Paris au mois d'août

by René Fallet

Ils marchèrent côte à côte, lentement. Plantin n'était pas pressé de la perdre, adoptait un pas de flâneur des deux rives. Elle balançait, heureuse, un petit sac à main noir. Oui, elle était heureuse, épanouie, jeune et vive. Elle devant avoir vingt-cinq ans, ou vingt-six. Elle était même un peu plus grande que lui. Il est vrai qu'elle était anglaise. Henri n'avait jamais parlé à une Anglaise.

Genres: French Literature

209 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1964

About the author

René Fallet (4 December 1927 – 25 July 1983) was a 20th-century French writer.

Reviews

[Candice · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dans son jus. Je plains nos grands mères qui ont vécu cette société patriarcale des années 60 dont « Paris au mois d’août » n’est autre qu’un témoin (sans le vouloir).

[Denis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Paris in the month of August - that's the English translation of the title of this delightful, bittersweet romance, that owes so much to René Fallet's wonderful writing style. A very average married man, living a very average life, is left alone for August, while his family and most Parisians go away for the holidays, and meets a beautiful, young, English girl. They have a Summer romance, a romantic idyl that helps her mend a broken heart, and makes him discover, suddenly, what true love may be. But August ends, the holidays are over, she leaves, his wife and kids come back... and life continues. A very simple story indeed. Told with a great sense of humor (there are some really funny moments), with bravado and poetry, with elegance and wit, that makes you ache for this guy who lives something that will forever remain within him. Fallet was a very popular author in France, and there's something intrinsically French about the way he writes - I'm sure that a translation, as good as it could be, would lose most of the charms of the original version. There is something very touching about this story, maybe because it's so relatable. Who hasn't lived such a Summer love? But the real strength of the novel comes from Henri, the male character, and from how the reader penetrates the complicated, sweet, sad, hopeful heart of a normal, banal man. I defy anyone not to be emotionally choked by the ending.

[Dorota · Rating 3 out of 5]

La historie est simple mais j’aime bien l'humour de ce libre. J'ai particulièrement apprécié les dialogues entre Henri et Pat, ainsi que ses descriptions de la société française. Bien qu'il soit infidèle, à mesure qu'on apprend à le connaître (son sens de la routine, son manque de confiance en lui, son sentiment d'insatisfaction), on finit par éprouver de la sympathie pour lui et même par s'attacher à lui.

[Elina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kielellinen taso oli kiinnostavinta tässä romaanissa.

[Camille · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un très beau roman, un peu daté, mais justement c'est là tout le plaisir de cette lecture : on est totalement dans les années 1960 à Paris !

[Clarks Beddock · Rating 3 out of 5]

Plutôt 3,5 jolie histoire d’amour, style d’écriture qui change pcq + vieux c’est sympa. On traverse Paris dans le livre c’est cool.

[TinHouseBooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heather Hartley (Paris Editor, Tin House Magazine): It’s almost August and in France that means that a lot of people are getting ready to go on vacation—and maybe not just the neighbor or the young couple down the street, but a good portion of the country is packing up to go hit the beach or hike a mountain or a scale the heights of a cool café terrace. In August, parts of Paris empty out, the metro is less busy and it could mean that you have to walk a little bit further in the morning for a fresh, buttery croissant, as the local boulangerie might be on vacation for the month. “Paris au mois d’août” (“Paris in the month of August”) is more than just an expression in French; it is also a 1964 novel by René Fallet about an August love affair between a Frenchman and a young English woman that was adapted into an eponymous film in 1966 starring Charles Aznavour who wrote a wistful and dreamy (and very popular) song of the same name. The idea of Paris in August is in some ways a tradition, and wherever you may be spending this August, the last two lines of Aznavour’s song can be savored with a little glass of something refreshing: “Pour que tout recommence /
A Paris au mois d’août, So that everything may start again
 / In Paris, in the month of August.”

[Mickeymouse1986 · Rating 2 out of 5]

'Paris im August' von René Fallet ist eine Liebesgeschichte über einen verheirateten Mann aus Paris der eine sommerliche Affäre mit einer Engländerin beginnt. Es ist eines der Lieblingsbücher von meinem Opa und er hat mir das Buch unter grossen Schwierigkeiten besorgt und hat mich immer danach gefragt ob ich den denn mittlerweile gelesen habe. Da es ihm leider nicht so gut geht, habe ich mich entschieden das Buch zu lesen im Fall, dass ihm nicht mehr so viel Zeit bleibt.
Das Buch ist für mich ein typisches Opa Buch. Es ist nicht wirklich meines und ich habe es nur fertig gelesen, weil es ein eher kurzes Buch ist. Die Geschichte ist simpel aber literarisch schön beschrieben. Die Sprache Anfangs sehr ordinär wird aber immer blumiger je mehr sich das Buch der Verliebtheit des Protagonisten annähert.

[Julien Lejeune · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's easy to read, rather fresh, how love enters the life of a common man who never knew anything about it. Quite simple and naive but Fallet always manages to slip some humor here and there

[PATRICE PRIVAT · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a beautiful love story. Brilliant .