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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
On étudie souvent Pagnol à l'école primaire, voire au collège, sans plus y revenir. Quel dommage!
Relire les souvenirs de Pagnol une fois adulte, c'est enfin comprendre son génie quand il s'agit de narrer un récit du point de vue d'un enfant, avec toute la naïveté et les inventions de langage que cela implique.
Mais c'est surtout rire en relisant La Gloire de mon père, en sachant que tout ça n'est que passager; car même si Le Château de ma mère est lui aussi léger, son épilogue (les souvenirs étaient d'abord pensés comme un diptyque et cela se sent dans la construction narrative) vous fait pleurer pendant dix minutes.
En cela, ces deux livres illustrent magistralement l'une des citations les plus connues du Château de ma mère:
"Telle est la vie des hommes. Quelques joies, très vite effacées par d'inoubliables chagrins. Il n'est pas nécessaire de le dire aux enfants. "
Enfant je n'avais retenu que les anecdotes amusantes, trouvant la fin un peu triste et gâchant donc l'impression générale.
Adulte, on rit plus d'une fois devant les situations cocasses. Mais pourtant, ce qu'on retiendra ce ne sera que la tristesse infinie de cet épilogue de deux pages.
Une lecture magnifique, sur la Provence (ça change de l'obsession littéraire française pour Paris), légère, et qui pourtant laisse une trace indélébile.
Relire les souvenirs de Pagnol une fois adulte, c'est enfin comprendre son génie quand il s'agit de narrer un récit du point de vue d'un enfant, avec toute la naïveté et les inventions de langage que cela implique.
Mais c'est surtout rire en relisant La Gloire de mon père, en sachant que tout ça n'est que passager; car même si Le Château de ma mère est lui aussi léger, son épilogue (les souvenirs étaient d'abord pensés comme un diptyque et cela se sent dans la construction narrative) vous fait pleurer pendant dix minutes.
En cela, ces deux livres illustrent magistralement l'une des citations les plus connues du Château de ma mère:
"Telle est la vie des hommes. Quelques joies, très vite effacées par d'inoubliables chagrins. Il n'est pas nécessaire de le dire aux enfants. "
Enfant je n'avais retenu que les anecdotes amusantes, trouvant la fin un peu triste et gâchant donc l'impression générale.
Adulte, on rit plus d'une fois devant les situations cocasses. Mais pourtant, ce qu'on retiendra ce ne sera que la tristesse infinie de cet épilogue de deux pages.
Une lecture magnifique, sur la Provence (ça change de l'obsession littéraire française pour Paris), légère, et qui pourtant laisse une trace indélébile.
Faire lire des romans comme celui-ci à des 6èmes n'était sans doute pas la meilleure idée de ma professeure de l'époque... Lent et bucolique, je me rappelle m'être beaucoup ennuyée, ne comprenant pas tellement l'intérêt d'écrire des livres où il ne se passe "rien"...
Maintenant, je devrais lui donner une seconde chance. Je pense avec du recul que ce genre de texte pourrait davantage me plaire à mon âge, étant beaucoup plus sensible aux thèmes de la nature, des souvenirs, de l'enfance... ?
J'updaterai ce commentaire si jamais je me lance dans une relecture :)
Maintenant, je devrais lui donner une seconde chance. Je pense avec du recul que ce genre de texte pourrait davantage me plaire à mon âge, étant beaucoup plus sensible aux thèmes de la nature, des souvenirs, de l'enfance... ?
J'updaterai ce commentaire si jamais je me lance dans une relecture :)
DNF au bout de 35 pages. C'est bien écrit, mais malheureusement l’histoire ne m'intéresse plus du tout
Superbe lecture. J'étais déjà très attachée au film, je ne le suis que plus !
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I’ve read a lot of books. A lot of very, very good ones, too. But I have yet to encounter books that move me as much as Pagnol’s. Sure, there might be some nostalgia involved in this feeling, but the fact remains that he has set the bar very, very high.
“My Mother’s Castle” is the second volume of Pagnol’s childhood memoirs, and starts where “My Father’s Glory” (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1354589310?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1) left off: young Marcel has just discovered the beauty of the wild Provençal countryside, and after a glorious summer vacation spent with his family in a remote cabin, they go back to Marseille and school starts again. Basically, it’s the end of the world for a young boy who wants nothing more than to run around the hills all day… But life goes on, and while he considers school an extreme inconvenience, he nevertheless works hard to make his father proud. The cabin is visited during holidays, but the children and Augustine long for the fresh air and beautiful vistas every week. When the opportunity comes up for the Pagnol family to visit the magical cabin every weekend, they are obviously delighted, but the weekly trek is long and tiring; this was before that entire area got gobbled up by suburban sprawl, and going from the city to the tiny village required a long tramway ride and a few hours walk… But who should happen to cross their path but one of Joseph’s former pupil, who works for the Marseille canal’s administration, and who gives them the key to a shortcut. Unfortunately, that shortcut is neither completely legal nor completely safe…
The final section never, ever fails to shatter my heart into a million pieces and make me sob uncontrollably, and yet it is so exquisitely written that I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to look away and skip it. It is also a brutal reversal: one minute, the Pagnol family is celebrating, and the next, he pulls the rug out of under you with a devastating few pages about grief. Pagnol loved his mother very, very deeply, and the entire book is an amazing homage to a wonderful, delicate woman, who was beloved by her family and by everyone she met. It’s fair to say that anyone who reads this book will mourn Augustine.
When I went to Marseille, I visited the Château de la Buzine, which is now a museum dedicated to Pagnol’s life and work; I can’t tell you how moved I was to walk along the little path that lines what was once the Marseille canal, to look up and see the castle, the same way he must have when he was just a little lad sneaking across the property – and much later when he realized he had just bought the very plot of land on which he had once watched the most dramatic moment of his childhood unfold.
An incredibly moving book about childhood, growing up, family and friendship. I can’t recommend it enough.
“My Mother’s Castle” is the second volume of Pagnol’s childhood memoirs, and starts where “My Father’s Glory” (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1354589310?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1) left off: young Marcel has just discovered the beauty of the wild Provençal countryside, and after a glorious summer vacation spent with his family in a remote cabin, they go back to Marseille and school starts again. Basically, it’s the end of the world for a young boy who wants nothing more than to run around the hills all day… But life goes on, and while he considers school an extreme inconvenience, he nevertheless works hard to make his father proud. The cabin is visited during holidays, but the children and Augustine long for the fresh air and beautiful vistas every week. When the opportunity comes up for the Pagnol family to visit the magical cabin every weekend, they are obviously delighted, but the weekly trek is long and tiring; this was before that entire area got gobbled up by suburban sprawl, and going from the city to the tiny village required a long tramway ride and a few hours walk… But who should happen to cross their path but one of Joseph’s former pupil, who works for the Marseille canal’s administration, and who gives them the key to a shortcut. Unfortunately, that shortcut is neither completely legal nor completely safe…
The final section never, ever fails to shatter my heart into a million pieces and make me sob uncontrollably, and yet it is so exquisitely written that I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to look away and skip it. It is also a brutal reversal: one minute, the Pagnol family is celebrating, and the next, he pulls the rug out of under you with a devastating few pages about grief. Pagnol loved his mother very, very deeply, and the entire book is an amazing homage to a wonderful, delicate woman, who was beloved by her family and by everyone she met. It’s fair to say that anyone who reads this book will mourn Augustine.
When I went to Marseille, I visited the Château de la Buzine, which is now a museum dedicated to Pagnol’s life and work; I can’t tell you how moved I was to walk along the little path that lines what was once the Marseille canal, to look up and see the castle, the same way he must have when he was just a little lad sneaking across the property – and much later when he realized he had just bought the very plot of land on which he had once watched the most dramatic moment of his childhood unfold.
An incredibly moving book about childhood, growing up, family and friendship. I can’t recommend it enough.
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes