[ { "product_id": "6960", "product_title": "Salon littéraire: L'Homme qui plantait des arbres Jean Giono", "product_content": "Le vendredi 25 septembre 202616h00 - 17h00SUITE 204 (BIBLIOTHÈQUE)Discussion animée par Otilia Baraboi, AF Seattle Executive DirectorRejoignez-nous à la bibliothèque de l'AFSeattle pour notre traditionnel Salon littéraire. Cette fois-ci, nous découvrirons la nouvelle de Jean Giono l'homme qui plantait des arbres suivi d'une discussion animée par Otilia Baraboi, Executive Director de l'AFSeattle. Otilia est titulaire d'un doctorat en littérature française et a enseigné la littérature et les cultures francophones à l'université de Washington. La discussion sera en français. Cet événement est recommandé aux participants ayant un niveau B1+ ou supérieur.Gratuit pour les membres de l'AF \/ $5 pour les non-membres. Merci de RSVP ci-dessous ! ## Le livre L’homme qui plantait des arbres est une nouvelle écrite par Jean Giono en 1953. L’histoire se déroule dans une région désolée de la Provence, où un berger solitaire nommé Elzéard Bouffier décide de planter des arbres pour restaurer la nature. Au fil des années, il plante des milliers d’arbres et transforme la région en une oasis verdoyante. Le récit est raconté par un voyageur qui rencontre Elzéard Bouffier et qui est témoin de son travail acharné et de sa détermination. ## L'auteurJean Giono est un écrivain français né le 30 mars 1895 à Manosque, dans le sud-est de la France, et décédé le 9 octobre 1970 à Manosque également. Il est l'un des écrivains les plus importants du XXe siècle, ayant écrit des romans, des poèmes, des essais et des pièces de théâtre. Son premier roman, \"Colline\", est publié en 1929. Il est suivi de plusieurs autres romans, dont \"Un de Baumugnes\" (1929) et \"Regain\" (1930), qui font de lui l'un des écrivains les plus populaires de son époque. Ses œuvres se caractérisent par une fascination pour la nature, une sensibilité à la vie rurale et une critique de la société moderne. ## Où trouver un exemplaire ? Version française : PDF Gratuit : [CLIQUEZ ICI](https:\/\/www.afseattle.org\/media\/marketing_events\/874\/jean_giono_-_l_homme_qui_plantait_des_arbres_pdf_1_2_.pdf)https:\/\/www.afseattle.org\/media\/marketing_events\/870\/Une-victime-du-devoir_Ionesco.pdf", "product_order": "0", "product_icon": null, "product_brand_id": "1", "product_price": "5.0000", "product_price_ex_tax": 4.5228403437359, "product_price_local_tax": "5.0000", "product_created_datetime": "2026-05-13 06:40:13", "product_code": null, "product_barcode": null, "product_is_unorderable": "0", "product_is_shipping_required": "0", "product_inventory_level": "19", "product_uri": "\/products\/af-salon-litteraire-lhomme-qui-plantait-des-arbres-jean-giono\/" }, { "product_id": "6959", "product_title": "Salon littéraire: l'Hôte et les Muets Albert Camus", "product_content": "Le vendredi 21 août 202616h00 - 17h00SUITE 204 (BIBLIOTHÈQUE)Discussion animée par Otilia Baraboi, AF Seattle Executive DirectorRejoignez-nous à la bibliothèque de l'AFSeattle pour notre traditionnel Salon littéraire. Cette fois-ci, nous découvrirons deux nouvelles d'Eugène Ionesco, Une victime du devoir et Rhinocéros, suivi d'une discussion animée par Otilia Baraboi, Executive Director de l'AFSeattle. Otilia est titulaire d'un doctorat en littérature française et a enseigné la littérature et les cultures francophones à l'université de Washington. La discussion sera en français. Cet événement est recommandé aux participants ayant un niveau B1+ ou supérieur.Gratuit pour les membres de l'AF \/ $5 pour les non-membres. Merci de RSVP ci-dessous ! ## Le livre L'Exil et le Royaume est un recueil de nouvelles écrit par Albert Camus et paru en 1957. Les personnages ont des parcours propres dans des cadres différents situés surtout en Algérie mais aussi dans un quartier bourgeois de Paris ou un village du Brésil. L’Hôte met en scène un instituteur européen d'Algérie, isolé dans son école par l'hiver sur les plateaux montagneux. Confronté malgré lui à la situation coloniale, il est chargé par un gendarme de conduire un prisonnier de droit commun aux autorités locales : il offre la liberté au criminel mais celui-ci se rend de lui-même à la prison ce qui déclenche les menaces de ses frères arabes. Daru est seul, mené là par une tragédie sur laquelle il n'a pas prise. Les Muets décrit l’univers d’une tonnellerie d'Alger et le malaise d'Yvars qui n'arrive pas à donner du sens à sa vie malgré un couple harmonieux et l'esprit de solidarité des ouvriers en lutte contre leur patron mais qui perdent le sens de la compassion. ## L'auteurAlbert Camus (1913-1960) est un philosophe, écrivain, journaliste militant, romancier, dramaturge, essayiste et nouvelliste français. Son œuvre comprend des pièces de théâtre, des romans, des nouvelles, des films, des poèmes et des essais dans lesquels il développe un humanisme fondé sur la prise de conscience de l'absurde de la condition humaine, puis sur la révolte, conduisant à l'action et à la recherche du sens de l'existence. Il accède à la notoriété avec la publication de L’étranger, en 1942. Albert Camus s’est vu décerner le prix Nobel de littérature en 1957. Il est mort dans un accident de voiture, le 4 janvier 1960. Il laisse une œuvre très importante qui continue à susciter de nombreuses études critiques de par le monde. ## Où trouver un exemplaire ? Version française : PDF Gratuit : [CLIQUEZ ICI](https:\/\/www.afseattle.org\/media\/marketing_events\/871\/AF-Seattle_20260511_120946.pdf)https:\/\/www.afseattle.org\/media\/marketing_events\/870\/Une-victime-du-devoir_Ionesco.pdf", "product_order": "0", "product_icon": null, "product_brand_id": "1", "product_price": "5.0000", "product_price_ex_tax": 4.5228403437359, "product_price_local_tax": "5.0000", "product_created_datetime": "2026-05-13 06:29:40", "product_code": null, "product_barcode": null, "product_is_unorderable": "0", "product_is_shipping_required": "0", "product_inventory_level": "18", "product_uri": "\/products\/af-salon-litteraire-lhote-et-les-muets-albert-camus\/" }, { "product_id": "6958", "product_title": "Salon littéraire: L' Analphabète Agota Kristof", "product_content": "Friday, June 5th 20264PM - 5PMSUITE 204 (LIBRARY)Discussion led by Otilia Baraboi, AF Seattle Executive DirectorJoin us at the AFSeattle Library for our traditional Salon littéraire. This time, we will explore L'Analphabète, an autobiographical story by Agota Kristof with discussion led by Otilia Baraboi, AF Seattle Executive Director. Otilia has a Ph.D. in French Literature and taught classes on Francophone literature and cultures at the UW. The discussion will be held in French. The event is recommended for French speakers at level B1+ or above.Free for AF members \/ $5 for non-member. Please RSVP below! ## The Book Eleven chapters trace eleven moments in the life of Ágota Kristóf, from her childhood in Hungary, where she devoured books, to the writing of her novels. They recount the early years of happiness, the poverty that followed the war, her love of words, the breaking of the “silver thread of childhood,” adolescence, and finally exile. This exile carries her not only beyond the borders of a country, but above all beyond the borders of a language. Upon arriving in Switzerland, she is horrified to discover herself “illiterate,” confronted with French, the language she must now learn. Short sentences, precise words, sharp lucidity, and understated humor define Ágota Kristóf’s unique world, which permeates her novels as well as L’ Analphabète, her only autobiographical work. ## The Author Ágota Kristóf (1935–2011) was a Hungarian-born writer best known for her stark, unsettling prose and minimalist style. After fleeing Hungary following the 1956 uprising, she settled in Switzerland and began writing in French, a language she initially described as an “enemy” but later mastered with striking precision. She is most famous for the Trilogie des jumeaux (Le Grand Cahier, La Preuve, Le Troisième Mensonge), which explores war, exile, identity, and moral ambiguity through cold, pared-down language. Kristóf’s work is admired