sense. He’s indifferent of everything except himself. We’re far far away from the Disney’s version. He’s also compared to the Captain Hook and there’s a lot of common point between them.
They’re like Batman and the Joker : They cannot live without each other, but they fear each other. They are both without love : Hook live whithout it while Peter doesn’t even know the existence of love. But the important difference between them is the age : Hook is an adult. Peter is afraid of the adult’s cruelty and it’s the reason why he wants to stay a child. Finally, Peter is really upset when he wisit Wendy after a lot of years and find that Wendy is an adult now and she’s got a daughter. Peter decide to pick Wendy’s daughter, Jane, and bring her to Neverland.

A lot of adaptation were created. The one very famous is the movie Peter Pan directed by J.Hogan in 2003 with Jason Isaacs in the role of Captain Hook and Mr Darling and Jeremy Sumpter in the role of Peter Pan.

Danse Macabre  » The Boogeyman », By Stephen King

Danse Macabre is a book of short stories written by Stephen King in 1981. This non-fiction book is about horror, and it’s made up of 20 short stories. All in those stories is concentrated on ghost, vampire, werewolf, alive toys and others frightening things. In this book, we find the various ifluences of King,  and we’re focus on the 1950s to the 1970s. In his book, King uses the  » psychology of terror « .

We start the book on the author’s foreword, where he says that even him when he goes to sleep, he can’t sleep with one of his feet outside of the bed, because he imagines that a creepy monster is under, and can grab his ankle. He says that it’s like acting like a child, but he don’t care, he feels safe under his blanket. Finally, he informs us that everything in this book is supernatural, but we always have to be careful.

Now, i’m going to talk about one of the short stories that are in this book, and that especially scared me : The Boogeyman.
First, what’s a Boogeyman ? A Boogeyman is a mythical creature who has no specific appearance, who’s hiding in the closet of children, wanted to frighten them or kill them. Parents uses usually this myth to scare their children into good behavior.
Stephen King choses this creature for one of his short story, and it works very well to be afraid at the end.

Here’s the sumary of   » The Boogeyman  »

Mr Billings go to the psychiatrist, Dr Harper, to tell his story. He immediatly begin on his two children’s death because of him. He didn’t kill them, but he feels guilty of it. He says that the Boogeyman killed them, and he did nothing to avoid it.. His wife, Rita, and him, and devastated of their death, and finally decided to give birth to a third baby. They moved to another town, thaught their misery will be done. Unfortunately, the Boogeyman came back and killed the poor child. Dr Harper tell him to make others appointment to his secretary. Mr Billings come back to his desk because he didn’t find his secretary, and see the Boogeyman going out of th closet with the masquerade of Dr Harper.

Personally, I did not expect this end, I was completely shocked, and I laughed nervously. King knews exactly what he was doing. His aim was to manipulate his readers, and he made it perfectly. We can also think that there’s a double reading : Mr Billing could have really killed his children and the Boogeyman come at the end to punish his accuser. From time to time, Dr Harper and Mr Billings are irrelevant and talk a few minutes of the life of Mr Billings and his wife, and the fact that Mr Billings tells his story with really little details, make the short story really realistic, and it compel us to believe in the existence of the Boogeyman.

Stranger Things – The Duffer brothers

For this article I decided to talk about a new american TV show that was released on Netlfix in July 2016 called Stranger Things. This science fiction / horror series was created and directed by the Duffer brothers ( Matt and Ross Duffer ) and produced by Shawn Levy.

Plot : In November 1983, in Indiana in the town of Hawkins, a 12 years old boy named Will Byers ( played by Noah Schnapp ) vanishes mysteriously. His mom, Joyce ( played by Winona Ryder ), his brother,his friends and the police chief of the town all start to look for him. One night when Dustin ( Gaten Matarazzo ), Lucas ( Caleb Mc Laughlin ) and Mike ( Finn Wolfhard ) were looking for Will in the woods, they found a girl ( Millie Bobby Brown ), with a shaved head and the number 011 tattooed on her arm. This girl, then, claims to know where Will is, and the boys soon discover that she also has super powers. While people are looking for Will, weird supernatural things are happening probably linked to the Energy Laboratory of Hawkins which also seems linked to Will Byers.

This show is so amazing, and quite scary, but the fact that the main characters are kids makes it 10 times better. It also reminds me of  E.T. ( directed by Steven Spielberg and released in 1982 ) because this girl has super powers, we don’t know where she’s from and Will’s friends are protecting her just like Elliot with E.T.

Unfortunatly there are only 8 episodes available at the moment but the cast is working on season 2 already ! If you get a chance to watch it, do it, but don’t watch it alone ????

The Host – Stephanie Meyer

For my first article this year I decided to write about a book that I read again this summer for the fifth time probably, it’s called The Host and was written by Stephenie Meyer ( who’s also the author of the Twilight saga ) it was published in 2008.

This story, as well as all the book I read, is a post apocalyptic story. The Earth is invaded by aliens called « souls » , they implant themselves into human bodies and take over the human’s conciousness because, for them, humans don’t deserve the planet because they’re too violent. When a soul gets in a body, it erases every memory and knowledge the person had before.

A soul has been placed into Melanie Stryder’s body, called Wanderer. But Melanie’s conciousness is still alive and starts to communicate with Wanderer, Melanie tries to guide her to find her uncle, brother and boyfriend who’re hiding from the aliens somewhere in the desert, when they got to their hiding spot, they found out that about 30 people are also hiding there and everyone’s scared of Wandere except Melanie’s family, her boyfriend and Ian, a guy who fell in love with Wanderer. During her time there she finds out that they’re trying to find a way to cut souls out of their host but each attempt end up with the death of the host… Will they be able to cut out Wanderer of Melanie ? Will Wanderer find a new host ?

To find out you’ll have to read the 830 pages of the book ! I know it sounds like a lot of pages but the story is so captivating that when you finish the book it doesn’t feel like you’ve read that many pages.

Romeo and Juliet

    Romeo and Juliet is an theatre play by William Shakespeare. It was published in 1597. It is an tragedy. One of the most populary theatre play by William Sahkespeare, that work of art is know by all the world.

William Shakespeare was born in 1564 and died in 1616. He is considerring like one of the tallest poet, dramatist and writter of english culture. He wrote Hamlet, Macbeth and a lot of others theatre player.

We are going to talk about Romeo and Juliet. Romeo and Juliet are the main characters in this theatre play. They fall in love at a party but their families are ennemies. So they can’t married. With the help of Friar Laurence, they marry in secret. But after Romeo and Juliet’s wedding night Romeo kills Juliet’s cousin in a duel. That is a tragic event because he is obliged to leave her. His life is in danger.

At the same time Juliet’s parents want that their daughter marry Paris. They don’t know that she is already married. At the beginning she refused but after she accepted. She accepted because she has a plan, she wants to fake her death and lives with Romeo for all their life. This plan became reality with Friar Laurence ‘s help. He gives at Juliet a sleeping potion. She seems to be dead but it’s fake. When Romeo visits her he is wrecked because he doesn’t know the stratagem of Juliet. He kills himself because he thinks that his love is dead. When Juliet wakes up she discovers that Romeo kills himself and she kills herself. It’s an dramatical end.

I love this story because for me it’s a classique of the literature. I ‘m crazy about work art of William Shakespeare, he was a great dramatist. This story is very addictive. It’s an old story but it is a famous story yesterday, today and tomorrow.

Animal Farm

George Orwell is a British author. He was born in 1903 in India. His real name is Eric Arthur Blair. His most famous novel is 1984 but I want to deal with the book Animal Farm. This novel was written in 1947 in french. This is an apologue, a political novel.

The scene takes place in England more exactly in an England farm. The owners are Mr and Mrs Jones. In this farm there are a lot of animals, like pigs, dogs, horses, sheep or birds. Mr Jones doesn’t take care of his animals. One day these animals make revolution and get rid of Mr et Mrs Jones. They take control of the farm. After that the animals create a new laws of their farm, for these humans are ennemies and all animals are equal. But the dream became a nightmare for some animals. Pigs take control with violence. They change laws in secret, they manipulate other animals. The system of democracy became a totalitarian regim. We see the evolution of the animal farm and her political system. We want to know how this story will end ?

In fact, Animal Farm is a representation of the Russian revolution and of the stalinism. George Orwel do a critic of these two references. The novel criticize the totalitarism, Staline, Marx… The author has a smart writting because he use animals and fiction to shows what is his own opinion of a delicate subjects, the politic and the war.

I love this novel because the story is sympathic but it has a goal, there is not just for the entertainment. This novel shows an opinion and the reader has a relfexion after reading Animal Farm.

Harlan Coben – Fool Me Once

I’m going to speak about a detective novel of the American author Harlan Coben. This book was called Fool me once and it is the last book of the writer which was published in 2016. It is the first time I read Harlan Coben’s book, too.

In this suspence book, we meet Maya, which is the main character. She is a young mother but also a widow who lost her husband who was murdered. To watch her baby-sitter, she installs a security camera in her house…. until her husband, Joe, appears on the screen, a few days after his funeral….! Maya is then going to ask herself many questions and going back to her darkest past. Does she know absolutely everything ? And Joe ? Is he the one that she really knows ? It is into a history full of discoveries that the reader is absorbed…

In my opinion, it was a good story but this book didn’t really affect me… Despite this, I recommend it for those who like suspense books. Maybe the next Harlan Coben’s book I’ll read will be better and more fascinating, for me of course.

Mickey Bolitar trilogy, Harlan Coben

   This summer I read Shelter, Seconds Away and Found, three thrillers written by Harlan Coben. The main character is the same one in all of them : a teenager who has quite a complicated life. Indeed, his father just died and his mother is sent to rehab. Therefore he has to live with his uncle and go to a new highschool.

   Each book tells the story of Mickey and another character linked with him such as his girlfriend, his parents or a friend. There are mysteries like disappearance, murder, shooting and the protagonist is always down to help his friends getting out of the trouble.

   My favourite novel was the last one, Found. Eight months after his father’s death, Mickey finds out that his father’s body is not in his coffin so he tries to find him. It isn’t the only story of the book but it definitely is one of the best from my point of view. The end of the novel focuses on it and I thought it was an awesome and very thoughtful conclusion of the trilogy.

   These are books you can read really fast and I recommend it to those who like suspense and mystery novels.

By the river Piedra I sat down and wept, Paulo Coelho

   Paulo Coelho is a brazilian writer, especially known for his worldwide best seller, The Alchemist. You can recognize his novels because of his flowing style of writing, moreover his stories always have a mystical part. Indeed, he talks a lot about religion and spirituality in a very philosophical way.

   By the River Piedra is written in an internal point of view, Pilar’s one. She is an independant woman who decides to meet her childhood friend after 11 years without seeing him. He became very involved in religion and chose to dedicate his life to it. At first glance, they are very different although what unites them is their wish to change. They both go in a french village in the Pyrénées to talk and find themselves out. This story is essentially about love and their relationship.

« Happiness is something that multiplies when it is divided »

   This book was the first Paulo Coelho’s novel I’ve ever read. Before I started it, I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it because of the religious side of it, but I actually liked his writing style and the fact that he explains things in a simple way makes it easy to understand everything. It is also quick to read because it is not too long. There are a lot of beautiful quotes that I loved. I personnally think this book has good life lessons and after reading it, it feels like you’ve learned a lot. That’s why I really enjoyed reading it and recommend it to anyone.

We were liars

 

We were liars written by E.Lockhart . She is an American writer. She writes for children’s book and young-adult novels  and adult novels. She is known for Ruby Oliver series , she begins with The Boyfriend list  and We were liars, so i’m going to do my article on this book.

The story begins with a respectable and rich family. This family is described like : ‘’ Sinclair are beautiful, blond, slender and extremely rich. Square chin, always head up and smile facade’’. The book’s protagonist is Cadence, and is her family. In this book, she talks about her summers, because her grandparents are owned a pivate island: Beechwood, where they built four houses for their three daughters and their children. One house for everyone:

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She talks about before Summer Fifteen, She goes to the private island with her mother : Penny and she finds her two aunts with their children, and their cousins Mirren, Johnny, Taft, Will, Bonnie and Liberty. And Gat an Indian boy, the best friend of Johnny. Mirren, Johnny, Gat  and Cadence named  ‘’The liars’’, They’re inseparable and accomplices.

In Summer Fifteen ( Fifteen refers to Cadence’s age in the island) She falls in love with Gat, but one night Cadence is found near the beach,in water, with only underwear, and with a serious injure… Now she suffers terrible migraines and she is not able to remember much of Summer Fifteen except details of her accident…

Her mother doesn’t want to talk about Cadence’s accident and the Summer Fifteen… Cadence becomes a different person. She waits the Summer Sixteen with impatience but her father wants to go to Europe with Cadence. And she accepts, because she also fears to return to the island and see ‘’ The liars’’ who she doesn’t talk with since her accident…

But the next Summer, Summer Seventeen, She found courage to go in Beechwood ! For a month. And she wants know more about the Summer Fifteen and the cause of her accident…

This gives a very successful novel that is hard to let go once we started, because we are caught in this atmosphere a bit strange and we want to know what happens!  I like the book with mysteries and secrets and this book brings together two. And I waited impatiently the fifth part, entitled: The Truth!

