The story of Berlin in the 20th century
3 copies of celebrated French bestseller “On The Line” – BRITTANY
25th July 2021
We have 3 copies of celebrated French bestseller On the Line by Joseph Ponthus, set in BRITTANY. Translated by Stephanie Smee
UK only.
A celebrated French bestseller, this novel in verse that captures the mundane and the beautiful, the blood and sweat, of working on the factory floor in the processing plants and abattoirs of Brittany.
Unable to find work in his field, Joseph Ponthus enlists with a temp agency and starts to pick up casual shifts in the fish processing plants and abattoirs of Brittany. Day after day he records with infinite precision the nature of work on the production line: the noise, the weariness, the dreams stolen by the repetitive nature of exhausting rituals and physical suffering. But he finds solace in a life previously lived.
Shelling prawns, he dreams of Alexandre Dumas. Pushing cattle carcasses, he recalls Apollinaire. And, in the grace of the blank spaces created by his insistent return to a new line of text – mirroring his continued return to the production line – we discover the woman he loves, the happiness of a Sunday, Pok Pok the dog, the smell of the sea.
In this celebrated French bestseller, translated by Stephanie Smee, Ponthus captures the mundane, the beautiful and the strange, writing with an elegance and humour that sit in poignant contrast with the blood and sweat of the factory floor. On the Line is a poet’s ode to manual labour, and to the human spirit that makes it bearable.
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Then tell us in the COMMENTS below which title set in France has appealed to you a lot. Do this by midnight, 7th August 2021 and the first three names chosen at random will be sent a copy of the novel. UK only.
With thanks to Avneet at Head of Zeus
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The winners:
Pageflicker
Katherine McDonald
hughese
Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks – such a beautiful book.
Birdsong – Sebastian Faulks
I read Birdsong by Sebastian Fawlkes several years ago and enjoyed it despite the wartime theme of the book.
I took on Proust with some sense of mild terror but really enjoyed it, and it made me desperate to get back to France,
I haven’t read any novels set in France but I do want to win your competition though!
Charlotte Gray by Sebastian Faulks
I haven’t read any of these books but “On The Line” sounds good.
Chocolat by Joanne Harris
Birdsong – Sebastian Faulks
Madame Bovary
A Week in Paris, my first but no means last book by Rachel Hore. Just couldn’t put it down!
A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle
Knife Gun Poison Bomb, by Martin O’Brien
Anything set in Paris automatically appeals to me. I’m psyching myself up to read A Tale of Two Cities.
I really like the sound of a thriller with a difference, so On the Line would be perfect. I enjoy books with a French vibe and I’m just finishing off Peter May’s Enzo series, so this would be a perfect follow up.
Smoking Kills
Birdsong – Sebastian Faulks
Birdsong – Sebastian Faulks. A magnificent book.
Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks
I like Sebastian Faulks’ French series but to choose one I’ll have to say Birdsong – it made a huge impression on me when I first read it years ago and I still find myself thinking about it even now. It’s troubling and thought-provoking and really well-written.
A year in Provence (loved the tv series too!)
Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon
I adored All Human Wisdom by Pierre Lemaitre. It was incredible! It kept me guessing the whole way through.
Animalia by Jean-Baptiste Del Amo (translated by Frank Wynne) was an amazing read that I can’t get out of my head
I like thrillers so for me it would have to be The Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth
The day of the Jackal – Frederick Forsyth
Chocolat
The Paris Library
I loved Chocolat! by Joanne Harris.
Chocolat – Joanne Harris
The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery
Have Mercy on Us All by Fred Vargas
The Paris Library
A Week in Paris by Rachel Hore
Chocolat
Summer of Reckoning by Marion Brunet.
One day, I will actually pick up Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell from my bookcase and read it!
Perfume by Patrick Suskind
Has to be A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle – loved the TV series too.
Labyrinth by Kate Mosse – really gripping and atmospheric with great characters
Bonjour tristesse by Françoise Sagan, which I read on a beach in the south of France
Hello, I really enjoyed ‘Piglettes’ by Clémentine Beauvais. It is about three French teenagers, who after being bullied, decide to bike ride across France.
Labyrinth by Kate Mosse – set in the past and the present in Carcassonne
Perfume by Patrick Süskind
Perfume by Patrick Suskind not normally the sort of book id read but was good
Lessons from Madame Chic: The Top 20 Things I Learned From Living In Paris. It’s a great read.
Perfume – Patrick Suskind
I wasn’t sure about the book at first, but really enjoyed it – so different!
Chocolat by Joanne Harris. I saw the film version many years ago and have always meant to read the book!
The Second Worst Restaurant in France – Alexander McCall Smith
Three Days and a Life by Pierre Lemaitre. A brilliant book but my sister had been to the town where it is set (Beauval) the year before and had sent photographs so I could envisage the setting.