L'écornifleur

Jules RenardProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.5

Word count: 231K words
Chapters: 24

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.L'écornifleur by Jules RenardAuthor: Renard, Jules, 1864-1910,Language: French, Class: PQ: Language and Literatures: Romance literatures: French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Release Date: Dec 27, 2006

Editor's review

L'écornifleur is a French-language work by Jules Renard (1864–1910), now available as a free eBook from Project Gutenberg. Renard is known for his keen observation and a narrative voice that is austere yet tinged with irony and warmth. This work continues his attention to human weaknesses and everyday relationships; it is short, written in a spare style, and suitable as an introduction to late 19th-century French literature and to reading in the original French. The value of the Gutenberg edition lies in its being free, storable offline, and easy to search and compare, making it especially suitable for readers with a basic command of French who wish to build reading experience with a shorter text. Note that this electronic edition was produced by a public-domain project and usually contains no modern introduction, detailed notes, or scholarly preface; readers must fill in the historical context, slang, and ironic tone on their own. For classroom use or research, it is advisable to pair it with reliable literary-historical materials and a French dictionary. Overall, it is better suited as supplementary reading for literary interest and language learning than as the sole basis for systematic research.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers with intermediate French reading ability who wish to try a short work in the original
Literature enthusiasts interested in late 19th-century French literature and ironic style
Teachers and students who need a free public-domain electronic text to supplement language courses
Commuters who enjoy shorter classics that can be read in sections

Not a good fit for

Readers with no French at all who want a Chinese translation
Serious researchers who need a version with detailed notes, an introduction, or scholarly apparatus
Readers of contemporary fiction who prefer tightly plotted, strongly narrative works

Reading tips

First read through without looking up words to grasp the characters' relationships and overall tone, then read closely paragraph by paragraph.
Prepare a French-Chinese dictionary and literary-historical materials, and note ironic or period-specific expressions as you go.
Read chapter by chapter and, after each chapter, summarize the content in two or three sentences to check comprehension.
Read alongside other short works by Renard to appreciate his observational perspective and language style.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book in Chinese or French?

According to Project Gutenberg, the book is in French and belongs to French literature; the main text is the original French, not a Chinese translation.

Does this electronic edition have notes and an introduction?

Public-domain eBooks from Project Gutenberg usually consist mainly of the original text and generally do not include a modern scholarly introduction or detailed notes. For deeper understanding, it is advisable to use literary-historical materials and a French dictionary alongside it.

What level of French is needed to read it?

The work is short but written in late 19th-century literary language with ironic and period-specific expressions. It is most suitable for readers with intermediate French reading ability who can understand sentences with the help of a dictionary; beginners may first read a translation or read bilingually.

Is it suitable for classroom teaching?

It can serve as supplementary material for a French reading course, especially for close reading and style analysis of short works. However, because it lacks notes and an introduction, teachers need to prepare background materials and vocabulary lists themselves.

Comments

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About the author

Jules Renard Author · French · 1864–1910

Jules Renard (1864–1910) was a French novelist, essayist and playwright, a member of the Académie Goncourt, born in Mayenne, France. He is known for the autobiographical novel Poil de Carotte and the prose collection Histoires naturelles. His style is concise and sharp, making effective use of plain description and capturing细微 images from everyday life and nature. Poil de Carotte portrays a child's situation within a family, while Histoires naturelles depicts animals and the countryside in short pieces. Renard helped found the magazine Mercure de France; his Journal (1887–1910) is regarded as an important document of modern literature and has influenced writers such as Sartre and Maugham. Works including L'écornifleur and Coquecigrues also show his concise, observant manner.