Cards on the Table

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/14/Cards_on_the_Table_First_Edition_Cover_1936.jpg

Cards on the Table is a detective novel by Agatha Christie, and it was published in United Kingdom on 2 November 1936. Agatha Christie was a famous English writer and she wrote many detective novels. She created two famous characteres : Hercule Poirot a Belgian detective and Jane Marple. Agatha Christie published 66 novles, 154 short stories and 20 plays. Agatha Christie is one of the most  famous writers in the world and she is considered the most widely read author in history among the English. She is one of the innovative writers.
One of the famous characteres is Hercule Poirot, a Belgian detective, he appeared for the first time in The Mysterious Affair at Styles (1920) and it was the first novel of Agatha Christie. Hercule Poirot is conceited, full of himself and loves to be complimented. He is very careful in his investigations and respects his moral values: Justice and Truth. His favorite sentence is” my little gray cells“. His last apparition is in Curtain: Poirot’s Last Case (1975).
Cards on the Table is related the story of one of Hercule Poirot’s investigations. Mr. Shaitana, a rich man, invites eight people for diner, but he chose his guests with the precise reasons; four of their guests are crime experts including Hercule Poirot. And the others are suspected to commit a crime unpunished. But Mr. Shaitana knows the entire story and it cost him his life. During the evening they begin to play bridge, the four experts of crime in a room and the four suspecting criminals in another room with Mr. Shaitana who sits in a armchair near the fireplace. But the guests discovered Mr.Shaitana with dagger in his chest…Here how to begin the investigation for Hercule Poirot and “his little gray cells”.

http://www.michaeldvd.com.au/CoverArtUnverified/20210.jpg

This story has many film adaptions. I discovered Hercule Poirot with the TV series by ITV with David Suchet in the role of Hercule Poirot. They respect the book with some change, an example in the book we have three victims but in the serie we have two victims. I read the book after see the serie. I like the character of Hercule Poirot the conceited detective and his method to reveal the criminal:  he invites all the suspects in a room and he explains step by step his findings in his investigation and at the end, he denounces the guilty.

Cards on the Table is one of the stories of Hercule Poirot that I like, with Murder on the Orient Express but I don’t read the book, I just see the serie.

« Charlie » or « Firestarter » by Stephen King

Hello everyone,

Today i’m going to speak about an amazing novel entitled « Charlie » or « Firestarter » and wrote by Stephen King the famous author.
This novel was published in 1980, later it was adapted in theatre with Drew Barrymore playing Charlie. I don’t know if the movie respect the book because I haven’t saw it, if someone did tell me.

So let me tell you briefly what about this story, Charlie is a 7 years old girl who is born with strong power : pyrokinesique. The problem is that she doesn’t control her power and it’s dangerous.
You have to know that her power comes from her parents who have been subject of an experiment when they are young. This experiment has change their DNA and capacities appears. For example Andrew Mcgee (Charlie’s father) can control peolple’s mind and create illusions.
But unfortunatly they are wanted by an agency from the governement who want study their power or even eliminate the « threat ». So Charlie and his father are constantly on run.               So in your opinion did they arrived to catch them ? 

This novel is very nice to read with a lot of suspens and this story is original and we want to know what happend next. I tell you, you must read it !

« DENIAL » – Peter James

Hi everyone,
Today I’m going to speak about an amazing novel entitled « Denial » and wrote by Peter James an English Autor. This book belong to thriller and published in 1996.

So this story talks about a man named Thomas Lamark who lived in London with his mom, an older actrees: Gloria Lamark. You have to know that Thomas loved his mother and when I said love I mean love that you’re not allows or not suppose to feel for someone on your family.
But unfortunatly she decided to kill herself. Thomas found his mother dead and he reject the fault on Mickeal Tennet (his mother’s psy), So Thomas decided to revenge his mother by hurt then kill the guilty.
However this revenge will completely degenerate and engedered numerous murder. Thomas doesn’t want only punish the guilty he also want to hurt everybody who was an obstale for his mother.

I don’t know if some of you already read it but if not you had to, because suspens is here in every pages and we want to know what happend next. This story also makes me thinking about things who really exist, about the reality.
I tell you this book is Amazing and I recommend it for every people who loved suspens and thriller, you won’t be disappointed !

The Girl On The Train, Paula Hawkins

Hi everyone so today I am going to talk about a book I read this summer and that I love very very much. It’s called The Girl On The Train and it’s written by Paula Hawkins. The novel debuted at N°1 on The New York Times Fiction Best Sellers of 2015 list.

From the suburb where she lives, Rachel took the train twice a day to commute to London. Every day she sits in the same place, and every day she watches a nice house. This house, she knows it by heart, she even gave a name to its occupants : Jason and Jess. A couple perfect couple to her, a happy couple, as Rachel has been by the past with her husband before he cheats on her and dumps her. But one morning, she finds out another man in the window. What is going on ? Is Jess cheating on her husband? A few days later, it’s with amazement that she discovers the photo of Jess in the newspaper headlines. The young woman, whose real name is Megan Hipwell, mysteriously disappeared …

This book is an obsession, in every sense of the word. It’s made as an assembly of various diaries, the story is told by so many people like a puzzle with a view to a final table. It tells us the story of ordinary people, like you and me with ordinary lives full of happiness and common misfortunes. But for Rachel, the girl on the train, everything is good to enhance a sad and dull life and this is when she began her obsession.

But I will not tell you more, I can’t tell you everything, because this novel is a multitude of events that themselves made me feel a multitude of emotions. Just know that in this book there’s no hero, no characters almost perfect here, all have more or less murky secrets.You can’t imagine the end. I was constantly uncertain to the events that took place in this small suburb of London.

Paula Hawkins manages to give reality to her characters through their flaws, weaknesses, and stormy or happy pasts. Life is not a bed of roses, far from it.

It’s an excellent psychological thriller, in which Steven Spielberg was able to recognize the talent of the author, since he bought the film rights. I really recommend it because it’s such a good novel.

The Author
Olivia Rosenthal is a french writter, novelist and playwright. She was born in 1965 in Paris. She studied in Jules-Ferry high school (1975-1982) and did a preparatory class in Henri-IV high school. Then, she got into the Ecole Normale supérieure in 1984, obtained an aggregation in modern literature in 1987 and a doctorate in 1992. She was elected a literature lecturer in 1993 in Rennes University. Since 1999, she teaches at the University of Paris III. She created with Lionel Ruffel and Vincent Message one of the first masters of literary creation of higher french education.

the book cover

The Book

« Mécanismes de survie en milieu hostile » is a bildungsroman and a thriller written by Olivia Rosenthal and released in 2014.

The novel begins with a fantastic story which turns into a nightmare. Then, we are immersed in the thought of a young girl who is completely confused after a family tragedy. Follow the story in a countdown with an endless and oppressive game of hide-and-seek. There are also others action which challenge the woman. She is confronted with her deepest fears: death, silence, mourning… She is facing the hostility of the outside world which obliged her to create coping mechanisms.

A distinguishing feature of this book is the alternation between the main story and an almost scientific story, written in italics. The link between the both story is deep and implicit and it’s very baffling.

This is one of my favourite book for several reasons : First, the original content and the change in stories. I have learned unexpected things thanks to this book and you should read it to discover that. For example, what I remember is a passage about the decomposition of bodies. It seems to be murky, but it was truly interesting. Despite this disgusting subject, it captured me. After reading this book, we question ourselves, how could we have act in this situation ? That also sends us back to metaphysical questions, our relation about death, childhood, bereavement mixed up in a scientific analysis.

While reading this novel, we are totally lost, destabilized, absorbed in a foreign world, questioning ourselves about life and death. It’s a puzzle to put together and the end enable us to stop stressing, to stop the suspense. Everything becomes highlighted.
Olivia Rosenthal, through this work, shows us our fears and our anxieties (such as death, confinement…) to learn how to survive and to cast our demons out. She tests her reader with destabilizing situation and involved him with a first person narrative.

The Shining


Not very original but today I’m going to talk about one of the classic book :

The Shining

Shining is a horror novel written by Stephen King and published in 1977.

Jack Torrance, a recovering alcoholic, a failed writer and a former teacher decided to get his life back and to find a job. The Overlook Hotel is a mysterious place located in the mountains. It is closed in winter. Only a janitor leaves there during this time, totally isolated from the rest of the world because of the climate condition. Jack is wired as the guardian and brings with him his wife, Winifred (Wendy) and their son Daniel (Danny) who is five. Danny is an exceptional child and very grown up for his age. He has supernatural power called The Shining. As soon as he arrives in the Overlook, he sees frightening things especially when Tony, his imaginary friend visits him when he faints. Who are these persons in his visions ? The body of this murdered woman ? What are these strange noise and party’s music ?

In 1980, Stephen King sees his novel made into a movie, directed by Stanley Kubrick with Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall and Danny Lloyd. It is considered as a classic horror film.

To avoid any spoilers if you haven’t read or seen The Shining, I advise you to stop your reading because I’m going to compare the two works.

I loved reading that book : it was thrilling and suspensful, and I also adored the characters and the way that King showed their relationships.

We can see through Jack’s eyes that he loves his son, he is accomplice with him. This aspect is not really developed in the film whereas in the book there is an important passage showing it: he gives a hornet’s nest to Danny after learning that Jack had one in his room when he was a child.

Love and hate between Jack and Wendy is more exploited : Even if she loved her husband, she is still mistrustful since the accident when Jack broke Danny’s arm. This tragic episode is indeed often reminded through Wendy’s thoughts.

An another important difference between the two works : there is no maze in the book but only booxwood animals which come to life when Danny and Jack see them.

Moreover, when Tony comes to talk and shows terrifying things, he does it through Danny’s fainting, even though in the film, Danny talks to Tony with his index finger.

When the madness of Jack is maximized, he uses a croquet mallet to frighten his family. In the film adaptation, he uses an axe. Besides, Dick Halloran is not murdered but only knocked out by the mallet, and he succeed in leaving with Wendy and Danny.

Afficher l'image d'origineThese are the « most important » differences, just some details, but when you read the book first, you expect a lot of things from the film version. That’s the case with the final scene : the movie was thrilling every step of the way, except the end : I was a bit disappointed… I was really expecting the explosion of the Overlook, but finally, it didn’t happen. The end is not so lame, but I was truly attached to this idea.

Although I knew the story, the movie still surprised me, because Kubrick has appropriated King’s novel and made something amazing, with the talented Jack Nicholson. There were magnificient shots, and one of my favourite sequence in my view is when Jack came face to face with the woman in the bathroom of the room 217. I loved the symmetry of the shot, the green color which highlighted the two characters, and the set of miroir.

Monsters are real. Ghosts are too. They live inside of us, and sometimes, they win.”

Women’s season – Leena Yadav

Women’s season is a movie created by Leena Yadav in 2015. This movie deal with emancipation of the women in India. The scene take place « in our time » like we can see at the beginning of the movie. This movie shows that how the women in India are treated, with violence, defiance and no respect.  In a small village, four women dare to oppose the men and the ancestral tradition. A widow, a fifteen years old girl  forced into mariage, a hooker, and a young lady who can’t had baby.

We follows these 4 strong women, who leaved hell to the everyday life, and who support themselves between her. It’s a very. It’s a very beautiful movie, who give us an opportunity to consider the women’s condition.

« The Girl on the Train », Paula Hawkins, 2015.

« The girl on the train » is a psychological thriller, published in 2015. This novel was written by Paula Hawkins, a british author.

The story speaks about Rachel Watson, she is depressed, alcoholic, ans divorced. She is recently fired, and tries to keep fit.. Every morning, she takes the train to London, and during her route, she sees throughout the window : in the confortable house, a couple at the edge of the rails. They seem happy and in good way together. So, Rachel begins to imagine their names « Jason and Jesss, their job, their life, like the perfect couple. One night, she sees Jess with an another man … Few days later, she discovers on the news: the face of « Jess », who is reported missing… After that, Rachel decides to conduct an investigation..

It’s a great book, with a amazing issue. The story is very rousing ! I would like to see the futur adaptation in cinema, directed by Tate Taylor, in 2016… I think that this movie could be very promising !

The Gemini Virginia C. Andrew

 

Today I’m going to talk about a book written by Virginia C. Andrew and published in 2006. It’s the first volume of The Gemini serie and it’s entitled Celeste.

This book tells us the story of twins, Celeste and Lionel, who are not living in an usual family. Indeed, their mother believes in spirits and more precisely in her ancestor’s spirits. She educates her children in this philosophy. She regulary talks to family’s spirit, does things based on what they would like to do and promises to her children that soon they could do the same.

When the young Lionel (who was the favorite of her mother) died in an accident, the mother compels Celest to take the identity of her dead brother ( it’s not a spoil, you can read all of it on the blurb ). The young girl loses herself and takes her brother’s identity to satisfy her mother. Indeed, her only wish is to be loved by her mother and she would do everything to please her.

I found  this book very interesting because we don’t know, during all the story, if spirits are real or if the mother has got psychological troubles. You know, in Harry Potter by example witches and wizards are real , it’s a sort of convention between the reader and the author. Well, in Celeste it’s not clear, you always have a doubt, the only « vision » who are describe are those of Celeste and you can wonder if it’s not the imagination of a child. This book is also very based on the psychology of characters, why are they acting like this? how will they get out of this situation ? All is always manipulation, false pretences..  The story looks like some sordid miscellaneous, but we are « behind the scene », we know the truth.

The Gemini is a trilogy and there are many books of this author, generally by series of five.

I hope you enjoy this article. If you read the book tell me what do you think about it !

Between shades of grey, Ruta Sepetys

Wait! I know what you must be thinking just by seeing the title of this article…But you are wrong! The book I would like to talk about doesn’t have anything to do with its almost namesake, sulphurous book… You know, the one that you must have heard about…Yes, that one!… Maybe did you even read a few pages secretly?

So, let’s forget everything about that other one.
•This story takes place in 1941. Lina is a young Lithuanian girl like many others. Obsessed about Edvard Munch‘s work,she draws, she paints, she lives a comfortable life with her loving family and has just been accepted into one of the most prestigious art schools in Europe. Until the 14th of June. Her whole life stops: the NKVD, also known as the frightening Soviet police Organization, invades her home.

“He threw his burning cigarette onto our clean living room floor and ground it into the wood with his boot.
We were about to become cigarettes. »

• It is the beginning of a terrifying journey as we follow Lina, her mother and her brother,  who are deported to different gulags and hostile places inhabited by hostile soldiers…
Loaded in cattle train car, they travel hundreds of miles throughout the huge territory of Russia. The conditions of their compelled travel are inhuman: a mother has to give birth to her baby on her own, on the overcrowded and dirty car, helped by some passengers. Obviously, the prisonners can’t go out as they are pleased and don’t have any other place to do their business than in the floor of the car itself…

journey map
They are crossing the Arctic Circle to arrive to work camp located in the coldest parts of Siberia, where they have to dig for beets, do different kinds of exhausting chores… In other words: they have to fight for their lives under the crulest, least humane conditions. Actually, some of the characters sometimes make shocking choices to gain a better life or enable their relatives not to have as many hardships as the others… Lina finds her solace in her ability to draw, meticulously. She identifies herself in the events that she draws to remember, although she takes great risks as she sends these messages to her father’s camp, hopefully.

« Have you ever wondered what a human life is worth? That morning, my brother’s was worth a pocket watch. »

This is a story hard to read but also so hard to stop reading.
This is a story about an unbelievable strengh, about love and hope, about survival but it also shows how cruel and unsensitive humans can be.

In 1939, the Soviet Union invaded the three small Baltic countries, that are Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania. The Kremlin created a list of people considered as Antisovietic and condamned to be assassinated, imprisonned or deported to Siberia to be confined to the level of slaves. These people were doctors, lawyers, teachers, writers, musicians, artists, even librarians, soldiers, or businessmen: them and their families were part of an always longer list. The list of a mass extermination project’s victims. The first deportations happened on the 14th of June 1941.
•The writer, Ruta Septetys is the daughter of a lithuanian officer who managed to escape these camps but some of her relatives didn’t have this luck and died there. She wrote her first book about this subject because it is part of her family’s story, as well as because this aspect of the II World War is still unknown to this day. Surrounded by the Soviet Union and The Nazis’ Empire, the Baltic States were forgotten from the world and simply disapeared from the maps. She travelled to Lithuania several times to write this book and met families, inhabitants who survived, psychologists, historians…This story was based on true events. It is estimated that Josef Staline assassinated more than 20 billions of people during his Terror reign. In 1991, after 50 years of occupation, the Baltic countries found their independance back, as well as peace and dignity. They prefered hope to hatred and showed to the world that there is always light at the end of the darkest tunnel.

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Have you ever heard of this story before?

« In the midst of winter, i found there was, within me, an invincible summer. » -A.CAMUS

Harry Potter and the cursed child – Jack Thorne


Being a huge fan of Harry Potter, I couldn’t miss the new book named Harry Potter and the cursed child. And so I’ve decided to write an article about it.

First, let me tell you that this sequel, if we can say so, is the script of the play which has the same title. We can find the same characters, the same universe… But 19 years after the last book. Indeed, Harry is 37 years old now, and has two sons : James Sirius Potter and Albus Severus Potter, and one daughter : Lily Luna Potter. Moreover, Harry is working for the magical law enforcement. About Hermione, she is now the minister of magic. Also, she is married to Ron (who is holding « Weasley’s wizard wheezes ») and has two children : Rose and Hugo Granger-Weasley. To conclude about the characters, Draco is also present, with his son Scorpius Malfoy but without his wife since we learn that she is dead.

Now I will talk a little about the story. The story begins at the King’s cross station and the Hogwarts Express’ arrival. Harry’s son, Albus, and Hermione’s daughter, Rose, are in the train (it reminds us when Harry and Ron took it in the first book). But unlike the original story, Albus is becoming friend with Scorpius. Anyway, both are chose to integrate Slytherin, whereas Rose is going to Gryffindor. Then, and for their time in Hogwarts, we will see the three kids facing many difficulties, and especially for the two boys since Rose will become popular. I won’t tell you more about it, otherwise it will ruin everything because you really should read this book.

Even if the writing is completly different from J.K’s, the magical universe that has rocked my childhood is still here. Nonetheless, some details bothered me  (few dead characters are back, and there are contradictions about the time-turner for instance).  Nevermind, I was so pleased that a new book was published!! 

 

If your a fan, or if you like Harry Potter’s world, I advice you to read it.

The Mystery of the Yellow Room, Gaston Leroux

Today, I would like to share with you a book that I’ve just finished. It’s a very famous French crime novel. It was published in 1907 and was adapted to the cinema many times. I obviously speak about the well-known Mystery of the yellow room written by Gaston Leroux. To sum up this story, I would only say that a very mysterious murder was committed. The aggressor managed to escape from a totally sealed room (door closed, windows too, no fireplace …). Two characters have to solve this case: a policeman named Larsan and a reporter named Rouletabille, there both are known to have already solved famous mysteries. The narrator is Saintclair, a lawyer and a closed-friend from Rouletabille. He accompanies and helps him. At the beginning, the story makes me remind of one of Arthur Conan Doyle’s short novel intituled The Adventure of the Speckled Band and of another short novel written by Edgar Allan Poe entitled The Murders in the Rue Morgue (in both stories characters were murdered in a closed room). Though, the author wants to stop us in our reasoning. Indeed, the narrator, Saintclair, pronounces these words (it’s an approximately translation that I made seeing as the author was French so the quotation was in French): “this mystery is the most surprising that I know, even in the imaginary domain. In The Murders in the Rue Morgue, Edgar Poe invented nothing similar. The crime place was close enough to not let the murderer flee but there was a window by which the killer could run away. But here, there is no opening.” and in a note from the author: “Conan Doyle talks about the same kind of mystery in the short novel intituled The Adventure of the Speckled Band. In a sealed room, a terrible murder is done. […] In the room, there was an adequate air intake to allow the assassin to get in and out the room.” In this way, we understand that G. Leroux was ‘in competition’ with these two writers. Like Conan Doyle and Poe, he uses the principle of a detective who came back in all of his novels (the detective in question is Rouletabille and he wrote more than ten sequels to the Mystery of the yellow room). Nevertheless, I’ve read the three stories (whose I talked) and they are all different. The Mystery of the yellow room is certainly the one that I prefer: I liked the writing of the author, characters that he created and, obviously, the resolution of the case. I would like to read the direct sequel intituled The Perfume of the woman in black.
Do you have already read this book? If not, would you like to read it?

Fool’s assassin by Robin Hobb

The book Fool’s assassin is an epic fantasy novel part of the Fitz and the Fool trilogy, written by the american author Robin Hobb. Published in 2014, this modern fantasy novel tells the story of Fitz Chivalry Farseer and his peacefull retirement at Bukkeep Castle.

This is a world with a monarchy reign ruled by the six duchies, who watches on the education of magic and the people who have that gift. Living his retirement with his wife as former assassin of the king, his life will be suddenly longing for his past activity, his « wit » will awake. Mysterious visitors came during the winter festivities, who were part of the Fool, with pale skin and claiming to be musicians, that night a scream came  from the upstairs of his home, blood trickling to the floor and apparently no sight of the Fool…

In this world of beauty, mystery and the proof of family love, I find this book really rich in english vocabulary and love the described landscapes, the style and in this period of time where you ride only by horse, the style is authentic .

Talon by Julie Kagawa

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Talon is a novel written by Julie Kagawa and was published in 2014.

This book is part of the serie of three books who takes us into a world where dragons and humans live prosper together, but not in the way we would expect.

Ember Hill and Dante Hill, both brother and sister, were born in Talon and raised to one day discover their destiny : work for Talon by being Basilic, Vipers… which are litteraly Killing machines, trained to fight against st.George, their legendary ennemy. Sent to Crescent beach in a host family, they have been trained to stay in their human form to not be uncovered, as well as many more expectations of complete obedience. Ember is a rebel character and her only dream is to fly, so she learns how to surf and makes human friends, even if you’re in human form it isn’t that simple to be sociable. Throughout the story she will become impatient and stubborn with her brother, and will brake the rules, but she doesn’t know that in her friend groupe one of them finds out to be part of st.George and has one mission: to find those hatchlings detected in the area and take them down.  An impossible love story will tangle up the soldier’s plans and Ember will be torn between a peacefull life and the worlds that seperates her and the people she loves.

Macbeth by William Shakespeare

Has the continuation to a victorious battle, the brave Macbeth, subject of king Duncan of Scotland, meets three witches who indicate him as the duke of Glamis, the duke of Cawdor, and future king.  A short time later, Macbeth is informed that king, in return for his courage, makes duke of Cawdor. Macbeth expresses the singular interview in his wife who is going to urge him to murder king to take his place, so realizing the third prediction of three witches. The reign of Macbeth, guided by the fear, the guilt and the misty words of three witches which he questions as for his future, is placed under the sign of the murders and the injustice. Macbeth eventually rises up againts a revolt, and will be murdered

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger

This novel was published in United States on 1951.

He is written to the first person, the main character named Holden Caufield, who tells his three days in New York after having made sent back to college of Pencey. First, he talks of his camarades of college, particulary Ackley et Stradlater, that he does not appreciate ; then he leaves Pencey for go in New York. He does’nt retourns at his home because his relative do not know sound sends back. He passes three days in New York and go to numerous places (bar, hotel, museum…) and he finished to returns at his home for see his sister. Finally, he must be found a new college and work more for have a better future.
Holden Caufield is a character lost and not sur of himeself. He doesn’t like very much things, only the childhood and his family, but he is very charming and moving…. It is necessary to read this novel !

Torn by Cat Clarke.

 

After to be non-fiction author, the British Cat Clarke dedicates himself to literature for young adults. Her novel, Torn was published in 2013 and was a great success in England.

This novel talk about Alice King, 16 years old who leave with her class for a trip to Scotland. She did not expect dream vacation but she would never have imagined the nightmarish twist that will take the events. The girl and her best friend Cass find themselves having to share a cottage with Polly, the asocial, Rae, the bipolar Gothic, and Tara, the queen of plagues, popular, beautiful, and cruel. Tara have a real bad comportment with the girls. She likes nothing better than putting people down. Cass intends to take this week to give to Tara a lesson she will not soon forget. The victims have decided that the time for revenge has come.

The book tells the story « after » the life of Alice and her friends, following the death of Tara. When Alice tells what happenned, it was horrible and intense. The atmosphere was ponderous. The rest of the book is based on it and on her insecurities, doubts and guilt. And of course, love is mingled with this story. Except Alice did not really have the right to love the man that she loves. Cat Clarke has a black humor quite excellent, I found that although we do not know how would end this story. Because for morality, she could not let Alice get away while she played a role in the murder. But at the same time, Alice is not totally guilty. She’s a good girl.

To conclude, Cat Clarke written again a good book who gives goosebumps until the end. We have engaging characters. We feel and understand how guilt for some people, how everyone handles grief as he wishes. Above all, we understand that it is important to bear the consequences of our acts.

Waiting for Godot – Samuel Beckett

Waiting for Godot- Samuel Beckett

Hey everyone!! Today is a special day… (No I am joking.), I’m not going to talk you about a novel but about Theater!! Moreover, it fits to one of the topics we saw in LELE… The Nonsense Drama! You know, it’s a Drama where all the logic and the rules of the languages are not applied….

