Recommendations based on "Juja"

'A story for our, and all, times' GuardianThe Plague is Albert Camus's world-renowned fable of fear and courageThe townspeople of Oran are in the grip of a deadly plague, which condemns its victims to a swift and horrifying death. Fear, isolation and claustrophobia follow as they are forced into quarantine. Each person responds in their own way to the lethal some resign themselves to fate, some seek blame, and a few, like Dr Rieux, resist the terror.An immediate triumph when it was published in 1947, The Plague is in part an allegory of France's suffering under the Nazi occupation, and a story of bravery and determination against the precariousness of human existence.'A matchless fable of fear, courage and cowardice' Independent'Magnificent' The Times

The story behind the surprise success of a young crew’s film of alienation and rebellionReleased in 1995, La Haine is a raw, edgy drama about three mixed-race young men from a run-down Parisian suburb who decide to take on the police after a friend is brutally beaten. The work of a then unknown young team (director and actors were all under 30), it became hugely and unexpectedly successful both commercially and critically, launching director Mathieu Kassovitz and lead player Vincent Cassel to stardom. The film’s combination of hard-hitting social exposé, stylish black and white cinematography and hip-hop culture also turned it into an enduring cult movie with younger viewers.With style and insight, Ginette Vincendeau provides a thorough understanding of the context of the film’s making, both in terms of the film industry and of French society, of the film’s narrative tension, stylistic sophistication and ideological ambiguity, and of its extraordinary success nationally and internationally. She explains why, out of so many films about disaffected youth, La Haine is the one that caught the audience’s imagination, becoming an instant classic.

« Année après année, Mathilde revint à la charge. Chaque été, quand soufflait le chergui et que la chaleur, écrasante, lui portait sur les nerfs, elle lançait cette idée de piscine qui révulsait son époux. Ils ne faisaient aucun mal, ils avaient bien le droit de profiter de la vie, eux qui avaient sacrifié leurs plus belles années à la guerre puis à l’exploitation de cette ferme. Elle voulait cette piscine, elle la voulait en compensation de ses sacrifices, de sa solitude, de sa jeunesse perdue. »1968 : à force de ténacité, Amine a fait de son domaine aride une entreprise florissante. Il appartient désormais à une nouvelle bourgeoisie qui prospère, fait la fête et croit en des lendemains heureux. Mais le Maroc indépendant peine à fonder son identité nouvelle, déchiré entre les archaïsmes et les tentations illusoires de la modernité occidentale, entre l’obsession de l’image et les plaies de la honte. C’est dans cette période trouble, entre hédonisme et répression, qu’une nouvelle génération va devoir faire des choix. Regardez-nous danser poursuit et enrichit une fresque familiale vibrante d’émotions, incarnée dans des figures inoubliables.

Albert Camus' existentialist masterpiece, now in a wonderful new Clothbound Classics editionIn The Outsider , his classic existentialist novel, Camus explores the alienation of an individual who refuses to conform to social norms. Meursault, his anti-hero, will not lie. When his mother dies, he refuses to show his emotions simply to satisfy the expectations of others. And when he commits a random act of violence on a sun-drenched beach near Algiers, his lack of remorse compounds his guilt in the eyes of society and the law. Yet he is as much a victim as a criminal.

Written when execution by guillotine was still legal in France, Albert Camus' devastating attack on the 'obscene exhibition' of capital punishment remains one of the most powerful, persuasive arguments ever made against the death penalty.

In his most delightful foray into the wonders of Provençal life, Peter Mayle returns to France and puts behind him cholesterol worries, shopping by phone, California wines, and other concerns that plagued him after too much time away. In Encore Provence, Mayle gives us a glimpse into the secrets of the truffle trade, a parfumerie lesson on the delicacies of scent, an exploration of the genetic effects of 2,000 years of foie gras, and a small-town murder mystery that reads like the best fiction. Here, too, are Mayle's latest tips on where to find the best honey, cheese, or chambre d'hìte the region has to offer. Lyric, insightful, sparkling with detail, Encore Provence brings us a land where the smell of thyme in the fields or the glory of a leisurely lunch is no less than inspiring.

No exit, unabridged. Edition of Sartre's well known existentialist novel.

The thirteenth novel in Émile Zola’s great Rougon-Macquart sequence, Germinal expresses outrage at the exploitation of the many by the few, but also shows humanity’s capacity for compassion and hope.Etienne Lantier, an unemployed railway worker, is a clever but uneducated young man with a dangerous temper. Forced to take a back-breaking job at Le Voreux mine when he cannot get other work, he discovers that his fellow miners are ill, hungry, and in debt, unable to feed and clothe their families. When conditions in the mining community deteriorate even further, Lantier finds himself leading a strike that could mean starvation or salvation for all.New translationIncludes introduction, suggestions for further reading, filmography, chronology, explanatory notes, and glossary

A young boy who has knowledge of a complex code that could unlock fortunes belonging to French Jews flees from pursuing Nazi officials to seek refuge in the United States with the father he has never known

Bonjour Tristesse Is Françoise Sagan's Stylish, Shimmering And Amoral Tale Of Adolescence And Betrayal On The French Riviera, Published When Its Author Was Just Eighteen Years Old. It Tells The Story Of Cécile, Who Leads A Carefree Life With Her Widowed Father And His Young Mistresses Until, One Hot Summer On The Riviera, He Decides To Remarry - With Devastating Consequences. In A Certain Smile, Which Is Also Included In This Volume, Dominique, A Young Woman Bored With Her Lover, Begins An Encounter With An Older Man That Unfolds In Unexpected And Troubling Ways. Both Novellas Have Been Freshly Translated By Heather Lloyd And Include An Introduction By Rachel Cusk. Françoise Sagan Was Born In France In 1935. Bonjour Tristesse (1954), Published When She Was Just Eighteen, Became A Succès De Scandale And Even Earned Its Author A Papal Denunciation. Sagan Went On To Write Many Other Novels, Plays And Screenplays, And Died In 2004. Heather Lloyd Was Previously Senior Lecturer In French At The University Of Glasgow, And Has Published Work On Both Bonjour Tristesse And Françoise Sagan. Rachel Cusk Is The Author Of Saving Agnes (1993), Which Won The Whitbread First Novel Award; A Life's Work: On Becoming A Mother (2001); And Arlington Park (2006), Shortlisted For The 2007 Orange Prize For Fiction. Her Most Recent Book Is Aftermath: On Marriage And Separation (2012). 'funny, Thoroughly Immoral And Thoroughly French' The Times