Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com
Summary:
Ten unusual stories by French literary masters from Voltaire to Camus: "Micromégas," by Voltaire; "The Atheist’s Mass" by Balzac; "The Legend of St. Julian the Hospitaler" by Flaubert; "Spleen of Paris" by Baudelaire; "Minuet" by de Maupassant; "The Guest" by Camus, and four more. Accurate English translations appear on pages facing the original French. Also included are a French-English vocabulary list, oral and writing exercises. Critical introductions.
Customer Reviews:
Average Customer Rating:
Good book to brush up...
Customer Rating:
I bought this book for my ailing and flailing French vocabulary. Although I speak fluently, my diminishing vocabulary is directly accredited to my non-use and non-practice of the language. One note - many phrases are translated literally, yet lack the tonality and subtle nuances which are found in true meaning. Otherwise, a very easy read and a useful book for those of us who lack opportunity to speak the language. Would certainly recommend this book for an intermediate level and up.
Excellent choice
Customer Rating:
The chosen stories are excellent--all of top quality, both from a literary and (often) from a philosophical perspective. It is very easy to use the fine translation side-by-side with the original French.
The very good and the pretty bad--still would buy again
Customer Rating:
First the good. These stories are worth reading anyway, even if not trying to improve your French. Can't believe I never read Micromegas before! Can't believe it was written mid 1700s! So the selection of stories is an excellent one and the practice and vocabulary building comes quickly. For that reason, I'd unquestionably buy this again.
The bad. I know enough French to know that the translations are atrocious. Though I am not fluent in French, I believe I could have done a better, truer translation (with help of a French dictionary). Beautiful phrases are translated into mundane English cliches and some unknown French words are, on some occasions, "translated" into the identical (and equally unknown) word on the English side. Did the translater not have access to an English dictionary or did he not know what the French word really meant?
So -- definitely a useful buy for learning and practicing French and (particularly if you can read most of it in French) interesting stories as well. Just try not to refer to the English counterpart more than you must, such as for the periodic word translation.
Good Stories, Good Presentation
Customer Rating:
This book includes some great authors - the ones you should at least know about if you are going to learn the French language and appreciate French culture. I have always loved the idea of having the English translation on the opposite page. I think it makes learning structures easier. You see how we would write something in English, and then you see how the structure differs in the French version.
compare French to English translation
Customer Rating:
This is classic literature, a very good book. I'd be interested in a modern works like this as well. Seems like I saw one out there somewhere....
Select button not working? 