Waiting for Godot is a play written by Samuel Beckett in 1953 in Paris. Samuel Afficher l'image d'origineBeckett was born in 1906 and died in 1989. It’s the first play of Beckett, who wrote a lot of novels before that. Although Beckett is an Irish man, he wrote this play in French!! He’s one of the most famous Nonsense playwright who give birth to this genre. It was a real success and it’s really well-known at this time. There is only 2 act in this play.

But… What is the story?

It’s the story of 2 characters who are called: Vladimir and Estragon. We know that they are waiting Godot, for a long time already, and they are persuaded that this man will coming. He gave them an Appointment, but we don’t really know when and where… Waiting for Godot, they are talking of a lot of things, of the life, of Godot..

At the middle of the first Act, 2 characters are coming: Pozzo and Lucky, they are pretty strange: Actually, Pozzo is holding Lucky with a rope, and treats him like a horse, because Lucky is holding all the Pozzo’s objects. Pozzo discuss with the 2 main characters and they are talking him that they are waiting Godot.

In the 2nd Act, it’s the next day, and Godot is still missing. A boy said to the main characters that he works for Godot but he don’t know if he going to coming.

Will manage them to find Godot?

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I really liked this play! In fact, I never read a Nonsense play in French and I found it really funny, strange and it wasn’t hard to understand!

At the beginning, I was like: “What? What are they saying? It’s so illogical!”, but I remembered that it was a Nonsense Theater! But, after, we understand better what the main characters are saying (even if there isn’t logic).

We find a lot of elements of Nonsense like neologism (a knouk > a slave), nonsense tautology…

The fact that they are talking of everything and anything, and are changing all the time the subjects of the conversation, make the play really funny and interesting.

For instance: As they are in front of a tree, they decided to hang themselves. They are saying that it’s for spend their time! If Godot is coming they are safe! And as they have no rope, they are talking of another things.

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And during the play, at any moment, when one of the two characters wants to move, the other said : “ we can’t” “We’re waiting for Godot”. And they stay in the same place…

According many people, Godot is a sort of religious character. Indeed, the name Godot is made of God, but there isn’t a really specific explanation at this time… We can suppose that Vladimir and Estragon are waiting a saviour…

It can be really strange at time, and it’s REALLY REALLY different than the others genre like the novel…

Oh, I forgot to say that it’s a really short play to read (I read this in only 2 hours!).

I advise you to read Waiting for Godot!! Have you already read that? 🙂

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Silk- Alessandro Baricco

Hey everyone! How are you? I’m going to speak about a book that we had to read for the French class! It is pretty different from all the books that I presented before, because there is not a lot of humor….

Silk is a novel written by Alessandro Baricco, a young Italian writer, in 1996. The original title is “Seta”. It was a real success in few months and It was a bestseller!Soie is the 3rd novel written by the author.  There was a film adaptation in 2007 by François Girard.

So, I’m going to talk about the book!

The scene takes place in the 19th century in France. It’s the story of Hervé Joncour, a French man, who decided to travel to Japan to buy another silkworms, because his production was contaminated by a disease.. After crossing Russia, he arrived in Japan, he met Hara Kei a Japanese village headman, and his mistress, who gave him many silkworms. After many travels, Herve felt in love with the Hara Kei’s mistress, and began a mysterious relationship with her, although he has already a woman, Helène. And one day, he received a letter which is written is Japanese.. He didn’t know who had written this.. He discovered that it’s the Helene’s letter, and she explain him a lot of things, she knows about the mysterious relationship between Herve and the mistress ( we don’t have her name..).

There is the war in Japan, and Herve can’t return in the country, and he decided to stop his journeys, and tells his experience to the inhabitants of his town.

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It’s a pretty good story, but as I said before, there is not a lot of humor.. It’s a really serious book, with romance. I know that many people don’t like this sort of book, and usually I don’t like it!

It can be sometimes a little bit boring, especially when Herve tells us his travel, it’s always described with the same words.. But there is however suspense and mystery, because we don’t know who had written the letter to Herve, and when he returned to japan, the village wasn’t here, they had moved, all was destroyed by the war in Japan.

The Novel is filled of numerous metaphor, and poetic pictures.. It is really beautiful at times!

Do you know this book ? Have you already read it ?

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The Catcher in the Rye

The Catcher in the Rye by Salinger was published in 1945. It’s a story about Holden a teenager who losted his brother when he was a child. It’s the first book about a teenager.

The story is in first person narrative. Holden tells his story. When he was fired to his colege, again. In this books there are no rally actions. It’s a psychological book? It refered to the interrogations and the feelngs of a teenager. When in your life at fiveteen or sixteen you though you don’t your place in the world. When youre a little depressive and angry at the same time. Holden doesn’t understand the world around him, who are never feel the same emotions ? In this book there are a real reflexion about what think the youth. Holden doesn’t want to be an adult but he can’y stay a child, it’s tyical to teen periode.

I loved this story because the caracter, Holden, is very intersting for me. And the book was original at the time when it was published. It’s a reference of a book about teenagers.

Waiting for Godot

Waiting for Godot is an absurdist play written by Samuel Beckett. The first representation was in 1953 in Paris. This play is qualifies like a tragicomedy in two acts. The original french text was composed in 1949, and it was translate few times later. It’s the Nonsense genre.

In this play there are four charaters. Two main characters are Estragon and Vladimir and during all the play they are waiting for Godot, Meanwhile they meet Pozzo and his slave Lucky, these two characters are very strange. Pozzo is very tirannic, indeed he is very cruel with Lucky, we talk about a deshumanization of Lucky.

The play has no sense because characters are waiting for Godot but public knows that he will never coming and sometimes it’s very funny for example when Estragon and Vladimir do same movements or when Pozzo asks to Lucky if he can think, it’s a screed very funny.

But we feel also sorrow for them because they waiting someone who will never come.. It’s why we can sa that it’s a tragicomedy.

Personnally, I loved this play, it makes me smile and sometimes laugh

 

Bye

The Catcher in the Rye

Hello everybody,

Today I am going talk about a famous novel of XX century. This novel is intitled The Catcher in the Rye. It was written by J.D Salinger and published in 1951. This book was a success.

The novel’s story is about a teenager who is unsure of himself, in fact he tells his story and we can feel that he is not very happy. He tells us his life in his boarding school with his friends, he talks about his dead brother, his parents, his sister.

Holden is a character very charming, personally I like him a lot for his way o thinking and others little things. We feel that Holden feels nostalgie of his childhood wich he is trys to find with his little sister, Phoébé. During all the novel we are charming by the story and the character.

I recommand you, I liked it.

good reading, bye

The Black Cat

Hi everybody ! I am super excited to introduce one of my favourite Gothic author, he is one of the most famous and I am pretty sure that you have already heard his name: Edgar Allan Poe.

I really want to speak about is novel named « Extraordinary Stories » or « Histoires extraordinaires » translate by Charles Baudelaire. Of course why Baudelaire have translaste Edgar’s tales ? It’s because his stories were not popular in his homeland. Poe’s work travelled Atlantic Ocean and Charles Baudelaire translated several Poe’s tales. Unfortunately in 1867 Baudelaire died and his translation was so important that it became THE french transaltion of Edgar Allan Poe’s tales.

Today, I want to talk about the short story called: The Black Cat. It was published in August, 1843 for the first time in The Saturday Evening Post. The unnamed narrator is obsessed by animals from the day he is born. He gets married and had a black cat named Pluto. He loves him during a time but when the character strats drinking things turns for the worst and he did some tortures to his cat and Pluto died. The narrator will be haunted by his crime and gets thrown into the madness. It’ a psychological story oriented by the obsession and the perversity for alcohol.

The Enemy

Hello everybody, the last week I have finished a book that I have discovered at the library: The Enemy by Charlie Higson. This book is an apocalyptic tennager novel went of the 3 September 2009 and it’s the firts of a series who has seven volumes.

The seen takes place in London after a pandemic virus who has turned adults in kinds of aggresive zombies like. We are focus on a group of survivor who took refuge in a desert Waitrose supermarket. Arran is the leader of the group, Achilleus the warrior in helping kids and in figth, Freak and Deke two adventurous best friends who tag every places they go and finally Maxie, the pacemaker. She organizes the life of the kids and makes sure that no one gets left behind.

When a stranger arrives here with a picture of Buckingham Palace and says that there is all the food and safety they need; Waitrose’s children have to take a decision: stay here and risk to be attack by adults or join their forces in an adventure in hopes of finding a place better but who could not be real ?

Peter Pan

Hello,

  Today we talk about: Peter Pan. It is a famous book of James Barrie. The story began with a little girl: Wendy and there brother: John and Michel who went to Neverland accompanied by Peter Pan, the boy who never grows. In this country for children of numerous adventure await our heroes.

  Peter Pan is a tale but we can see in a adult vision. Because Peter is a character really more dark than we believe when were was more young. He is arrogant and he is overbearing see tyrannical with the lost boy. For exemple, the lost boy should not now a world who Peter don’t know,  or often Peter required lot oh thing at the lost boy. Also James Barrie criticized the children who refuses to grow. But he do not the praise of the adult man with a good job or a good family. Fot him, there man are not interresting. The only person than James Barriie compliments is the girl and the woman. He was fascinate by her. And for him, the excellence is the mother. All of the book seems to praise the mother.

Read this book nox was really interresing because I can see a world for chirldren with the recedes.



 


 

 


 

Paths of Glory

Paths of Glory is American anti-war novel created and published by the american Humphrey Cobb in 1935. The story speaks about the case of Souain’caporals. Louis Girard, Lucien Lechat, Louis Lefoulon and Téophile Maupas are condemns of revolts and have been shot for the exemple. This is one of many case on the mutiny during the first world war.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/criterion-production/stills/130057-0b84035d0fbefb2bcfef95fbcd65b194/Film_538w_PathsGlory_original.jpg

First, We need to talk about the context. The big war starts on july, the 28th 1914 in Europe. After 1915, the war continues mainly in France between two power nations, France and Germany. The war is very awful with so many deaths on the field. At the beginning of the 1915’year, many cases of mutiny are seen. The most famous is the case of Souain’s caporals.

Humphrey Cobb critics here, the stupidity of the war and soldiers unfairly killed by their nation without any reasons. I’ve never seen the best-seller not yet but I like the authors’involvement specially here. I think it’s very important to show us the dark side of what the French army did during the first world war. And not just our country but all the countries. That’s one of a reason because why I love this book…

The other reason is the film director Stanley Kubrick. In 1957, he adapted the novel with the same name. The story slightly different is still touching. Finally, we must never forget what these men made for their country.

A Farewell to Arms, Hemingway

Hello everyone!

This time, I would like to make you aware of one of the most touching books I have read lately. As the last line of the 1929 New York Times said, it is truly « a moving and beautiful book« , which is definitely going to stay in your mind for a while…

The title of this novel is actually from a poem by George Peel to Queen Elizabeth. It tells the story of a knight who gets old and has to retire from the battlefield. The strengh of his youth went away, as well as his once-gold hair that turned grey. However, he still loves and respects the Queen and has to leave her court. Instead of writing poems about love, he composes then prayers that he will say down on his knees.

This novel by Ernest Hemingway is mostly set during the Italian Campaign of the First World War. Published for the first time in 1929, Hemingway’s story is told from his main character’s viewpoint: an expatriate American serving in the ambulance corpse of the Italian Army, called Frederic Henry. We follow his meeting, then intense relationship and finally tragic love story with a british Nurse, Catherine Barkley. During these 41 so well-written chapters, we understand perfectly their special relationship, that becomes even more touching, and their constantly rising feelings and devotion to each other.

movie

This title has a double meaning, since it means both a farewell to love, arms being part of the body and a symbol of contacts and warmth but also a farewell to war, because the word « arms » can also refer to weapons. War is also another major theme of the novel, since it is the background of the story. Frederic even aims at living with Catherine and found a way to escape the war, far from any conflict that makes him unable to live freely with the one he loves. However, this is not a pacifist novel, since Hemingway doesn’t condamn war. On the other way round, war is described as nonsensical events that are bound to happen. This unavoidable brutality contrasts with his view of a hurtable and vulnerable love. This story is moving to me because even if it’s a dark story, it depicts love accurately as something subtle and not obvious, but strong enough to make someone willing to change his whole life and desert, maybe stop wars?

This story is partly based on Hemingway’s own experiences: he served in the Italian campains during the World War I and was inspirred by a real nurse called Agnes von Kurowsky who care for him in a Milan’s hospital. What a coincidence! A Farewell to Arms resonated in this era’s society and it lives on as a major english-written work. Some references were made, by example: Stanley Kubrick thought about giving the title A Farewell to Earth to his film 2001:A Space Odyssey. Many adaptations were realised after this brilliant novel was published, and I didn’t watch any of them yet. But I will, for sure!

