This excellent anthology introduces newcomers to 50 great writers. Beginners can get their first taste of Voltaire, Rousseau, Balzac, Baudelaire, and Proust with passages from The Red and the Black, Les Misérables, Madame Bovary, and other classics. Original French text plus English translation on facing pages. Introduction, new English translations, and notes by Stanley Appelbaum.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
Great book with short stories.:
This book is intended for those that have some French under their belt. There are English translations, but you catch yourself looking more at that. Not really a bad thing that the translation is there. Decent short stories to help learn phrasing and conjugation. Would buy if you have at least one year of French
First French Reader (Dover books):
I am trying to brush up my French language skills. I found the dual language reader a help. It provides immediate reinforcement and I don't have to look up every word that I cannot remember. I liked some stories better than others. For a returning reader to french this is a good way to start.
"Almost" perfect:
I am fairly new to the French language which I am learning on my own. I am a passionate linguist and it's so far my fifth language. English is not my first language either, but after many years in this country it is now almost like my native one. I am still reading this book and I am enjoining every bit of it. It is a collection of short stories by famous French writers of the past spanning over 400 years of French literature. It gives me an opportunity not only to broaden my French vocabulary, but also to... more info
Misleading Title:
Reviews should be based on what the book claims to do. The title "First French Reader: A Beginner's Dual-Language Book is misleading. To give you an idea, the very first selection's beginning sentance has 43 words, with one main and two subordinate clauses. The next sentence has 78 words, with 8 clauses. The preface is a little more restrained: the book "is meant for learners of French who have a real interest in the superb literature written in that language." Judging by the selections (and I can... more info
