Meeting on the first Thursday of each month, from 6:30 to 8:30 pm, participants take turns reading out loud French classic authors and enjoy hearing and sharing the richness of the French language. January’s meeting is on the 7th at the AF Center in Southbury.
Our new book is entitled “Dans le café de la jeunesse perdue” by Patrick Mondiano, a Nobel and Prix Goncourt winner.
Dans le Cafe de la jeunesse perdue is the story of Roland, a young man with literary aspirations, and an aloof beauty, variously called Jacqueline and Louki. The pair wander though Paris in the early 1960s in search of the parents they never had. The style of the book will be familiar to Modiano readers: here again we have a combination of geographical precision and chronological vagueness. Every event is pinpointed to a location (usually Paris) with the scrupulousness of a police report. But every area described is also imbued with layers of emotion – and this is where the creative blurring begins. In this book the Montmartre-Pigalle district, where Jacqueline grew up and met shady types during regular nightly escapes as a teenager, conjures up a clear sense of threat. The Latin quarter is a refuge where she can start afresh under a new name.
IMPORTANT: If you will please let me (Amanda) know asap at lecture@afnwct.org that you will be attending on January 7th, I will bring enough copies of the first several pages of the book with me for each of you. This is because, although 25 “Mass Market Paperback” copies of the book are marked to be available on Amazon at prices ranging from $4.43 upwards, they will unfortunately not arrive in time for our first meeting. (If you are familiar with Amazon, Prime shipping is not available for this book. Also, since most of the vendors are in Europe, longer delivery times and expedited international shipping rates can be anticipated.)
If you would like my help in ordering the book, you can let me know on January 7th and I would be happy to oblige.
AFNWCT Members attend for free; A suggested donation of $5 for others.
Questions or comments? Contact Amanda: lecture@afnwct.org