French novels / short stories for intermediate level

thechanger

Bonjour,

I'm wondering could anyone recommend a good french book (Not textbook) for an intermediate speaker. It's a present for someone who's been studying for a couple of years.

Or maybe a book that contains both English and French versions.

Merci.

peckerhead

I recommend L'Étranger by Albert Camus. The language is very simple and, more than fifty years on, it's still one of the most widely-read French novels in the world.

Alternatively, one of the Penguin Parallel Text Series might suit?

thechanger

Thank you.

shrapnel222

"le petit prince" de St Exupery

and

"au bonheur des ogres" by daniel pennac is the first in a series. if you like it, you'll have loads more to read and is just such a brilliant series

ValerieR

The OH quite enjoyed :

- Le Petit Nicolas
- Papillon

Hope this helps.
Valerie

franc 91

Unfortunately there aren't bilingual editions of Daniel Pennac's books, but some of them have been published in English, so you can put the French original édition next to the English one and hey presto you've got it in both languages. Gallimard publish Folio Bilingue and they also have audiobooks of Pierre Gripari among others.
Daniel Pennac -
School Blues (Maclehose Press) 978 1906694647
Chagrin d'école (Gallimard) 978 2070396849
The Rights of the Reader (Walker Books) 978 1406300918
Comme un Roman (Gallimard) 978 2070388905
The Eye of the Wolf (Walker Books) 978 1406322736
L'oeil du Loup (Pocket Jeunesse) 978 2266126304
In the Gallimard Folio Bilingue collection there's Oscar Wilde
Le Portrait de Mr. W.H./The Portrait of Mr. W.H. - 978 2070412822
Une Maison de grenades/A House of Pomegranates - 978 2070315711
Le Prince Heureux et autres contes/The Happy Prince and Other Tales -978 2070357765
Le Crime de Lord Arthur Savile/Lord Arthur Savile's crime - 978 2070389057
Le Fantôme des Canterville et autres contes/The Canterville Ghost and other short stories - 978 2070403868
Various other Irish writers have also been published in French such as Brendan Behan and Synge for example.