Novel Bookstore, A. by Laurence Cossé

[marcie]

Welcome to our July Discussion of

A Novel Bookstore by Laurence Cossé

What is a good novel? A classic, a book that was a landmark, a difficult book? We have all read books that include all the basics for a 'good' novel however, it became a novel without genius. Will ‘A Novel Bookstore’ move us toward a definition? A Utopian Paris bookstore, without the constraints of market realities and financial constraints, triggers jealousies and threats in Cossé's self-described, elegantly written novel. Ivan "Van" Georg and Francesca Aldo-Valbelli, the heroes, establish ‘The Good Novel’, a bookshop that will stock only, well written French fiction. A secret committee of eight French writers is conscripted to submit annual lists of titles that become the bookstore’s inventory. We, the readers are immediately thrust in the middle of solving secret attacks on the lives of three committee members. As the story continues, we join the friends of the ‘The Good Novel’ to also track down who is behind the attempts to de-rail the success of the bookstore that is protecting artistic excellence from being submerged by mediocrity.

Links are underlined.
Lunchtime Literary Conversations: with Laurence Cossé and author Hervé Le Tellier, moderated by Rakesh Satyal
In French, with great photos illustrating her books… Laurence Cossé dans La Grande Librairie du 12 février 2009
Quotes by Laurence Cossé

Week 1: Part 1 and Part 2 through Chapter 14 (about 102 pages)
Week 2: Part 2 from Chapter 15 to the end (about 97 pages)
Week 3: Part 3 (about 123 pages)
Week 4: Part 4 (about 86 pages)

Discussion Leaders BarbStAubrey and Marcie

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR WEEK 4 - PART 4

• We learn something about the writing process, and what constitutes a good novel, through discovering more about the committee members, especially the members who were attacked. What made an impression on you?

• What are some of the cynical aspects of the book publishing and book selling businesses that we learn about through the investigation of possible culprits? Have you experienced any negative aspects in your pursuit of books?

• What do we learn about Francesca? Is her situation, reactions and how she "took her leave" a reflection of novels you've read or heard about?

• What parallels are there in the relationships between Van and Anis and Van and Francesca?

• How do Van and Anis change after Francesca "takes her leave" and they read Francesca's notes?

• What are your thoughts as  you finish reading the book?

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR WEEK 3 - PART 3

• How do the various settings – forest, hillside trail, mountain ski resort, Paris, hospitals, police station, a seventeenth-century building add mood, tone and meaning to the text?

• What recurring patterns, images/symbols, images, metaphors, similes, have you noticed and Why – What is their purpose – How do they develop or impact the characters?

• What clues made you suspect those behind the denigration of Francesco and Van

• How do the attacks on the values inherit in the book store remind you of other literary and scientific attacks

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR WEEK 2

• In this section (middle to end of Part 2) we learn something about the personal lives of Van and Francesca. What impressions are you forming of them? What does the Bookstore mean to them?

• What do you make of Anis?

• What are your impressions of the 8 members of the committee?

• What are your thoughts about the importance of literature that Francesca learned from her grandfather?
  "Literature is a source of pleasure, he said, it is one of the rare inexhaustible joys in life, but it's not only that. It must not be disassociated from reality. Everything is there. That is why I never use the word fiction. Every subtlety in life is material for a book. He insisted on the fact. Have you noticed, he'd say, that I'm talking about novels? Novels don't contain only exceptional situations, life or death choices, or major ordeals; there are also everyday difficulties, temptations, ordinary disappointments; and, in response, every human attitude, every type of behavior, from the finest to the most wretched. There are books where, as you read, you wonder: What would I have done? It's a question you have to ask yourself. Listen carefully: it is a way to learn to live. There are grown-ups who would say no, that literature is not life, that novels teach you nothing. They are wrong. Literature performs, instructs, it prepares you for life."

• Are there books that are mentioned in this section that you are thinking about reading?

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR WEEK 1

• Who is telling the story?
• How many stories within stories have you noticed?  What books have you read that use a narrative embedded in the story, often told by a character in the story? This is sometimes called a Metadiegetic Narrative (a back story).

• On page 23 Marcellin heard Paul deliriously mutter “Mina green and pink.” When he spoke of it to Madame Huon, she assumed Paul “was referring to one of his visitors and the color of her eye shadow or her lingerie.” What was Paul referencing, and why is it important?

