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84th out of 258 books
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Hunting and Gathering
by
Anna Gavalda
Prize-winning author Anna Gavalda has galvanized the literary world with an exquisite genius for storytelling. Here, in her epic new novel of intimate lives-and filled with the "humanity and wit" (Marie Claire) that has made it a bestselling sensation in France-Gavalda explores the twists of fate that connect four people in Paris. Comprised of a starving artist, ...more
Paperback, 488 pages
Published
April 3rd 2007
by Riverhead Trade
(first published 2005)
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This book was recommended to me by Jamie, and it was a perfect rec, thank you so much, lady.
Translated from French to English, Hunting and Gathering is a character - rather than plot - driven, slice of life portrait. Somewhere within these pages, the main character finds herself at a bookstore, pouring over a collection of the French cartoonist Sempe's drawings (as I best know for his work in The New Yorker.) As I read further, I began to realize: There it is. This book is like a Sem...more
Translated from French to English, Hunting and Gathering is a character - rather than plot - driven, slice of life portrait. Somewhere within these pages, the main character finds herself at a bookstore, pouring over a collection of the French cartoonist Sempe's drawings (as I best know for his work in The New Yorker.) As I read further, I began to realize: There it is. This book is like a Sem...more
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This will sound weird, but it's true: some books don't need plots.
Hunting and Gathering is a perfect example of a character-driven novel. Nothing really monumental or dramatic happens, and instead the story is supported entirely by the four main characters. They are: Camille, a cleaning lady (or "cleaning operative") who lives in a tiny apartment by herself and doesn't eat; Philibert, an aristocrat lacking social skills who lives in Camille's building; his roommate Franck, a tem...more
Hunting and Gathering is a perfect example of a character-driven novel. Nothing really monumental or dramatic happens, and instead the story is supported entirely by the four main characters. They are: Camille, a cleaning lady (or "cleaning operative") who lives in a tiny apartment by herself and doesn't eat; Philibert, an aristocrat lacking social skills who lives in Camille's building; his roommate Franck, a tem...more
I was worried that once I finished this book I would be filled with sadness over leaving these characters. I was sad to put it down, but the overall experience was so satisfying that I would highly recommend this book to others.
Hunting and Gathering made me miss having conversations with my old roommate from France. The characters' manner of speaking is so different from Americans and refreshing. I was surprised to see American references like Shrek and Angelina Jolie here and there...more
Hunting and Gathering made me miss having conversations with my old roommate from France. The characters' manner of speaking is so different from Americans and refreshing. I was surprised to see American references like Shrek and Angelina Jolie here and there...more
I loved this book. It was translated from French, but was so beautifully written the translation was transparent to me. The characters were a motley assortment of wounded souls brought together to heal one another. A real gem. I was astounded by her descriptions of the world through Camille's artistic eyes and the ability to make you feel as though you were in the scene. She was able to make each character whole. You could picture the way they appeared to the world, but also the inner beauty and...more
My sis lent me this book, dog-eared and loved, and said I had to read it. Thank you, Sis, I loved it. Its four main characters are so unique and lovable, well, one of them starts out annoying and frustrating, but then grows on you, and on everyone in the book. The story is really about four people from the outskirts of society, who have all been knocked down in one way or the other, but while they are wallowing in their personal darkness, they find each other. I will leave it at that. It is...more
An interesting translation of a french title, and am happy to have read this. However I would not describe this as a 'lovely story' as it was more of a snapshot of the intersection of four character's lives, and less focused on moving plot.
There were times I felt connected to and enlightened by each character, yet come the next chapter, I felt as though I did not know, or really care for them at all. Powerful insights were encountered, then moments later the same characters were wri...more
There were times I felt connected to and enlightened by each character, yet come the next chapter, I felt as though I did not know, or really care for them at all. Powerful insights were encountered, then moments later the same characters were wri...more
It's just possible that I couldn't put this book down because I'm into avoidance tactics at the moment (avoiding the study I need to do for my 4 exams coming up in 2 weeks time), but, nevertheless, I couldn't put it down. I just loved these poor, sad people and their wonderful specialities and their struggling to find some normal type of existence. The way Gavalda brings them together is very clever, and the way she takes the flaws in their characters and weaves in a realisation about friendsh...more
Every lovely thing that I have read about Anna Gavalda is true. This book is lovely, heartbreaking, and so very hopeful without resorting to sentiment and a flowery vocabulary; I can't say enough good things about it.
