Catherine - Cô bé đeo mắt kính

by Patrick Modiano, Jean-Jacques Sempé, Hoàng Nhụy (Translator)

Cô bé Catherine Certitude thật may mắn khi có thể cùng lúc sống trong hai thế giới khác nhau: thế giới thực tế gồ ghề, sắc cạnh khi đeo kính và thế giới êm ả, dịu dàng khi không đeo kính, nơi cô bé thả sức khiêu vũ hệt như trong một giấc mơ. Những năm tháng vắng mẹ, cô bé cùng người bố “chẳng rõ làm nghề gì” đã trải qua một cuộc sống lặng lẽ nhưng tràn đầy yêu thương, không hiếm những sự kiện gay cấn kèm theo tình tiết bí ẩn giữa một Paris luôn cổ kính, trầm lắng và thơ mộng.

Vẫn có những cảm xúc hoài hương nhớ tiếc, vẫn hiện diện những nhân vật đời thường mà lạ lùng, vẫn là những mất dấu vết khiến ai đó phải trăn trở kiếm tìm… theo kiểu rất Modiano nhưng lại được kể từ góc nhìn của một cô bé con nhỏ xíu với tranh minh họa luôn sinh động của Sempé nên Catherine cô bé đeo mắt kính thật đặc biệt, vừa trong trẻo lại vừa hài hước nhẹ nhàng và đặc biệt vô cùng xúc động.

Genres: Fiction, France, Childrens, Nobel Prize, French Literature, Middle Grade, Family

90 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

About the author

Patrick Modiano is a French-language author and playwright and winner of the 2014 Nobel Prize in Literature.

He is a winner of the 1972 Grand prix du roman de l'Académie française, and the 1978 Prix Goncourt for his novel "Rue des boutiques obscures".

Modiano's parents met in occupied Paris during World War II and began a clandestine relationship. Modiano's childhood took place in a unique atmosphere: with an absent father -- of which he heard troubled stories of dealings with the Vichy regime -- and a Flemish-actress mother who frequently toured. His younger brother's sudden death also greatly influenced his writings.

While he was at Henri-IV lycee, he took geometry lessons from writer Raymond Queneau, who was a friend of Modiano's mother. He entered the Sorbonne, but did not complete his studies.

Queneau, the author of "Zazie dans le métro", introduced Modiano to the literary world via a cocktail party given by publishing house Éditions Gallimard. Modiano published his first novel, "La Place de l’Étoile", with Gallimard in 1968, after having read the manuscript to Raymond Queneau. Starting that year, he did nothing but write.

On September 12, 1970, Modiano married Dominique Zerhfuss. "I have a catastrophic souvenir of the day of our marriage. It rained. A real nightmare. Our groomsmen were Queneau, who had mentored Patrick since his adolescence, and Malraux, a friend of my father. They started to argue about Dubuffet, and it was like we were watching a tennis match! That said, it would have been funny to have some photos, but the only person who had a camera forgot to bring a roll of film. There is only one photo remaining of us, from behind and under an umbrella!" (Interview with Elle, 6 October 2003). From their marriage came two girls, Zina (1974) and Marie (1978).

Modiano has mentioned on Oct 9, 2014, during an interview with La Grande Librairie, that one of the books which had a great impact on his writing life was 'Le cœur est un chasseur solitaire' (The Heart is a Lonely Hunter), the first novel published by Carson McCullers in 1940.

(Arabic: باتريك موديانو)

Reviews

[Ilse · Rating 5 out of 5]

We always stay the same, and the people we have been in the past go on living until the end of time.



Utterly charming, tender and moving story on a father and a daughter, delightfully relatable for this since childhood bespectacled reader who used to be on ballet class for years as well.

You don’t wear glasses when you dance. I would practice not wearing my glasses during the day. The shape of people and things lost their sharpness and everything was blurry. Even sounds became muffled. Without my glasses, the world lost its roughness and became as soft and downy as the big pillow I used to lean my cheek against before going to sleep. When I wore my glasses, I saw the world as it was. I couldn’t dream anymore.



