Le testament français Audiobook By Andreï Makine cover art

Le testament français

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Le testament français

By: Andreï Makine
Narrated by: Jacques Bonnaffé
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Je me souvenais qu'un jour, dans une plaisanterie sans gaîté, Charlotte m'avait dit qu'après tous ses voyages à travers l'immense Russie, venir à pied jusqu'en France n'aurait pour elle rien d'impossible [...]. Au début, pendant de longs mois de misère et d'errances, mon rêve fou ressemblerait de près à cette bravade. J'imaginerais une femme vêtue de noir qui, aux toutes premières heures d'une matinée d'hiver sombre, entrerait dans une petite ville frontalière [...]. Elle pousserait la porte d'un café au coin d'une étroite place endormie, s'installerait près de la fenêtre, à côté d'un calorifère. La patronne lui apporterait une tasse de thé. Et en regardant, derrière la vitre, la face tranquille des maisons à colombages, la femme murmurerait tout bas : "C'est la France... Je suis retournée en France. Après... après toute une vie.

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Le testament français not only won the Prix Goncourt, France's top literary prize, it also won the Prix Goncourt des lycéens. The latter is awarded by high school students in a process in which 2,000 students participate.* People who are learning French, and feel ready to tackle a novel, may find that Le testament français is manageable. It's certainly a good novel. Check out reviews of the French original and of the English translation, Dreams of My Russian Summers. By the way, the author, Andreï Makine, emigrated to France from Russia only eight years before he won the Goncourt.

I have no reservations about recommending Jacques Bonnaffé's performance. As his Wikipedia page shows, he's had a long career in French theatre, film and readings. He has 19 audiobooks in the Audible catalogue. In addition to listening to the audio sample, search YouTube for his name and check out the videos of his performances.

* Wikipedia has a page on the Prix Goncourt des lycéens, with a link to the official website that explains how the prize is awarded.



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