• Several of the names that are sprinkled in chapter 4 are names known to the French. Who among the names is a well-known skier and whose Sur name is a famous cookie even sold here in the US?
• What causes a chuckle reading the Doctor and Suzon attacking the beaufort? What is beaufort?
• What is the history of the name Montbrun?

• Suzon says Paul is a very cultured man who goes by the name Néant. In French Néant means ‘nothing - void’ which could describe what he lives on but more, how does his name link the concept of void to: ~ Charles Baudelaire ~ Alexandre Grothendieck, mathematician ~ a Cabaret  ~ Phantasmagoria

• What book have you read that was so powerful when you finished reading you realized you never read anything like it? What about the book you read was outstanding? Was it the use of language, the unforgettable characters who spoke to you in a new way, a theme that reached beyond your imagination?

• Why does Armel write checks to Maritime Rescue or Handicap International?
• Van speaks highly of Armel as a storyteller. What is the difference between a storyteller and a stylist?
• What are the various meanings for Paul’s pseudonym, Brother Brandy?
• What motivates, scares, upsets Anne-Marie?

[marcie]

Wow. Whichever lists we might use as a source for good novels, we'll have an abundance of potential riches.

Joan, the undine/ondine is such an interesting allusion. I think that I noticed three times so far when Anis is referred to by Van as being out of fairy tale. I'll have to go back to find those.

Anis seems to want to protect her "space" and doesn't want Van to come close to her. I guess that could arise from experiences of abandonment. Whatever the cause, I think we likely agree that something has happened to Anis in the past.

Joan, I noticed the shift from Van to Ivan too but couldn't see a pattern.

[marcie]

What does the Novel Bookstore mean to Val and Francesca?

At the end of Chapter 15, Francesca recalls Van saying, "I have to devote myself to something that's bigger than I am, and it has to be a success." Van recalls Francesca saying, "I too want to do something worthwhile in my life, at last."

Speaking to Francesca's husband in Chapter 23, Van says of the bookstore, "Our concept is radical. It is a revolution in cultural behavior. Everybody nowadays agrees that too many uninteresting books are published. We think this phenomenon is like a pollution of the mind, and we are simply saying: enough. Let us refuse to see our taste polluted. Let's refresh the air. Let's breathe. We think we have a good chance of finding followers."

What I am taking from the book is the importance of literature to our lives. Good literature helps us understand the world around us and our reactions to it and can inspire us to learn and do more.

[JudeS]

Hi
I wanted to join you but was too attached to the Odyssey to let go of that discussion. Now that it has ended I can read this book (I purchased it when the discussion began). I have kept up with your discussion on this site and have looked at a lot of the suggested videos. Also have read nearly all of the books you have mentioned i.e.all of Stendhall, The Sea by Bancroft  etc. Most of the books I liked, especially Stendhal. One book I didn't like was "The Elegance of the Hedgehog".
Be that as it may I will commence with the reading and hopefully will join you when I catch up to where you are now. That should be by Monday.

[marcie]

Hooray, Jude! I'm so glad to hear that you'll be joining us! I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

[JoanP]

"What does the Novel Bookstore mean to Van and Francesca? "

Marcie, I'm thinking the bookstore means much the same to both of them.  They each want to feel they have accomplished something with their lives - and they share a passion for books - for novels in particular.  It's an enjoyable discourse on the importance, the relevance of novels to our lives that novels teach us, or prepare us for life.  Reading novels is not a frivolous way to past time.  I really liked seeing that here in a discussion of choosing and reading good literature.
"Good literature helps us understand the world around us and our reactions to it and can inspire us to learn and do more."   You put it so well, Marcie.  I remember how I used to be on my second son all the time - for spending so much time reading instead of - everything else.  Years ago, Bruce and I concluded that he had educated himself - and had done a great job of it.

I contine to watch Van and Francesca and their shared passion.  Don't you see them a more of a match - than whatever it is that attracts Van to Anis.  I guess I keep saying that - but as we read on, this impression seems to grow.  Van is watching Francesca closely - admiring her, her eyes especially - what she's wearing...  Anis keeps herself from him...maybe that's why he doesn't  have much to say about her - except that she is young, pink and exquisite - like someone out of a fairytale.  How do you see her?  

I looked up the author Noelle Revas, so admired by Anis...and see that she is a living author, had published "Rapport aux bêtes"  (Report on Brutes) in 2002.  Is this why some of you think that Anis was abused by a "brute" at some point in her life?

Do you see why Van is attracted to Anis - is that why he is pursuing her?  Maybe because she is so evasive - this role is not familiar to Van.  
I  don't think he knows it yet but  it's Francesca that has his attention.  It's clear there is nothing left of her marriage.  I'd say her husband does not want her to succeed.  what does he care?  Is he the one who wants the "business" to fail?  I see Heffner asking the same question. Maybe he is jealous of the time she's spending with Van?  But again, why does he care?
"For six years she has never slept more than one or two hours...What happened six years ago?  Can someone remind me, please?
Is Van attracted to the fragility of both of these women?  Why hasn't he mentioned to Francesca that Anis is living in Paris - they share everything else...

Jude, so glad you are joing us - if you spot an author or a title to nominate for discussion in the Fall, will you say so here - maybe enter it in the Suggestion Box too?

[marcie]

JoanP, thanks for expressing your thoughts so well. I concur with your thinking and am asking the same questions you are. Six years ago Francesca lost her teenage daughter. I won't say more until I check to see where in the book we learn that to make sure I don't give away details.

[Frybabe]

I'm a dunce. I had bookmarked the isle that Francesca visited to give you all the link at the appropriate time. I had to take the book back and forgot why I bookmarked the darn thing. So now it has been deleted, and I cannot remember the name of the isle.

Hi JUDE! Glad you piped up. A few of the group had to drop out, and as I said, my book is back in the library so I need others' conversation and questions to jog my memory on some things.

I believe Van said he would lose interest once a woman actually showed signs of really liking him. I know someone who is similar; in his case he feels smothered if a female wants to gets to close. I guess two bad marriages and interfering Mothers can do that to a person. That does not, however, explain me who also likes my space.

JoanP, I hadn't looked into Noelle Revas' book. Is it about child abuse?

[JoanP]

Fry, I haven't found too much about Rapport aux betes - just that the movie based on it won a big Swiss award.  that site described it as a story of domestic violence - "not limited to animals."  From what I gather, a farmer in a remote area, cared more for his animals than his family.  A stranger came to work on the farm and from what I can tell, he saved the family - humanized them.
Here's the only site I found on it -
Review of Rapport aux Betes
As I recall, it was the language the stranger used that enthralled her - his voice.

I guess it's up to us to conclude why Anis wants to read all of Revaz' books.  I noted somewhere that Anis has detected the trait in Van -  if she shows interest in him, he'll leave her.  She can't risk that...

The island...hmmm, you'll have to remind me when Francesca left for an island.  I'm afraid I don't remember.  I've read about half of Part 3.  Did she go there after the bookstore opened - or before.  I'm afraid my memory is getting worse... Maybe Jude will remember tomorrow when she gets here.  The story will be fresh in her mind.

[Frybabe]

JoanP, I think it was in August that Francesca took the vacation. I don't remember the chapter. I remember the picture of it was of a tiny island that was practically all houses (or one very big house).

[marcie]

Interesting thoughts about Van and Anis. It seems that both have issues with closeness.

I wonder if we haven't come to Francesca's island in our scheduled reading. It doesn't sound familiar (or my memory is going, which could be the case).

[Frybabe]

Marcie, I think it showed up somewhere in Book 3.

[JudeS]

My first impression of this book:
I really like it. Find it hard to stop reading. That doesn't mean I like EVERYTHING in the book .
Probably my fondness arises because I too love bookstores and am quite addicted to them.  (I'm known to some as the "Bookie Monster")
First I must mention two things I found jarring ,then I will write about the good things.
The author writes that she googled Police and up came J.K.Rawlings.  Now there are no police in the Harry Potter books. I felt that it was a put down and the that Cosse would not have written that if she had read the seven book series.  perhaps she is jealous of Rawlings phenomenal success.
Second thing was when she was mentioning foreign books for the store she mentioned "Oe".  I felt she just looked up a list of Nobel Prize winners and had not read his works. (Or many of the other books mentioned except, of course the French books and the world classics).
I don't believe that one can rhapsodize over an almost unknown French author (Noelle Revas) and not say a word about Oe's brilliant body of work.  She mentions his name but not his books.
Having said this I simply am enchanted by Francesca and wish to follow her through thick and thin. (By the way she mentions her island in Book 2). The other characters are painted in realistic manner as well but of course not as appealing as Francesca.  I like the other people that come to work in the store as well.  The author paints them well in a few brush strokes.
I haven't answered any of your qustions Marcie.  Just getting first impressions off my chest. More later.