for its emotional restraint, dark humor, and relentless examination of truth and survival. ## Where to find a copy? French Version: [FREE PDF](https:\/\/www.afseattle.org\/media\/marketing_events\/857\/637077677-L-analphabete-Agota-Kristof.pdf) on [Amazon](https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/LAnalphab%C3%A8te-autobiographique-DOMAINE-FRANCAIS-French\/dp\/2889278980\/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1KMJ86CFUYO1A&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.oNx2g93VLxaSUXDnMPZ2FvfdTBAogijSll7UA5GBNv_92PHmu3bdpcr43KZfj7w_gCzKgH9BQPydW_rH-zWkrf8146RruVeebjWlTWMX4zY.KHw1mIut2vwFGagzyT64_AovJVsdIDJR7fPqjbdZTPU&dib_tag=se&keywords=kristof+agota+lanalphabete&qid=1776720925&sprefix=%2Caps%2C269&sr=8-1) (Shipped from the UK, be aware of delivery time) https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Illiterate-%C3%81gota-Krist%C3%B3f\/dp\/0811234851\/ref=monarch_sidesheet_title_lrd_english", "product_order": "0", "product_icon": null, "product_brand_id": "1", "product_price": "5.0000", "product_price_ex_tax": 4.5228403437359, "product_price_local_tax": "5.0000", "product_created_datetime": "2026-05-12 17:40:59", "product_code": null, "product_barcode": null, "product_is_unorderable": "0", "product_is_shipping_required": "0", "product_inventory_level": "11", "product_uri": "\/products\/af-salon-litteraire-l-analphabete-agota-kristof\/" }, { "product_id": "6957", "product_title": "Salon littéraire: Une victime du devoir et Rhinocéros Eugène Ionesco", "product_content": "Le vendredi 31 juillet 202616h00 - 17h00SUITE 204 (BIBLIOTHÈQUE)Discussion animée par Otilia Baraboi, AF Seattle Executive DirectorRejoignez-nous à la bibliothèque de l'AFSeattle pour notre traditionnel Salon littéraire. Cette fois-ci, nous découvrirons deux nouvelles d'Eugène Ionesco, Une victime du devoir et Rhinocéros, suivi d'une discussion animée par Otilia Baraboi, Executive Director de l'AFSeattle. Otilia est titulaire d'un doctorat en littérature française et a enseigné la littérature et les cultures francophones à l'université de Washington. La discussion sera en français. Cet événement est recommandé aux participants ayant un niveau B1+ ou supérieur.Gratuit pour les membres de l'AF \/ $5 pour les non-membres. Merci de RSVP ci-dessous ! ## Le livre La Photo du colonel est un recueil de nouvelles d'Eugène Ionesco publié en 1962. Il est constitué de six nouvelles, dont quatre constituèrent le point de départ de quelques-unes des plus célèbres pièces de l'auteur (Rhinocéros, Victime du devoir). Œuvre emblématique du théâtre de l'absurde au même titre que La Cantatrice chauve, Rhinocéros dépeint une épidémie imaginaire de « rhinocérite », maladie qui effraie tous les habitants d'une ville et les métamorphose bientôt en rhinocéros. Une victime du devoir, qualifiée par Ionesco de « pseudo-drame », retrace l'itinéraire drôle et tragique de Choubert, un homme doux et timide, qui passe par une descente aux enfers et des moments d'illumination magique. Le sujet de la pièce est la descente en soi-même : Ionesco y utilise l’enquête policière comme une image de l’exploration de l’inconscient. ## L'auteurEugène Ionesco, né Eugen Dimitri Ionescu le 26 novembre 1909 à Slatina (Roumanie) et mort le 28 mars 1994 à Paris (France), est un dramaturge et écrivain de langue française roumano-français. Il passe une grande partie de sa vie à voyager entre la France et la Roumanie ; représentant majeur du théâtre de l'absurde en France, il écrit de nombreuses œuvres dont les plus connues sont La Cantatrice chauve (1950), La Leçon (1951), Les Chaises (1952), Rhinocéros (1959) et Le roi se meurt (1962). Eugène Ionesco est considéré comme l'un des pères du théâtre de l'absurde. Au-delà du ridicule des situations les plus banales, le théâtre de Ionesco représente de façon palpable la solitude de l'homme et l'insignifiance de son existence. ## Où trouver un exemplaire ? Version française : PDF Gratuit (Rhinocéros) : [CLIQUEZ ICI](https:\/\/www.afseattle.org\/media\/marketing_events\/870\/Rhinoceros_Ionesco.pdf) PDF Gratuit (Une victime du devoir) : CLIQUEZ ICI", "product_order": "0", "product_icon": null, "product_brand_id": "1", "product_price": "5.0000", "product_price_ex_tax": 4.5228403437359, "product_price_local_tax": "5.0000", "product_created_datetime": "2026-05-11 18:25:26", "product_code": null, "product_barcode": null, "product_is_unorderable": "0", "product_is_shipping_required": "0", "product_inventory_level": "8", "product_uri": "\/products\/af-salon-litteraire-une-victime-du-devoir-et-rhinoceros-eugene-ionesco\/" }, { "product_id": "6813", "product_title": "Salon littéraire: Mondo de J. M. G. Le Clézio", "product_content": "Friday, April 24th 20264PM - 5PMSUITE 204 (LIBRARY)Discussion led by Otilia Baraboi, AF Seattle Executive DirectorJoin us at the AFSeattle Library for our traditional Salon littéraire. This time, we will explore a short story by J.M.G. Le Clézio, Mondo with discussion led by Otilia Baraboi, AF Seattle Executive Director. Otilia has a Ph.D. in French Literature and taught classes on Francophone literature and cultures at the UW. As a reminder, the discussion is recommended for French speakers at level A2+ (upper intermediate) or above. However, participants are welcome to read the book in English if they prefer.Free for AF members \/ $5 for non-member. Please RSVP below! ## The Book Mondo is a short story by Jean‑Marie Gustave Le Clézio, published in 1978. It follows an enigmatic young boy who settles in a small hamlet and quickly becomes part of everyday village life. His origins remain unknown, and he appears to have no home, surviving instead through simple work and quiet observation. As Mondo drifts between the market, the fields, and moments of fragile hope, the story explores themes of identity, solitude, and the longing for freedom ## The Author Jean‑Marie Gustave Le Clézio (born April 13, 1940, in Nice) is a French writer whose work explores exile, memory, and cultural identity through a deeply humanistic lens. Influenced by a childhood between Europe and Africa, he developed an independent literary voice distinct from the nouveau roman. Author of works such as Desert and Onitsha, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2008 for a body of work that bridges modern life with ancestral and marginalized cultures. ## Where to find a copy? French Version: FREE Pdf (pages 11-78) Available Here. English Version:on [Amazon](https:\/\/amzn.to\/4bO8Xq2)", "product_order": "0", "product_icon": null, "product_brand_id": "1", "product_price": "5.0000", "product_price_ex_tax": 4.5228403437359, "product_price_local_tax": "5.0000", "product_created_datetime": "2026-03-26 20:34:29", "product_code": null, "product_barcode": null, "product_is_unorderable": "0", "product_is_shipping_required": "0", "product_inventory_level": "5", "product_uri": "\/products\/af-salon-litteraire-mondo-de-j-m-g-le-clezio\/" }, { "product_id": "4375", "product_title": "Salon littéraire: Le Mur de Jean-Paul Sartre", "product_content": "SATURDAY, December 162PM - 3PMSUITE 204 (LIBRARY)Join us at the AFSeattle Library for our traditional Salon littéraire. This time, we will explore a short story by Jean-Paul Sartre, Le Mur. As a reminder, the discussion is recommended for French speakers at level A2+ (upper intermediate) or above. However, participants are welcome to read the book in English if they prefer.Free for AF members \/ $5 for non-member. Please RSVP below! ## The Book Le Mur (1939) is one of Jean-Paul Sartre's greatest existentialist works of fiction. Written in 1939, the story is set in the Spanish Civil War. The protagonist, Pablo Ibbieta, is a political prisoner condemned to execution by fascist officers. Along with two other prisoners in his cell, he prepares himself for death. The story depicts with a surprising, uncomfortable lucidity the long and intimate relationship to one's death, and what it means to die for one's ideas. ## The Author Jean-Paul Sartre, (born June 21, 1905, Paris, died April 15, 1980, Paris) is a French philosopher, novelist and playwright, best known as the leader of existentialism in the 20th century. In 1964 he declined the Nobel Prize for Literature, which had been awarded to him “for his work which, rich in ideas and filled with the spirit of freedom and the quest for truth, has exerted a far-reaching influence on our age.” ## Where to find a copy? French Version: Le Mur on [Amazon](https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/mur-Folio-t-878-French-ebook\/dp\/B0762DPZFQ\/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1699570863&sr=8-1). You can find used copies on [Biblio](https:\/\/www.biblio.com\/book\/mur-french-text-sartre-jean-paul\/d\/1443801169). English Version:on Amazonhttps:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Last-Day-Condemned-Claude-Gueux\/dp\/1420938959", "product_order": "0", "product_icon": null, "product_brand_id": "1", "product_price": "5.0000", "product_price_ex_tax": 4.5228403437359, "product_price_local_tax": "5.0000", "product_created_datetime": "2023-11-09 22:59:20", "product_code": "", "product_barcode": "", "product_is_unorderable": "0", "product_is_shipping_required": "0", "product_inventory_level": "15", "product_uri": "\/products\/af-salon-litteraire-le-mur-de-jean-paul-sartre\/" }, { "product_id": "4248", "product_title": "Salon littéraire: Un barrage contre le Pacifique de Marguerite Duras", "product_content": "SATURDAY, November 112PM - 3PMSUITE 204 (LIBRARY)Join us at the AFSeattle Library for our traditional Salon littéraire. This time, we will explore a novel by Marguerite Duras, Un barrage contre le Pacifique. As a reminder, the discussion is recommended for French speakers at level A2+ (upper intermediate) or above. However, participants are welcome to read the book in English if they prefer.Free for AF members \/ $5 for non-member. Please RSVP below! ## The Book Un Barrage contre le Pacifique (1950; The Sea Wall), is Marguerite Duras's third novel and first success. This semi-autobiographical novel follows the story of a widowed school teacher who has spent her life savings on a piece of worthless land in Indochina. Ruined after acquiring this uncultivable land and crippled by debts, the desperate mother erects dams against the ocean, which drowns her crops and drives her into madness. Through this story Marguerite Duras denounces the injustice of the colonial system. ## The Author Marguerite Duras was a French novelist, playwright, screenwriter, and filmmaker born in 1914 near Saigon, Indochina (later becoming Vietnam). Marguerite Duras moved to France at 17 to study law and politics at the Sorbonne University. She favoured leftist causes and for 10 years was a member of the Communist Party. Her script for the film Hiroshima mon amour (1959) earned her a nomination for Best Original Screenplay at the Academy Awards. Her novel The Lover, published in 1984 when she was 70, won France's most prestigious literary award, the Prix Goncourt. She died in Paris in 1996.## Where to find a copy? French Version: Un barrage contre le Pacifique on Amazon: Pocket book, [Paperback](https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Barrage-Contre-Pacifique-French\/dp\/2701158206\/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1694194677&sr=8-1), [Kindle](https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Barrage-contre-Pacifique-Folio-French-ebook\/dp\/B00BD3OFCC\/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1694194677&sr=8-1). You can find used copies on [Abebooks](https:\/\/www.abebooks.com\/book-search\/isbn\/9782070400942\/used\/) and on [Thriftbooks](https:\/\/www.thriftbooks.com\/w\/un-barrage-contre-le-pacifique_marguerite-duras\/282280\/all-editions\/?resultid=a03215d4-06b0-4ada-bc56-3f7cfae367ce) Available at the [AFSeattle library](https:\/\/www.afseattle.org\/af\/library\/) to borrow English Version:on [Thriftbooks](https:\/\/www.thriftbooks.com\/w\/un-barrage-contre-le-pacifique_marguerite-duras\/282280\/all-editions\/?resultid=a03215d4-06b0-4ada-bc56-3f7cfae367ce)https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Last-Day-Condemned-Claude-Gueux\/dp\/1420938959", "product_order": "0", "product_icon": null, "product_brand_id": "1", "product_price": "5.0000", "product_price_ex_tax": 