We would stand there, the two of us, Papa’s hand on my shoulders, without moving. We looked as if we were posing for a photograph, I took off my glasses, and Papa took off his. Everything around us became soft and fuzzy. Time stopped. We felt fine.

It is true, magic exists, and sometimes it comes in the shape of a book, pairing Jean-Jacques Sempé's poetic illustrations with Patrick Modiano's melancholic prose.

[Maria Espadinha · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Life Without Spectacles


Catherine is rewinding her memorie back to the youth days, when she used to have ballet classes and always took off her glasses to dance: she had a strong affectional bond with her father. They felt great in each other’s company — there was wonder in every lil thing they did. She didn't know how her dad earned their money, neither what sort of problem he had with the law (his businness partner had to save him from that one), nor even why her mother parted to New York....

But did that matter?

Nope, I don't think so. Father and daughter felt great together, no matter what. They didn't allow any sort of poison into their relation. They led a life without spectacles, where small details didn't count. Without their glasses on, how could they notice those lil annoying, mean, facts of life?!...

Paris, ballet, New York and...most of all...a life (deliberately) without spectacles -- that's what this book is all about.
Take off your glasses and dance 💃🏽 🕺😉


Nota: A correspondente edição em português intitula-se A História de Catherine

[Maria Espadinha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Uma Vida Sem Óculos


Já alguma vez contemplaram o Tejo ao longe? E quando digo longe, pretendo significar uma distância onde se revele aquela preciosa tranquilidade magistral que induz uma paz instantânea. Bem ao longe, o nosso Tejo é um manto aveludado indutor dum estado de serenidade viral. Porém, ao perto tudo muda, pois é lá que desaguam afluentes de esgotos, além de ser alvo de descargas industriais poluentes. Ao perto, o nosso Tejo é sujo e nauseabundo! Ao longe, é sereno e sedutor!...

Mas enfim, não estou aqui para vos falar do Tejo, mas sim de Catherine e das suas doces memórias de infância. Duma Catherine que nos fala dum prazer muito especial que encontrara nas aulas de ballet — despojar-se dos óculos. Sempre que retirava os óculos, o mundo perdia nitidez — a realidade extinguia-se dando lugar ao sonho. Submergia num quadro de formas difusas, desfocadas e sem contornos, deliciosamente suave e surreal. Recolocar os óculos era abortar o sonho — os contornos, os pormenores, os detalhes... regressavam, devolvendo-a à rude realidade. Contudo, Catherine encontrara uma forma de prolongar o sonho:

Naqueles tempos, vivia com o pai, com quem estabelecia uma relação profundamente afectuosa. E não permitia que factores exógenos perturbassem esse relacionamento. Por exemplo, desconhecia os pormenores sórdidos da ocupação do pai, bem como uma infracção mais grave que ele por lá cometera, nem tão pouco fazia uma ínfima ideia do porquê responsável pela partida de sua mãe para Nova Iorque...

Em suma, Catherine vivia uma vida onde os óculos não tinham lugar — uma vida onde os pormenores mesquinhos, os detalhes venenosos, eram deliberadamente ignorados. Experimentava um imenso prazer na companhia de seu pai e … tudo o que partilhava com ele era único e maravilhoso — as idas à escola, às aulas de ballet, sentarem-se na praça da igreja... — todos esses momentos simples que ambos viviam eram encantadores apenas porque desfrutados na companhia um do outro...

Considerei este livro um doce convite a uma vida sem óculos!
Viver sem óculos é avistar o Tejo ao longe!
Vade Retro Veneno 😜

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

We always stay the same, and the people we have been in the past go on living until the end of time.

Just as you’d expect of Modiano, none of the ‘mysteries’ about Catherine‘s father are resolved in this very charming book, and that’s just fine. I don’t recommend buying the book if you’re expecting ballet to be a focus. The main element is the love Catherine has for her father, and vice versa.

