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L'Âne Culotte (INACTIF- FOLIO JUNIOR EDITION SPECIALE
A young French boy living in the Provenðcal countryside befriends an unusual donkey who does errands for the local hermit.
208 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 1937
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About the author
Henri Bosco
74 books23 followersHenri Bosco was born in Avignon in 1888.
He was born of an Italian family from Cipressa, above San Remo, who had settled in Marseille, France, between 1837 and 1847. His father, Louis Bosco, was a stone-cutter before becoming a highly talented opera singer. His childhood and his youth were spent a few kilometers from Avignon, in the neighbourhood of Monclar, which was still in the country at that time. He studied classics at the Lycée d'Avignon, and took music for eight years at the Conservatory in Avignon. His university studies in Grenoble led to the successful completion of the Italian agrégation in 1912. In 1913, he was appointed to Philippeville, Algeria, where he taught classics.
First World War: H.Bosco fought in the Armée de l'Orient (Macedonia, Serbia, Albania). He was injured in 1915 and discharged in 1919.
From 1920 to 1930, he was seconded by the Institut Français de Naples. This period was very important in both intellectual and literary terms. He published his first book, "Pierre Lampédouze", in 1924. He also participated with R.Laurent-Vibert in the restoration of the Château de Lourmarin which would become a cultural foundation.
On July 16 1930, Henri Bosco married. From 1930 to 1931, he taught French and Italian in Bourg-en-Bresse.
Autumn 1931: He arrived in Rabat, Morocco, where he taught classics at the Lycée Gouraud (Hassan II). He was president of the Alliance Française in Morocco. In 1936 he founded the journal "Aguedal", that he edited until 1945. He contributed actively to intellectual life both in North Africa and in France. The influence of friends and the ordeal of war and defeat led Bosco to embark on a true initiation that directed his inner life toward a profound spiritual quest and ushered in a new period of original works that began with "L'Ane Culotte" (1937).
Henri Bosco retired in 1945, the year in which "Le Mas Théotime" received the Prix Renaudot, earning him renown. Subsequently he devoted himself to his literary career and published novels that attracted considerable attention ("Le Jardin d'Hyacinthe", "Malicroix", "Un Rameau de la Nuit", ...). He left Morocco permanently on April 9, 1955, after spending twenty-four of the richest and most prolific years of his life there.
He settled on the hill of Cimiez in Nice, in an old Provençal mas which soon became a Mecca of friendship and spiritual life. He travelled extensively giving lectures, but persistently continued to expand his work.
He frequently stayed in Lourmarin where, in 1947, he had acquired a bastidon isolated in the hills, a place of silence, daydreams, and meditation. From 1947, he was administrator of the R.Laurent-Vibert Foundation and gave much of his time and efforts to the brilliant intellectual, literary, and artistic activity of this place that was so dear to him.
Henri Bosco died in Nice in his eighty-seventh year. He is buried in Lourmarin, with Madeleine Bosco, who passed away in 1985.
His work was honoured with numerous prizes, including the "Grand Prix National des Lettres" in 1953 and the "Grand Prix de Littérature de l'Académie Française" in 1968.
He was born of an Italian family from Cipressa, above San Remo, who had settled in Marseille, France, between 1837 and 1847. His father, Louis Bosco, was a stone-cutter before becoming a highly talented opera singer. His childhood and his youth were spent a few kilometers from Avignon, in the neighbourhood of Monclar, which was still in the country at that time. He studied classics at the Lycée d'Avignon, and took music for eight years at the Conservatory in Avignon. His university studies in Grenoble led to the successful completion of the Italian agrégation in 1912. In 1913, he was appointed to Philippeville, Algeria, where he taught classics.
First World War: H.Bosco fought in the Armée de l'Orient (Macedonia, Serbia, Albania). He was injured in 1915 and discharged in 1919.
From 1920 to 1930, he was seconded by the Institut Français de Naples. This period was very important in both intellectual and literary terms. He published his first book, "Pierre Lampédouze", in 1924. He also participated with R.Laurent-Vibert in the restoration of the Château de Lourmarin which would become a cultural foundation.
On July 16 1930, Henri Bosco married. From 1930 to 1931, he taught French and Italian in Bourg-en-Bresse.
Autumn 1931: He arrived in Rabat, Morocco, where he taught classics at the Lycée Gouraud (Hassan II). He was president of the Alliance Française in Morocco. In 1936 he founded the journal "Aguedal", that he edited until 1945. He contributed actively to intellectual life both in North Africa and in France. The influence of friends and the ordeal of war and defeat led Bosco to embark on a true initiation that directed his inner life toward a profound spiritual quest and ushered in a new period of original works that began with "L'Ane Culotte" (1937).
Henri Bosco retired in 1945, the year in which "Le Mas Théotime" received the Prix Renaudot, earning him renown. Subsequently he devoted himself to his literary career and published novels that attracted considerable attention ("Le Jardin d'Hyacinthe", "Malicroix", "Un Rameau de la Nuit", ...). He left Morocco permanently on April 9, 1955, after spending twenty-four of the richest and most prolific years of his life there.
