A good introduction to French literature! Shigeru Kashima, "French Literature is Useful! From "The Red and the Black" to "The Gentiles" Overview and Impressions
We are pleased to present "French Literature is Useful, from 'Red and Black' to 'The Foreigner'" by Shigeru Kashima, published by NHK Publishing in 2016! From "The Red and the Black" to "The Gentiles".
Let's take a quick look at this book. The obi says the following.
French literature is something you know, but don't really know...
I'd like to read it, but I don't know which one to start with...
This is the "French Literature Course" for you!You want to know how ala fi women should date younger men.
You want to learn the "6 Don'ts" in love.
You are the one who is attracted to Damenzu.
You too can be a Friend of Literature today.
Welcome to Dr. Kashima's course!Book version of the popular serialization of the NHK text "French on TV
AmazonProducts Page.
What comes to mind when you think of French literature?
As mentioned here, most people think of "romance" when they think of French literature.
It is true that love is a huge element in French literature. There is no doubt about this.
But don't be fooled into thinking that it is simply a "love story. French literature is a literature that provides us, living in today's society, with great wisdom that goes beyond romance alone.
In this book, French literature scholar Shigeru Kashima takes the major works of French literature from the 17th to the 20th centuries and gives an overview of the works and the lessons that can be learned from them. This is the best guide to an introduction to French literature.
Let's listen to Mr. Kashima's words, which are a bit long.
What does the book title actually mean by "French literature is useful"?
In his foreword, Mr. Kashima states
As you can tell from my love of collecting used books, I have made it my "purpose in life," to put it bluntly, to find value in "things that people in the world do not value at all" and to create new value systems from them. Most of my books are written from this perspective.
Today, nearly 40 years after I decided to specialize in French literature, I find that my beloved French literature has joined the ranks of "things that people do not value at all. The area occupied by French literature on the shelves of new bookstores is becoming smaller and smaller, and the French literature departments of universities are at a crossroads of existence and extinction, as they continue to lose capacity in all areas.
This is not good!" I thought. So I decided to look for something of value to revive in French literature, which had apparently been deemed "not worth reading. To be more specific, I tried to find something "useful" for understanding contemporary Japanese society, so I reread French literature that I had been familiar with in the past.
Then, to my surprise, I found many "useful" things.
It was about the relationship between the individual (ego) and the family, and between the individual (ego) and society. There is a big reason for this.
This is because France was the first country to establish that the individual is the most precious value and that the direction society should take is the liberation of the individual, as evidenced in the Declaration of Human Rights of the Great Revolution. In other words, France was the first country to recognize that when a person decides to use his or her life as he or she pleases and "do what he or she wants to do" (this is usually called the "awakening of the ego"), it is basically "good" to follow through with it, even if it conflicts with the rules of the family or society, French literature is an excellent reflection of this.
For example, what obstacles does a penniless and penniless young man encounter and how does he overcome them when he tries to rise to the upper classes ("Père Goriot," "The Red and the Black"), or how does a child feel when his parents entrust their dreams of class advancement to him ("Children")? ), or what form of love is left when a woman decides to live in society without help or marriage ("Chéri"), or what social laws are violated when a boy or girl refuses to become an adult and tries to remain forever in the world of childhood ("Horrible Children"), or what kind of life is left for a child when his or her parents entrust their dreams of class advancement to their children ("Children"). The themes of French literature all deal with the problems that arise when the "individual" chooses to live as an "individual.
By the way, when we look back and look at contemporary Japanese society, we realize that all of these themes are nothing more than problems that Japanese society is facing today.
Why is that?
This is because the problems that France, an advanced country in the emancipation of the "individual," faced after the Great Revolution or after World War I, have emerged with a time lag of 200 or 100 years in Japanese society, which began the emancipation of the "individual" belatedly after World War II under external pressure from the United States, and are finally becoming an actual issue. It is now becoming an actual issue.
On the other hand, it can be said that Japanese society has matured to the point where French literature can be read as contemporary literature, and if this is the case, it would be a waste to discard French literature as "useless" and "worthless.
Yes, it is precisely now that French literature has become "useful" to Japanese society.
I thought, "Yes, French literature is useful! I was fortunate enough to receive a proposal from the editorial department of NHK Publishing's "French on TV" to write an introduction to French literature, focusing on novels.
The "Appreciation" section (changed to "Lecture" in the book version) discusses 24 masterpieces, from those that everyone knows at least by name to hidden gems known only to those in the know, from the perspective of whether or not they are useful for understanding Japan today. I have also included a "synopsis" to help the reader understand. In addition, due to the nature of this book as a text for a TV French course, I selected important texts from the original French texts. All of these are suggestions of the editorial staff and not my own, but I think they have resulted in a very positive effect.
It is our strong hope that readers of this book will use this as a guiding thread to actually pick up a work of French literature, whether in translation or in the original. And if, after actually reading it, you find yourself saying, "Well, French literature is useful! I would be very happy if you could actually read it and realize, "Well, French literature is useful!
Shigeru Kashima, French Literature is Useful! From "The Red and the Black" to "The Gentiles", p. 4-7
If you read this foreword, I am sure you will say "I see! I am sure that you will be able to understand.
Studying French literature is also a way to learn about contemporary Japan.
Many of our modern lifestyles have their roots here in France. Learning how our lifestyles came to be is not a waste of time. No, it is a great opportunity to take a closer look at our very way of life.
In this book, we will look at the historical background and culture of the time through such representative works of French literature. Of course, it also includes "Les Miserables," which has been introduced in the past.
Since we are here, we will upload a photo of the table of contents.
As you can see, the works are arranged in a balanced manner from the 17th to the 20th century. You may read all of these. You can read the ones that interest you. You can also use it as a reference book for the books you have read, making it a very useful book.
If you are interested in French literature, I highly recommend this work.
The above is "Shigeru Kashima, "French Literature is Useful! From "The Red and the Black" to "The Gentiles," a recommended guide to French literature! The above is "Shigeru Kashima's "French Literature is Useful!
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