(asked by Andrea from somewhere) Someone told me that the French don’t point with their index finger, and they don’t use their index finger to indicate the number one either. Are either of these things true? If so, what’s the deal? Well Andrea, That someone was right. At least, mostly right. Let’s see into more details. Pointing with your index finger It is considered to be rude in France (actually I thought it was in the entire Western World, [Read the rest]
(asked by Larry) 2. Okay, from high literature to something a bit more populist for my second question… How is science fiction regarded in France? Is it a respected genre or something that is dismissed as juvenile or trashy? I mean this in terms of both the bigger, popular series like Star Wars and Star Trek from the USA and Doctor Who and Blake’s 7 from Britain and also the more literate aspects of the genre. Are any of [Read the rest]
(asked by Larry) I have been reading your site for a few months now and I have a few questions relating to literature that I would like to ask. 1. The works of most French writers are readily available in English but I have been having trouble finding the novels of Alain-René Le Sage, such as Gil Blas and Le Diable Boiteux (Devil on Two Sticks.) Eventually, I was lucky and found some editions that were over 50 years [Read the rest]