4.5228403437359, "product_price_local_tax": "5.0000", "product_created_datetime": "2023-09-26 20:00:57", "product_code": "", "product_barcode": "", "product_is_unorderable": "0", "product_is_shipping_required": "0", "product_inventory_level": "15", "product_uri": "\/products\/af-salon-litteraire-un-barrage-contre-le-pacifique-de-marguerite-duras\/" }, { "product_id": "4043", "product_title": "Salon littéraire: Un coeur simple de Flaubert", "product_content": "SATURDAY, August 262:30PM - 3:30 PMSUITE 204 (LIBRARY)Join us at the AFSeattle Library for our traditional Salon littéraire. This time, we will go back to our classics and discover a short story by Gustave Flaubert, Un coeur simple. As a reminder, the discussion is recommended for French speakers at level A2+ (upper intermediate) or above. However, participants are welcome to read the book in English if they prefer.Free for AF members \/ $5 for non-member. Please RSVP below! ## The Book Un coeur simple is the story of a servant girl named Felicité. After her one and only love Théodore purportedly marries a well-to-do woman to avoid conscription, Felicité quits the farm where she works and heads for Pont-l'Évèque, where she picks up work in a widow's house as a servant.This short story describing the kind of life that many poor, uneducated, single women led in the 19th century was written by Flaubert three years before his death.## The Author Gustave Flaubert, (born December 12, 1821 in Rouen, France—died May 8, 1880, Croisset) was a French novelist regarded as the leader of the realist movement. He is best known for his masterpiece, Madame Bovary (1857), a realistic portrayal of bourgeois life, which led to a trial on charges of the novel's alleged immorality. Flaubert sought objectivity above all else in his writing: “The author, in his work, must be like God in the Universe, present everywhere and visible nowhere.” ## Where to find a copy? French Version: Un coeur simple on Amazon https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Changer-leau-des-fleurs\/dp\/2253238023 in [Paperback](https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/c%C5%93ur-simple-French-Gustave-Flaubert\/dp\/1699008450\/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1687387112&sr=1-2), [Kindle](https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/coeur-simple-French-Gustave-Flaubert-ebook\/dp\/B004TV02FY\/ref=sr_1_1?crid=LX1SOWVH05B&keywords=un+coeur+simple+flaubert+kindle&qid=1687387043&s=audible&sprefix=un+coeur+simple+flaubert+kin%2Caudible%2C223&sr=1-1) or [audiobook.](https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Un-c%C5%93ur-simple\/dp\/B07MG7WKT9\/ref=tmm_aud_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1687387112&sr=1-2) Un coeur simple on [Elliot Book Bay Store.](https:\/\/www.elliottbaybook.com\/item\/O6l_RycLNxvRwYH7axAkWA) https:\/\/www.afseattle.org\/membership\/library\/hours-and-guidelines\/English Version:A simple heart online for free on [Project Gutenberg](https:\/\/www.gutenberg.org\/files\/1253\/1253-h\/1253-h.htm).", "product_order": "0", "product_icon": null, "product_brand_id": "1", "product_price": "5.0000", "product_price_ex_tax": 4.5228403437359, "product_price_local_tax": "5.0000", "product_created_datetime": "2023-06-23 22:01:08", "product_code": null, "product_barcode": null, "product_is_unorderable": "0", "product_is_shipping_required": "0", "product_inventory_level": "5", "product_uri": "\/products\/af-salon-litteraire-un-coeur-simple-de-flaubert\/" }, { "product_id": "4035", "product_title": "Salon littéraire: changer l'eau des fleurs", "product_content": "SATURDAY, July 152PM - 3:30PMSUITE 204 (LIBRARY)Join us at the AFSeattle Library for our third Salon littéraire. This time, we will delve into Violette Toussaint's fictional world, a 50-year-old cemetery-guard in a small village in Burgundy. Discover Changer l'eau des fleurs, one of the best-selling French books over the past years. As a reminder, the discussion is recommended for French speakers at level A2+ (upper intermediate) or above. However, participants are welcome to read the book in English if they prefer.Free for AF members \/ $5 for non-member. Please RSVP below! ## The Book In Changer l'eau des fleurs (Fresh water for the flowers), Violette Toussaint, a 50-year-old cemetery guard, recalls her bittersweet life before ending up working at the cemetery. Violette's routine is disrupted one day by the arrival of Julien Sole - local police chief - who insists on scattering the ashes of his recently deceased mother on the gravesite of a complete stranger. It soon becomes clear that Julien's inexplicable gesture is intertwined with Violette's own difficult past. A moving, complex, surprisingly simple and poetic book. Changer l'eau des fleurs sold more than a million copies worldwide. It has been translated into over forty languages.## The Author Valérie Perrin is a photographer and screenwriter who works with Claude Lelouch. She grew up in Burgundy and settled in Paris in 1986. Her debut novel Les Oubliés du dimanche (Forgotten on Sunday,2015) won the Booksellers Choice Award. Her English-language debut, Changer l'eau des fleurs (Fresh water for the fowers) won the Maison de la Presse Prize, the Paperback Readers Prize, and was a Wall Street Journal Best Book of the Summer pick in 2021. Figaro Littéraire named Perrin one of the ten best-selling authors in France in 2019. ## Where to find a copy? French Version: Changer l'eau des fleurs on [Amazon](https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Changer-leau-des-fleurs\/dp\/2253238023), in Paperback, Kindle or audiobook. Changer l'eau des fleurs on [AbeBoks.](https:\/\/www.abebooks.com\/9782253238027\/Changer-leau-fleurs-Litt%C3%A9rature-French-2253238023\/plp) Can be borrowed at the [AFSeattle library](https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Changer-leau-des-fleurs\/dp\/2253238023). https:\/\/www.afseattle.org\/membership\/library\/hours-and-guidelines\/ English Version:Fresh water for the flowers on [The Seattle Public Library](https:\/\/seattle.bibliocommons.com\/v2\/record\/S30C3716058) and [Elliot Bay Book Store](https:\/\/www.elliottbaybook.com\/item\/Pj45Rc-0JmMfZUJVfEPSjg).", "product_order": "0", "product_icon": null, "product_brand_id": "1", "product_price": "5.0000", "product_price_ex_tax": 4.5228403437359, "product_price_local_tax": "5.0000", "product_created_datetime": "2023-06-06 22:44:49", "product_code": null, "product_barcode": null, "product_is_unorderable": "0", "product_is_shipping_required": "0", "product_inventory_level": "14", "product_uri": "\/products\/af-salon-litteraire-changer-leau-des-fleurs\/" }, { "product_id": "4002", "product_title": "Salon littéraire: La Parure et autres nouvelles", "product_content": "SATURDAY, June 103PM - 4PMSUITE 204 (LIBRARY)Join us at the AFSeattle Library for our second Salon littéraire. This time, we will revisit a classic: Maupassant and his short stories displaying the art of suspense, sudden reversal of situations and surprising outcomes.As a reminder, the discussion is recommended for French speakers at level A2+ (upper intermediate) or above. However, participants are welcome to read the book in English if they prefer.Free for AF members \/ $5 for non-member. Please RSVP below! ## The Book La Parure et autres nouvelles (Sur l'eau; La Légende du Mont Saint-Michel) dives into the most prosaic and mundane preoccupations of simple people. From the eerie night life of a river to the folklore of Norman peasantry, these three stories will transport you into the cruel, sometimes supernatural world of Maupassant. ## The Author Guy de Maupassant was a prolific French writer from the naturalist movement in the 19th century. Disciple of Flaubert and Zola, he explores in his short stories the little dramas and daily preoccupations of ordinary people. Maupassant’s most important works are Une Vie, Bel-Ami, Boule de Suif. Suffering from mental illness and syphilis,he dies at 42 years old, leaving behind more than three hundred short stories and six novels. ## Where to find a copy La Parure et autres nouvelles can be found on [Amazon](https:\/\/www.amazon.fr\/Parure-Guy-Maupassant\/dp\/2253136565\/ref=sr_1_4?__mk_fr_FR=%C3%85M%C3%85%C5MMMMD%C3%95%C3%91&crid=2QXRLW92P20Q2&keywords=la+parure+maupassant&qid=1683060675&s=books&sprefix=la+parure+maupassan%2Cstripbooks%2C205&sr=1-4)(audio book [here](https:\/\/www.amazon.fr\/La-Parure\/dp\/B07QDTTDH1\/ref=tmm_aud_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1683060675&sr=1-4)). The audio version of the first short story La Parure is on [Youtube](https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=HmGIErLywI0). You can find the English version of the three short stories on the internet: The Diamond Necklace (La Parure), [On the River](https:\/\/www.gutenberg.org\/cache\/epub\/3090\/pg3090-images.html#id_2H_4_0086) (Sur l'Eau) and [Legend of Mont St.Michel](https:\/\/www.gutenberg.org\/cache\/epub\/3090\/pg3090-images.html#id_2H_4_0101) (La légende du Mont Saint-Michel). To explore further: find the short film La Parure on Youtube, adapted from Maupassant's story.", "product_order": "0", "product_icon": null, "product_brand_id": "1", "product_price": "5.0000", "product_price_ex_tax": 4.5228403437359, "product_price_local_tax": "5.0000", "product_created_datetime": "2023-05-09 22:17:03", "product_code": null, "product_barcode": null, "product_is_unorderable": "0", "product_is_shipping_required": "0", "product_inventory_level": "11", "product_uri": "\/products\/af-salon-litteraire-la-parure-et-autres-nouvelles\/" }, { "product_id": "3904", "product_title": "Salon littéraire: mai", "product_content": "SATURDAY, MAY 62PM - 3PMSUITE 204 (LIBRARY)Our first Salon littéraire takes place in May! Join us at the AFSeattle Library for a fun and informal discussion in French.As a reminder, the discussion is recommended for French speakers at level A2+ (upper intermediate) or above. However, participants are welcome to read the book in English if they prefer.Free for AF members \/ $5 for non-member. Please RSVP below!## The Book After a successful advertising career in London, Peter Mayle moves into a 200-year-old stone farmhouse with his wife in the Lubéron, South of France. But the quiet Provencial life holds many surprises, from dinner parties with eccentric neighbors, to goat races in the middle of town. A Year in Provence is a best-selling memoir on French gastronomy, local customs and amusing incidents from the witty perspective of a British expat. ## The Author Peter Mayle was a British businessman who moved to France in the 1980s. He wrote a series of bestselling memoirs about his life in Provence, starting with A Year in Provence (1989), which has been translated into more than twenty languages. The French government made him a Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur (Knight of the Legion of Honor) in 2002, for coopération et francophonie. He died in 2018 in Aix-en-Provence. ## Where to find a copy Une année en Provence (French version) can be found on Amazon in [Kindle](https:\/\/amzn.to\/3zKdS8J) format, [pocket book](https:\/\/amzn.to\/3ZLUK56) and [paperback](https:\/\/amzn.to\/41c5jQ5). A Year in Provence (English version) can be found on [Amazon](https:\/\/amzn.to\/3KfYsxV), [Elliot Bay Book Store](https:\/\/www.elliottbaybook.com\/item\/b1VOIlIvk3OX4Bii82nmHQ) and The Seattle Public Library. For further reading: check out the whole serie Peter Mayle wrote about Provence, My Twenty-five Years in Provence and [Toujours Provence](https:\/\/www.elliottbaybook.com\/item\/b1VOIlIvk3NjWiLSZbzl1Q).", "product_order": "0", "product_icon": null, "product_brand_id": "1", "product_price": "5.0000", "product_price_ex_tax": 4.5228403437359, "product_price_local_tax": "5.0000", "product_created_datetime": "2023-04-05 21:16:23", "product_code": null, "product_barcode": null, "product_is_unorderable": "0", "product_is_shipping_required": "0", "product_inventory_level": "13", "product_uri": "\/products\/af-salon-litteraire-mai\/" } ]