My favorite part is Catherine’s reasoning for when she removes her glasses. One of her reasons reminded me of my great-aunt, how she and I said we couldn’t hear as well with our glasses off, though no one else in our family understood.

[صان · Rating 5 out of 5]

روزهایی که کرونا داشتم و تنها بودم و همه چیز اشکِ رقت‌ام رو در می‌اورد شروعش کردم. پتوی مچاله شده بین دیوار، بالش، کنار دستم میز و بساط سنجش و یک لیوان. عصر بود و شروعش کردم. هوای تاریک، چراغ زرد اتاق. تصاویر دلنشین سامپه و داستان روزمره و بدون اتفاق مودیانو. خیلی می‌چسبید. خورد خورد و در سه چهار نشست خوندمش و هرچی جلو می‌رفت دلتنگ قبل‌ترهاش می‌شدم. البته که این رقت حجیم از حال بدنی‌ و وضعیت به خصوصِ قرنطینه‌ی کرونا هم ناشی بود.

داستان در فرانسه می‌گذره و ماجرای یه دختربچه‌ی ۱۰ ساله و پدرشه. یه رابطه جذاب و دوستانه و گرم. داستان پیچ و خم چندانی نداره و بیشتر درباره‌ی روزمره‌جات این پدر و دختره. رقصیدن، عینک و رسیدگی به سفارشات کاریِ پدر. همین صمیمیت و سادگی هم درنهایت به قلب آدم رسوخ می‌کنه و با پایان کتاب دلتنگیِ سفت و سختی رو به جا می‌ذاره.

[sAmAnE · Rating 2 out of 5]

قصه رو خیلی دوست نداشتم، ولی برای بچه‌هایی که استرس عینکی بودن رو دارند میتونه جالب باشه!

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

For some reason, I really wanted Catherine Certitude to be my first Modiano book. Maybe it’s because I saw that the text was accompanied with drawings by Sempé, who had done the drawings for some of my favourite childhood stories, Goscinny’s Le Petit Nicolas.

I immediately saw Modiano’s use of memory to wrap me up in a nostalgic past - he had me yearning to go back to a Paris that I had never been a part of, doing ballet classes that I had never attended. Beautiful story, dripping with charm, seen through the lens of a young girl who goes for a casual stroll down memory lane.

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of a few children's books by 2014 Nobel Prize in literature awardee Patrick Modiano about a little girl and her father living in Paris. This is for lovers of Paris, ballet, and father-daughter-stories. Jean-Jacques Sempé draws and colors in pastels the sweetly warm illustrations throughout. At 60 pages it is longer than a little kid's picture book, so I would say it was middle grades and up book for fathers and daughters, especially. A lot of words for a picture book, so this is not really a typical picture book with few words that allows the illustrations to tell the story. The illustrations, rather, support the text.

The story is about a girl that takes ballet, as they both love ballet. As with other Modiano stories, the father is in a shady shipping business. Mom is in the U.S. for now. As is Modiano's approach,there are mysteries, and lovely lyrical writing. As a picture book I would rate this 3 stars, I think a general reader might think it is good, not great, but as a father with a still-young daughter and a Modiano fan, I bumped this up to 4 stars.

[Annet · Rating 3 out of 5]

So this is a cute little book, which was a joy to read. I picked it up in a small bookshop in the Cottswolds some time ago. What attracted me were the small and really cute drawings in the book, of Jean-Jacque Sempé. I also like Roahl Dahls books a lot because of the drawings of Quentin Blake.

On an impulse I bought it and don’t regret it, I completely support a fellow Goodreads reader who says ‘As stated on the cover, "a love letter to Paris, ballet and childhood memories". More than that, in my opinion, the celebration of a very special father-daughter relationship, one that gives the reader warm, fuzzy feelings.’ Exactly my feeling! Or… another goodreads reader… ‘it might be best read on an ideal lazy day, with time to daydream about Paris, families, Paris and more’. All is said… only thing I would add is New York.