Gavalda's style is at once minimalistic and incredibly colorful and provocative. She plunges her reader into the middle of conversations, then sets the scene as she goes rather than vice versa. Some may find that dissorienting, but I found that it greatly improved my ab...more
Gavalda's style is at once minimalistic and incredibly colorful and provocative. She plunges her reader into the middle of conversations, then sets the scene as she goes rather than vice versa. Some may find that dissorienting, but I found that it greatly improved my ab...more
This book was full of heart. An off-beat group of individuals from different walks of life come together to live in a spacious old apartment in Paris. Will they get along? Will there by romance? That's all I'll divulge of the plot. What's most interesting to me about the book is the style of the conversations among the characters, they are long and leisurely and don't need to advance the plot in any way, just reveal more and more about each character's personality. Almost like sitting next to an...more
This book.
This book, this book, this book.
*Sigh*
It is lyrical in that way that only books translated from French can be. I rarely underline or highlight while reading fiction, but this book gave my pen a work out. It was just lovely.
The characters were complex and well developed and sweet. They were just so sweet.
It wasn't perfect, but it was just the thing. It was flawed, but still one of the best I'll read this year.
Th...more
This book, this book, this book.
*Sigh*
It is lyrical in that way that only books translated from French can be. I rarely underline or highlight while reading fiction, but this book gave my pen a work out. It was just lovely.
The characters were complex and well developed and sweet. They were just so sweet.
It wasn't perfect, but it was just the thing. It was flawed, but still one of the best I'll read this year.
Th...more
What a lovely story. The author is adept at easing you into a genuine interest in these four misfits, each encumbered by some misfortune or ineptness. There is a satisfaction in watching each as their lives are changed by their relationships with one another. It's as if each character begins in black and white and we slowly watch the blood and color seep into each, fueled by the love that develops between them. By the end you are so happy to have watched their journey and you are genuinely ha...more
I loved this book. It's not often I find a book that wraps me up in a warm blanket and gives me a nice cuppa but this one did. The characters are quirky and whimsical. However they aren't far off from being real, at least I've known people like them. I swear the chef could've been a head chef I worked with years ago! I also liked that it was set in France. It added to the 'romance' of the book. While I was reading it I could see the places they lived. I found the whole book touching and endearin...more
Vier völlig unterschiedliche Leute, deren Lebenswege sich zufällig kreuzen und deren Schicksal daraufhin auf wundersame Weise miteinander verbunden ist. Hat man irgendwo schon mal gehört..
Man merkte schon, dass sich die Autorin um ihre Figuren bemüht hat. Trotzdem ist der Funke nicht so richtig übergesprungen. Sie wirkten über weite Strecken wenig "motiviert" und waren dadurch letztlich leider nur Mittelmaß, was ich ein bisschen schade finde, weil man mehr daraus hätte machen...more
Man merkte schon, dass sich die Autorin um ihre Figuren bemüht hat. Trotzdem ist der Funke nicht so richtig übergesprungen. Sie wirkten über weite Strecken wenig "motiviert" und waren dadurch letztlich leider nur Mittelmaß, was ich ein bisschen schade finde, weil man mehr daraus hätte machen...more
How do you say chick lit in French? This charming novel by Anna Gavalda has all the characteristics we want in a love story, with a good bit of French sophistication superimposed. It’s translated from the French by Alison Anderson, and I mention that because it is so smoothly done it doesn’t feel translated.
When I finished reading the book I looked on Amazon to see if there might possibly be a sequel, though the book ends so well and pleasingly that a sequel isn’t really possible wit...more
When I finished reading the book I looked on Amazon to see if there might possibly be a sequel, though the book ends so well and pleasingly that a sequel isn’t really possible wit...more
Jess
added it
As the staff member responsible for choosing titles for our fiction collection, I often find myself overwhelmed by the hundreds of plots, characters, themes, etc. that I am constantly introduced to via book reviews. But every now and again a book description will intrigue and jump out as to say I'm worth your time!,as did this novel by a bestselling French author. The scene is modern day Paris, the characters are three unique 20-somethings who have a common thread: loneliness. Camille is an extr...more
http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/6021...
I think that this novel about a group of four unlikely misfits that become friends is both profound and touching. Camille is an anorexic and lonely artist. Philibert her intellectual and aristocratic neighbour is the one who initially rescues Camille from herself. Franck a talented chef is Philibert’s lodger. The final member of the quartet is Franck’s aged Grandmother Paulette. The group learn to slowly cope with life together through the re...more
I think that this novel about a group of four unlikely misfits that become friends is both profound and touching. Camille is an anorexic and lonely artist. Philibert her intellectual and aristocratic neighbour is the one who initially rescues Camille from herself. Franck a talented chef is Philibert’s lodger. The final member of the quartet is Franck’s aged Grandmother Paulette. The group learn to slowly cope with life together through the re...more
This is one of the best fiction books I've read in a long time -- the emotions captured in this novel are superb. I got so caught up in this book that I felt a huge let down when it was over. The weaving of the characters lives together speaks to some of the universal struggles of human existence, family, history, loneliness, connection, love in a very real and effortless way. Simply beautiful.
Am Anfang habe ich mich schwer getan mit der Sprache. Später habe ich mich reingefunden und von der Wärme und Nähe die dieses Buch zu seinen Protagonisten aufbaut in den Bann ziehen lassen. Ja, es ist zutiefst französisch. Es ist voller Klischees und es ist vorhersehbar. Aber was solls. Es ist auch elegant auf eine verschrobene Art und Weise. Es berührt und es rührt.
I don't mind books that are essentially character studies. The things is, to enjoy them I have to like the characters.
Ok, I did like 3 out of 4 of the main characters... I loved, loved, loved Philibert. What can I say? I have a weakness for stuttering history buffs, apparently. I liked Paulette and Camille (most of the time) but I just couldn't care about Franck. He was really a jerk. His foul mouth got on my nerves too. The first word in every sentence doesn't have to be an expletive, Fr...more
Ok, I did like 3 out of 4 of the main characters... I loved, loved, loved Philibert. What can I say? I have a weakness for stuttering history buffs, apparently. I liked Paulette and Camille (most of the time) but I just couldn't care about Franck. He was really a jerk. His foul mouth got on my nerves too. The first word in every sentence doesn't have to be an expletive, Fr...more
There are two ways to look at it: a) it took me months to get all the way through Hunting and Gathering, or b) despite having started months ago, and with no shortage of other reading choices, I still wanted to finish Hunting and Gathering. Draw your own conclusion.
A few years ago, everyone was reading this book. Perhaps I should've guessed by the cover (I read the Russian translation, Prosto vmeste) that it was "chick lit," but for most of the novel it was mostly just the ...more
A few years ago, everyone was reading this book. Perhaps I should've guessed by the cover (I read the Russian translation, Prosto vmeste) that it was "chick lit," but for most of the novel it was mostly just the ...more
This was a 'good read'!! I would love to see this book as a movie- I could imagine the characters as I read-the author gave such visual descriptions-they were each so different but loveable-I couldn't wait each night to be able to return their world to see how everything was going!
Philibert a funky young man with glasses held together by Band-aids, rescues Camille-a young woman artist who lives in the upstairs attic of their apartments-thin and almost unconscious because she doesn't eat- ...more
Philibert a funky young man with glasses held together by Band-aids, rescues Camille-a young woman artist who lives in the upstairs attic of their apartments-thin and almost unconscious because she doesn't eat- ...more
This book will break your heart and then mend it and repeat the cycle. All I wanted to do was read it all day - I didn't want to put it down. This is the tale of four downtrodden individuals who are thrown together by fate or random chance, whatever you want to call it, and the unlikely friendships that develop (keeping the rags with the napkins, one might say).
This book makes me want to move to Paris and find three quirky roommates of my own.
There are many contenders, bu...more
This book makes me want to move to Paris and find three quirky roommates of my own.
There are many contenders, bu...more
Bittersweet. That's the word that first crossed my mind when I first finished reading this book.
I began reading it in the evening and I couldn't stop anymore so I had to stay awake the whole night to finish it. It was the first book that did this to me.
