What do you think?
الأكاليل الثلاثة
Dans le bureau de feu Thomas Colbert, un magnat du commerce maritime, Philippe Zafar, le jeune préposé au classement des archives, découvre un bref texte manuscrit, fort compromettant pour celui qui s'en avérerait l'auteur. Aveux déguisés du défunt ? Exercice littéraire sans conséquence ? Philippe Zafar se lance dans une enquête qui va vite prendre une dimension à laquelle rien ne l'avait préparé.
On retrouve dans ce roman d'aventures, déployé sur un siècle et trois continents - de l'Amérique du Nord aux tropiques -, l'écriture vive et talentueuse de François Garde dont le précédent livre, Ce qu'il advint du sauvage blanc, a été récompensé par huit prix littéraires, parmi lesquels le prix Goncourt du premier roman.
On retrouve dans ce roman d'aventures, déployé sur un siècle et trois continents - de l'Amérique du Nord aux tropiques -, l'écriture vive et talentueuse de François Garde dont le précédent livre, Ce qu'il advint du sauvage blanc, a été récompensé par huit prix littéraires, parmi lesquels le prix Goncourt du premier roman.
- GenresFiction
264 pages, Unknown Binding
First published May 15, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
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August 15, 2013A payment.
Three gold coins. Not just regular gold coins but rare collector's items.
Payment for a service rendered.
An unusual service, an unusual payment. More of a gift really.
This book is the history of that payment.
Payment is normally straightforward but gifts are another matter entirely.
My mother never knew how to accept gifts. If you, or anyone else, had ever given her the three gold coins of the title of this book, she would have returned them immediately, insisting that you weren’t so rich that you could give anything of such value to her or to anyone else, whatever the pretext. And she was probably right.
She was supremely practical. I battled with this side of her character for years, trying over and over again to find the perfect gift, something utterly functional that she couldn't find fault with: a cashmere jumper, a warm dressing gown, comfortable shoes.
But always, she found fault: buttons too awkward, no pockets, too small, too big, wrong colour, wrong shape.
So, I gave up, as you do.
But, reader, the upshot of this tale, both the one about the three coins and the one about my mother, is: the chain that connects mothers and daughters is more intricate than you might think: my family and friends have given up trying to give me gifts; I’m allergic to flowers, I don’t eat commercially made chocolate, I don’t like ornaments, I don’t wear jewellery, I prefer to choose my own clothes, bags, shoes.
What’s left?
Music and books?
Yes, I do indeed accept music and books.
And very gratefully, most of the time.
Which brings us to Pour trois couronnes.
A gift.
The generous and careful giver first consulted the local book shop owner.
What is current, he asked? What do you have that will interest someone who reads a lot?
(I actually don’t know how the conversation went because I wasn’t there.)
The bookshop person recommended Pour trois couronnes.
The bookshop person evidently likes long, ultimately frustrating mysteries about unlikely services and even more bizarre payments.
The bookshop person doesn’t know me.
PS, I like beautifully illustrated art books
Three gold coins. Not just regular gold coins but rare collector's items.
Payment for a service rendered.
An unusual service, an unusual payment. More of a gift really.
This book is the history of that payment.
Payment is normally straightforward but gifts are another matter entirely.
My mother never knew how to accept gifts. If you, or anyone else, had ever given her the three gold coins of the title of this book, she would have returned them immediately, insisting that you weren’t so rich that you could give anything of such value to her or to anyone else, whatever the pretext. And she was probably right.
She was supremely practical. I battled with this side of her character for years, trying over and over again to find the perfect gift, something utterly functional that she couldn't find fault with: a cashmere jumper, a warm dressing gown, comfortable shoes.
But always, she found fault: buttons too awkward, no pockets, too small, too big, wrong colour, wrong shape.
So, I gave up, as you do.
But, reader, the upshot of this tale, both the one about the three coins and the one about my mother, is: the chain that connects mothers and daughters is more intricate than you might think: my family and friends have given up trying to give me gifts; I’m allergic to flowers, I don’t eat commercially made chocolate, I don’t like ornaments, I don’t wear jewellery, I prefer to choose my own clothes, bags, shoes.
What’s left?
Music and books?
Yes, I do indeed accept music and books.
And very gratefully, most of the time.
Which brings us to Pour trois couronnes.
A gift.
The generous and careful giver first consulted the local book shop owner.
What is current, he asked? What do you have that will interest someone who reads a lot?
(I actually don’t know how the conversation went because I wasn’t there.)
The bookshop person recommended Pour trois couronnes.
The bookshop person evidently likes long, ultimately frustrating mysteries about unlikely services and even more bizarre payments.
The bookshop person doesn’t know me.
PS, I like beautifully illustrated art books
April 28, 2014
Bof. Un livre loin d'être palpitant, avec de trop nombreuses longueurs. Le style ne m'a pas déplu mais je ne peux pas dire qu'il m'ait beaucoup marquée. Pour trois couronnes n'est pas un mauvais roman mais il ne restera certainement pas dans les annales..
December 3, 2018
جزء من الرواية مبهم و جزء ضاع من خلال الترجمة
August 21, 2018
A truly fascinating novel set in an imaginary tropical island with a colonial atmosphere. The language is beautifully poetic and the plot enigmatic and riveting.
January 30, 2015
L'idée de départ est excitante, on démarre très fort. Puis le soufflé gonfle, gonfle, mais ne donne pas grand-chose. On a un peu le sentiment qu'il n'y avait en définitive pas matière à roman. Certains passages lourdement didactiques font carrément hors sujet comme, d'ailleurs, l'histoire libanaise du héros. Un roman séduisant, mais maladroit dans sa structure narrative.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews