NancyElin.blog

#Paris InJuly Mme de Sévigné (1626 – 2026)

1. Author: Geneviève Haroche-Bouzinac
2. Title: Madame de Sévigné (1626 – 2026) 400th birthday!
3. Finish date: 01.07.2026
4. Genre:   biography   ISBN 978-2080154484
5. Rating: A+++
6. #Prix de la biographie Le Point 2024
7. #ParisInJuly hosted by Words and Peace

Good News:  Biographies are great…but I always hate the chapter when the person I’ve spent many hours with, in this case Mme de Sévigné, dies.

Good News: This was a very easy book to read in French. Well worth the touble to all those who want to ‘polish’ you French reading skills. Any “gaps” in the information can be easily found on Wikipedia. One regret…I should have looked at the last pages of the book first…there is a complete genealogy of the “les Coulanges” (Maire) and the “les Sévigné” (Henri, husband) available. This would have saved me some time doing my own research!

NOTES: 

Notes: Reading how Mme de Sévigné’s marriage is over (she is only 23 yr.) She has 2 babies and does not want to risk her health in childbirth. It was a risky business in 17 C France! Her husband, Henri, dreams of a daring life in the saddle venturing off to battles. Also he has discovered world of Parisian courtesans. So he has two choices: being shot off his horse by the enemy or syphilis will kill him.”

Notes:  Mme de Sévigné becomes a widow on 06 February 1651. Her husband Henri was a serial philanderer who spent money recklessly. This widowhood was probably the best thing to happen to her. She could live her life freely and raise her children. I love her way Mme de Sévigné describes her marriage: “He respected me but did not love me….I loved him but did not respect him.”

Notes:  I did not know…that Mme de S.  did not get along with her daughter in her later years (Francoise 30 yr/ Mother 50 yr). I seems her daughter could not handle living in her briliant mother’s shadow, Francoise experienced “les dragons” (depression)regularly and the poor girl worried her husband would start an affgaire with a younger woman. So Francoise left mother and they agreed to continue a ‘friendship’ with letters.”

Notes:  Love reading biographies….just makes history so much more interesting! CH 17 is lists of Mme de S.’s “la troupe des amis intimes”. Mme de S. is out wining and dining but has to appear once in awhile “à la Cour” of King Louis XIV and Queen Maire Theresia (daughter of Spanish King Philip IV).

Notes:  There is a lot of “worrying about money” in 1680s France in Mme de Sévigné’s family. How can Mme de S. pay those who maintain her chateaux in Les Rochers Bretagne? How can Mme de S. lend all the money for her daughter’s dowery? How can Mme de S. pay for the rent Hotel de Ville Carnavalet? ( now a museum) How can Mme de S. prevent losing her ‘downpayment’ to cousin Philippe-Auguste Le Hardy…so that her son (and cousin to P-A) Charles will inherit the family chateaux? (Philippe-Auguste gave the rights to the chateaux to his son-in-law!!) How can Mme de S. convince her son-in-law (Comte Grignan) (..to protect her daughter and grandchildren from $$ distress) to stop hemerroging money on his expensive lifestyle?

Notes:  So sad to read in the last chapters….all Mme de S’s friends are dying, one after the other. Mme de La Fayette (1634-1693)…is a crushing blow, great loss. Another dear friend Mme Lavardin aka Marguerite-Renée de Rostaing (1616-1994) died the next year. Mme de S’s world of eruidite friends and correspondents…..is almost gone. Roger de Rabutin, comte de Bussy (1618 – 1693), commonly known as Bussy-Rabutin,…was a French memoirist. He was her cousin and frequent correspondent of Madame de Sévigné

Musée de l’histoire de Paris Carnavalet

Une femme libre qui choisit le veuvage pour exercer son indépendance!

She choose widowhood for her independence!

#10 Books a Day!

1. I had such a great laugh when I read   Jinjer’s weekly post.
2. She is a fervent “TikTok” user and discovers the craziest things.
3. This week it is all about Jack.
4. “JACK THROWS BOOKS – @jackscully I love this kid! He always has TEN (10!) books going at a time.
5. Why 10? “It’s a strong number.” If he has three hours to read, he spins the wheel
6. …and lets it pick the three books he’ll read for one hour each that day.”
7. So I grabbed 9 more books from my bookcase to make it an even 10.
8. I’m going to try this reading approach….1 book for a few hours a day…then switch.
9. Okay, they are all in French..but that’s what I reading this month.
10. Perhaps some of the books are available in English, you’ll have to check that out yourself.
11. Why not? It will be fun to shake up my reading!

1. L’homme qui lisait des livres (2026) historical fiction – R. Benzine – READ – I’m speechless! (review soon…)
2. Balzac – Stefan Zweig – READING
3. La Colline – M. Beaussaut – READING
4. Des Diables et des saints – J-B Andrea – READING
5. Mémoires de deux jeunes mariées – Balzac – READING
6. Kolkhoz – Emmanuel Carrère – READING
7. Baldwin: A Love Story (biography) – N. Boggs – READING

#ParisInJuly Leila Slimani’s trilogy

• Title: Le Pays des autres
• Author: Leïla Slimani
• Genre:  historical fiction 
• Rating: A
• #ParisInJuly hosted by Words and Peace
• Finish date: 10.07.2026

Good news:

1. The title, « Le Pays des autres » sums up by itself the condition of each character:…
2. Mathilde (author’s grandmother), the Alsatian, lives in the country of others in Morocco;…
3. Amine (author’s grandfather), the Moroccan, lives in the country of others under the French protectorate.
4. No one is ever completely at home.They fell madly in love but are complete opposites. How are they going to make this work?”

Good news:

1. I could not help thinking that perhaps Ms. Slimani was 
2. …inspired by an Algerian writer of the 1950s: Mohammed Dib!
3. He used the extended family saga to map the fractures and resilience of Algerian society across pivotal historical moments.
4. Dib’s Algerian Trilogy (1952–1957) is chronicle of poverty and war, where Omar’s life mirrors
5. the collective struggle under French rule, culminating in the lead-up to the 1954 Revolution.

Good news:

1. Slimani’s trilogy (2020–2025) appears to focus more on contemporary
2. Morocco’s  inherited traumas, possibly through a more introspective or psychological style.
3. Le Pays des autres
4. Regardez-nous danser 
5. J’emporterai le feu
6. …all available in English!

Conclusion:

1. Both trilogies have a:
2. generational arc: uses the main character’s  life stages
3. …childhood, war, adulthood… to frame the upheavals.
4. autobiographical undertones: Dib’s trilogy is openly autobiographical…
5. …while Slimani blends though fiction her personal and historical memory,
6. with her Moroccan roots and her role as a public intellectual.
7. Good story, excellent writing, I enjoyed the book
8. …and look forward to reading. #2 and #3 in the series this year!

#ParisInJuly 2026 Books, films, cooking and cocktails

1. Here is a variety of  ideas for #ParisInJuly hosted by Words and Peace
2. …there must be something in here for you!

2026:  Reading Challenge Balzac : novels from Comédie Humaine

1. Une ténébreuse affaire – REVIEW
2. Louis Lambert (novella) – REVIEW
3. La fille aux Yeux d’Or – REVIEW
4. Ferragus – REVIEW
5. Le Colonel Chabert – REVIEW
6. La Rabouilleuse – REVIEW
7. La Duchesse de Langais – REVIEW – favorite
8. Eugénie Grandet  – REVIEW – favorite
9. La Peau de chagrin – REVIEW
10. Le Lys dans la vallée – REVIEW – favorite
11. La Cousin Bette – H. Balzac – REVIEW

#ParisInJuly 2026 (planning) 

1. Madame de Sévigné  400th birthday! – G. Haroch  (biography) – READ (review soon)
2. Courir – Jean Echenoz  (2008)  (historical fiction, French sports) REVIEW
3. La Joie  – G. Bernanos  (1929) (psychological/spiritual realism)– 1929 Prix Femina 
4. Le Silence de la mer (1942, historical fiction)  – Vercors  – READING
5. A Certain Idea of France: C. de Gaulle (biography) – J. Jackson   REVIEW
6. Les Ombres du monde (2025) historical fiction – M. Bussi
7. L’homme qui lisait des livres: Roman (2026) historical fiction– R. Benzine 
8. Je voulais vivre (2025) historical fiction – A.  de Clermont-Tonnerre – Prix Renaudot 2025 – READING
9. Kolkhoze (2025) non-fiction – Emmanuel Carrère – Le prix Médicis 2025 

Leïla Slimani: major novels and their publication years are:

1. Dans le jardin de l’ogre (2014) – published in English as “Adèle”
2. Chanson douce (2016) – published in English as “The Perfect Nanny” or “Lullaby”
3. Le Pays des autres (2020)* – first book of a trilogy, translated as “In the Country of Others” – REVIEW
4. Regardez-nous danser (2022)* – second book of the trilogy, translated as “Watch Us Dance”
5. J’emporterai le feu (2025)* – third book of the trilogy
6. (multi-generational family saga)*

These novels have garnered critical acclaim, with “Chanson douce” winning the prestigious Prix Goncourt in 2016 and becoming an international bestseller

MORE…plans!

1. Passagères de nuit – Yanick Lahens  – Le Grand prix de l’Académie française2025
2. L’Adieu au visage – D.Deneufgermain  Finalist Le Goncourt des lycéens 2025
3. Un Livre – Fabrice Gaignault 
4. Adèle Hugo – Ses écrits, son histoire – Laura El Makki

PLANS:   MOVIES

Le Harve (2011)  – AppleTV

1. In the French harbor city of Le Havre, fate throws young African refugee Idrissa i
2. nto the path of Marcel Marx, a well-spoken bohemian who works as a shoe-shiner.
3. This is a comedy/drama that’s sweet, feel-good, sad, and uplifting in equal measure.

The Count of Monte Cristo (2024) – AppleTV

1. I’ve read this classic….now let’s watch the movie!
2. Staring Pierre Niney was born in Boulogne-Billancourt (France), on March 13, 1989. He began his acting career at the age of eleven and joined the Comédie-Française troupe on October 16, 2010, when he was only twenty-one, which made him the youngest resident of the troupe.
3. César Prize 2025  – nominated for Best Actor (Pierre Niney) and Best Film.
4. Edmond Dantes becomes the target of a sinister plot and is arrested on his wedding day for a crime he did not commit. After 14 years in the island prison of Château d’If, he manages a daring escape. Now rich beyond his dreams, he assumes the identity of the Count of Monte Cristo and exacts his revenge on the three men who betrayed him.

Case 137 – (2025) – AppleTV

1. Stéphanie, a police officer working for Internal Affairs, is assigned to a case
2. …involving a young man severely wounded during a tense and chaotic demonstration in Paris.
3. It’s a thriller through and through, with all the necessary formulas and conventions,
4. …featuring a tremendous performance by Lea Drucker.

Archive:  July  2018:

1. Paris in July Food Journal
2. Crème du Citron
3. French Wine
4. Biscuits Breton
5. Cocktail: Kir Royale
6. Cocktail: Soixante-quinze ’75’
7. Madeleines
8. Biography: Berthe Morisot
9. Quiche Lorraine
10. Retour à Killybegs – S. Chalandon (2019)
11. Mousse aux éclats de chocolat (2019)
12. Le Grand Meaulnes (2019) – Alain-Fournier

Archive:  July 2021:

1. La maison du chat qui pelote – H. Balzac (1830)  REVIEW
2. La cagnotte – E. Labiche (1864)  REVIEW
3. Pour une nuit d’amour – E. Zola (1880)  REVIEW
4. Le Bourgeois gentilhomme – Molière (1670)  REVIEW
5. FILM – J’Accuse – Émile Zola   REVIEW
6. Âme brisée – A. Mizubayashi  REVIEW
7. Charlotte – D. Foenkinos  REVIEW
8. FILMS 4 French Films – “mini”  REVIEWS
9. Le Dossier 113 – E. Gaboriau  REVIEW
10. Une amie de la famille – J. Laclavetine  REVIEW
11. La promesse de l’aube – Romain Gary  REVIEW
12. Salammbô – G. Flaubert  REVIEW
13. Henri Matisse: Rooms with a view – S. Blum  REVIEW

#ParisInJuly Jean Echenoz “Courir”

• Title: Courir
• Author: Jean Echenoz (1947) Orange, France (Provence)
• Genre:  fiction biographique (pg 142)
• Rating: B
• #ParisInJuly hosted by Words and Peace
• Finish date: 06.07.2026

Personal:

1. I am overwhelmed by Emile’s superhuman endurance
2. …and the physical and mental tortures he inflicts on himself!
3. He was never interested in sports but it was forced upon
4. …him by a regime that saw him as a useful propaganda tool.
5. As a reader  you know what happens after the Russian
6. invasion of Prague. (dramatic irony)
7. Emil finally sees the writings on the wall…
8. …and capitulates to the regime.
9. He started out as a nobody…
10. …and ends  up as a garbage man in Prague
11. ….a nobody.

NOTE:

1. Would I read more books by Jean Echenoz ?  YES!
2. There are 2 more books in Echenoz’s  “trilogy fiction biographique”:
3. Des Éclairs – 174 pages about the inventor Nikola Tesla.
4. Raval – 123 pages about the French composer Maurice Ravel.
5. Echenoz’s prose is precise, minimalist, and musical
6. …every word serves a purpose.
7. If you want to polish your high-school level of French,
8. …Jean Echenoz is the perfect author to  choose.

#Paris In July 2026

• Oh, is it July already?
• Let’s have a glass of wine and
• think of some things to do for…
• #ParisInJuly
• I cannot change my photo for this yearly challegene
• …I just love this girl in the café!
• Mental note:  put wine in fridge to chill for tonight!
• This month will be …ALL French!

1. Paris in July is a French themed blogging
2. …experience running from the 1^st – 31^st July this year.
3. The aim of the month is to celebrate our French experiences through
4. actual visits, or through reading, watching, listening,
5. observing, cooking and eating all things French!
6. For more instructions how to share your posts go to Words and Peace.

1. I read a lot of books in French
2. …and spent most of my time March – May  with Balzac!
3. These are all available in English.
4. Perhaps one of my reviews will inspire you to read Balzac!

2026:  Reading Challenge Balzac : novels from Comédie Humaine

1. Une ténébreuse affaire – REVIEW
2. Louis Lambert (novella) – REVIEW
3. La fille aux Yeux d’Or – REVIEW
4. Ferragus – REVIEW
5. Le Colonel Chabert – REVIEW
6. La Rabouilleuse – REVIEW
7. La Duchesse de Langais – REVIEW – favorite
8. Eugénie Grandet  – REVIEW – favorite
9. La Peau de chagrin – REVIEW
10. Le Lys dans la vallée – REVIEW – favorite

JUNE: 2026

A Certain Idea of France: C. de Gaulle (biography) – J. Jackson   REVIEW

#ParisInJuly 2026 (planning) 

1. Madame de Sévigné  400th birthday! – G. Haroch  (biography) – READ (review soon)
2. Courir – Jean Echenoz  (2008)  (historical fiction, French sports) REVIEW
3. La Joie  – G. Bernanos  (1929) (psychological/spiritual realism)– 1929 Prix Femina 
4. Le Silence de la mer (1942, historical fiction)  – Vercors 
5. Les Ombres du monde (2025) historical fiction – M. Bussi
6. L’homme qui lisait des livres – (2026) historical fiction – R. Benzine – READ – I’m speechless! (review soon…)
7. Je voulais vivre (2025) historical fiction – A.  de Clermont-Tonnerre Prix Renaudot 2025  – READING
8. Kolkhoze (2025) non-fiction – Emmanuel Carrère – Le prix Médicis 2025 

1. Leïla Slimani: major novels and their publication years are:

   1. Dans le jardin de l’ogre (2014) – published in English as Adèle
   2. Chanson douce (2016) – published in English as The Perfect Nanny or  Lullaby
   3. Le Pays des autres (2020) – first book of a trilogy, translated as In the Country of Others – REVIEW
   4. Regardez-nous danser (2022) – second book of the trilogy, translated as  Watch Us Dance
   5. J’emporterai le feu (2025) – third book of the trilogy
   6. (multi-generational family saga)*

   These novels have garnered critical acclaim, with “Chanson douce” winning the prestigious Prix Goncourt in 2016 and becoming an international bestseller

#Heat Dome 26.06.26

#ParisInJuly (WWII) Le Silence de la mer

• Finished: 26.06.2026
• Title: Le Silence de la mer et autres récits ISBN 978225307358
• Rating: A
• #French Classic novella  (first 40 pages)

1. « Le Silence de la mer » by Vercors is widely regarded as a French classic.
2. The novella, published clandestinely in 1942 during the German occupation of France,
3. became a symbol of mental resistance and is often described as “France’s most enduring wartime novella.”
4. I must be clear:
5. « Le Silence de la mer »  is the title of both this  famous novella  ( 40 pages)
6. …and the collection  of  seven short stories that I read.  (see book cover).
7. I have selected the second story Désespoir est mort to review.

1. Atmosphere:
2. The atmosphere can fluctuate in  a story depending on the emotional mood of the reader
3. …created by the environment, setting and events.
4. Begin: melancholy – we see defeated French officers in 1940 in a prison camp, depressed full of despair.
5. End: joyous atmosphere is very specific: a delicate, almost childlike joy born from watching the fall–rise rhythm of the duckling.
6. Tone – It is optimistic but rational. Vercors does not deny the reality of the defeat of 1940 but insists out of this despair a new courage can be drawn.
7. Quote: « Il est de certains miracles très naturals. Je les accepte de grand coeur et celui-ci de ceux-là. »
8. Page: 63  It is certain natural miracles exist. I accept them with an open heart and this one is one of those.” (narrator)
9. Narrative layers:
10. Subject: defeated French officiers in a prison camp
11. Atmosphere: what the reader feels  sad –> joyous comfort.
12. Tone: what the author says about the subject  despair.
13. Despair is not the final word.
14. Defeat matters but so does fragile resistance (duckling).
15. Core device: the duckling at the end of the story is used to shift both tone and atmosphere.
16. The  defeated French officiers while watching this tiny duckling
17. …who tries to keep up with the the mother duck, falling and rising,
18. …falling again and rising again…
19. This simple image kills the despair  in the officiers…(Désespoir est mort)
20. …and gives them some hope.
21. Battered France (duckling) falls….but will rise again.

#Heat Wave !

Heat WAVE 2026…

1. …but I’m still reading #20BooksOfSummer!
2. Le Silence de la mer by Vercors, WWII historial fiction novella.

#Spin 44 Fini! Biography Charles de Gaulle

1. He was  one of the great statesmen of the  20th century.
2. His marriage was rock solid, he was devoted to his special needs child Anne
3. …and he was a  very, very private person.
4. I learned so much history in this book!
5. My favorite sections were De Gaulle’s cantankerous relationship with Churchill (WWII).
6. He was NOT an easy person to get along with 
7. …”politically” and once you angered/insulted him….he never forgot.
8. Churchill treated him as a necessary “burden” during WW II
9. …and when UK wanted to enter ECC …France said, De Gaulle said, NO twice!
10. The years 1966-1970 were particularly interesting. 
11. My sister was in Paris during the riots studying
12. …and I remember my mother …being very nervous 
13. …while anxiously awaiting the next letter “par avion.”
14. The pages about the May 1968 Student riots
15. …and De Gaulle’s inevitable exit from politics flew by
16. It was history I could  remember. 
17. The book filled in the info gaps I never grasped.
18. Times change and the “old warrior” had to make space for ….Pompidou.
19. I remember the day De Gaulle died 09.11.1970…watching it on Dutch TV.
20. I had just arrived in NL and did ….not understand what the news was saying
21. …but so aware that I was watching a historic moment.
22. Excellent biography…reads like a novel!

NOTES:      A Certain Idea of France:  Charles de Gaulle (p. 779). – Jackson, Julian