Tag Archives: chateaubriand
French Books to Read in the Summer Posted by Hichem on Jun 24, 2011
C’est l’été, enfin! (It’s the Summer, finally!) Many friends of mine have been telling me as of late how they’re excited to seize the opportunity of the sudden extra free time in their hands to catch up with la lecture de loisir (leisure reading)—As opposed to the force-fed textbook “reading assignments” of the school year- and they especially asked…
Why The French Must Dump Bastille Day Posted by Hichem on Jun 20, 2011
If you are the sort of person who does not blindly celebrate dates just because others do, here’s for you a résumé of Bastille Day’s “inside story”: Contrary to the prevailing popular belief, “Bastille Day” marked a disastrous hijacking of the French Revolution, operated at the behest of an often unsuspected hostile foreign power: Great Britain, whom the…
Rome, la ville éternelle (the Eternal City) Posted by Hichem on May 2, 2011
It is one thing to discover a city of the grandeur of Rome or Paris using a step-by-step guide touristique (city guide), but it is completely another when it is through the insightful work of a literary genius. * * * In today’s post, nous allons suivre les traces (we will follow the footsteps) of…
La Marseillaise (and “la réintégration de l’histoire”) Posted by Hichem on Jul 19, 2010
Last week, la France a fêté “la prise de la Bastille” (France celebrated “the storming of the Bastille.”) Apart from the symbolic value that this iconic day has acquired over the past two centuries, it is now important for the French, who are still rediscovering and “debating” their identité nationale, to reconsider the évènements cruciaux (crucial events) that took place in that year…
Le 14 Juillet and “Les 3 SUiSSES” Posted by Hichem on Jul 15, 2010
Demandez à n’importe qui au hasard (ask anyone randomly): “C’est quoi le 14 Juillet (what is the 14 of July)?”, and you’re likely to hear the answer “C’est la fête nationale!” (It’s the national celebration!) Mais encore? (What else?) “It’s to celebrate a singular event in l’histoire de France: la prise de la Bastille(the storming of the Bastille.)” And…
Summer Reads Summary (en français, svp!) Posted by Hichem on May 27, 2010
C’est l’été, et les vacances sont enfin arrivées (It’s the Summer, and the holidays have finally arrived.) Quel bonheur ! Je remercie aussi Jennie de ses nombreux compliments (I thank her for her many compliments), et je souhaite lui dire ceci: J’aime sincèrement beaucoup tes contributions, elles sont variées (they are varied), très souvent amusantes (very often amusing), et particuliérement informatives…