[BarbStAubrey]

I am so glad you are part of the conversation Jude - sorry for going missing the last couple of days - just back from the Doc this morning - turned out I have pneumonia - no wonder I could not do anything but sleep all weekend with a blinding headache, sore chest and upset stomach - one shot this morning and I am already feeling human.

Opening a book account sounded like a breath of air didn't it - reminded me of years ago when local grocery stores and drug stores had a small library that a fee was charged for borrowing the book - I wonder what is the emotional difference opening an account at a favorite store as opposed to using a credit card which is a quick way to make a purchase?

Loved the description of Van during his hay days on TV - "With his allure of an inspired dunce, bird-catcher, and friend of fairies, he enchanted the viewers, and they asked for more."

Had any of you ever analyzed a love story as Francesco describes -  shock, observation, despair, guesswork, calculation, hope - and then an accelerating impulse arrived by or with - accident, decisive gesture, tears, declaration - and then in spite of the foreboding towards a dark prediction there is immediate agreement and shared jubilation.

I wonder if we can use that list of events to describe the love story between Van and Annis or how about the love story between both Francesca, Van and Good Books - or could that list of events be used to describe this book that starts off with a sense of mystery that seems ominous and is lifted with the first days of success when the book store opens and then another or continued mystery descends...

[BarbStAubrey]

hmmm was Francesco's list of events in a love story forewarning us of things to come - is the exchange between Van and Anis starting on page 289 following her formula of - accident, decisive gesture, tears, declaration

There on the avenue de l'Observatoire, while walking he has an idea to analyze Anis's everyword - his calculation is to throw caution to the wind he repeats some of her words - he lets her go and turns to observe her - The tears fill her eyes and he makes the connection - in face of her despair and shocking response he writes to her his declaration of love and that he will let her go - hopeless the task of renewing the life of a flower with water is difficult. Returning home Anis on his doorstep is followed by a jubilation, an embracing for an eternity that nearly makes them fall.

[BarbStAubrey]

At the end of Part 2 on page 193 - "At the end of July all the work was done. Surplus stock of the books was stored in the basement. Francesca left for a few days on the Island of San Giulio, Lago d'Orta, where she had a villa she needed to air out, she said. "I'm joking," she amended. "It's a house where I used to go on vacation every year, as a child. I cannot spend a whole summer without at least sleeping there for a few nights. The villa is by the water. From my room, all night long, I can hear the lapping of the lake."

Than later in Part 3 on Christmas Day, Van and Francesca are walking after the lunch she arranged in a hunting lodge in the middle of the forest of Marley. They walk "through the immense silence, among the gigantic black trees, cracking the frozen ground beneath their feet."

The description of the Island is so like the first few chapters describing Pineta della Gualdana in An Enigma by the Sea but Carlo Fruttero and Franco Lucentini - which is a mystery and the authors are mentioned in the book on page 81 - I could not find the titles offered in the book translated into English but I did find An Enigma by the Sea.

In The Novel Bookstore is mentioned their book A che punto è la notte - evidently it must have been a movie - here is the YouTube link to the song entitled   A che punto è la notte It is quite hypnotic

Near as I can figure out the other book mention L'amante senza fissa dimora is a political fantasy that includes a love story - something about Iraq after 9/11

[BarbStAubrey]

Translated using Babel.

"A being dull and routine, filling six pages each day on six subjects, with the same words, the same formulas, the same tone, the same securities." A "general incompetence of" extolling the virtues of local elected officials, s 'ecstasies before the imperishable paintings of the artist's thought crowned "Prince of the color palette of gold, silver wreath, crystal cup."

In any case, defined by the narrator of les bottes rouges (Red Boots) directed by Franz Bartelt, in a novel iconoclastic and compassionate.

Exercises his talents as junk in the regional daily L'Est rainy, but with only a passion, "peeling potatoes", which "elevates man to the upper terraces of serenity," our Localia would like to blend into the surrounding gloom. His neighbor Basile, storekeeper who has deceived his wife Rose and wants to reclaim the wife scorned, leaves him little time to devote to meditation vegetable.

Using it as a potential mediator, but the resulting in a series of daily disasters recounted in the comic mode, his friend Basil projects on roads, to regions where nothing really happens and where the sweet bloom of metaphysical transcendence.

