I haven’t read that many books in French, only books my school has provided, which is why I don’t think it will be too hard to make a top 5 list! Counting down…
5. Oscar et la Dame Rose (Oscar and the Lady in Pink) by Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt
I think this book will become a classic (if it isn’t already?). It has got the moral and the touching story – what else is needed? I read this book in the beginning of my IB years (after having taken French for four years) and I really liked it. Sweet story with a sweet main character and a horrible future awaiting him -it catches the reader. I heard there has been done a film based on the book as well, which I am sure is worth seeing.
4. L’étranger (The Stranger) by Albert Camus
Yet another classic. It has a great story and content overall, and it’s one of those books that I like after I’ve read it even though I didn’t have extremely fun reading it. Sure, I thought it was a good book when I read it too, but I found it a bit boring at times. The language was a bit difficult but certainly not the most difficult book I’ve read in French, if you’ve got say 4-5 years of experience in the language I think you can make it (although you of course have to look up a lot of words).
3. Le Petit Prince (The Little Prince) by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
This is a cute classic with many profound observations about life and all that comes with it. Each part/character of the book contain some moral “hidden” message that makes the reader reflect, and it’s all woven into a quite exciting story. This said, I think it would be perfect to read for young as well as older children and even for adults. This book will never get old.
2. No et Moi (No and me) by Delphine de Vigan
This is the only book that had a fair chance of competing with the winner about the first place. It’s a really sweet book and I really loved reading it. Although the main character Lou is only 13 years old I wouldn’t say that this book is only for children that age. It brings up some important themes such as friendship and family relationships and it gives a good insight into the life of a homeless. Hopefully the film version will be released on DVD in Sweden soon!
1. L’élégance du hérisson (The Elegance of the Hedgehog) by Muriel Barbery
I haven’t actually finished this one yet, I’m only half way through it, but so far it is definetely the best book I’ve read in French. Even though the language can be a bit tricky at times – especially during the many philosophical parts – I manage to follow most of it pretty well. It gets your mind going and I enjoy reading about the relationships that’s coming along between Paloma and Monsieur Ozu and Renée and Monsieur Ozu.
The books that didn’t make it to the list:
Maxime fait un beau mariage – Brigitte Smadja — Quite a nice, ordinary book
Kiffe Kiffe Demain – Faïza Guène — Another quite nice (though Maxime was better), ordinary book
Le Bal – Irène Némirovsky — The one book I didn’t like. Difficult language (for someone with four years of experience in French) and an odd plot (which when I think about it might be a cause of the difficult language, cause I didn’t get much).
Arise fair sun 