I also read on the web that the work of Patrick Modiano, French novelist and recipient of the 2014 Nobel Prize in Literature, is characterized by a soft, melancholy tone. Which I experienced too.

It’s the story of a little girl, living with her father in Paris and it soon is clear that they are very close. Her father is in the ‘logistics/transport’ branch and sometimes some slightly shady business is going on… bit of a mystery. His partner is a snobby type of guy who likes to quote his own poetry. Catherine’s mother is a ballet dancer and has left to the USA. This is why the book plays partly in Paris and New York. Love those cities, loved this little delightful book!

[Paul Secor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Patrick Modiano gets top billing as the author, because he wrote the words. However, I bought this book and read it because of the illustrator, Jean-Jacques Sempé, is one my my favorite artists. He's a master at capturing the human condition and a master of drawing. In addition, he seems to be someone who has a circus inside of him. All of those things make his work irresistible to me.

Patrick Modiano has written a charming story, one that captures the love that a daughter and father have for each other, along with a somewhat unsettling undercurrent of the father's business ventures.
This is a book which is about a daughter and her father, gentleness, Paris, dancing, and how people aren't always what they appear to be - there are a number of cases of that in the story. Catherine's father changing his surname to Certitude is a prime example of that, though far from the only one.

After I finish writing this review, Catherine Certitude will be added to my shelf of favorite books. It's a charmer.

A tip of the cap to my Goodreads friend, Teresa, for writing a fine review of this book which made me aware of it. Thank you, Teresa.

Even though Patrick Modiano wrote the words (and they're good ones), I'll shelve Catherine Certitude with my Sempé books.

[Nastaran · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute🧡

[سیده فاطمه مطهری · Rating 2 out of 5]

کاربرهای طاقچه خیلی ازش تعریف کرده بودن؛ خوندم تا ببینم چیه این کتاب پر تعریف و شگفت‌زده شدم
البته خود کتاب، شگفت‌زده‌ام نکرد! تعریف‌ها شگفت‌زده‌ام کرد

داستان کتاب آرام و لطیف بود ولی نه پیرنگ درستی داشت نه اوج و فرودی، تنها نقطه‌ای که شاید کمی به داستان اوج میداد، رفتن به مهمانی خانه دوستش بود

و دوست‌داشتنی قسمت کتاب برای من، آن پاراگراف‌هایی بود که درباره‌ی عینک نزدنِ آدم‌های عینکی میگفت که یکی از ستاره‌ها را برای همان قسمت‌ها به کتاب میدهم، دیگری هم برای تصویرهای آرام و لحن آرام و لطیف داستان

در دسته‌ی "دوست‌نداشتنی‌ها" نگذاشتمش، شاید باید دسته‌ی جدیدی بسازم با نام "درکش نکردم"

[Beliphaty · Rating 3 out of 5]

اگه عینکی هستین بخونین، کیف می‌ده.

[Nasim · Rating 3 out of 5]

نرم و لطیف و دوست داشتنی بود
حسم بهش رو نمیتونم توصیف کنم ی جورایی کتاب منو تو گنگی و بهت گذاشت و ولم کرد. زاویه داستان چون از دید ی بچه ی کم سن و سال بود و برای مخاطب نونهال و خردسال بوده منی ک خوندم برام خیلی ساده تموم شد متوجه بعضی اتفاقات نشدم،بعضی قسمت هارو نفهمیدم و کلا ب همین روال گذشت ب خاطر سادگیش ن فراز و فرودی داشت ن اتفاق خاصی افتاد اما گاهی اوقات ادم ب یسری داستانای روزمره نرم و شیرین برمیخوره ک ازشون لذت میبره و خارج از بحث حرفه ای بهش نگاه میکنه احساس میکنم این از همون داستانای لذت بخش و حال خوب کن بوده!
توصیفات درباره عینک و عینکی بودن خیلی جالب بود برام🙂🌼

[Reyhaneh.r · Rating 3 out of 5]

"ما همان آدم‌ها مانده‌ایم"
کاترین عزیز،
بیا همچنان گاهی هر چند کوتاه، عینک‌مان را برداریم و دنیا را جوری که دوست داریم ببینیم.

[Huy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Một cuốn sống mỏng, nhẹ nhàng, đáng yêu và ấm áp về tình cha con. Patrick Mondiano viết cho thiếu nhi cũng thật khéo léo dù không làm mất những chất liệu quen thuộc trong các cuốn sách của ông: nỗi hoài nhớ, nỗi buồn dịu dàng tiếc nuối về dĩ vãng, những chuyến lang thang trong đô thị, những con người gặp gỡ rồi mất dấu.

[Golakoo · Rating 4 out of 5]

کتاب عجیبی بود، نمی‌دونم چی شد که خوندمش. اما انقدر توصیفات واضح و قشنگی داشت که میتونم بگم کیف کردم.

[Roya · Rating 3 out of 5]

وقتی عینک نداشتم آدم ها و اشیاء را واضح نمی دیدم حتی صداها را هم درست نمی شنیدم. دنیا بدون عینک اصلا خشن به نظر نمی رسید و درست مثل یک بالش نرم و لطیف بود


و این کتاب هم نه شاهکار بود و نه حتی یک کتاب معمولی خوب، اما مثل یک بالش ، نرم و لطیف بود

[Özgür Daş · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bugünü oluşturan geçmiş yaşantıların değerini anlamak üzerine tatlı bir öykü. Sempé'nin çizimleri de öyküye keyif katıyor.

[Masoome · Rating 2 out of 5]

این کتاب رو نشر پرتقال ترجمه و منتشر کرده، در حالی که اصلا کتابی نیست که کودک/نوجوان پسند باشه و به دردشون هم نمی‌خوره، نه داستان جذابی داره نه اطلاعات مفیدی به افراد منتقل می‌کنه.
تازه کتاب کلی هم سانسور شده و رقص باله رو ژیمناستیک ترجمه کردن. :/

[itselv:#&309;]

تتذكر "كاثرين" طفولتها في هذا الكتاب، ترى الأمور بعينٍ ناضجة، وتطيل عيش الذكرى حبًا فيها. بعدما غادرت والدتها لبلدها الأم امريكا، بقيت هي ووالدها في فرنسا لفترة. يظهر في القصة أن للأب عمل مشبوه وغير قانوني، لكنني لم أكن قادرة على فهم ماهيته.

الرسومات أجمل ما في الكتاب، يبدو لي أني اكتشفت أسلوب رسم مفضل جديد! وذلك ما أضاف ثقلًا للتجربة. أما عن القصة، فلم أفهم ما يحاول الكاتب قوله، أهو يلمح لأمرٍ ما، أم يصور فترة زمنية معينة، أم ماذا؟ لوهلة ظننت أنها سيرة ذاتية وليست رواية خيالية (وفي بعضٍ من ذلك ثناء على أسلوب الكاتب)، لكن ذلك لا يوضِّح شيئًا، ولم تنجح أيًّا من محاولاتي في فهمِ ما خلف النص والصور.

تحديث: ما بين الفينة والأخرى، تعودُ للحياة لقطات من هذا الكتاب إلى ذاكرتي دون جهدٍ مني، يبدو أنه أمتلك مكانةً في ذاكرتي دون أن أفهم معنى ذلك. ربما لأنني أحببت كثافة جو الحنين إلى الماضي، ومراجعة الحياة عن طريق ذاكرة المرء، وفهم ما لم يُفهم وقتها، وغيره من الذي غلف الرواية برقةٍ وجاذبية، بالرغمِ، أو بالإضافة إلى، كلِ الغموض الذي لا زلتُ أتساءلُ عن معناه.

[Ali QS]

برای رد شدن از اداره‌ی سانسور مترجم مجبور شد که کلاس باله را به کلاس ژیمناستیک تغییر دهد و خدا می‌داند دیگر کجاها سانسور شده!
کتاب، داستان خاصی ندارد. راوی، زن بالغی است که خاطراتش با پدر در پاریس، قبل از عزیمت به امریکا را تعریف می‌کند. روایت لطیف است و همین می‌شود از معدود ویژگی‌های مثبت کتاب. تصویرگری سامپه هم جذاب بود.
همین.

[Rana Heshmati · Rating 4 out of 5]

آخراش، انگار عجیب تموم شد. نفهمیدم چرا یهو رفتن پیش مامانش. یا چرا دوستش اونطوری غیب شد و ...
ولی ملیح و زیبا بود و لذت می‌بردم از تصور کسی که عینکش رو برمی‌داره تا دنیا تار و نرم شه و بره تو خیالاتش. 💕

[emre · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kardeşim için aldım, eve varmadan parkta oturup bitirdim. Sempé çizgilerini çok sevdiğim bir sanatçı, sırf onun çizimlerine bakayım da biraz içim açılsın diyerek başlamıştım okumaya, hikâye de en az çizimler kadar güzel çıktı.

[Ci · Rating 4 out of 5]

I imagine that in the ordinary hand of another writer there is no story. Yes, there was a little French girl wearing heavy glasses, living with her equally bespectacled father, going about their daily living. They are both life's B-type persons, gentle, quiet and meditative. They look through the world either with their glasses, or as they often do deliberately, to remove their glasses in order to live in their dreamy and meditative world. With voices no louder than a whisper, actions no grander than walking to their weekly lunch, the author creates a world where a gentle and ordinary man bringing up his daughter in Paris. It is a charming, gently wry, poetic story.

(Health warning: It took me several years of French to be able to go through this book. Its grammar and vocabulary requires an advanced beginner or intermediate level. It is a gentle tale, but not a water-down nor simple one. )

[Shamim Valian]

به عشق سامپه و خاطرات نیکولا کوچولو رفتم سراغش و از طاقچه بی نهایت ورژن فارسی‌شو خوندم که خزعبل بود! دختری که عشقش باله ست و میخواد مثل مامانش یه بالرین معروف بشه رو کلا حذف کردن و به جاش یه ابلهی گذاشتن که کلاس ژیمناستیک میره جلوی آینه!
چرا به سر کتابای کودک هم همون بلاییو میارین که یه عمره سر زندگی پر از سانسور همه‌ی ما آوردین؟
یه بچه توی یه کتاب باله برقصه هم شماها تحریک میشین اتحادیه‌ی ابلهان؟

[Bea · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5 ***

Een kinderboek geschreven door Modiano.
En alle typische Modiano-elementen zitten ook weer in dit verhaal : het dromerige, het mistige, het verleden en ... natuurlijk de straten en de pleinen van Parijs.
Opgevrolijkt met fragiele en mooie tekeningen van Sempé, die ik al kende van Le Petit Nicolas.

[Noa · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want to read a warm book about Paris, New York, family pride and a beautiful relationship between a dad, a daughter and dancing, pick this book. It is so sweet that I almost cry while reading. And I never cry with books!

[hasti · Rating 5 out of 5]

شبی که این کتاب رو خوندم حال خیلی خوبی نداشتم و برای همین حوصله‌ی یک کتاب سنگین یا طولانی رو نداشتم و وقتی اتفاقی توی طاقچه چشمم به این کتاب افتاد، اسمش توجهم رو جلب کرد.
شاید سنم یکم واسه این کتاب زیاد شده باشه ولی دوستش داشتم🥰 فضای شیرین و ملایمی داشت.

[Sahra · Rating 3 out of 5]

شیرین، صمیمی و ساده
پ.ن برای بچه‌هایی که از عینک زدن خوششون نمیاد میتونه انتخاب خیلی خوبی باشه