My bookshelf

Moby Dick - Herman Melville (1851)

Summary :

""It is the horrible texture of a fabric that should be woven of ships' cables and hawsers. A Polar wind blows through it, and birds of prey hover over it." So Melville wrote of his masterpiece, one of the greatest works of imagination in literary history. In part, Moby-Dick is the story of an eerily compelling madman pursuing an unholy war against a creature as vast and dangerous and unknowable as the sea itself. But more than just a novel of adventure, more than an encyclopaedia of whaling lore and legend, the book can be seen as part of its author's lifelong meditation on America. Written with wonderfully redemptive humour, Moby-Dick is also a profound inquiry into character, faith, and the nature of perception."

My thoughts :

The story is very simple and only covers a few chapters. Moby Dick only appears near the end of the novel and is defenitely the ghost of this work of art. The only bad thing about this book is that the beginning is very slow and boring, with a lot of details given about the history of the different species of whales and their representation in the history of the world.

22/11/63 - Stephen King (2011)

Summary

"Life can turn on a dime—or stumble into the extraordinary, as it does for Jake Epping, a high school English teacher in Lisbon Falls, Maine. While grading essays by his GED students, Jake reads a gruesome, enthralling piece penned by janitor Harry Dunning: fifty years ago, Harry somehow survived his father’s sledgehammer slaughter of his entire family. Jake is blown away...but an even more bizarre secret comes to light when Jake’s friend Al, owner of the local diner, enlists Jake to take over the mission that has become his obsession—to prevent the Kennedy assassination. How? By stepping through a portal in the diner’s storeroom, and into the era of Ike and Elvis, of big American cars, sock hops, and cigarette smoke... Finding himself in warmhearted Jodie, Texas, Jake begins a new life. But all turns in the road lead to a troubled loner named Lee Harvey Oswald. The course of history is about to be rewritten...and become heart-stoppingly suspenseful. "

My thoughts :

A great setting, great atmosphere... But I truly have a hard time getting attached to the main character, as always with King. A book worth your time though.

Sentimental Education - Gustave Flaubert (1869)

Summary

"Based on Flaubert’s own youthful passion for an older woman, Sentimental Education was described by its author as “the moral history of the men of my generation.” It follows the amorous adventures of Frederic Moreau, a law student who, returning home to Normandy from Paris, notices Mme Arnoux, a slender, dark woman several years older than himself. It is the beginning of an infatuation that will last a lifetime. He befriends her husband, an influential businessman, and as their paths cross and re-cross over the years, Mme Arnoux remains the constant, unattainable love of Moreau’s life. Blending love story, historical authenticity, and satire, Sentimental Education is one of the great French novels of the nineteenth century. "

My thoughts :

A lot of descriptions, but a funny novel which explores the mundane society of the nineteenth century in France. A good classic.

The Iliad - Homer

Summary

"Dating to the ninth century B.C., Homer’s timeless poem still vividly conveys the horror and heroism of men and gods wrestling with towering emotions and battling amidst devastation and destruction, as it moves inexorably to the wrenching, tragic conclusion of the Trojan War. Renowned classicist Bernard Knox observes in his superb introduction that although the violence of the Iliad is grim and relentless, it coexists with both images of civilized life and a poignant yearning for peace. Combining the skills of a poet and scholar, Robert Fagles, winner of the PEN/Ralph Manheim Medal for Translation and a 1996 Academy Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, brings the energy of contemporary language to this enduring heroic epic. He maintains the drive and metric music of Homer’s poetry, and evokes the impact and nuance of the Iliad’s mesmerizing repeated phrases in what Peter Levi calls “an astonishing performance.”"

My thoughts :

A very long spectacle of battles, deaths, slaughters... A pure war novel which won't be to everybody's liking, but worth reading at least once in your life.

Paroles de Poilus (2003)

Summary

A compilation of letters sent by the french soldiers to their families, lovers or friends during WWI.

My thoughts :

A heartbreaking experience which fills the reader with overwhelming emotions. It's difficult not to admire the bravery and abnegation of those men who left their homes to defend their country, leaving everything behind.

Je suis fille de rage - Jean-Laurent Del Socorro (2019)

Summary

"1861 : the Civil War starts in the United States. At the White House, behind closed doors, Abraham Lincoln and Death itself confront each other. The president must put an end to the conflict and slavery, for the great Reaper holds counts of every one who falls. Soldiers, freed slaves, smuglers, politicians, actors, poets... Go through this war for freedom amongst those who lived it."

My thoughts :

A wonderful book ! I have loved getting into the heads of the different characters that Del Socorro brings perfectly to life. It is also a very good novel on the Civil War, which allows us french readers to learn more about this conflict. Thrilling !

A Storm of Swords - George R.R. Martin (2003)

Summary

"Here is the third volume in George R.R. Martin's magnificent cycle of novels that includes A Game of Thrones and A Clash of Kings. Together, this series comprises a genuine masterpiece of modern fantasy, destined to stand as one of the great achievements of imaginative fiction. Of the five contenders for power, one is dead, another in disfavor, and still the wars rage as alliances are made and broken. Joffrey sits on the Iron Throne, the uneasy ruler of the Seven Kingdoms. His most bitter rival, Lord Stannis, stands defeated and disgraced, victim of the sorceress who holds him in her thrall. Young Robb still rules the North from the fortress of Riverrun. Meanwhile, making her way across a blood-drenched continent is the exiled queen, Daenerys, mistress of the only three dragons still left in the world. And as opposing forces manoeuver for the final showdown, an army of barbaric wildlings arrives from the outermost limits of civilization, accompanied by a horde of mythical Others—a supernatural army of the living dead whose animated corpses are unstoppable. As the future of the land hangs in the balance, no one will rest until the Seven Kingdoms have exploded in a veritable storm of swords... "