By Annerin Long
Bonjour! The Alliance Française de Jackson (AFJ) is back for another Francophile Friday during le Mois de la francophonie, with more book recommendations from our members. This week’s selections are a mix of history and memoirs, including a book for French-speakers by one of our own members.
On November 13, 2015, the world watched in horror as terrorists attacked Parisians going about life at football matches, concerts, dinners, time spent with friends and family. Journalist Antoine Leiris lived another horror that night: turning on the news and seeing that the Bataclan Club, where his wife was attending a concert, had been attacked. In You Will Not Have My Hate, Leiris recounts the hours and days immediately after the attack, confirming that his wife was one of those killed, handling the duties related to her death, but also the day-to-day life that continued with their infant son. You Will Not Have My Hate is a short, powerful book, sometimes difficult to read because of the subject, but also heartbreaking, and one that I read in just a little more than one sitting.
A favorite book of AFJ member Jeanne Cook is Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s memoir Wind, Sand and Stars. The stories from his life that he tells in this collection also serve as a frame for his commentary on broader themes of human life.
Marcel Pagnol’s My Father’s Glory and My Mother’s Castle are two more recommendations from Mrs. Cook. Pagnol was an author and filmmaker (the first filmmaker elected to the Académie française) and is generally considered to be one of France’s greatest 20th century writers. These two books are the first two in his four-book series Souvenirs d’enfance (Memories of Childhood), capturing his days growing up in Provence.
A few years ago, AFJ was fortunate to host Memphis historian for a program based on his book, Paris Under Water: How the City of Light Survived the Great Flood of 1910. This is especially relevant as Paris is only a few weeks removed from flooding in several areas of the city this past winter. Paris Under Water details not just how the flood happened and crippled the city, but also how the people of Paris came together, often forgetting class distinctions that would have normally separated them, to help each other and to rebuild their city.
Finally, for today’s selections, I want to mention a book that is not about the history of France in the way we usually think of it, but rather, the history of the French here in the United States, including Mississippi. Recontres sur le Mississippi, 1682-1763, is actually a French-language reader developed for classroom use and written by AFJ member Gail Buzhardt with Margaret Hawthorne. While written with classroom use in mind, anyone who speaks or reads French and is interested in learning more about this part of our country’s history will find the book to be a great resource.
Be sure to visit Lemuria Books for many of these titles or help with ordering.
Other Recommendations
- Seven Ages of Paris by Alistair Horne
- How Paris Became Paris: The Invention of the Modern City by Joan DeJean
- City of Light, City of Poison: Murder, Magic, and the First Police Chief of Paris by Holly Tucker
About the Alliance Française de Jackson
The Alliance Française de Jackson is a non-profit organization with the mission of promoting French language and culture in the Metro Jackson area. This is done through language classes and other educational programs, cultural programming, and special events centered around French celebrations. Many of our members speak French, but it is not a requirement, and we welcome all who love the language and cultures of the Francophone world.
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