He settled on the hill of Cimiez in Nice, in an old Provençal mas which soon became a Mecca of friendship and spiritual life. He travelled extensively giving lectures, but persistently continued to expand his work.
He frequently stayed in Lourmarin where, in 1947, he had acquired a bastidon isolated in the hills, a place of silence, daydreams, and meditation. From 1947, he was administrator of the R.Laurent-Vibert Foundation and gave much of his time and efforts to the brilliant intellectual, literary, and artistic activity of this place that was so dear to him.
Henri Bosco died in Nice in his eighty-seventh year. He is buried in Lourmarin, with Madeleine Bosco, who passed away in 1985.
His work was honoured with numerous prizes, including the "Grand Prix National des Lettres" in 1953 and the "Grand Prix de Littérature de l'Académie Française" in 1968.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
August 21, 2012
I read a lot of obscure books in hopes of finding one like this. Henri Bosco's Culotte the Donkey occupies that strange no-man's land between children's literature and adult fiction. It also occupies the middle ground between the old magic of the earth and Christianity, as represented by the good Father Chichambre. It is the story of a young Provencal boy named Constantin Gloriot who lives with his kindly grandparents in a small village in the South of France. Gradually, he becomes aware of a loner who lives up the mountain at a farmstead called Belle-Tuile. The loner is a Monsieur Cyprien, a former sea captain, who has created a paradise on earth out of a barren stretch of soil using his knowledge of old magic. In so doing, he has enchanted (most of) the animals.
But then, in every paradise there is a tree of the knowledge of good and evil ... and a serpent. As Father Chichambre says of M. Cyprien:
This is a wonderful book, and a surprising one. The moment the reader thinks he or she knows where the story is headed, Bosco throws a curve ball; and the story deepens. In the end, the story is a gentle parable about trying to construct one's own paradise. There appears to be some hard-wired restrictions to the success of such schemes.
But then, in every paradise there is a tree of the knowledge of good and evil ... and a serpent. As Father Chichambre says of M. Cyprien:
Suddenly, he felt that he was alone and forever. Solitude is a bad adviser. In three months, the demon drove him to murser; murder banished him from the garden. He set the trees on fire; then he fled.At first, Culotte the Donkey appears to be about a sagacious donkey called Culotte (after the pantlike garments he wears on his forelegs to prevent him from the cold) who is a benign familiar to M. Cyprien's magic.
This is a wonderful book, and a surprising one. The moment the reader thinks he or she knows where the story is headed, Bosco throws a curve ball; and the story deepens. In the end, the story is a gentle parable about trying to construct one's own paradise. There appears to be some hard-wired restrictions to the success of such schemes.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 3, 2022
Nul j'ai rien compris
August 16, 2009
Il passa en faisant claquer ses petits pas d'âne léger sur les dalles du pont.
Les couffins, qui bringuebalaient sur son dos, étaient pleins jus-qu'aux bords de branches d'argélas en Heur. Cette plante, qui fleurit en février, est une sorte de genêt épineux. Le chargement de l'âne m'étonna. De loin je le suivis.
Il se dirigea tout droit vers le presbytère.
Sans doute y était-il attendu, car l'abbé Chichambre en sortit aussitôt et transporta l'argélas dans l'église.
Après quoi il dit quelques bonnes paroles à l'Ane Culotte et lui donna une tape sur la croupe. L'âne vira de bord et repartit vers la montagne.
Les couffins, qui bringuebalaient sur son dos, étaient pleins jus-qu'aux bords de branches d'argélas en Heur. Cette plante, qui fleurit en février, est une sorte de genêt épineux. Le chargement de l'âne m'étonna. De loin je le suivis.
Il se dirigea tout droit vers le presbytère.
Sans doute y était-il attendu, car l'abbé Chichambre en sortit aussitôt et transporta l'argélas dans l'église.
Après quoi il dit quelques bonnes paroles à l'Ane Culotte et lui donna une tape sur la croupe. L'âne vira de bord et repartit vers la montagne.
April 14, 2022
(2.75) Beaucoup de hauts et de bas. J'ai beaucoup aimé l'ambiance bucolique et la non-histoire ne m'a pas déplue. Je trouve juste que beaucoup d'éléments sont trop confusants et que la fin part un peu trop loin. Je sais pas trop comment expliquer mais y'avait un truc, c'est simplement bien trop barré - ou chrétien ? - par moments pour que je ne perde pas le fil...
August 7, 2020
L'histoire de l'âne Culotte et de son maître M. Cyprien rappelle à la fois l'âne d'or d'Apulée, puisque l'animal est manifestement décrit en termes anthropomorphiques, et la Confession de saint Cyprien de Lucien, qui décrit le repentir du magicien qui croyait s'adonner à des pratiques divines alors qu'il servait le diable. On peut penser aussi à toutes les légendes proches du mythe d'Orphée, comme celle du "Charmeur de rats", puisque c'est au moyen d'une flûte magique, la Syrinx, que Cyprien exerce son étrange pouvoir sur les animaux.
Cependant, à cela s'ajoute la dimension chrétienne de l'aventure: c'est le dimanche des Rameaux que l'âne Culotte emmène chez son maître M. Cyprien le jeune Constantin juché sur son dos à l'instar du Christ entrant dans Jérusalem.
