Untranslated Lit: La Prochaine Fois

La Prochaine Fois (2005) is the fourth novel by best-selling author Marc Levy. Serious critics in France often dismiss Levy's work as unliterary and easy to read. I am inclined to agree and if he wrote in English I probably would not read his novels. However, I would recommend it for advanced students of French such as myself who are trying to improve their reading skills.

The story is about enternal love and reincarnation set in an artistic milieu. The mystery of a long-lost painting by an obscure Russian artist is engaging enough.

Other books I have read by the same author: Et Si C'était Vrai and Où es-tu?

Modern Classics: Surfacing

Surfacing (1972) is Margaret Atwood's second published novel. A nameless young woman returns to the small Quebec island where she was raised to search for her missing father. With her comes along her boyfriend, Joe, and a married couple, Anna and David.
As the days pass, each characters' individuality is exposed. The protagonist begins to drift in and out of reality, remembering painful episodes of her past.
After her father is found dead (by drowing), she runs away from her friends and hides until they leave the island. She decides to stay there in communion with Nature.
This novel explores themes such as powerless of expression through language or the alienation of women (the protagonist/narrator has been married in the past and had a child whom she considers her husband's but not hers); and motifs such as the American expansion or Canadian national identity (the Québec setting is no accident).
This is a short but rich novel that has been hailed by critics as one of the major works in North American literature and probably one of the most canonical Canadian books.
Other books that I have read by the same author: Cat's Eye, The Robber Bride and The Blind Assassin.

Contemporary Reads: The Tenderness of Wolves

The Tenderness of Wolves (2007) is the first novel by Stef Penny. Set in Canada in 1867, much has been made of the fact that Penney has never been to North America. I do not think that is the problem with this novel. The setting is convincing enough. I just found the book a bit long for what it is and was not particularly fond of the style.

If you want to read a more positive review, please click here.

Contemporary Reads: Everyman

Everyman (2006) is the latest novel by Philip Roth. It is a book about death and physical decay or illness but it is not really sombre or pessimistic. What I admire about this book is the fact that this meditation on death does not resort to religion or philosophy. I am also completely puzzled as to how Roth has made it worked so well.
This is a great novel and I look forward to reading earlier works by this author.

Contemporary Reads: The Wasp Factory

The Wasp Factory (1984) was the controversial debut of Scottish writer Iain Banks. It is the story of sixteen-year-old Frank who lives on a Scottish island with his father, a retired scientist. His brother, Eric, has just escaped from a mental institution and is on the loose. Frank himself is a very unstable character, to say the least. He has killed three children and several animals.

At the end of the book Frank discovers that he is not a man. His father had told him that a dog had bitten off his penis when he was younger, but in truth, Frank is in fact female. His father had been using male hormones to disguise this as part of a sick experiment.

With graphic violence and a disturbing plot this novel received mixed reviews when it was first published in the UK. It has since been hailed as one of the must reads of the 1980s.

Contemporary Reads: In Between the Sheets

In Between the Sheets (1978) was the second book of short stories written by Ian McEwan. As its title suggests, the stories are largely about sex. They are shocking and at times uneasy. As can be expected, they are nowhere near the quality of his most mature works but still worth reading for his fans.