Have you ever heard of it?2

The Arab of the Future

Hi everybody!

Today i’m going to tell us about an autobiographical series of comic who tells the unforgettable story of Riad Sattouf’s childhood. Born in 1978 of a Syrian father and a Breton mother, Riad Sattouf grows up  at first in Tripoli, in Libya, where his father was named a professor. We follows him in his life of little blond boy in Syria with his child’s perspective.

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This comic is very humorous in whom we take pleasure to look at the world through the eyes of small Riad!

Madoc by Robert Southey

Hello evrybody,

I’ll talk to you about a forgotten poem (or almost).

Foremost, who is Robert Southey ?

Robert Southey (1774-1843) is the indefatigable writer of literary period to which it belongs. Besides a large number of small pieces, he composed a series of epic poems today strong forgotten, but that earned him the office of poet laureate.

Then, from what speaks this poem?

Madoc is an 1805 epic poem composed by Robert Southey. It is based on the legend of Madoc, a supposed Welsh prince. Southey finally completed the poem as a whole in 1799, at the age of 25. It was finally published in two volumes in 1805 by the London publisher Longman with extensive footnotes.                                                                                         The story tells about  Madoc, a young Welsh nobleman, whose family breaks down into a series of bloody disputes over royal succession. Madoc, unwilling to participate in the struggle, decides to journey to America to start a new life. When he arrived in America, he met many Aztecs and decides to convert them to Christianity. Then he come back into his country to find more recruits for his new colony. But when he come back in America Madoc returns to find that the Aztecs have returned to their human sacrifices. After long and bloody warfare, Madoc is able to defeat the Aztecs and exile them. (yey! ^^’)

I hope that this lil explaination has interested you to read other Southey’s works !

See you soon !!

The Horse Boy

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A HORSE BOY – RUPERT ISAACSON (2009)

RUPERT ISAACSON

Rupert Isaacson is an equitherapist, a writter, a film-producer and a journalist. He was born in 1967 in London, England. He divided his time between the United-Kingdom, the United-States and Africa, his continent of adoption. He was a journalist, who worked for many newspapers such as The Daily Mail, The Daily Telegraph (…) and also the National Geographic in America. He fought alongside Survival International for the recognition and the rights of South-African Aborigal. He also created a foundation for the right to land of this population, and published in 2008 a book entitled The Healing Land : The Bushmen and The Kalahari Desert.

THE BOOK

The Horse Boy is a book written by Rupert Isaacson and published in 2009. It is an autobiographical novel that traces the story of the author mainly during his journey in Mongolia with his wife to help his 5-years-old-autistic son, Rowan to open up to the world surronding him. Rowan was diagnosticated autistic when he was 2. As the result of this diagnostic, his parents, Rupert and Kristin understood the unusual course of action of their son. They didn’t know how to behave with him, until they discovered that Rowan was improving in contact with animals, especially with horses. Each time that he was riding a horse, he made progress. For instance, a crazy idea crossed Rupert’s mind : he wished to leave Texas to organize a trip in Mongolia, travelling across the country on horseback, looking for Shaman and healers. He also choose this country because of the equine history.

THE MOVIE

A film crew followed Rupert and his family in Mongolia, for making a documentary about this crazy excursion to « heal » an autistic boy. It was directed by Michel Orion Scott and Rupert Isaacson. The documentary retraces the life and the evolution of Rowan during his path halfway around the world. It was also released in 2009.

Here is the trailer :

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYkT_GndKtE[/youtube]

This work allowed me to learn more about autism, the « specific » behaviour of autistic people… Unfortunately, an autistic person will always live with autism. This disease can get better over time : we have to stimulate an autist by many ways. Thanks to the determination of his parents, Rowan has evolved, but that is not finished : he will continue again and again. He got rid of some habits such as violent temper tantrum. Now he can flourish within his family.

Thanks to this novel, it enabled me to understand the animal behaviour and particularly about the horses in contact with people and autistic persons. I also learn about shamanism, and open myself to this spiritual world. It was really interesting to see how the healers were proceeding during a ritual. And now, I really want to travel in Mongolia, to see the steppe as far as the eye can see and magnificent landscapes ! Besides, Mongolian really seem to be welcoming and friendly…
To conclude, I just have to say that I look up to the determination and the courage of this parents, to go as far to help their son and I think they have to be proud of them, because what they have done it is almost inbelievable.

THE ALCHEMIST – PAULO COELHO

For my last article I want to talk about my favorite book ever which is The Alchemist. Paulo Coelho, a Brazilian author wrote many books that are all bestsellers. Nevertheless, it is this masterpiece, The Alchemist, which made him famous. Indeed, it has been translated into more than 73 languages and more than 135 millions copies have been sold in 168 countries.

Anyway, The Alchemist deals about an Andalousian young shepherd who is seeking a treasure near the Egyptian Pyramids. He wants to go there because he had a dream, twice, but he doesn’t know how to reach it. One day, he met an old man on his way, called the Alchemist. He becomes his mentor, his spiritual father. Over time, the young boy named Santiago learns to listen to his heart, to be sensitive to nature, and above all, to follow his dream. Indeed, this book is all about that : reaching one’s dream, trying every possible way to make it come true. This bildungromans teaches us that if one wants to be happy in his life, one must not be afraid of failure, and just keep going. The author calls this our “Personal Legend”. On top of that, there is a quote that Paulo Coelho cannot help saying, which sums up his theory:
“when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it”

Well, I am a huge fan of Paulo Coelho, and I have (and still do) loved this book because it is a real life lesson, we learn more about ourselves and it is full of poetry and philosophy. I advice you to take a look at this book, it is easy to read, not really long, and you have to know that it changes a man to read Paulo Coelho!
To finish, this book is in my top 3 of Paulo Coelho’s books, with Eleven minutes and By the river Piedra I sat down and wept.

BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S

Today I’m going to talk about a contemporary classic book, which is Breakfast at Tiffany’s. This is a novella published in 1958 by Truman Capote. You may know what I’m talking about, because you have already seen the movie with the gorgeous and fabulous Audrey Hepburn, but this is not the topic. Breakfast at Tiffany’s deals about a young writer and a barman. One day, they discover a picture and recognize an old friend : Holly Golightly. The story is narrated from the point of view of the writer. He describes his life when he lived in the same apartment than Holly.

Holly is a worldly, fascinating, beautiful, slender women. She lives in Manhattan with her cat, called “cat”. She has a completely disorganized life, composed of love affair and drugs : above that, she secretly dreams about a luxurious life. The writer, who is also her neighbor, is fascinated by her and very caring. As regards Holly, the writer reminds her of her brother : so their relation is a little bit awkward.

The novel is called this way because Tiffany is a jewelry shop, Holly enjoys going there given that « you know that nothing wrong can happen when you are at Tiffany’s ».

In a word, this is a book easy and fast to read, in an ironic writing style. Besides, Holly’s character is very interesting because it embodies an independent woman. Moreover, Truman Capote mentions here a subject very interesting between liberty and possession.

A Feeling Stronger Than Fear by Marc Levy

Today, I will talk about a great French book written by an awesome author that every reader has to know or must have heard about at least one time in their life : Marc Levy. This book is called “A Feeling Stronger Than Fear” (or, in French : “Un Sentiment Plus Fort Que La Peur”). Actually, this is the first time that I read a book from this author so I couldn’t tell you about the author’s style of writing or if this book is better than his previous others… You understand that I am not a Levy-fanboy-addict or an-absolute-reader-from-the-first-release but just a guy who wants to try something new, interesting and entertaining and who hopes to travel and go out far away while reading and staying in the same room. Yeah, making dream the reader sounds like the ultimate challenge for a writer or a story-teller. So, what ? Did I travel far away with this book ? Did I forget all about what surround me and let just the power of the story bring me to some dangerous places with attractive but stereotypical characters and serious things like secrets and conspiracies ? The answer is yes. Levy’s got me.

The story is about a woman, Suzie Baker. At the beginning of the novel, she finds, in an old plane left amongst the Mont Blanc Mountains, the document that can clear her family’s name and bring justice in the trial. But, this document is also hazardous because it awakens the American Secret Services (if not, it won’t be funny ;)). So, Suzie leads an investigation with the help of Andrew Stillman, a reporter at the “New York Times”, in order to save his life and to discover the truth about what can be one of the most kept secrets of our time. Throughout the story, these characters will have to avoid traps, manipulations and persecutions… They’re definitely alone, they can’t trust anyone and just have to count on themselves.

I took a lot of pleasure to read this book, there is so much suspense until the end and the fall is incredible and smart. Marc Levy succeeded in making something absolutely breathtaking and I can’t help to recommend this book ! This is a “must-have” and I promise that you won’t lose your money and your time 😉

White Fang

Hullo everybody !

Today I’ve decided to speak about a book I read a long time ago after founding it in an old wardrobe. I guess it was my father’s !

So because you read the title, you must now that I’m going to speak about Jack London’s White Fang, another famous wolfdog. Yeah I really enjoy this kind of story, especially when I was younger and crazy about animals (I’m still but less !)

Then I tkink that almost everybody knows the story. Anyways we follow the adventures of White Fang, a wolfdog who was at the beginning wild. Indeed that was the beginning of his wolf’s life with the famous law of the nature : « eat or be eaten« .
After being take in by an Indien he will experience later the cruelty and madness of humans.

Now I don’t really remember all the details of the story and so, however I remember myself crying at some parts of the book, because that’s a really touching and well-written story. What’s great with Jack London’s book is that you can believe in the story, because you’ve the impression that it has really happened in real life. After saying or writing all these things, I only want to read it again to have a new and fresher opinion ’bout it !

Yeah, so I don’t have much to say right now, but what’s sure is that it’s a must-reading book no matter what, with an amazing, funny, sad and deeply realistic story ! 😉

Soul Eater

Hi there !

Today I’d like to speak about something I have discovered during the vacation. Yep I read a new manga. I mean new for me x’) Because it’s already finished since 2013.

In a nutshell, Soul Eater is shônen manga (so it means adventure, frienship, fights…) written and drawn by Atsushi ?kubo where the main characters are Maka Albarn and Soul Eater (that’s a nickname as you can guess !).

To be honest I first saw the animated version (which is not the same than the manga up to a certain point) and I thought it could be boring or irritating : but it was just because they were introducing the characters.
So when the story really started I discovered a really new insane but amazing world. We can easily compare Atsushi ?kubo’s drawing style and universe to Tim Burton ! Knowing I’m a huge fan of this guy as a lot of people, it was really a great and pleasant discovery !
This story is set in the town of Death City, and the first time I saw it I was like « Oh it souds like Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas » ! and I had stars in the eyes !

Well, now here is a little sum-up of the story of the madly amazing Soul Eater manga. So in Death City, you have a school (everything seems normal until here, doesn’t it ?) named Shibusen… Or Death Weapon Meister Academy (DWMA shortly) for the english version.

Here you have two types of students : meisters and weapons. Weapons are humans who can turn into a weapon and meisters control them. Together, as a team, they must collect 99 bad guy’s souls and a witch’s soul to allow the weapon to become a Death Scythe (a stronger weapon to fight against the evil forces !).
That’s just what they are supposed to do because of course the story isn’t only about that.
Because of the numerous characters we have different stories since they have different goals… We have a lot of funny moments, but also amazingly well-drawn fight scene, and the fear of becoming insane… Insanity plays a major role in this world because Shibusen’s students fight to prevent their world from the return of the Kishin, a demon that spread this insanity.

Finally I have to say that Soul Eater is a worth-reading manga if you love laughing, seeing crazy, amazing and unbelievable events.

Moreover nowadays, if you know where to look you can find what we call “scans” so it means that you can read chapters online for free… (It’s like streaming so you guess that it’s not really law-abiding… But times are though !)

Well there are so many good things to say that I can only advise you to read this manga if you like it after trying !

Bye people and remember that « a sound soul dwells within a sound mind and a sound body » ! 😉

The Frozen dead, Bernard Minier

This time, I have chosen to talks about a book written by a French author: Bernard Minier. This novel is entitled The Frozen Dead (the original title is Glacé but it was translated into English.) and it’s a crime novel. The scene is set on the Pyrenees (throughout the story there are precise descriptions because the author was born in Pyrenees). One day, workers found a headless horse on their workplace (a hydropower plant). Normally it doesn’t need a police investigation but this worse (and this plant) belonged to a very rich and famous person so the police supposed that it was to openly attack this person. Then there are two murders, all of these crimes are linked but how? The police commandant named Servaz has to solve this strange case …

The first thing which attracted me was the front cover. Indeed it perfectly represents the title, thanks to the snowflakes. Moreover the blurb was mysterious and attractive. Honestly, it was a pleasant novel and there was a lot of suspense but I personally found the murderer before the final revelation. However, throughout the story there are many false tracks so the reader has a lot of suspects and is not able to find the murderer before the middle of the book. All of the characters have hidden secrets and we found out these secrets little by little: it adds suspense and excitation.

you have already heard about this novel? Or read it?

