# Greatest French novelist **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 24, 2015, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-french-novelist/728709 "2015-08-24T12:14:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/les_espaces_du_sommeil/32/308_2.png) [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Les_Espaces_Du_Sommeil)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-french-novelist/728709/21 "2015-08-26T08:55:53Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I’m the so-far only vote for Verne. I’m not actually saying I think he’s greater than Hugo, but due to the nature of his greatness, he translates a lot better than most authors, and I don’t read French. That’s a perfectly valid point. Actually, I was sure that someone would complain if I didn’t include him. And I think he has a place in this poll anyway, for the reason you mention. > [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > I enjoyed Maupassant’s Lovecraft vibe. That’s true but only for some of his works. If someone buys, say, _Une Vie_ or _Bel-Ami_ expecting eldritch horrors, they’ll be sorely disappointed :D. > [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > I’ve never read Perec but I respect his skills (he’s the guy who wrote e.g. a book without using the letter “e,” easily the most common letter in French (and English)). And then wrote a “sequel” in which it’s the only vowel used (_Les Revenentes_ - yes, with an intentional typo). _La Vie mode d’emploi_ (_Life a User’s Manual_) is his masterpiece and I consider it a towering achievement of 20th century (French) literature. I cannot think of any other book that is both so complex in its structure (Perec followed a mad set of rules and constraints to write it) and so entertaining, downright hilarious sometimes. One of the best, most memorable books I’ve ever read. ---
**Author:** ![toast\_pakora](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3ec8ea/32.png) [@toast\_pakora](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toast_pakora)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-french-novelist/728709/22 "2015-08-26T14:09:01Z")
> [@](#): > > or George RR Martin the greatest American writer? That’s about how I view Dumas. I don’t know anything about Martin but from what I’ve read about Dumas’ later work, I think James Michener would be more accurate. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-french-novelist/728709/23 "2015-08-26T15:23:38Z")
My impression is that Michener and Dumas are both pretty prolix, but I’ve never heard that Michener writes beautiful prose, or that he’s got wise meditations on the human condition. Am I wrong about him? Interesting note about Monte Cristo, from Wikipedia: > [@](#): > > George Saintsbury stated: “Monte Cristo is said to have been at its first appearance, and for some time subsequently, the most popular book in Europe. Perhaps no novel within a given number of years had so many readers and penetrated into so many different countries.” This popularity has extended into modern times as well. The book was “translated into virtually all modern languages and has never been out of print in most of them. There have been at least twenty-nine motion pictures based on it … as well as several television series, and many movies [have] worked the name ‘Monte Cristo’ into their titles.” Whether or not Dumas is the **best** French writer, isn’t there a pretty decent case that he’s the French author **most influential** on world culture? Is he the French author whose stories are best known across the world? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-french-novelist/728709/24 "2015-08-26T15:33:19Z")
Obligatory _Groundhog Day_ scene: [Bill Murray on French majors (Groundhog Day) - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OEIYdcUu18) ---
**Author:** ![Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/les_espaces_du_sommeil/32/308_2.png) [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Les_Espaces_Du_Sommeil)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-french-novelist/728709/25 "2015-08-26T17:44:13Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Whether or not Dumas is the **best** French writer, isn’t there a pretty decent case that he’s the French author **most influential** on world culture? Is he the French author whose stories are best known across the world? True. But the same case could legitimately be made for **Verne**. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-french-novelist/728709/26 "2015-08-26T20:43:03Z")
I wrote my senior thesis on Huysmans, but my vote is for Flaubert. Balzac in second place. I’m taking **Gargantua and Pantagruel** on vacation with me, so I’ll get back to you on whether I think Rabelais is better. ---
**Author:** ![toast\_pakora](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3ec8ea/32.png) [@toast\_pakora](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toast_pakora)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-french-novelist/728709/27 "2015-08-26T21:21:32Z")
> [@](#): > > but I’ve never heard that Michener writes beautiful prose Very true, although _Tales of the South Pacific_ is worth reading. I was actually thinking more that both Dumas and Michener had a lot of “help” writing their later novels. In Michener’s case, it might have been just research but I thought I read that he provided an outline and someone else did the actual writing. Muuuuch too lazy to google this however. ---
**Author:** ![PlaceboTarget](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/placebotarget/32/1073_2.png) [@PlaceboTarget](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlaceboTarget)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-french-novelist/728709/28 "2015-08-27T02:57:46Z")
I voted for Louis-Ferdinand Celine because he is among world’s best writers. (The French culture boasts many great writers and it is impossible to pick the best.) People tend to avoid Celine due to his racist views, but his “Journey to the End of the Night” is a gem no one should miss. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-french-novelist/728709/29 "2015-08-27T03:46:25Z")
No contest. Hugo. ---
**Author:** ![Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/les_espaces_du_sommeil/32/308_2.png) [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Les_Espaces_Du_Sommeil)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-french-novelist/728709/30 "2015-08-27T10:31:55Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > I wrote my senior thesis on Huysmans, but my vote is for Flaubert. Balzac in second place. > > I’m taking **Gargantua and Pantagruel** on vacation with me, so I’ll get back to you on whether I think Rabelais is better. I wish you had voted for **Huysmans** so that he wouldn’t sit there with zero vote. He deserves more recognition. By the way, what was your thesis about specifically? I’m voting for **Flaubert**. **Hugo** is going to win the poll but I like the idea of having him ahead of **Proust** and **Camus**. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-french-novelist/728709/31 "2015-08-27T15:16:43Z")
I can’t judge whether the credit belongs to Balzac or his translator, but I voted for Balzac for his powers of description. His ability to bring a decrepit boarding house or a cold, dreary mansion to life was amazing. ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2015, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-french-novelist/728709/32 "2015-08-29T23:02:24Z")
Not in the list, and may not qualify as a novelist: La Roche Focould. ---
**Author:** ![Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/les_espaces_du_sommeil/32/308_2.png) [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Les_Espaces_Du_Sommeil)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2015, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-french-novelist/728709/33 "2015-08-30T09:24:50Z")
Yesterday, I found a collection of the four “Durtal” novels by **Huysmans** in bookshop: _Là-Bas, En Route, La Cathédrale_ and _L’Oblat_. These books focus on the spiritual journey of Durtal, who discovers with a mixture of horror and fascination that satanism is thriving in late 19th century Paris in the first book, to his eventual conversion to Catholicism in the last one. This pretty much mirrors the experience of Huysmans himself. I don’t know whether the author intended the novels to be read in sequence but it makes sense to have them all together. This particular collection was long unavailable but what I found yesterday looks like a very recent reprint. Good news. It’s a bit pricey but I’ll probably find a good excuse to buy it (my birthday’s coming up in a couple of months :D). ---
**Author:** ![KendriaPerry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9fc348/32.png) [@KendriaPerry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KendriaPerry)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-french-novelist/728709/34 "2015-08-31T18:38:08Z")
I just wanna say that all Hugo fans should read the unabridged translations! None of this “edited for readability” crap. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-french-novelist/728709.md?page=1)