Customer Reviews

Jean de Florette & Manon of the Springs

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

(The two novels read as one, the second simply taking up--with no exposition--where the first leaves off.) One of the best books I've read in the last decade. Simple, charming, and often very funny, but also poignant, moving, characterized by profound human understanding, generating surprising emotional power, and rising to the haunting grandeur of genuine tragedy. The sharp, insightful portrayals of the leading Provence peasant characters are unforgettably vivid and "right," thoroughly convincing, and the evocations of their lives and speech and the countryside through which they move could only have been written by a true countryman. A magnificent achievement and a great read. Don't miss this under-rated classic of modern French literature.

I bought this book after I had seen the films. The stories are full of wonderful character- isations, and the writing is disarmingly concise. The details from the films are fleshed out, as is to be expected, and a whole little world comes to life. I enjoyed this book and these stories immensely. Highly recommended.

(The two novels read as one, the second simply taking up--with no exposition--where the first leaves off.) One of the best books I've read in the last decade. Simple, charming, and often very funny, but also poignant, moving, characterized by profound human understanding, generating surprising emotional power, and rising to the haunting grandeur of genuine tragedy. The sharp, insightful portrayals of the leading Provence peasant characters are unforgettably vivid and "right," thoroughly convincing, and the evocations of their lives and speech and the countryside through which they move could only have been written by a true countryman. A magnificent achievement and a great read. Don't miss this under-rated classic of modern French literature.

Part Faulkner, part Russian novel, this is simply one of the best novels I've ever read!

I love this movie and the pace and you feel like you are living in the country-side in France when you watch this movie. It is a beautif movie of this kind man and his wife trying to forge a life in the country. But the corruption of jealous neighbors trying to obstruct him at every turn is terrible and its true to life. You have to watch 2nd part too. And watch over and over again to see true french country life and to enjoy the characters.

This story runs as inevitable Grecian tragedy building on the prideful ignorance of Jean, the main character. He does not know of the spring which was blocked and concealed by the neighbor who desires not only his land to grow chrysthanthemums upon, but one day when she blooms, his daughter Manon. With the conspiracy of friends, this covetous neighbor blocks the spring which would bring life and fertility to the farm. Jean tries everything including tragically dynamite to bring the waters to flow with abundant life.

When all is too late we discover unknown family ties which would have made Jean not a rejected outsider intruding upon and rejected by this enclosed and impoverished mountain farming community but embraced as a lost son. The inevitable development and tragedy of these two films together is as stately as as horrifying as a trilogy of ancient Greek plays, as profound and as universal. Watch them carefully and rivers of understanding will wash you with renewed humanity.

I just purchased this book from Amazon moments ago, having rented both movies years ago on video (English subtitles) Jean de Florette was not even on the same shelf as Manon of the Spring and they should have been rented as a boxed set. After watching both films,I then had to buy them, which I never do. Well video came and went and today I bought the book not only to read, but to have always as a cherished keepsake.

If you haven't seen the film (s) please do. You will remember it forever. They don't make 'em like this anymore. Trust me.

This is a terrible translation of the original. It's true that's not easy to translate Pagnol's boring prose with its hundreds of monotonous descriptions which -- most of the time - bear no relevance to the story; but discounting that, the translator did a very poor job.
Examples: at the end of chapter 9 the translation reads: "....and Claudius has given us a meter of black pudding." The original reads :" et Claudius m'a donnée un metre de boudin." Now the word "boudin" can mean "pudding" but it also means "SAUSAGE" and that is the right translation. Who ever heard of pudding being bought by the meter!!!
Another one: at the beginning of chapter 11: "The entourage appeared." Wrong too. Entourage is a group of people surrounding a person. Here the original reads: "L'équipage parut." "Equipage" is an animal-drawn cart with people on it!! Two lines below the translation reads: "The muleteer advanced backward." How can one advance backward? The French original(avancer à reculons) is an idiom meaning "to be getting nowhere" and here it means the driver was having difficulty dealing with the mules.
I could go on forever citing more examples. The overall meaning of the story is there, but that's all you'll get.