Into that forest, Louis Nowra

Hello everyone! This time I would like to share with you a novel written by an Australian author whose name is Louis Nowra. This novel was published in 2012 and it is entitled « Into that forest ». The story is set in Australia -more precisely in Tasmania- and it talks about two young girls, Hannah & Becky. They were having a picnic near a river with Hannah’s parents when suddenly a tropical storm went off. They all fell in the river and a tiger saved Hannah and Becky’s lives but adults drowned. Consequently, the girls found themselves alone in the bush. They have to follow the tiger if they want to survive. And there, begins a moving story between the two humans and the tiger. Little by little, Becky and Hannah forget how to speak, how to walk with their two legs …. All those make them “humans”.
At the end of the story Hannah and Becky return to their home but they have been living like animals for a long time so they can’t go back easily to the civilisation. They don’t manage to speak once again, to learn how to write once again … and they don’t really want to.

I loved the storyline but not really the writing. Indeed the writing is very simple and child’s play but it is justified. At the beginning the narrator –Hannah- says that she find it difficult to speak or to write because she has lived apart from the society for many years. So that’s normal if she don’t really express herself very well. It’s a short novel; you can read it quickly so I advise you to read this book!(If you want to read this novel the french title is « Les enfants sauvages »).

This book loves you, by Pewdiepie ( Felix Kjellberg )

« Life is like a box of chocolates : YOU DON’T HAVE EITHER ! »

This quotes if from the most incredible book ever called « This book loves you ». As it written on the back cover :

 « This book is cleverer and better looking than you. This book will blow your mind.

This book loves you »

It was written by Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellberg, better know under the name of Pewdiepie. First, Pewdiepie is a very famous Swedish comedian and producer, best know for his let’s play and vlogs on Youtube. His favorite games are the horror and independant games. A lot of people translate his videos, because he’s got presently 41 000 000 subscribers, and people all around the world want to see and understand his videos.

This book doesn’t have a real story, just a lot of very funny quotes, that you can read when you have nothing to do, and if you want to have a good time. It’s really unlogical and in the absolute, completely stupid. If you have the wonderful opportunity to read this book, do it, worth it. You’ll see a lot of references to ducks. You must know Pewdiepie to understand his folly. Pewdiepie makes jokes on ducks because he loves it, and also on his dogs, Edgar and Maya, and on his girlfriend, Marzia.

It was published in October 2015, and was very popular right out of bookshops. His inspiration was only his fan whom he called  » Bros « , and because one day, he read on Twitter a fan’s message. This fan was the one who give him the idea to creat a book. Stupid how is he , he did it ! ( #BestIdeaEver ). With this book, he wanted to laugh on all the quotes that could exist and want to be a symbolic exemple.

At the beginning of the book, he make a very long introduction, where he stands above the rest. He self-proclaimed God,and called him the Lord Pewdiepie. After, he explains the drafting reason of what he called :  » Pewdiepie’s Bible « . He also talks about all the quotes he read on Internet, and that he doesn’t understand their utility.

This is what Pewdiepie said about his book :

 » This Book Loves You has something for everyone – or at least everyone willing to give up and stop caring. If all else fails, remember: ‘Don’t be yourself. Be a pizza. Everyone loves pizza.’PewDiePie was sent to planet Earth to dispense wisdom, teach us common sense and instruct us in the ancient art of Inspirology. »

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqCvyvXc-U4[/youtube]

« The most important thing in life is this book »

Am stram gram, M.J. Arlidge

Last summer I read a detective novel entitled Am stram gram, written by M.J. Arlidge. This thriller with a lot of suspense follows the life of Helen Grace, a commander who tries to solve a very worrying investigation.

Two people are kidnapped and confined illegally in a place from where they can’t escape. All there is with them is a gun and a message : « You must kill to live ». From that moment they are trapped, they have a choice to make, murder the other person or be murdered. These crimes reoccur again and again, letting the agents perplexed because the victims don’t seem to have a link between each other.

I wouldn’t particularly recommend this book because, even if it’s catchy and I read it very fast, I was a little disappointed about some aspects of this book. I personnally think that the chapters are too shorts, it barely satisfied me. Moreover I think the end was hard, indeed it gives no respite to the reader and it could have been exploited more.

I still enjoyed reading it thanks to the very tense and suspenful moments !

Wonder, R.J. Palacio

Wonder is a novel written by the american writer R.J. Palacio, published in 2012. The protagonist, August, is ten years old, live in New York but he has never been to school because he doesn’t look like kids his age. For the first time, his parents send him to school.

August has a rare facial deformity called the Treacher Collins syndrome and to undergo operations, he must be home-schooled by his mother. His life will change from the moment he goes to school and is confronted to children who have never seen someone with his desease. We follow his life through several characters’ narration like his sister or his friends. In school his integration is difficult, he has a few friends and also ennemies which generates a peaceful moral war between them the whole year.

I read this book three years ago because I saw it all over magazines and it made me curious. Once I had the book in my hands, I read it very quickly because I loved it. I think the story is very realistic and touching, I loved the fact that we could see the story from different characters’ point of view. I personnally think that everyone can read it, no matter the age but to me it is particularly efficient when young people read it because it learns not to judge someone by his appearance. I recommend it to everyone.

Drive (Book and movie)

Drive Novel/film

http://images.moviepostershop.com/drive-movie-poster-2011-1020712869.jpg

Hey everyone, today i’m going to talk about the black novel Drive written by the american James Sallis and published in 2005. This is the story of a stuntman specialized on the automobile cars in Pheonix, Arizona. He has no name, to make more money, he works the night as driver for any sorts of flights. One day, falling in a trap, his only friend is killed. After this tragedy, the only thing that he wants is the veangeance.

I like very much this novel, with a suspenseful story, this novel is very intense with his big moment of tension. The character of the driver is very surprising not like many anti-hero.

Now, we are going to talk about the movie. Directed by Nicholas Widing Refn and released in 2011. The driver character is played by Ryan Gosling (Numbers 2002) starring Carey Mulligan (The Great Gatsby 2013) and Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad 2008). The story is exactly the same than the novel. The driver is an interesting character, Both complex and charming, he is never afraid by the world who surrounding him. Winding Refn won the best director movie for the film. Moreover at the 2011 Cannes film festival, Drive received a standing ovation, so I highly recommend to you.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TEG-j1O3hc[/youtube]

For the anecdote Have you ever heard the song « Nightcall » ? Create by the french electronic compositor Kavinsky. the music was exclusively create for the film.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MV_3Dpw-BRY[/youtube]

CHERUB, Robert Muchamore

CHERUB is the generic title of a series of children’s books written by Robert Muchamore. It tells the adventures of agents of a fictitious UK agency, composed only of minor agents from 10 to 17 years old. After the success of the original series of twelve volumes where the main character is James, the sequel ( three tomes ) tells this time Ryan’s adventures, which « succeeds » James. Robert Muchamore has also written a series of books called Henderson’s Boys, which tells the beginnings of Cherub and its founder Charles Henderson during the Second World War.

We can see several meanings about the CHERUB acronym:

  • CHERUB is the name of that agency, being the acronym of Charles Henderson’s Espionage Research Unit B1.
  • CHERUB also means « angel » or « cherub » in English, which is related to the logo of the organization.
  • And of course this is related to the fact that all the selected agents are children.

The CHERUB agents are recruited in all orphanages in the country for most of them for simple reasons: it’s necessary that agents have no connection with the outside world, and that no one has to leverage on them or the agency. The criteria are based on physical and intellectual abilities. The future agents can be received at any age, but are often recruited at the age of seven. From this age, they receive an education of the highest level: in addition to the subjects taught in regular schools, they learn two foreign languages ??(one using a foreign alphabet). They are also subjected to intensive physical workouts and are all specialists in martial arts. The purpose of CHERUB is to use juvenile criminals do not have the same mistrust that deal with adults. This branch of the British secret service was created because no one would imagine that such an organization exists.

Within this organization, there is since 1957 a special hierarchy among agents, thetis is visually perceptible : the T-shirts colors they wear indicate their rank.

What a life ! What child has not dreamed of becoming a secret agent when he is an adult ? And there it’s possible to become one as young as 10 years ! The story is full of twists , action , adventure and humor. It is amazing to find secret agents so young and yet the recipe works. We quickly become attached to the characters.

It’s fun to see the reactions of teenagers facing adult situations. And although their condition of secret agents seems to grow faster, they are teenagers after all.

 » Graal » by Christian De Montella

Hello,
Today I’m going to speak about a trilogy entitled  » Graal  »written by Christian De Montella.
It’s belong to fantasy novel.

So the strory talks about Merlin (son of devil) and his fight against good and bad when he was young and it’s speak also about every event and adventure before king arthur birth and the round table. In this book we can face with the famous Morgan, Lancelot ect….
It show the beginning of the quest of Graal with every characters’ difficulties.
This novel allows us to travel through legends of king arthur but also to travel in a new world and delve into the adventures of Merlin.
There is a lot of suspens in this book we are always trying to know what are going to happend next and when we strated the trilogy we feel like obliged to continue.

I like this trilogy because when I read it it’s like I retourned in the past and see everythings that happend it’s very amazing and I like this feeling.
I recommend this book for everybody who like this type of book and also for people who like King Arthur’s legends because it’s very interresting.

Er ist wieder da (He came back) – Timur Vermes

Er ist wieder da is a german novel written by Timur Vermes and released in 2011. The english translation could be He came back.

It is a fictional story in which Hitler, the german despot, wake up sixty-six years after his death. Actually, it is pretty comic since there are many anachronisms especially in the beginning when the Fürher doesn’t realise what happened. For instance, he woke up in a waste ground and got angry when two kids (that he just met) didn’t do the nazi salvation. Moreover he even thinks that the website « Wikipedia » comes from the word « Wikinger » which means viking. And althought everybody recognize him, they think  that he is an actor who was chosen to play Hitler in a movie, some of them even ask what is the name of this movie.  All along the book, he faced numerous situations which will make him understand what happened.Even if Germany has changed (the country no longer shines on the Europe, country which is ruled by a woman), Hitler is dertermined to put back Germany in the straight way (where nazism and antisemitism are the main ideas). Helped by a television team, he will tried to reconquer the country which used to be his. But will he succeed? There is only one way to know : by reading the book.

In addition, the book has been sold £19.33 in reference to the year when Hitler came to power.

The book was, and still is, a success since 1,4 million copies were sold in Germany in 2014. Also, the book has been translated in 17 different languages in 2013.

I advice you this novel. I really enjoyed to read it, being a huge history fan (particularely of the totalitarian regimes) I was so pleased to find this book. It is both funny and interresting. If you don’t like (or want) to read, you can also watch the movie of the same name, released in 2015.

« No Time For Goodbye » – Linwood Barclay

Today, I’m going to speak about the novel, PUBLISHED in 2007 by Linwood Barclay an american writer, « No time for goodbye » translated in french by « Cette nuit-là ».

It’s a great plotter novel, with lot of suspens and strange events.

The story speaks about a young teenager, Cynthia. She is very rebel and wants to live her own life, like an adult.

So, one day, she aims to run away to go with her friends during the night. But, when she comes back at home, the house is totaly desolate.

No one is here. Her father, her mother and her brother were disappeared. She will never know the true and what happened.

25 years later, in her home, she gets a phone call, and the past reoccurs and brings back old memories.

I love this book because at the end, there is a great revelation and I love it ! It’s very captivating !

The Fault In Our Stars – John Green

I’m going to speak about one of my favourite book which is The fault in our stars by John Green. This novel was PUBLISHED in 2012 and was also adapted in film.

In this book, we meet two teenagers, Hazel Grace and Augustus Waters, who are suffering from the cancer. They meet while they are in the same group of supports for the sick of the cancer and they become fast close with a lot of complicity. Hazel and Augustus like so much the same writer and they decided to go to Amsterdam to meet him. While this travel, they live their most beautiful love story, full of love, magic, laugh and power faced with the disease… But this magic fairy tale end when we hear that Augustus can’t survive for a very long time, and will die a few days late…

I think it is the saddest and the harrowing book I have ever read. In this book, we realize that the life can stop at any time and that it is very important to enjoy because one thing can detroy everything.

To finish, I would like to conclude with this quote, about the cigarette, which is in the book and that I find very revealing : “It’s a metaphor, see: You put the killing thing right between your teeth, but you don’t give it the power to do its killing.”

The Fault In Our Stars

The fault in our stars is a novel written by John Green, it was published in 2012. This novel was an international successful, it was in the head of the New York Times Best Seller list while seven weeks.

It’s a tragic story because two teenagers are affected by the cancer.

They loves a same novel so they going to Amsterdam to meet the writer, while the travel, they fall in love.

But at the end, the young man dies.

Man into Woman

Man into Woman is an autobiography written by Lili Elbe and published in 1933. This novel talk about the transformation of Einar Wegener into Lili Elbe, one of the first transgender. Einar Wegener was a famous painter born on the 28th december 1882, he was married to Gerda Gottlieb who was also a successful painter whose her paintings shows mainly a woman : Lili Elbe, and during the exhibitions this one was introduced by her wife as Einar Wegener’s sister.

Wegener always knew that there was a woman inside of him. One day, his wife asked him to pose for her instead of Anna larsen, a friend of the couple who couldn’t come, and when he dressed as a woman, he felt that something changed. He felt more confortable, more confident. Later, Anna arrived and when she saw Einar as a woman she called him Lili. From there, Lili was born.

This autobiography inspired an other novelist named David Ebershoff, who wrote a novel based on the life of Lili Elbe, entitled The danish girl, published in 2000 and whose this novel was the subject of a film adaptation entitled The danish girl too. The movie is released in 2015 and directed by Tom Hooper.
I choose to talk about this book because the life of Lili Elbe touched me. I think that she was a very strong woman for that time.
It is hard for most people to assume who they really are. It is as if we always wear a mask with the other people, just for being accepted. But sometimes we can see that there is some people who dare being themself even if they are judge by the others, just like Lili. I know that this is rather a taboo subject but i found that this is an unbelievable and beautiful story. 

Endgame, Samuel BECKETT

Samuel BECKETT show, in his plays, the misery of the humans conditions by the theatre of the absurd like waiting for Godot written in 1954, Endgame in 1957 and Happy Days in 1961 for example.

His plays show the absurd of the humans conditions.

As Ionesco, he uses tragic and comic. The characters use of meaningless words that give illusion of the dialogue.

In Endgame, Hamm is in blinded and paralysed, waiting his drug, he tells him story alone and tyrannize Clov, his adopted son, and his old parents, Nagg and Nell. This four characters live in grey house, without furnitures, and are maybe, the last survivors of an humanity destroy. The plays is a long conversation, pace by a silences and a repetitions.

I love this story because I find it very funny with the absurd characters.

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Every Day

Every day a different body. Every day a different life. Every day in love with the same girl : Rihannon.

Every day, A wakes in a different person’s body and also in a different person’s life. He has no sex, he can be a male or a female, there is never any warning about where it will be or who it will be. He can be a drug-addict girl or a well-born young man. A has made peace with that, but he established some guidelines by which to live:

  • Never get too attached

  • Avoid being noticed

  • Don’t interfere

Everything was fine until the morning when A woke up in the body of a teenager named Justin and met his girlfriend : Rhiannon. For that moment, the rules established by A were not longer apply. Because, after this meet, he knew he had found someone to be with day after day. He had just one thing on his mind, find Rhiannon everywhere she can be, admit his love for her and show who or what he is really.

David Levithan is the author of this book that went of in 2012, it’s a youg-adult and supernatural fiction.

It’s my favourite novel about love or knowlegde about the world which surround us. David Levithan has written a beautiful novel and a captivating story that fascinated me. He succeded in helping to understand the complexities of life and love in A’s world, this is a really touching love story. Usually, I hate love stories, but when I read it I have felt a strange effect that helps me to change in my way of thinking love and felt it. It’s a novel full of hope that really good explains the feelings that we feel in the adolescence. I advise you to read it strongly.

A Christmas Carol

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A Christmas Carol is an american movie in 3D released in 2009, realized by Robert Zemeckis & produced by Walt Disney Pictures.
It’s one of the numerous adaptation of A Christmas Carol, a english novela wrote by Charles Dickens in 1843. The history takes place during the Christmas season, the main character is an old man very stingy and misanthrope named Ebenezer Scrooge, who at the beginning of the movie, is an unsympathetic character. Scrooge is the opposite of generosity, he doesn’t know charity, has a heart of stone, and most of all: he HATE Christmas!
To make him aware of his behavior, three ghosts come to visit him during Christmas Eve: the Ghost of Christmas Past, the Ghost of Christmas Present, and the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. The third Spirit take Scrooge to a gloomy walk to Bob Cratchit’s house (the underpaid clerk of Scrooge, and the symbol of the poor working conditions and especially long working hours. ) where the family cry the little Tiny who just died because the family was too poor. Scrooge realize that the child is dead because of him, but then, the Spirit leads him to a cemetery where he discovered his own grave with, written in large black letters, the name « EBENEZER SCROOGE« .

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Scrooge weeps over his own grave, beg the spirit for a chance to change his ways, before Christmas morning. At the end, the old man wakes up on Christmas morning, he changed his behavior and becamed a model of generosity and kindness.

I really love this novela, because it can be creepy & wonderful at the same time, and the moral is just beautiful.

Coraline

Coraline is a dark novel of Neil Gaiman published in 2002, and nominated the best novel for Young readers in 2003.

Coraline is a little girl, who has just moved in a new house with her parents, Mel Jones and Charlie Jones. The house is quite sinister, they are in the countryside. Her parents never have time to look after her so she decides to explore the house while they are working. She discovers the « crazy man upstairs », M.Bobo who is slightly mad, he wants to show at Coraline his mouse circus. There are two other neighbours who are retired from a dance and acting career. In the film they are friendly and offers her tea and biscuits. During the visit, she discovers a door at the end of a corridor, blocked out with bricks. One night, she heard like mouse singing in the corridor, so she decides to go and see. They lead her in the corridor and just in front of the door, but that time it wasn’t blocked. She continues into a black and dusty tunnel until she finds herself into her living room, although she did’nt turn back. Coraline is intruigued and goes in the kitchen, she finds her mother. The only problem is that she had buttons instead of eyes ! At first she isn’t scared and Coraline considers her as her « second mother » who cooks and is always there for her. Her « second dad » is in his office, but instead of working plays franticlly on the piano and many instruments, Coraline is having fun in her new home. This other world is magic, the dolls and toys play with the girl and she finds a cat, who will help her in the story. Coraline will slowly live a nightmare in this parralel world, her second mother is actually a possesive monster and will want to sew the girl’s eyes with buttons. Not wanting that treatement, she is sent into a locked cell with three ghost children.  Coraline will make a deal with her second mother : she has elements (marbles) to collect scatterded around the house and if she finds them all, she will be released. Will her mother stay trustfull? Through this odd and imaginative world, Coraline will learn that having everything you want isn’t as important than having the people you really love.

Johnny Got His Gun

 

Dalton Trumbo is an american writer, a screenwriter and a director. He wrote Johnny Got His Gun is a novel in 1939 and he made the film in 1971. This novel is the anti-militarist literature. It probably the violent, the most gross of denunciations of war.

Joe Bonham is a young american, who decided to join the army during Worl War I. During, a mission he was injured a serious injure by bombshell and he lost his eyes, his ears, his mouth, his nose and he was amputated , he lost his two arms and two legs. After that, he lied in a bed of hospital and He remained conscious and abled to think, thereby reliving his life through strange dreams and memories, unabled to distinguish whether he was awake or dreaming. But he found a way for communicated with other people, and he tried to guess the world who round him by the alone possibility : the sensibility of his skin .

I discovered this book because we chose it with my group in TPE. I think that is a good book in the First World war. I don’t real like the theme about war, because it is always horrible and sad . And this book is horrible and sad but I know just point of view of french people but I don’t know about german people or american people or other. But I don’t read this book again but we must know it.

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The Hobbit

The Hobbit is a novel written by J.R.R Tolkien and published in 1937. John Ronald Reuel Tolkien is british writer but too a poet, philologist and an university professor. He lived in 20 century and he knew the First World war. The Hobbit is a fantasy and book for children. It deals with about a hobbit, his name is Bilbo Baggins and his great adventure with thirteen dwarves and the wizard Gandalf. The Hobbit has been adapt in cinema with three film : An Unexpected Journey (2012), The Desolation of Smaug (2013), and The Battle of the Five Armies (2014) but it has been adapt in video game.

 

The story tells about Bilbo Baggins, it’s a hobbit. A Hobbit is a small creature with big feet and it live in a hole. One day, The wizard Gandalf comes to Bilbo’s hole (house) and he suggests him to go for an adventure . At the beginning, Bilbo doesn’t want to go. He refuses. The next day, before teatime , thirteen dwarves come to his house with the wizard Gandalf . The head of this compagny is Thorin Oakenshield . The adventure is to reclaim the dwarves’s treasure and the Lonely Mountain from the dragon Smaug. At the beginning Bilbo Baggins refused but finaly he accepted. And began the adventure of Bilbo Baggins where he will meet many people and creatures .

 

I choose this book, because my family offered me it. And I see three film about The Hobbit and I love them, so I would like try to read the book. And I live the imaginary world with wizard, dwarves, elves, orcs and other fantasy creatures like dragon and this book is funny ! 

 

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Brave New World

Hello everybody,

Today I am going to talk about a famous english dystopian si-fi novel, Brave new world wich was written by Aldous Huxley. It was published in 1932. The novel’s title results from a William’s Shakespeare but it’s also results from Candide wich was written by Voltaire in XVIII century.

This story is about society where mans are create in laboratory because the author make disappear the sexual reproduction and love in his society. In this novel we produce embryos adjusted by our caste. There are differents caste, in fact there are uppers caste wich are Alpha and Beta and there are lowers caste wich are Gamma and, Delta and Epsilon. All the story is about this.

It’s a very famous dystopian si-fi novel like Fahrenheit 451 and 1984 wich was written by two differents authors. Brave new world has represented a pessimistic view of consumer society.

Personally, I like it so much even if I don’t like si-fi !

                                 Good reading to you guys !

Animal Farm by George ORWELL

Hi everyone, today i’m going to talk about a famous book intitled « The Animal Farm » written in 1945 and published in 1984 by a famous writter George Orwell.

This farm is not as the other farm. In fact, she’s not ordinary, she have animals who speak !

We have in a first group the pigs, they manage the farm and all the animals, the pigs who have the supreme authority : Boule de neige and Napoléon. They instaured this followings regulation: « All two legs is an ennemy. All four legs or all fowl, a friend. Any animals don’t will sleep in a bed. Any animals don’t will wear they locks. Any animals don’t will drink of alcohol. Any animals don’t will kill an other animal. All animals are equal. »

The time progress and the rain erase they regulations. The donkey, a cynic, decode again : « All animals are equals, but some are more famous than others ».

To conclude, I liked this book, because he refers at the World War II but we don’t know directly the message with the animals. I’m a big fan of that historical period so it’s for me an amazing thing to present you this literature.

favourite book

UN SECRET, Philippe Grimbert .

I would tell you about one of my favorite french book .

First , this book is an autobiography about Philippe Grimbert , writing in 2004 , the 5 of may .

This book tells about the story of one jude boy  , Philippe . He is small and sickly

Let me speak about the story .

he narrator is Philippe Grimbert. The story takes place in the 1950s.

Surrounded by silence, bending under a guilty family , the narrator feels like this : he  need to tell a past he imagines. quiet until Louise, old friend of his parents and confidante of the child, come all to a sudden reveal a heavy, disturbing secret.

It invented brother, Simon, actually existed and died in a concentration camp with his mother, Hannah, the first wife of Maxime. Suddenly the whole weight of this dark and hidden past will arise and disrupt the representation of the world that had forged the child.

Now , I let you think about the development of the story …

Of course , you can read the book or watch the movie …

Pretty Little Liars, Sara Shepard

Pretty Little Liars is full of stressful and mystery book.
The story of Aria, Spencer, Hanna and Emily is full of surprises and intrigue. They receive messages of a certain « A » who threatens to reveal their secrets.

I think Pretty Little Liars is a very fascinating book. We are really attached to the characters that can be dark.
After each book, several questions come into my head. But the answers are still in future books … I tell you, it makes you addicted. We want to know who is A!
Only those who have read the books can answer this question … But Chutt! It’s a secret!
However, I find that some intrigue are too annoying.
I didn’tlike watching the series, but I loved the books! The story is much like gossip girl ….

Girl Online On Tour, Zoe Sugg

Girl Online On tour is the second novel Zoe Sugg wrote. She’s a very famous youtuber from the UK who does beauty and life style videos on her channel called Zoella.

This novel is the continuation of the book Girl Online published in 2014.

In this story a 16 years old birtish blogger, Penny, is the narrator.

Penny starts blogging about her problems, school drama, friends, family, and boys and she became pretty famous. But during a family trip in New York she met a musician called Noah and fell in love with him, as as a result her blog became very popular. In this book we will follow her and her rock-star boyfriend ( Noah ) on his European tour during the summer . But being a super star’s girlfriend is hard, Penny will be threatened by some jaelous fans, she’ll also not be very welcomed by Noah’s band members and it’ll be hard for her to follow her boyfriend because of his shedule… So Penny will start wondering whether she’ll stay on tour with Noah or not. She misses her family, her best friend Elliot, and her blog, “Girl Online »…

I already read the first book « Girl Online » and Santa brought me Zoe Sugg’s second book, I almost finished it and I love it !

The Wave by Todd Strasser

Hi Everybody !

Today I would like to speak about a book : The Wave (or « La Vague »). This book was written by Todd Strasser and it was published in 1981. Strasser is an american author. For his book : The Wave, Todd Strasser decides to be based on real facts in the United States in 1969. This book was also adapted into a movie. This best-steller became a history manual in Germany.

The story takes place in a peacefull californian High School, where Ben Ross teaches history. To explain Nazism to his students he decided to creat an experimental movement with a slogan, a salute, a leader and a name : The Wave. He thinks he can control the group but unitl the day everything becomes totalitarianism.

I loved this book ! He wants to show a reflection on the group effects, on the individualism freedom and also on freedom of thought. The Wave is scary because it’s real facts. The reader is itself hypnotize by the movement, it’s very strange. The writing of Todd Strasser is simple but poignant.

« The classroom experiment is went to far »

 » SIMETIERRE  » Stephen King

Today I’m going to speak about a novel written by Stephen King entitled « Simetierre ».
This novel is a fictional story but it can considered also as little bit horror.
This work exist also in movie but I don’t know if he’s more known or not .
The story talks about a family « Creed  » who moves in a other town,in a big house near to an animal cimetierre …. they becames friends with their neighboor, days pass and things strange happened and nobody can explain it. One day their cat is found dead, the father going to burry him in the animal cimetierre and the next day …the cat came back to life …
An other day their son ( 2 years) died, so their family is overwhelmed sorrow and the father decided to burry him in the cimetierre ( for his son come back too) but things are different this time, the child come back to life but he was looks possessed by a demon …

I loved read this book because there are a lot of suspens and at the end I was anxious for the family , I recommend it for all the people who love suspens and horror !

The Call of The Wild

Hi everybody ! Today I will speak about a book I really enjoyed when I was younger and which has still the same effect nowadays.

This novel is from Jack London, a famous American writer, well-known for his books about animals and adventures, especially about wild animals, like wolves (or here wolf-dog), bears…

The Call of the Wild is, as White-Fang one of his most-famous books in that genre.

The story is set during the Gold Rush (little wink to the English cinema ! But it wasn’t my purpose at the beginning). So wa have the context of the « how the West was won » with Natives and so… 😉

All along the book we follow the evolution of Buck, a normally dog who (I won’t say “which” because he’s not a thing, and in this book we have his point of view but I know that in general we use “which” instead of using “who” for animals… But when you love them you can just not do that because you know animals worth more than being considered as things without spirit and emotions…) will gradually become a wild wolf-dog because he discovers a new world and realised that life wasn’t always happy.  He passed throughout different hardship and always keeps going. Buck follows his instinct and gets back little by little his wildness and freedom. For instance he was sold to someone who made husky (I found we said that for dogs who make race with sledge) sled races and because of running everywhere in the wilderness he came back to his basics instincts. He faced many things in the wild and therefore he had to become a real husky to survive in this tough world. It was a fight to survive. This philosophy develops throughout the novel, as Buck’s life becomes a very hard struggle for existence in which he must either kill or be killed.

One day his new and good master was killed by Indians so Buck, who was totally mad with rage killed his master’s murderers. That was at this moment that he became a Wolf again.

I know the plot could be pretty hard to understand and you may think that it’s not really interesting; however we have a very meaningful and denouncing story. Here Buck is like a “wild and fluffy” human to my mind and that’s why I really loved this book. Moreover the story really catchs your eyes and is entertaining.

See you soon ! 🙂

The Green Mile by Stephen King

The Green Mile is a fantastic serial novel  by Stephen King in 1996. It has been edited in six differents volumes named The Two Dead Girls, The Mouse on the Mile, Coffey’s Hands, The Bad Death of Eduard Delacroix, Night Journey and finally Coffey on the Mile. Thoses volumes were published on newspaper. After, the story was reduced as only one volume.  The story is concentrated on the characters Paul Edgecomb and John Coffey ( Like the drink, only not spelled the same ). There’s also anothers important characters who’s called Brutus « Brutal » Howell, Harry Terwiliger and Dean Stanton whose are Paul’s associates, and even a mouse named Mr.Jingles that it’s considered as a very important character.

Here’s the story

In the thirties, Paul Edgecomb, a 40 years old men, is a death row supervisor in a prison, especially in the E Block, with his associates Brutal, Harry, Dean and unfortunately Percy Wetmore, a young and nasty one. One day, they receive a new prisoners who is very special. It’s John Coffey. He looks harmless and act like a child who is afraid in front of his parents. Paul and the others man are wondering about his case. Actually, Paul read the murder report and has been completely shocked about it :
Two young girls have been raped and strangle until death.

Paul as doubt about him as a murderer, because he think that he’s too sweet and kind. Much time past and a lot of things happened. In the E block, they met Mr.Jingles, a little mouse very clever and mysterious. She became the friend of everyone oin the Block, especially to one prisoner named Eduard Delacroix. Actually, supervisors found that John Coffey has got power of healing and resurrection. He has resurrect Mr.Jingles when Percy just smashed her with his foot. It’s at this time that the truth has been obvious for Paul, Brutal, Dean and Harry : John is innocent and just wanted to save the two little poor girls. Paul did the best to help him. Few moments before his dispatch, he ask him if he wants him to escape the prison. Unfortunalety, he refuse the propostion and accept the death as a good friend. He was tired of living, as he said to Paul :  » […] I’m tired, boss. Tired of bein’ on the road, lonely as a sparrow in the rain. Tired of not ever having me a buddy to be with, or tell me where we’s coming from or going to, or why. Mostly I’m tired of people being ugly to each other. I’m tired of all the pain I feel and hear in the world everyday. There’s too much of it. It’s like pieces of glass in my head all the time […] « 

 A Long time after, Paul talk about what happenned in his life to one of his friend, and explain that he’s actually 111 years old, as the same for Mr.Jingles that he’s keeping safe in a hut in a forest. He think that it’s his punishment to have killed on of the miracle of God. Paul’s wondering about his death, he hope that she’s will be here as soon as possible.

This Stephen King’s novel is one of my favorite, and one of his most famous and tragic. Through this story, King denounces the racism and the death penalty. The most interesting thing, is that he wrote this story in the moment. He didn’t know when it will end, how many volumes he will write, or how will turn the story. He has given a new a new sense or literature with the serial novel, and has won the award Best Bram Stockard Novel in 1996.

The most sensitive thing in this book is John Coffey. Just the thaught of the death of a poor innocence gave me shiver. Another thing could give a call into a question : In this book, I didn’t realize it yet but, I felt so concerned about the faith of Eduard Delacroix and one other prisoner. I’ve been attached to thoses characters but I have surprised myself to feel compassion to two murderer. It’s a complete called into a question, and it’s by this way that Stephen King denouces de death penalty.

Finally, the talented Franck Darabont, who is directed The Walking Dead, has been the director of the movie The Green Mile in 2001. With the one and only Tom Hanks who is playing Paul Edgecomb, this movie won four awards for the Best Movie in 2001, and the Best Script.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctRK-4Vt7dA[/youtube]

 » We each owe a death – there are no exceptions – but, oh God, sometimes the Green Mile seems so long. « 

To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee

Today I am going to talk about a book that I love and that everyone should read.

To Kill a Mockingbird is an American novel of the best known. Published in 1960, it was so successful that it won the Pulitzer Prize and became a classic of American literature. The author, Harper Lee based her story on fiction but she included biographical elements of her childhood. This novel can remind us of a bildungsroman (a coming-of-age novel) and a detective novel.

The plot is setting in a little town of Alabama during the Great Depression of the 1930s. Atticus Finch raises his two children Jem and Scout alone. He works has a lawyer. Man of integrity and rigorous, he is appointed by the court to defend a black man accused of raping a white woman. This crime is punishable by the death penalty…

This book moved me to no end. It provides a wonderful reflection on the human condition and especially on the childhood, carried by the narrator Scout Finch.                              Scout is the little girl I wanted to be : sassy and feisty. She hangs around the neighbourhood, spends her time reading and climbing trees, she listens to the Sunday service at the church of blacks. She hates school and dresses, she responds tit for tat Aunt Alexandra who criticized her eternal dungarees stained with dust and the people she is mixing with. For Christmas, her father Atticus gave her a rifle. He even thinks that having a gun is an incentive to get shot, and asked her never to shoot the mockingbird. Because killing this bird would be « a sin ». Scout knows why : she is also a strange bird that can’ be put in a cage, who observes and tries to understand. She cries of rage at the stupidity and injustice, but she understands that we can also fight with words.

I absolutely recommend this wonderful book that tells us a lot about respect for others.

Shanghai Girls, Lisa See

book picture

? I actually chose this book because I didn’t know much about China and the past of this out of the way country. Shanghai Girls is a 2009 novel written by an American novelist, Lisa See, who also has Chinese origins. She is interested in Chinese history, since her ancestors came from this faraway country. The story takes place in Shanghai, in 1937. Pearl and May Chin are two modern young women who are working as models, especially for calendars, to sell baby milk or cigarettes as well…
calendars

? Both of them have a life full of privilege, until their father looses the whole family’s wealth while gambling. To repay his debts, he decides to « sell » his daughters to two « GoldMountain » men, which means two Chinese Americans. As the city is invaded by Japanese soldiers, they have to travel across the country, avoiding the brutal soldiers. However, their mother will be raped and killed as they try to escape, Pearl will also be severly injured. The sisters finally succeed in taking a boat to America, but land in an immigration station called Angel Island. It was basically like another version of Ellis Island in New York, at the only difference that if the second one was kind of welcoming, the other one was  « designed to keep the Chinese out » as See said. The author also said that in this place, « immigrants had to answer between 200 and 1,000 standard questions »! It gives you an idea of the long amount of time they will spend in Angel Island, where Pearl will hear shocking news: May is pregnant, which is going to have unsuspected consequences in their lives…After many twists and turns, they will finally begin their new lives of married women in a foreign family, who is definitely not as rich in America as they were in China. Pearl and May have to adapt in an unknown country where racism is in every street’s corner, and where Asian people don’t mix up with native Americans. They have to work in Chinatown and the situation becomes even harder when the World War II begins. How could Americans make a difference between their Japanese enemies and the Chinese refugees? Secrets that they would hope buried forever threaten to come back, always bringing new problems… I really enjoyed reading this historical story about the lives of these two sisters who share a complex relationship.

? I only had one thought after closing this book: let’s read the sequel! Have you ever heard of it? Do you know a bit about China? Do you find this topic interesting?

The Lovely Bones

I’m going to talk about the novel « The Lovely Bones », it was written by Alice Sebold and was published in 2002. It’s one of my favorite books, I love so much the story, it’s…wow !
So I want to share with all of you the story of Susie Salmon !
She was a 14-year-old teenager, who lived very well and was fascinated by photography, she had a sister, a brother and parents who loved her very much.
But one winter evening, while she returned of the high school, she walked by fields to join her house, and a paper that was in her pocket fell down of her pocket, the wind took the paper to a man, his neighbor Mr Harvey, he took it from the floor and gave to her. She thanked him, but he began to speak to her about the hut that he built in the ground,  » I don’t have time, I have to be at home » she said, but he insisted, so she went into the hut, she felt anxious. He looked at her and told « It’s warm here, you don’t find? »
Susie didn’t feel good and she was afraid… so she ran to the ladder to run away but she felt the hand of Mr Harvey on her ankle and…nothing more.

What happened to her ? Is she dead ? Is she in the coma ? Maybe she’s between the life and death…

There is also a movie, maybe the trailer will tell you more about the story…
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTZYYtUJpak[/youtube]

The Maze Runner, James Dashner

Today I’m going to talk about The Maze Runner wrote by James Dashner in 2009. The main character is Thomas, a teenager who wakes up in an unknown place, with unknown teenagers around him and without any memories. The others explain that they are stuck in a « block » with a door that is between the block and a maze. All night the door is closed and in the maze ther are Metal monsters who kille people in the maze. Everyday the plan of the maze is changing and the teenagers can’t escape. They are all amnesic and they don’t know why they are here.One day a girl arrives in the block with a letter that says « She is the last. » so no more food or people will be sent in the block. During the story Thomas and his friends Mino, Newt, Chuck and Theresa, they try to found an exit to run away and be free.

I read this book few years ago by chance because a friend gave it to me and I like it. Last year this book became very famous because a movie adaptation was made with Dylan O’Brien ( who is became famous with the TV show Teen Wolf ) in the role of Thomas.

The Maze Runner is the first of a serie of books The Test with four books : The Maze Runner, The Scorche Trial, The Death Cure and The Kill Order. The first two were adapted in cinema and the third is planned for 2017.

I love this book because it is very interesting, there is suspens, we want to know why there are in this maze? Why they and not someone else ? Thomas is an appealing character and it is also a reason to love the book.

And now I will read the other books of the serie because I watched the film and I am very curious to know the end of the story !