Daudet, Hugo

I read the novels of Alphonse Daudet, and I found him capable of creating scenes that are immortal, vivid and striking in their truth, but on the whole his novels fall below that level. I then moved on to reading some novels of Victor Hugo's youth, an Icelandic saga (what a choice with which to start what a career!), and another novel written in two weeks on a bet. I am going to read a biography so that I can follow the political writings a little better.