 With this mixture of black humor and nostalgia not a bitter trademark of his imagination very British, Franz Bartelt treats us to a crazy story, or point tenderness disillusioned and lucid reflection on our difficult relations with our neighbors. It's irresistible humor and a sincere seriousness.

[BarbStAubrey]

another review using Babel of Franz Bartelt's Les Bottes Rouge

The narrator is corresponding room d' a newspaper of “l' Is rainy”. When his/her best friend, Basile, storekeeper, announce qu' to him; it has just misled his wife, Rose, with a young trainee of l' machine, it advises to him to persevere in l' adultery. But Basile feels guilty, because Rose, having discovered her connection, sank in a deep depression. The novel tells the long one and heroic reconquest of Rose by her husband, who n' will not go without dramas and adventures. Basile has a high idea of his mission of storekeeper, marital happiness and Belgian beer. The narrator, consequently, n' more qu' has; a haste: to leave the village for s' to install in an area where it does not occur really anything. It will be able to be finally devoted to its favorite occupation, l' weeding of potatoes… The readers of Franz Bartelt will find l' here; at the same time black and laughing universe of the preceding novels, their cocassery, their shingling clearness. There is a fraternal melancholy whose bitter savour persists after reading - lit sad smiles or frank funs.

[JoanP]

Thanks for finding the Island of San Giulio in the Lago d'Orta, Barbara.  Frybabe will be happy.  Didn't you think it was a bit odd that Francesca would take off so soon before the opening of the bookstore?  The only reason I could think of was the fact that Anis is now in Paris - thought Van has made a point not to tell Francesca this.  If she's found out, she may want to distance herself from the two.

I haven't finished Part 3 yet, Barbara...but must say that your tireless research dazzles!  You are tying together details - in a way that Cosse probably expects all of her readers to notice.  Thank heaven we have you!  Hope you are feeling better.

Jude, I'm with you - love Francesca - but oh so fragile.  In a different way than Anis.  I don't know why, but I think Francesca stands more of a chance of getting hurt.  Don't you see her growing more and more attached to Van?  At the end of Chapter 28 -

"Francesca had her eyes on Van; she was vibrant, serious, smiling...was illuminated in one instant, the way a gray day is illuminated when, without warning, the sun shines through and changes it entirely."

She's telling Heffner about him in this way for a whole page - "...And then comes a period where one goes from bedazzlement to bedazzlement...Afterwards, one remembers this succession of blissful moments as if it were a marvelous story that happened to other people."

How different this story would have been, had there NOT been Anis!

Are you finding any titles you'd like to discuss in these chapters?  What of Evelyn Waugh's Decline and Fall?

Off to read Part 3 and the metaphor hunt!

 

[Frybabe]

Ah, there it is. Thanks, Barb. The Island of St. Guilio has an interesting history, legend attached to it.
http://www.orta.net/eng1/isolasgiulioe.htm


An Enigma by the Sea: The only customer review on Amazon for the book makes it sound so inviting. The only books available are used.

I never thought of Anis as fragile. She is a survivor.

[marcie]

Barbara, I hope you continue to feel better. Thank you for those links and translations.

Joan, it does seem that Van and Francisca are a good match. Anis is hardly in the picture but Van is holding on to the thought of being with her. It seems odd.

Frybabe, what an interesting history behind the island. Thanks for finding and sharing that.

[BarbStAubrey]

Wow what a great web site for 'Island of St. Guilio' thanks Frybabe -

And yes, I often buy a book used from amazon - the neat thing is they back anyone selling so, if the book does not arrive they refund all your money - over the years I have had that happen 3 times however, after adding the $4 for the delivery, since a used book does not fall under the Amazon free 2 day delivery, a book in 'good' or 'nearly new' condition, including delivery is sometimes a much better price especially on expensive books - I have recently order a used book for $16 plus $4 delivery that is like new where as a new book from Amazon is $29.85 with no delivery charge but still that is over $9 in savings. And then some of these that are out of print or international rather than the high cost again, a used book works.

The copy of An Enigma by the Sea was advertised in very good condition - it arrived tight, no markings, clean, no tears - the only thing - when the book is closed you do not notice but when a page is open you notice the very edge of each page is about a quarter of an inch of fading yellow - probably discolored from time stored someplace maybe in the sun.

