By the author of Jean de Florette (My Father's Glory and My Mother's Castle - Marcel Pagnol)

Name: sunmeilan

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Product:	My Father's Glory and My Mother's Castle - Marcel Pagnol
Date:	01/02/06 (697 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Beautifully written book about an idyllic childhood

Disadvantages: Lots of descriptions about hunting birds and animals

Introduction
18 years ago I did French at A Level. One of the highlights of the course was having to read a number of novels in French. 18 years later, my French is somewhat rusty, but luckily two of my favourite books have been translated into English (wish they'd had this out when I did my A Level!). What was even better was that I only paid £2 for this in a sale. Re-reading these two books was a real pleasure, all the more so because I read them during a recent holiday to France.

The author
Marcel Pagnol is actually better known as a playwright and director than an author, although certainly in the UK he is better known as the author of books such as Jean de Florette and Manon des Sources. Born in Aubagne, Provence in 1895, he was the son of a schoolteacher and a seamstress. He later followed in his father's footsteps and became a teacher; but later left the education field to become a full-time playwright. Apart from Jean de Florette and Manon des Sources, he has also written a series of four books (including My Father's Glory and My Mother's Castle, or La Gloire de Mon Pere and Le Chateau de Ma Mere), which tell the story of his childhood.

The plot
There isn't really a plot as such, both books are devoted to anecdotes from Pagnol's childhood, mainly about holidays the family spent in the mountains of Provence. Marcel, along with his friend Lilli, helps his father and uncle hunting. Marcel and Lilli also set traps to catch all sorts of wildlife. The title of the first book refers to his father, previously unskilled at hunting, shooting two bartavelles (a type of rare bird), and thus becoming the talking point of the area for quite some time. Marcel also gets up to all sorts of tricks, getting lost in the fog and being attacked by huge birds of prey.

The second book, My Mother's Castle, refers to a shortcut that the family make through four estates to reach their holiday home. An ex-student of Mr Pagnol gives them a key so that they can follow a private route alongside the canal. This is not strictly legal, so in return, Mr Pagnol advises the department in charge of canals of any damage to the canal. Over time, the family make friends with keepers and inhabitants of some of the property, but one day they are caught by the owner of one estate, who threatens to report Mr Pagnol, which could lose him his job. Luckily, a friend steps in in time and stops the report.

The characters
Obviously we find out most about Marcel, who tells his story from the point of view of the child that he was at the time. But descriptions of his father, mother, uncle and younger brother, Paul, are also very vivid. His fondness for his family comes over very strongly, as does his pride in his father in particular.

Conclusion
Highly recommended. The lack of a plot does not in any way take away from the brilliance of this book. It is beautifully written and very compelling - I really found it hard to put it down. There is much description of the scenery, which is very vividly done. There is a lot of wit in Pagnol's writing too, reminding us of how young children see things. My Father's Glory is quite an upbeat book on the whole; as is My Mother's Castle, until right at the end when he tells of the death of his mother, brother Paul and friend Lilli. He finishes that chapter with a couple of sentences that always make me cry (and I don't often cry much): "Such is the life of man. A few joys, quickly obliterated by unforgettable sorrows. There is no need to tell the children so."

The translation is very good, no problems there.

On the negative side, there are just two points really - one is the abrupt ending of My Mother's Castle, which I thought could have been a little more drawn out; the other is that the book is predominantly about hunting and some people may find this distasteful. I am not a fan of hunting, but I was able to put this aside and read the book for what it is - a gentle story of a young boy's idyllic childhood.

I bought the book for £2, but it is available at full price on Amazon for £6.49 - not bad for two books of this quality. Published by Picador, there are 352 pages. ISBN: 0330321900

Summary: Well-written book about childhood by a fantastic author