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lattelibrarian's review against another edition
4.0
I received this book through my university’s bookstore, thanks to my professor ordering it for our French class. The class’s purpose was to read accounts of different French-speaking countries–so if you’re looking to break out of American-centric literature, this might be the book for you! In all honesty, I had to read this book in French, and while I can understand and interpret a good portion of it, I’m sure I missed a lot of information as well. In terms of somebody who is learning the French language and about different cultures, this book expanded my vocabulary and helped me read French more efficiently.
What struck me the most about this novel was the language. There were many quotes that I felt the need to write down because they were so poignant not because of their flowery language, but because of how realistic Roy portrays her past. While there is a tad of nostalgia lingering between the lines, Roy makes it very obvious that her life was filled with hardships and that she worked very hard to get where she is by the end of the book. All in all, this novel was inspiring to me: seeing how one person can go from sickness and poverty to travelling the world and becoming a famous author is an important story for anybody struggling.
See the full review and synopsis here!
What struck me the most about this novel was the language. There were many quotes that I felt the need to write down because they were so poignant not because of their flowery language, but because of how realistic Roy portrays her past. While there is a tad of nostalgia lingering between the lines, Roy makes it very obvious that her life was filled with hardships and that she worked very hard to get where she is by the end of the book. All in all, this novel was inspiring to me: seeing how one person can go from sickness and poverty to travelling the world and becoming a famous author is an important story for anybody struggling.
See the full review and synopsis here!
aimeeverret's review against another edition
5.0
Une des plus belles plumes qu'il m'ait été donné de lire, un livre qui m'a émue aux larmes souvent et m'a permis de réfléchir à mon rapport à la langue française.
maximef's review against another edition
5.0
L’écriture de Gabrielle Roy est vraiment unique et dans ce livre encore plus que les autres, on a l’impression de faire partie du récit. Dommage qu’elle n’ait pu terminer son autobiographie, car j’en aurais pris encore plus!
ali0cha's review against another edition
4.0
"Mes livres m'ont pris beaucoup de temps dérobé à l'amitié, à l'amour, aux devoirs humains. Mais pareillement l'amitié, l'amour, les devoirs m'ont pris beaucoup de temps que j'aurais pu donner à mes livres. En sorte que ni mes livres ni ma vie ne sont aujourd'hui contents de moi."
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