My very favorite used books is to find those cloth covered hardbacks from the turn of the twentieth century - purchased a Thackeray book for a couple of dollars - 'used' but for me a treasure - and then a book that I will probably read once and get rid of or, if it is a book that runs over $50 then I usually buy it used for a quarter of the price including shipping.

[JoanP]

The Novel Bookstore can be an expensive proposition, can't it?  So many suggested titles... It's a good thing that our local library is so well stocked!  I've spent the evening trying to find a connection between the titles mentioned in the opening chapter of Part III - though with only little success.  I'm going to have to rely on you all to connect the dots...Did you see any significance attached to these two titles?

1. On opening day, both Anis and Francesca each made a purchase.
Did you notice that Van is so carried away with sales that he hardly notices her - or her comment, which was described as "the scratch of a nail on oak bark."  She selects Grace Paley's Enormous Changes at the Last Minute.

In Grace Paley’s Enormous Changes at the Last Minute, identity is a personal and a social issue in the struggle for a peaceful world. Most of the characters in this short-story collection are middle-aged women, such as Faith Darwin, who resembles, but is not intended to be, Paley’s alter ego; others are simply those about whom stories are told—the children who have died or suffered from neglect, poverty, drug abuse, and the Vietnam War.

The main characters in these stories act with defiance and hope. In “Enormous Changes at the Last Minute,”...
http://www.enotes.com/enormous-changes-last-minute-salem/enormous-changes-last-minute

Why does Anis buy this particular book?

Frybabe, I've been thinking about why I see Anis as fragile - and you see her as a survivor.  In a sense I  see your point- she's a survivor as long as she keeps to herself, does not allow herself to love and take a chance on Van.  This is not an easy decision for her - why else would she be crying so much?

[JoanP]

2. Francesca purchased Daniel Arsand's En Silence   , described as "The cruel account of a family forced to leave their life in the French countryside at the turn of the last century, En silence evokes a period in history in which men and women were filled with impatience, new desires, and an avidity for freedom whose dangers were as of yet undiscovered. It is in this setting that Daniel Arsand paints the portraits of three women, a mother and her two daughters, who are completely unprepared for what awaits them in the city. With his exceptional literary style, Arsand depicts the challenges they encounter as each woman struggles to adapt to her new life in a different way. En Silence has been nominated for the Prix Interallié and the Prix Renaudot. "
http://www.frenchpubagency.com/Title-198844-Fiction-Literature/En-silence.html  

Didn't you love the little "ballet"- the celebratory dance between the two of them?  Suddenly Van doesn't know how to end it - one more movement they would have been in one another's arms...does Van know this?

[JudeS]

Marcie
One of the questions you asked is about a  book that  left you with the feeling  about a book that was so powerful that you have never read anything like it.
Well as a young person (about 12) reading "A Death in Venice" by Thomas Mann.
About age 16 Crime and Punishment by Dostoyevsky.
At every life stage there is a book or rather an author who awakens me in a different way. Albert Camus the French Nobel Prize winner and Jose Saramago the Portugese Nobel Prize winner and Kensaburo Oe, the Japanese genius writer (also Nobel Prize winner).When I discover a writer I usually read all of their body of work.
I don't compare one writer to another. They simply fill different voids.
Oh yes-one other beloved writer-Orham Pamuk . He is the most difficult to read but well worth the effort.
 
.

[JudeS]

Now to the personalities of Anis and Francesca.
In Part three it is told clearly that Anis was abused by her step-father. The author alludes to but doesn't state outright that it was sexual abuse. However it would certainly explain all of her behavioral patterns. In fact the explanation, when it is given. seems almost too pat and simplistic. I think it is done to make us, the readers,  feel compassion for her and forgive her for the often bizarre behavior she exhibits.
Francesca, on the other hand, comes across (To me at least) as a real person and not a stereotype. She has experienced a different kind of tragedy. This tragedy has left her both vulnerable and at the same time strong. Her husband is a real question mark still. Perhaps he will be explained in Part four.  Francesca is the heart and soul of The Bookstore. Without her there would be no such place. She is a truly talented and admirable person. At the same time there are wisps of tragedy (the past and perhaps the future) that wrap themselves around her. The author does a good job of hinting at the dark forces that are being unleashed by Francescas project.

