Saturday, October 13, 2007

Keegan, Malraux, Apollinaire, Moliere, Jasmin

I was traveling and during various legs of my trip, I read some poetry, Guillaume Apollinaire 's Alcools, and a collection of Quebec poets, most of whom I didn't know. Apollinaire was more to my taste. I also read Moliere's great satire of religiosity, Tartuffe. I had read it before, and didn't get so much out of it on the second read. I also read Andre Malraux colonial novel, La voie royale. Claude Jasmin, a television writer since, also wrote an innocuous novel, La corde au cou. Beyond that, I also read Keegan's Fields of Battle, which is more of a travelogue for North American battlefields than anything else -- I didn't find his reminiscences about them particularly illuminating since they were more personal, and his comments about how great French Canada is because its women are charming and self-confident, well, I could live without. I am now reading a biography of Alexander of Tunis, the WWII general, by Nigel Nicolson. It is so far lacking in insight or depth. I am hoping some of the other books on my shelf about WWII will be more of greater quality.

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