The classic French novel written by a soldier, who would later die during World War I, tells the story of Auguste Meaulnes and the "domain mysterieux."

The first volume of Paths to Contemporary French Literature offered a critical panorama of over fifty French writers and poets. With this second volume, John Taylor—an American writer and critic who has lived in France for the past thirty years—continues this ambitious and critically acclaimed project. Praised for his independence, curiosity, intimate knowledge of European literature, and his sharp reader’s eye, John Taylor is a writer-critic who is naturally skeptical of literary fashions, overnight reputations, and readymade academic categories. Charting the paths that have lead to the most serious and stimulating contemporary French writing, he casts light on several neglected postwar French authors, all the while highlighting genuine mentors and invigorating newcomers. Some names (Patrick Chamoiseau, Pascal Quignard, Jean-Philippe Toussaint, Jean Rouaud, Francis Ponge, Aimé Césaire, Marguerite Yourcenar, J. M. G. Le Clézio) may be familiar to the discriminating and inquisitive American reader, but their work is incisively re-evaluated here. The book also includes a moving remembrance of Nathalie Sarraute, and an evocation of the author’s meetings with Julien Gracq Other writers in this second volume are equally deserving authors whose work is highly respected by their peers in France yet little known in English-speaking countries. Taylor’s pioneering elucidations in this respect are particularly valuable. This second volume also examines a number of non-French, originally non-French-speaking writers (such as Ghérasim Luca, Petr Král, Armen Lubin, Vénus Ghoura-Khata, Piotr Rawicz, as well as Samuel Beckett) who chose French as their literary idiom. Taylor is in a perfect position to understand their motivations, struggles, and goals. In a day and age when so little is known in English-speaking countries about foreign literature, and when so little is translated, the two volumes of Paths to Contemporary French Literature are absorbing guides for literary scholars, writers, poets, students of French culture, and readers of contemporary fiction and poetry.

Alain-Fournier's poems, while relatively few, are one of the small pearls washed up in the maelstrom of early twentieth-century France. Best known for his novel Le Grand Meaulnes, a posthumous classic, Alain-Fournier was killed in battle in 1914. His poems suspend a pre-war French idyll of warm evenings and rained-on orchards, silk-banded straw hats, lamp-lit farmhouses – and young love reaching out 'in the frightening dark, with timid fingers'. His lines fluoresce with the pain of memories which cannot be re-lived, and they combine elements of Symbolism, Impressionism and Imagism. The sun is an ambivalent force in these poetic narratives, which transform themselves as if they were dreams. The music of Debussy, the writings of Laforgue, and the paintings of Renoir can also be detected under the surface of Alain-Fournier's verse, which is provided here in a comprehensive English translation for the first time.

Unlock the more straightforward side of Le Grand Meaulnes with this concise and insightful summary and analysis! This engaging summary presents an analysis of Le Grand Meaulnes by Alain-Fournier, a coming-of-age novel which tells the story of two friends and the adventures they share. The timid young narrator, François Seurel, sees his life turned upside down by the arrival of the impulsive and heroic Augustin Meaulnes, and together they embark on a quest to recapture the magic of the mysterious “lost estate”. Le Grand Meaulnes has inspired two film adaptations, and was placed at number nine in the French newspaper Le Monde’s list of the 100 greatest books of the 20th century. Le Grand Meaulnes is Alain-Fournier’s only finished novel; he died during the First World War in 1914, at the age of 27. Find out everything you need to know about Le Grand Meaulnes in a fraction of the time! This in-depth and informative reading guide brings you: • A complete plot summary • Character studies • Key themes and symbols • Questions for further reflection Why choose BrightSummaries.com? Available in print and digital format, our publications are designed to accompany you on your reading journey. The clear and concise style makes for easy understanding, providing the perfect opportunity to improve your literary knowledge in no time. See the very best of literature in a whole new light with BrightSummaries.com!