[BarbStAubrey]

Jude so glad to know some of the books you have read that made a difference in your life - it is difficult for me to remember the impact a book made - there are a couple that I've read over and over but they are not novels -

Of the novels that made a huge impact I can remember when I first read Kafka - The Castle and then The Trial were the two that had me by the tail and then Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five blew me away - and laughing aloud with Woodhouse when I should have been doing homework - I cannot go a year without re-reading A Child's Christmas in Wales - the use of language to me is still a wonder - There were many of the Russians - especially Chekhov, his short stories and his plays - there was Salinger, again, during my high school years. I had a Zooey door for years - I wasn't a fan of Hemingway but his Old Man and the Sea said so much to me. And Pearl S. Buck's The Good Earth oh yes, and Welty's Ponder Heart There are many wonderful writers but these are the books that hit me in the solar plexus so that my view of the world shifted.

[BarbStAubrey]

Didn't you love the little "ballet"- the celebratory dance between the two of them?  Suddenly Van doesn't know how to end it - one more movement they would have been in one another's arms...does Van know this?

hmmm rather than characters fascinated with each other and loving each other in a way they are faintly expressing - I wonder if they each are a metaphor - do  you notice all the numbers, math that Van gets himself involved with - what does that mean - it seems to be such a concrete controlled view of the world as compared to Francesca's artistic view of the world - hmmm you are prompting me to look at these two and their characteristics rather than as two characters.

[JoanP]

I've caught up - finished Part III this afternoon.  Barb, I do see Van and Francesca as living breathing characters now...their attraction is something I can understand.
That Christmas day in the woods - "walking without talking" -  Van and Francesca BOTH "repressing a terrible desire."
But then, there's this business with Anis - "Little Anis" -

Even Heffner  senses the metaphor that  describes Francesca's feelings for Van -
"She was illuminated the way a gray day is illuminated when without warning the sun shines through and changes it entirely."
Her blue eyes dazzle when she looks at him - and fill with tears.

I'm thinking that if someone had such an effect on me, could cheer me just by quietly walking with me, I'd give Anis some competition.   I guess that's not Francesca's way.  But don't you see Van's interest in Francesca as well?
Is there a reason for his frequent comments about how thin she is?

[JoanP]

Jude, the titles that you loved are all probably in the bookstore, don't you think?  Good novels.  I'm watching closely for possibilities  for future discussions.  Thomas Mann's Death in Venice is one such title.  Can't remember how long it's been since I read it.  Eudora Welty - she's been mentioned here more than once.  The Ponder Heart? .
It's supposed to be quite funny.  I'll confess I've never read Eudora - I would like to.  Would you be interested in proposing it for discussion?
Pamuk's Snow - and Red too-  I agree, these should be included on the lists, Jude.

I'm a bit confused at one of the descriptions of the Good Novel bookstore found in the heading -
 ‘The Good Novel’, a bookshop that will stock only, well written French fiction."  That certainly isn't true, is it?  Maybe all the books are translated into French?

[marcie]

Jude, Barbara and Joan, I understand what each of you are saying about Van's relationships.

I'm wondering if I'm missing things because I'm not aware of the subtleties of French culture. I know the American boy meets girl variations but there could be clues about Van and Francesca's relationship and Van and Anis that are obvious to people in France that I just don't see.

[marcie]

Wow, Jude. You read Thomas Mann when you were 12! I read his Magic Mountain but can't claim to have understood it all.

I would like to read it with a group here. Eudora Welty too.

I read some of the existentialists during my teen years. It might be interesting to read Camus', The Stranger, together.

[JudeS]

Marcie
The French Existentialists had the greatest influence on me of all the genres and authors.  I was enamored of Camus especially since he was both a writer , a philosopher and a Soccer hero who grew up in a household in Algiers where everyone but him was illiterate.
"The Stranger has remained my favorite book of all time though many people will think that "strange".
I have never read Eudora Welty but am familiar with the name.

If this  Bookstore which we are reading about is only for French or translated into French authors , no mention is made of Camus, Sarte, Simone de Beauvoir or other authors of the war years. I wonder why? We are inundated with titles of the new crop of French writers none of whom are known to me. Is the author trying to awaken me to them?

Perhaps that is her hidden agenda.

[JoanP]

These links came from the Good Novel website.  Is this Cosse's website?  I'm a bit confused about where the titles come from - but the list is said to include the titles on the shelves in the Bookstore - this is a fictional book store, right?  The fiction is Cosse's - so these are her picks?  As I say, I'm confused about who had input into this list - other than the author of "A Novel Bookstore."

Two quick observations from the following list - Camus is included, Jude, though not Sartre and Simone de B..  Also, Eudora Welty is NOT  on the list -  thought I read about that in the novel - didn't you?  Will have to reread Part 3 to find out what was said about  her.  Last night I checked my shelves and found, "Optimist's Daughter - stayed up late reading it - and liked it!  I'm still going to mention her "Ponder Heart"  in the Suggestion Box for future discussion.
Here's the list:  
  The Good Novel Website - list of books carried in the Bookstore

Another link to the Good Novel Website - Staff Picks (Van & Francesca)

ps.  Another name NOT on the list - Thomas Mann. Marcie, I remember that SeniorNet discussion of Magic Mountain!  Wasn't that a difficult, but rewarding book?  It would be on my list - had I been asked to submit one.  I feel like recommending his "Death in Venice"  - along with Eudora Welty for future discussion - even if not for sale n the Novel Bookstore!

[JoanP]

Marcie, that's an interesting question you ask about the subtleties of French culture - and romance.  There were several comments that I had questioned -

about Van and Francesca's "terrible repressed desire," Francesca's obvious "bedazzlement" in Van's presence - Heffner notices, surely Van does too. 

"Do men not prefer women who don't rush things?"  This question found in Chapter 25.  I remember wondering about it at the time.  Neither Francesca nor Anis can be accused of rushing things with Van.  Is this universally true - or more so en France?  Did the question cause you to pause?

[JudeS]

Joan P.
Thanks so much for the website of "The Good Novel".
I perused the titles and found some missing books and writers.  But then Francesca and Ivan didn't ask me for my opinion.
Anyhow no Thomas Mann and no Dickens? Perhaps they don't like long books.They included Camus "The Stranger" which is a short book but not "The Plague " which is a long book.
 At the second site you found with Ivan and Francesca's personal picks, Francesca has almost all French books of, to me, unknown authors.

Now the interesting thing is that we are relating to Francesca and Ivan as if they were real.  So indeed the author has done a great job of making her characters come alive.

On another note .I am reading an amazing book by Jose Saramago:"The Elephant's Journey". It takes place during the years of the Inquisition but tells of the story of an elephant named Solomon who is being sent across the continent  as a wedding gift to the Royals of Vienna. The humor is fantastic and the people and settings are so believable that you are there. 

[JoanP]

Judy, I just put a hold for  "The Elephant's Journey" -  it sounds wonderful!  And it's not even on the list!

I remembered there was a link in The Good Novel book site - where you can add your own suggestions.  Shall we do that? When I went back to the link, I reread the sentence where the link occurs -

"You, too, can make a suggestion. Otherwise, just browse this partial list (an exhaustive one would be impractical) of good novels now available at The Good Novel."

So that helps - the list is only a partial list!  Let's suggest some titles and see the response.  Maybe they'll tell us they are included in the exhaustive list!

[JudeS]

I wanted to go to the site of suggestions for new book discussions. Tried yesterday and today but for some reason the site refused to come up. Actually the first page of the site comes up but all the other pages and the present one as well refuse to answer to my pressure.
Anyhow you can put the book on the list . It is only 200 pages long and has  clever repartee and historical scenes that are both fun and insightful. This was the last book Saramago wrote before his death.  He won the Nobel Prize for his body of work and especially "Blindness" and "The Cave". Both of the latter are really serious whereas this book is serious but also humorous. A rare combination.

[JoanP]

Blindness, I know - but as you say, the humor in Elephant's Journey sounds delightful - and unexpected.  We had a discussion of Blindness way back in 2000 when we were SeniorNet - found it in the Archives - Archived discussion of Blindness by Jose Saramago
 Please try once again to get into the Suggestion Box.  I don't know what the problem was the other day.

[marcie]

I too will put Elephant's Journey on my list. Thanks, Jude.

I guess I've arrogantly assumed (without giving it thought) that all of the great books have been translated into English. So the books at A Novel Bookstore, being comprised of those translated into French or by French authors, did seem somewhat skewed by the number of recent French novels by people I'd not heard of. That was sort of odd but Van and Francesca did talk about their dream that other bookstores would open in other countries with preference for books in their respective languages. The more I think about it, this book is very much rooted in French culture and I realize that I'm filtering everything through my own American perspective.