It's also the only book that made me cry and laugh at the same time. It's the book I read 5 times and I bought it for all the special people in my life. The story of those mistfits that in the end make it gives you hope, lifts you of...more
I began reading it in the evening and I couldn't stop anymore so I had to stay awake the whole night to finish it. It was the first book that did this to me.
It's also the only book that made me cry and laugh at the same time. It's the book I read 5 times and I bought it for all the special people in my life. The story of those mistfits that in the end make it gives you hope, lifts you of...more
I've read this book once before, but it was a Russian translation from French. I loved it so much that I didn't want it to end (and great that the book is quite long). It left a very bittersweet feeling.
Now I'd like to see what the English translation is like. Already I can tell that it differs in style. It feels more elaborate than Russian, when usually it's the other way around.
I got the same bittersweet feeling the second time around. The language felt very different, richer in...more
Now I'd like to see what the English translation is like. Already I can tell that it differs in style. It feels more elaborate than Russian, when usually it's the other way around.
I got the same bittersweet feeling the second time around. The language felt very different, richer in...more
Sûrement l'un des meilleurs livres de ces dernières années. Un livre tellement humain, tellement prenant que j'avais le sentiment de faire partie de la vie de ces personnages, qu'ils étaient réellement vivants. Un livre que je ne pouvais lâcher, mais que je m'interdisais de lire à certains moments pour faire durer l'histoire et atteindre la dernière page le plus tard possible.
Certainly one of the best books of these last years. A human and fascinating book which gives to the reader th...more
Certainly one of the best books of these last years. A human and fascinating book which gives to the reader th...more
This is a translation of a French novel. Unfortuately, that's exactly how it reads- like a translation. I liked the story and enjoyed reading it. But the writing is pretty clumsy, so I only give it three stars.
To read absolutely ! I would love to give it 6 stars, but I can't ! Although I have to say that I read it in french, and I would be a bit concerned about an english translation ...?
Translated from the French, set in Paris and in a small village outside Paris, this book seems very French. Three unlikely characters--a disturbed artist, a surly chef, an eccentric aristocrat--housesit in a an old flat. The book is about how they support and change each other, become a family, redeem their souls. It is also a love story, a story of the limited opportunities for young people in today's France,and a story of an aged grandmother in her last year. I liked it very much and read it ...more
I have read this book twice, as well as watching the movie twice. I loved the characters - the mix of young and old, odd and mainstream, all living together amongst the history years gone by. I loved that Camille and Franck were at war initially but as they got to know each other realised that they weren't so different afterall. Philibert, the man born into a family entrenched in the past, and Paulette, Franck's forgetful grandmother, gave the story softness and make you want to give them a h...more
I smiled when I saw "The Elegance of the Hedgehog" in the list of "Customers who bought this item also bought" on the Amazon page. I saw similarities between the two books as soon as I started reading this. I read the whole 500 page book in a day (while home sick) so it was obviously enjoyable. But it was predictable as other people have pointed out. It shares with Elegance the whole "strange roommates" and "made-families" themes. But the author has a...more
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Anna Gavalda is a French teacher and award-winning novelist.
Referred to by Voici magazine as "a distant descendant of Dorothy Parker", Anna Gavalda was born in an upper-class suburb of Paris. While working as French teacher in high school, a collection of her short stories was first published in 1999 under the title "Je voudrais que quelqu'un m'attende quelque part"...more
More about Anna Gavalda...
Referred to by Voici magazine as "a distant descendant of Dorothy Parker", Anna Gavalda was born in an upper-class suburb of Paris. While working as French teacher in high school, a collection of her short stories was first published in 1999 under the title "Je voudrais que quelqu'un m'attende quelque part"...more
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“-Tu crois que c'est comme tes mines de crayon ? Tu crois que ça s'use quand on s'en sert ?
- De quoi ?
-Les sentiments.”
—
5 people liked it
- De quoi ?
-Les sentiments.”
“Es dauerte einen Moment, bis er ihr antwortete:
Nein, ich spreche von... von eurer Freiheit, glaube ich. Von dem Glück, das ihr habt, für euch zu leben und auf alles andere zu pfeifen.”
—
4 people liked it
More quotes…
Nein, ich spreche von... von eurer Freiheit, glaube ich. Von dem Glück, das ihr habt, für euch zu leben und auf alles andere zu pfeifen.”
