Thanks for this lovely video, Matt! Your comments on de Sade brought me to the order confirmation of de Sade's Justine, Philosophy in the Bedroom and other writings, but I came to my senses after looking into my other purchases. I've only read one novel - The Blue Flowers - by Raymond Queneau, but his work would probably have a place in some versions of this list.
Another great list. But to talk about strange French novels and not to mention Georges Perec is unforgivable! Claude Simon, Michel Butor, Alain Robbe-Grillet...?
I havent read any of the five here, but definitely interested now, for me as shallow as it may sound I just love the cover of "Againstt Nature", that would make a great poster, and yes I did order a copy of the book as a result of this video.
Interesting collection of oddities. I've read Diderot's Jacques The Fatalist and His Master many years ago. You are quite right it reads like a modern novel. Diderot was the most modern of the Philosophes. Unlike most of his contemporaries he saw the world (or Nature) as governed by chance. And he reveled in the disorderly universe that he, as well as his characters, inhabited. This is a very modern almost post-modern approach to life. The novel was not published until 12 years after Diderot's death. It was adapted to the stage by Milan Kundera and enjoyed some success. Kundera, if I remember correctly chose Diderot so he wouldn't have to work on some work approved by the Communists who were then in charge, Diderot's out look implies that since the world is governed by chance, there can be no successful control of that world. It reminds me of an interview I saw with an American artist who had emigrated to the U.S. from Germany. Right after the Nazis took power he made a film about a ball that goes bouncing down the street. The Nazi censor immediately forbade the film. So he went to see the censor, feigning amazement that a film about a ball bouncing down the street could have any political implications. But it was the Censor's intelligence that amazed him. The Censor said that if the object cannot be controlled then there can be no order. All attempts to impose order will fail. The artist was amazed that the censor understood this. I haven't read De Sade's 120 Days of Sodom, but I have both read and adapted Justine. Justine represents De Sade's rejection of the then widely held belief that Nature was good or benign. On the contrary Nature is evil and trying to stop Nature is wrong, so therefore laws forbidding what we deem to be bad or immoral behavior are actually wrong since they misrepresent Nature as "good and benign" which it is not and forbid bad or immoral behavior which is quite Natural. Basically, this argument turns conventional morality on its head. De Sade also wrote plays one of which The Self Styled Philosopher is an attack on Diderot or someone very much like him. That I've translated but never published.
Good choices. I would add Xavier de Maistre's A Journey Around My Room to this list, written to stave off boredom after being confined to his room following a duel. And, of course, Georges Perec's famous novel without an 'e,' La Disparition (A Void), but maybe that was too obvious.
What an interesting list! I have read just one of these books (Diderot’s). Sade is not my cup of tea (I read one by mistake when I was much younger, thinking (before I started reading it) that it would be the memoirs of someone living at court 🤦♀️), but the others sound like real fun.
Mine is Life, a user's manual, by Perec. Picked it up in a free library at an airport, still wondering whether Perec and an extensive thought out web of connections in the background while writing and the book is actually a puzzle, or if he's just joking.
That book is certainly a puzzle. Perec used a complex algorithm to write the entire novel, so all the chapters are connected and each follows the same pattern. It is not a book for everyone, but it is certainly the most original and ambitious since Ulysses.
@@milfredcummings717 Ah, thanks for clearing that up! I tend to read intuitively and usually don't analyse too much. I could, but I'm doing enough of that in other parts of my life. Although it shouldn't be for me, it was a nice experience, a world to submerge myself in. It takes concentration and I patiently read all the lists, just like the song in Lord of the Rings 😉
@@anneworks No problem. That's funny, I didn't skip anything either, although sometimes it used to be tiring. I love Perec so much and I felt obligated to read everything. When he put so much effort into writing the novel it was the least I could do. Although I probably didn’t understand half of the references and allusions to other novels because I didn’t read them. Perec also wrote an entire novel without using the letter "e". It was just as difficult as writing a novel in English without the letter "a". "E" is the most common vocal in French. Perec was so crazy, it's sad that he died so young.
@@milfredcummings717 you're a real fan, nice 😃 From your description, I get the feeling that he had fun thinking up and executing concepts, which I appreciate. I remember being curious about what's next. I often feel the very conceptual writers are a bit full of themselves and it gets boringly cerebral in spite/because of all the references. One can feel a lot of those even if one doesn't get them.
@@anneworks I think Perec was as modest as one can imagine. I would love to be a fan of Perec, but unfortunately only three of his novels have been translated into the language I speak, and I don't understand a word of French.
I'm reading Madame Bovary at the moment and enjoying it. I haven't read any Baudelaire... what would you recommend of his to read first? And i have Juliette (i think it's called) by Marquis de Sade on my to-buy list.
