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Book of My Mother
"One of the most beautiful love stories ever written."—Paris Match
Shortly after Albert Cohen left France for London to escape the Nazis, he received news of his mother's death in Marseille. Unable to mourn her, he expressed his grief in a series of moving pieces for La France libre, which later grew into Book of My Mother. Achingly honest, intimate, moving, it is a tribute...more
Shortly after Albert Cohen left France for London to escape the Nazis, he received news of his mother's death in Marseille. Unable to mourn her, he expressed his grief in a series of moving pieces for La France libre, which later grew into Book of My Mother. Achingly honest, intimate, moving, it is a tribute...more
Paperback, 180 pages
Published
April 24th 2012
by Archipelago Books
(first published 1954)
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C'est le premier livre en français que je lit depuis longtemps . un chef d'oeuvre un livre fascinant , triste et entretenant ,la mère de l'auteur rassemble ma mère très effectivement ce qui as rendue cette lecture plutôt plus dramatique , j'ai pleuré dans plusieurs passage dans ce livre par ce qu'il est très touchant , Albert Cohen s'est transformé en un de mes écrivains favoris.
l'auteur dans cette livre nous raconte la vie et la mort de sa mère , il nous raconte ses joies et ses malheurs , cett...more
l'auteur dans cette livre nous raconte la vie et la mort de sa mère , il nous raconte ses joies et ses malheurs , cett...more
Albert Cohen (1895-1981) was an author and civil servant, whose Greek Jewish parents emigrated to Marseilles soon after his birth. He worked in Geneva through the 1930s, where his mother visited him regularly. He emigrated to Bordeaux and then London in 1940 during the German occupation of France. He urged his elderly and widowed mother, who was in failing health, to move with him to London, but she preferred to remain in Marseilles. Cohen was grief stricken once he learned of her death in 1943....more
One of the best books I’ve read in my life. The English version is really good (Not as good as the French one though) Every time I read it, once or twice a year usually, I shed tears. Cohen’s description of losing your mom is completely true and the words he is using are just as true as the feelings he is expressing. You can feel the pain (but also enjoy the joyful moments they (Cohen and his mom) spent together) the book is also really interesting from a historical stand point. It’s a must read...more
Book of My Mother is a book from a neglectful son to his mother. The son, who didn't really think much of his mother, sudenly feel lost and empty after his mother's dead. This book is a compilation of Albert Cohen's contemplations of his late mother.
I love Albert's choice of language or it was Bella Cohen's translation to be exact. It was beautiful and strong. Showing a deep regret of a son who didn't spend enough time and energy to love his mother when she was alive.
This is a perfect book for e...more
I love Albert's choice of language or it was Bella Cohen's translation to be exact. It was beautiful and strong. Showing a deep regret of a son who didn't spend enough time and energy to love his mother when she was alive.
This is a perfect book for e...more
One of my all times favorites. This is an ode to all mothers. It's a sad book but not a depressing one. Descriptions are lenghty and extremily detailed but they all feel right, you feel they are necessary. You enjoy them. The wording is simple and innocent but still impressive and touching.
Cohen writes: "I shall not have written in vain if one of you, after reading my hymn of death, is one evening gentler with his mother because of me and my mother." This book was moving, if repetitive.
Interesting and original for the first half but I should have taken the very first page as a warning`the second half is slow ,painful and totally pathetic. You'll have trouble flipping the pages . It's moving ,yet exhausting.
Je n'ai jamais embarqué pas comme dirait quelqu'un que j'aime beaucoup. Honte à moi!! Hahahha!!
If anyone is looking for reasons to learn French, this is book is one of them.
without any doubt my favorite book ever...
Sublime. Évidemment.
An extremely well written book, with an interesting perspective. A filial love letter, with some very creative moments. However, I found it strange. It is strange that a grown man would speak about his mother the way he did. I mean, I understand that your mother can be one of the greatest loves of your life, but it was a bit to Oedipal for me. At times even somewhat disturbing. I am glad I read it, but would never read it again, I actually gave the book away.
Completely depressing.
Everyone should read this book. It made me cry it is so beautiful. Albert Cohen tells us of the life of his mother who passed away. Buy boxes of tissue
I never cried that much when reading a book.
Too depressing for my standards.
May 20, 2013
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Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Born Abraham Albert Cohen in Corfu, Greece, in 1895, as part of an important Sephardic Jewish community on the island. Albert’s parents, who owned a soap factory, moved to Marseille, France when he was a child. Albert Cohen discusses this period in his novel Le livre de ma mère (The Book of my Mother). He studie...more
More about Albert Cohen...
Born Abraham Albert Cohen in Corfu, Greece, in 1895, as part of an important Sephardic Jewish community on the island. Albert’s parents, who owned a soap factory, moved to Marseille, France when he was a child. Albert Cohen discusses this period in his novel Le livre de ma mère (The Book of my Mother). He studie...more
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“Dans les rues, je suis l'obsédé de ma morte, mornement regardant tous ces agités qui ne savent pas qu'ils vont mourir et que le bois de leur cercueil existe déjà dans une scierie ou dans une forêt, vaguement regardant ces jeunes et fardés futurs cadavres femelles qui rient avec leurs dents, annonce et commencement de leur squelette, qui montrent leurs trente-deux petits bouts de squelette et qui s'esclaffent comme s'ils ne devaient jamais mourir.”
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3 people liked it
“Aujourd'hui, je suis fou de mort, partout la mort, et ces roses sur ma table qui me parfument tandis que j'écris, affreusement vivant, ces roses sont des bouts de cadavres qu'on force à faire semblant de vivre trois jours de plus dans de l'eau et les gens achètent ces cadavres de fleurs et les jeunes filles s'en repaissent.”
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1 person liked it
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