During our Teachers’ Conference at the end of September, Professor Simon Kemp delivered a wonderful presentation about a common French A-level text, Joseph Joffo’s 1973 novel, Un sac de billes.
As well as looking at the symbolic imagery that the marbles provide in within the first few pages, and touching on themes of brotherly love and the cyclical nature of history, Simon highlighted a series of old blog posts about French A-level texts which we thought we would resurface and draw your attention to this week.
The series of articles all address a pertinent but perhaps unexpected question about common texts on the French A-level curricula.
If you have just started or are part way through your French A-level course, or if you just enjoy dabbling in French literature, then these articles will be perfect for you!
Have a read via the links below:
No et moi
- No et moi: What’s with all the kitchen gadgets?
- No et moi: Just how clever is Lou?
- No et moi: Who lives in the invisible city?
Candide
L’étranger
- L’étranger: When does Meursault tell his story? (Part 1)
- L’étranger: When does Meursault tell his story? (Part 2)
Un sac de billes
- Un sac de billes: What does the bag of marbles have to do with anything?
- Un sac de billes: What is ‘une musette‘?
If you’re hoping to apply to study French at university, reading these kinds of articles is a perfect way to kick-start your super-curricular exploration of the French language and culture! Why not read more about the themes addressed in the blog posts, or dip into one of the other texts that sound intriguing to you…