Mais l'enfant, loin d'annoncer un nouveau règne du paradis, est celui-là même qui, en cédant aux menaces d'Anne-Madeleine, et à un obscur besoin de violer la loi, introduit le désordre dans le domaine préservé de M. Cyprien.
Cependant, à cela s'ajoute la dimension chrétienne de l'aventure: c'est le dimanche des Rameaux que l'âne Culotte emmène chez son maître M. Cyprien le jeune Constantin juché sur son dos à l'instar du Christ entrant dans Jérusalem.
Mais l'enfant, loin d'annoncer un nouveau règne du paradis, est celui-là même qui, en cédant aux menaces d'Anne-Madeleine, et à un obscur besoin de violer la loi, introduit le désordre dans le domaine préservé de M. Cyprien.
December 5, 2021
Agréable, avec de très beaux passages sur la nature, mais l'usage inconsidéré et trop souvent inapproprié des virgules casse le rythme, et parfois même le sens! des phrases.
Un peu trop d'emphase et de "mystère" exagéré, nuisent à la spontanéité, à la sincérité du récit.
Un peu trop d'emphase et de "mystère" exagéré, nuisent à la spontanéité, à la sincérité du récit.
February 3, 2024
I totally fell in love with the writing. Magical pen. The descriptive atmospheric writing immediately took me under the sun of the South of France.
I guess I continued reading thanks to the writing, because unfortunately, I didn’t get the plot that well … It fell full of hidden meaning, symbolism … It couldn’t grasp it and felt like I needed to read an external explanation to understand it all, so not really fun.
I guess I continued reading thanks to the writing, because unfortunately, I didn’t get the plot that well … It fell full of hidden meaning, symbolism … It couldn’t grasp it and felt like I needed to read an external explanation to understand it all, so not really fun.
December 12, 2025
Mignon mais confusing asf. Beaucoup phrases d’une longueur exaspérante. Trop de figures de style assez abstraites qui nous coupent dans l’élan. Nice pace tho.
August 16, 2025
LA MYSTIQUE BOSCO
L'âne culotte est un nom bien impropre et déroutant pour une œuvre déculottée qui est, pour l'instant, mon roman préféré de l'année.
Comment dire la joie de retrouver ce qui m'avait tant plu lors de ma première rencontre avec Henri (Marius) Bosco dans son dernier ouvrage l'Ombre. Ce style, c'est d'une part celui du récit enchâssé. Toute l'œuvre est formée du témoignage des personnages. On ne voit pas, on entend, on ne lit pas, on vit avec. C'est la première leçon de cette œuvre : tous les écrits de l'histoire, ce qui est vécu, est perçu, analysé et transmis par des êtres subjectifs. Là où tout devient intéressant, c'est lorsque le surnaturel apparaît, c'est-à-dire lorsque le réel n'est plus réel. Dans ce cas, serez-vous porté par le récit, ou bien remettrez vous sur le coup de la folie ce récit fabuleux ?
Le style de Bosco, c'est aussi d'apporter une visée symbolique à son récit. Comment ne pas voir dans ce livre le récit d'une nouvelle genèse ? De la construction d'un nouveau "paradis" terrestre. Il y a à l'évidence une lecture biblique tout du moins spirituel à faire des personnages, des animaux, du milieu même.
Le style Bosco, c'est avant tout une narration qui captive. Lisez-le à voix haute ! Si si vous verrez à quel point on est transporté !
Quel bonheur que ce livre soit le premier d'une trilogie ! (et déjà à la portée de ma main ^^).
L'âne culotte est un nom bien impropre et déroutant pour une œuvre déculottée qui est, pour l'instant, mon roman préféré de l'année.
Comment dire la joie de retrouver ce qui m'avait tant plu lors de ma première rencontre avec Henri (Marius) Bosco dans son dernier ouvrage l'Ombre. Ce style, c'est d'une part celui du récit enchâssé. Toute l'œuvre est formée du témoignage des personnages. On ne voit pas, on entend, on ne lit pas, on vit avec. C'est la première leçon de cette œuvre : tous les écrits de l'histoire, ce qui est vécu, est perçu, analysé et transmis par des êtres subjectifs. Là où tout devient intéressant, c'est lorsque le surnaturel apparaît, c'est-à-dire lorsque le réel n'est plus réel. Dans ce cas, serez-vous porté par le récit, ou bien remettrez vous sur le coup de la folie ce récit fabuleux ?
Le style de Bosco, c'est aussi d'apporter une visée symbolique à son récit. Comment ne pas voir dans ce livre le récit d'une nouvelle genèse ? De la construction d'un nouveau "paradis" terrestre. Il y a à l'évidence une lecture biblique tout du moins spirituel à faire des personnages, des animaux, du milieu même.
Le style Bosco, c'est avant tout une narration qui captive. Lisez-le à voix haute ! Si si vous verrez à quel point on est transporté !
Quel bonheur que ce livre soit le premier d'une trilogie ! (et déjà à la portée de ma main ^^).
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews