[1] 100 things challenge : Books!!
1. Daddy Long Legs
Commençons par Papa Longues-Jambes.
I'm conflicted about which tongue to use to talk about this book. While I have seen the movie in english, I have only ever read the book in french. I listened to the audiobook in english though. Anyway.
I discovered this book thanks to Je Bouquine.
Any french that was into lit at some point in their youth was either subscribing to this magazine or read it at the school library. Every month, there was an original short story, from a more or less known french author. Then there was cultural tidbits, info and every other month some writing contests. There was also some comic-strip with "If I am fat it's because I have a big heart and need the body to hold it" Henriette or other more or less litgeeky characters. And there was a 10 page comicbook rendering of the first chapters of a classic book. Whether it was Emma Bovary or Anna Karenine, all the classics have been at some point drawn at the end of the magazine. And that's how I have discovered a lot of classics, including Daddy Long Legs.
The image I use is the cover of the version I bought then, and still own. I have read it if not a million time, at least 20 times. I adore the simple storyline, the penmanship of Judy, her way of seeing the world and her showing off that she has a spine and that one should just tell her what to do.
Judy is a strong woman, life has been a bitch toward her but she takes every opportunity to turn shit into something better. She knows how to make lemonade from lemons, even in small ways, even if she is damn unhappy in her orphanage. The arrival of Daddy Long Legs in her life is just the push she needed to blossom into something more, into the woman she had fantasy dreams about. Arriving at Uni, she knows that she isn't like the others, she knows that she looks sometimes stupid in class, asking silly questions, but she also knows that she can get better and she is not afraid to tackle life and its situations.
The thing between Judy and Jarvis, lets be clear here, I do suspect that it has a lot to do with my Daddy issues. As in sugar-daddy issues. I do believe Jerusha Abbott and Jarvis Pendleton have a lot to answer to regarding generations of girls who have read this book and have, later on in life, dreamt about an older man sweeping them off their feet.
Ultimately, this book is one I chrish and adore sharing with other people. Every kid I have tutored in french, have been given this book to read. Because I believe that Judy is a good example to give to a young girl. She is ressourceful, adores class, isn't found of maths at all but doesn't let that deter her, she has crushes and friends, she takes initiatives and does sport, and because the form is epistolary and the author manages to write perfectly a 1910s naive girl, the reader can easilly enter the story. And because of the drawings, either by the artist for the book or by the one from Judy, one can easily creates the face and situation in ones head.
Every girl I have given this book to read has told me that they adored it and some came upon the realisation of who was Daddy Long Legs before others.
In the end, I find this book great to start discussions with 10+ year old girls. But also with women of any age. I can go on hours about this book, about the movie they made with Leslie Caron and Fred Astaire. This book is so universal in its theme that there is even a Mollywood movie based on the story, and a South-Korean film too.
I love this book. Simple as that.
Commençons par Papa Longues-Jambes.
I'm conflicted about which tongue to use to talk about this book. While I have seen the movie in english, I have only ever read the book in french. I listened to the audiobook in english though. Anyway.
I discovered this book thanks to Je Bouquine.
Any french that was into lit at some point in their youth was either subscribing to this magazine or read it at the school library. Every month, there was an original short story, from a more or less known french author. Then there was cultural tidbits, info and every other month some writing contests. There was also some comic-strip with "If I am fat it's because I have a big heart and need the body to hold it" Henriette or other more or less litgeeky characters. And there was a 10 page comicbook rendering of the first chapters of a classic book. Whether it was Emma Bovary or Anna Karenine, all the classics have been at some point drawn at the end of the magazine. And that's how I have discovered a lot of classics, including Daddy Long Legs.
The image I use is the cover of the version I bought then, and still own. I have read it if not a million time, at least 20 times. I adore the simple storyline, the penmanship of Judy, her way of seeing the world and her showing off that she has a spine and that one should just tell her what to do.
Judy is a strong woman, life has been a bitch toward her but she takes every opportunity to turn shit into something better. She knows how to make lemonade from lemons, even in small ways, even if she is damn unhappy in her orphanage. The arrival of Daddy Long Legs in her life is just the push she needed to blossom into something more, into the woman she had fantasy dreams about. Arriving at Uni, she knows that she isn't like the others, she knows that she looks sometimes stupid in class, asking silly questions, but she also knows that she can get better and she is not afraid to tackle life and its situations.
The thing between Judy and Jarvis, lets be clear here, I do suspect that it has a lot to do with my Daddy issues. As in sugar-daddy issues. I do believe Jerusha Abbott and Jarvis Pendleton have a lot to answer to regarding generations of girls who have read this book and have, later on in life, dreamt about an older man sweeping them off their feet.
Ultimately, this book is one I chrish and adore sharing with other people. Every kid I have tutored in french, have been given this book to read. Because I believe that Judy is a good example to give to a young girl. She is ressourceful, adores class, isn't found of maths at all but doesn't let that deter her, she has crushes and friends, she takes initiatives and does sport, and because the form is epistolary and the author manages to write perfectly a 1910s naive girl, the reader can easilly enter the story. And because of the drawings, either by the artist for the book or by the one from Judy, one can easily creates the face and situation in ones head.
Every girl I have given this book to read has told me that they adored it and some came upon the realisation of who was Daddy Long Legs before others.
In the end, I find this book great to start discussions with 10+ year old girls. But also with women of any age. I can go on hours about this book, about the movie they made with Leslie Caron and Fred Astaire. This book is so universal in its theme that there is even a Mollywood movie based on the story, and a South-Korean film too.
I love this book. Simple as that.