Médiathèque de l'Institut français du Royaume-Uni

13/07/2024

At la Bibliothèque Quentin Blake we're getting ready for our summer closure! Here is our children's librarians selection of holidays' reads. There is something for every kid and teenager!

Ma Maman m'a portée dans mon coeur - Elsa Kedadouche and Claire Caillebotte - 1+

Les JO des animaux - Virginie Morgand - 2+

Est-ce que tu as faim ? Une recette d'amour - Grace Ly and Mélody Ung - 3+

En forme - Anne-Margot Ramstein - 4+

Pourvu que l'on danse comme un jour de chance - Natali Fortier - 5+

Cherch & Trouv - Csil - 5+

Le chemin de Léonie - Anne Cortey 7+

La drôle d'évasion - Séverine Vidal 8+

Les aventuriers du Cosmex - Laura Deslandes 9+

Pâquerette, une histoire de pirates - Gaston Boyer 12+

Comment (bien) rater ses vacances - Anne Percin 14+

Le Comte de Monte-Cristo - Alexandre Dumas 15+

26/06/2024

https://www.theguardian.com/books/article/2024/jun/17/george-sand-true-genius-true-woman-review-severine-vidal-kim-consigny

Writer Séverine Vidal and illustrator Kim Consigny tell the extraordinary life story of the French author, who cross-dressed and pricked male pomposity, with great care and humour

14/06/2024

We are so thrilled to be welcoming Mathilde Poncet to the Bibliothèque Quentin Blake on Saturday 22nd of June!

After reading one of her picture-books, Mathilde will invite you to paint a collective fresco. Children will be able to invent wonderful plants, giant flowers and surprising insects to create a summer landscape which will then be exhibited on the wall of our library to give it some summer vibes!

We've been getting ready by revisiting some of her beautiful works, including La peau du lynx.

At the heart of this book is a lynx, the guardian of the forest, in hiding. Around him circles the hunter who is tracking him, the animals of the forest who are afraid, and the seamstress who is going to protect him. Mathilde Poncet takes us on a journey through fabulous forest landscapes in this choral tale, accompanied by magnificent, brightly coloured images evoking medieval bestiaries. La Peau du lynx is a magnificent picture book, a beautiful tribute to nature and a subtle plea against hunting.

Get your tickets here:

https://www.institut-francais.org.uk/events-agenda/craft-workshop-au-fil-des-saisons-with-mathilde-poncet/

04/06/2024

We can't wait for next month's Reading Group, where we will be continuing our Proustian summer reading challenge!
This year we are delving into volume 4, Sodome et Gomorrhe.

In the fourth volume, our Narrator inadvertently learns of Baron Charlus’ homosexuality after witnessing an argument between Charlus and Jupien his tailor (and lover)- through this altercation, his eyes are opened to the sexual undercurrents of aristocratic Parisian society, with both Narrator and reader becoming voyeurs to this secret world. Simultaneously, Albertine, whom the Narrator believes himself to be in love with, reappears in his life; whilst he continues to grieve the loss of his beloved grandmother.

The last volume of In Search of Lost Time to be published during Proust’s lifetime, the fourth instalment heralds a departure from the bucolic charms of Combray into a more mature world of sexual desire and sexual jealousy.

Get your tickets here:
https://www.institut-francais.org.uk/events-agenda/reading-group-on-sodom-and-gomorrah-by-marcel-proust/

25/05/2024

https://www.theguardian.com/books/article/2024/may/20/so-long-sad-love-by-mirion-malle-review-an-irresistible-celebration-of-female-courage

A French cartoonist has doubts about her boyfriend in Mirion Malle’s third book in English, a striking hymn to women and solidarity

24/05/2024

We are so thrilled to be hosting Nicolas Puzenat and Una for a Drink and Draw session on June 7th!

Unleash the artist within, enjoy a free drink and have an informal chat with these award winning graphic novelists!

They will share with you their perspectives on their careers and artistic practices and their relationship to the natural world.

All welcome to draw and join the fun!

Get your tickets here:
https://www.institut-francais.org.uk/events-agenda/french-comics-drink-and-draw-nicolas-puzenat-and-una/ #/

Things by Una Nicolas Puzenat Pop Culture Hound

15/05/2024

https://www.theguardian.com/books/article/2024/may/10/leila-slimani-salman-rushdies-books-made-me-feel-i-could-become-a-writer

The Lullaby author on identifying with Jo in Little Women, being terrified of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, and why we’re still in debt to Steinbeck

30/04/2024

We can't wait for next month's second book group focussing on Simone de Beauvoir!
Short but moving, Une mort très douce recounts the final days of Simone de Beauvoir’s mother Francoise. Hospitalised after a fall, she is later diagnosed with an aggressive cancer, a prognosis which is kept from her by her daughters to avoid further distress. Terrified of death, Francoise clings to life with a devastating ferocity, whilst her health slips from her- and with it her autonomy and dignity. At once a memorial to her mother as she once was, as well as a record of her end of life, de Beauvoir writes with great justice about what is still one of the greatest taboos in Western society, despite its inevitability- death itself. Filled with love and care, but brutally honest, this is a lesser-known work by one of France’s greatest authors, and an important account of death and old age.

Get your tickets here:
https://www.institut-francais.org.uk/events-agenda/reading-group-on-une-mort-tres-douce-by-simone-de-beauvoir/

05/04/2024

https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/le-convoi-beata-umubyeyi-mairesse-book-review-nelly-kaprielian-elf/

Beata Umubyeyi Mairesse fled Rwanda on June 18, 1994. She was fifteen years old – according to the rules, too old to be included in the convoy organized

04/04/2024

https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v46/n07/brandon-taylor/is-it-even-good

For Zola, the greatest moral act is to bear witness. Sometimes when I read novels set in the past, a contemporary...

03/04/2024

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2024/apr/03/an-extraordinary-role-model-maryse-conde-remembered-by-leila-slimani

The writer and journalist recalls Condé’s heartbreakingly beautiful language, incredibly honest books and generous friendship