#French L’Été

1. Author: A. Camus
2. Title: L’Été    (essay)
3. Published 1939

 

Conclusion:

1. I must channel my thoughts into a French book.
2. It is the only way I can stay focused during Corona lockdown.
3. Reading a third language (…Dutch is my second)
4. will make reading interactive
5. …the words on the page vs the words I have to look up!
6. The book wasn’t difficult but I should have read an
7. ..ol’ fashioned crime fiction to kick-start my French reading.
8. Oran Algeria is nice….but I wouldn’t want to live there.
9. My last French book was in July 2019
10. …so my vocabulary was a little rusty.
11. #NeverGiveUp

 

L’Été   by Albert Camus

1. Albert Camus compares Oran Algeria to a labyrinth in this essay.
2. It is a closed space in which people go around in circles.
3. Their lives are filled with boredom and futility.
4. All beauty (man-made or natural) has been eliminated.
5. Oran is a a place “sans âme et sans recours”. (no soul, no refuge…just stone)
6. The Minotaur in this labyrinth is boredom,
7. “Le Miontaur dévoure les Oranais: c’est l’ennui.”

 

Notes:

1. Oran: the streets – descriptions of the men/women of Oran
2. …having shoes shined, flirting and their nicknames Clarques (men) -Marlènes (women)
3. Clark Gable-Marilyn Monroe….les voluptés (sensual pleasures)
4. Oran: the desert of Oran..…compares Oran to Florence, Athene and other cities.
5. Oran: the games – description favorite sport in Oran….boxing.
6. BEST CHAPTER: This boxing section was wonderful
7. …no deep philosophical thoughts…just a great sportscast!
8. Oran: the monuments….about Maison de Colon municipal building opened in Oran 1930
9. Oran: the monuments….about Hôtel de Ville with 2 bronze lions by Auguste Cain in 1889
10. Oran: Ariane’s stone (mythology)
11. …Oran is made of stone and Camus uses a stone in his essay
12. … instead of the string. Ariane used a string to help her
13. …lover retrace his way out of the labyrinth of the Minotaur.
14. Camus will use a stone …to show the people that
15. …they too can escape boredom (Minotaur) in Oran.
16. If the Oranais find a balance between
17. …their suffering and what nature can give them
18. …they will be spared a life of futility.
19. “Il faut dire “ oui” au Minotaur.”