Momo has been one of the ever-changing ragbag of whores' children at Madame Rosa's boardinghouse in Paris ever since he can remember. But when the ...
read full description
reviews
Nov 17, 2011
Lee
rated it: 
Portrait of the artist as the young son of a prostitute murdered by his Algerian father and raised in 1970 paris slums by an obese 67-year-old Holocaust survivor/retired whore and educated by Senegalese trannies and wise old men whose long experience must be respected. First-person narration by a well-meaning, sensitive, street-smart 10-year-old/14-year-old named Momo, whose best friend is a dressed-up umbrella named Arthur and who has too much pride to peddle his ass. Lots of LOL malapropisms (
More...
0 comments
like
(4 people liked it)
Feb 21, 2009
زندگی در پیش رو: رومن گاری
این داستان روایت حال پسری عرب به نام محمد است که او را «مو مو» صدا می کنند و زنی یهودی به نام «رزا خانم» سرپرستی او را بر عهده دارد.
محمد از مادری فاحشه به نام «عایشه» به دنیا می آید و پدرش در یک درگیری مادر محمد را به قتل می رساند و راهی زندان می شود.خانواده پدری محمد ماهیانه مقرری را به رزا خانم به خاطر نگهداری او می پردازند.رزا خانم نگهداری بچه های دیگر را نیز به عهده دارد اما به محمد علاقه بیشتری نشان می دهد و نمی خواهد از او جدا شود.
داستان به صورت More...
این داستان روایت حال پسری عرب به نام محمد است که او را «مو مو» صدا می کنند و زنی یهودی به نام «رزا خانم» سرپرستی او را بر عهده دارد.
محمد از مادری فاحشه به نام «عایشه» به دنیا می آید و پدرش در یک درگیری مادر محمد را به قتل می رساند و راهی زندان می شود.خانواده پدری محمد ماهیانه مقرری را به رزا خانم به خاطر نگهداری او می پردازند.رزا خانم نگهداری بچه های دیگر را نیز به عهده دارد اما به محمد علاقه بیشتری نشان می دهد و نمی خواهد از او جدا شود.
داستان به صورت More...
0 comments
like
(3 people liked it)
Nov 19, 2008
Lavinia
rated it:
I'm so glad i saved this book from the 'seduced but abandoned' shelf. Sooo much better than anything else I've read written from a young boy's perspective. The funny fact is that I read other two of this kind this month - Cum mi-am petrecut vacanta de vara and Mi Planta de Naranja Lima. Momo's perspective is so much different, funny and sensitive at the same time, brilliant 1st person narrative.
Gary is the only writer to be awarded the Goncourt prize twice, because he published La More...
Gary is the only writer to be awarded the Goncourt prize twice, because he published La More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Sep 04, 2010
Emilie
rated it: 
My absolute favourite French book. Words fail me on this one, it just transported me elsewhere and stayed with me years after I read it. The story is narrated by a young child, and Ajar truly catches the essence of childhood, the illogical, literal and innocent perspective is dead-on, and you truly feel like you experience the world through his eyes. Mesmerising, absolutely magical and full of soul.
I never wanted it to end and will reread it every time my life needs a little more joy, a li More...
I never wanted it to end and will reread it every time my life needs a little more joy, a li More...
0 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
Sep 14, 2010
saghar
rated it:
زندگی در پیش رو: رومن گاری
این داستان روایت حال پسری عرب به نام محمد است که او را «مو مو» صدا می کنند و زنی یهودی به نام «رزا خانم» سرپرستی او را بر عهده دارد.
محمد از مادری فاحشه به نام «عایشه» به دنیا می آید و پدرش در یک درگیری مادر محمد را به قتل می رساند و راهی زندان می شود.خانواده پدری محمد ماهیانه مقرری را به رزا خانم به خاطر نگهداری او می پردازند.رزا خانم نگهداری بچه های دیگر را نیز به عهده دارد اما به محمد علاقه بیشتری نشان می دهد و نمی خواهد از او جدا شود.
داستان به صورت More...
این داستان روایت حال پسری عرب به نام محمد است که او را «مو مو» صدا می کنند و زنی یهودی به نام «رزا خانم» سرپرستی او را بر عهده دارد.
محمد از مادری فاحشه به نام «عایشه» به دنیا می آید و پدرش در یک درگیری مادر محمد را به قتل می رساند و راهی زندان می شود.خانواده پدری محمد ماهیانه مقرری را به رزا خانم به خاطر نگهداری او می پردازند.رزا خانم نگهداری بچه های دیگر را نیز به عهده دارد اما به محمد علاقه بیشتری نشان می دهد و نمی خواهد از او جدا شود.
داستان به صورت More...
Aug 30, 2010
Afshar
rated it: 
اين از آن رمانهايي است كه تا حالا به هركسي پيشنهاد كرده ام مشتري شده است ،رمان از زبان پسر بچه اي به نام محمد (مومو) روايت مي شود در بيست صفحه ي اول كتاب محمد مي خواهد همه چيز را با سرعت بگويد ، پس درهم و برهم حرف مي زند و مي خواهد مثل آدم بزرگ ها حرف بزند و به همين دليل جمله بندي هايش از لحاظ دستوري گاه غلط است و ذهن خواننده در آغاز كمي مغشوش مي شود اما بعد به روش گفتار او عادت مي كند .
با هم چند جمله اي از متن داستان را مي خوانيم :
هنوز نمی دانستم که بعدها پلیس خواهم شد یا تروریست. More...
با هم چند جمله اي از متن داستان را مي خوانيم :
هنوز نمی دانستم که بعدها پلیس خواهم شد یا تروریست. More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Oct 01, 2011
Lolo
rated it:
Incredible prose: the perfect length and feeling for a rainy fall afternoon.
It's a pleasure to read a simple story like this one. The simplicity grabs you, right from the first page. The main character, little Momo is the most charming protagonist in my recent readings (I'd like to get him and the little boy from Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close together in one room - what a pair of moppets!). Momo, an orphaned whore's son, is the right mix of wide-eyed newborn babe and street u More...
It's a pleasure to read a simple story like this one. The simplicity grabs you, right from the first page. The main character, little Momo is the most charming protagonist in my recent readings (I'd like to get him and the little boy from Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close together in one room - what a pair of moppets!). Momo, an orphaned whore's son, is the right mix of wide-eyed newborn babe and street u More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Jan 30, 2012
Suzanne
rated it:
This book is unbelievable!!! It is the story of a little Arab boy (Momo) cared for in Paris by a former prostitute, Madame Rosa. She cares for several children, who's mother's are prostitutes. Madame Rosa is of Jewish heritage and she was picked up & deported to Germany in WWII. She was in Auschwitz, but survived. The cast of characters is wonderful: Ms. Lola, the transvestite, who helps Momo care for M. Rosa as she gets more debilitated, Dr. Katz, who makes house calls and checks on M. Rosa, M
More...
Dec 17, 2009
Nathalie
rated it:
I can't help my attraction to fiction written from the point of view of precocious, dirty-mouth youngsters who act very oblivious and nonchalant about the treasures of wordplays and wonderful neologisms they come up with. "La vie devant soi" is one such book, one of my favorite.
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Aug 15, 2011
Istvan
rated it:
Dear fans of La vie devant soi,
If you have a copy of this book in Arabic, maybe you can help me. (I know that this thread is about the Persian edition, but I could not find that Arabic on goodreads.)
I am looking for the original arabic version of the quote that stands at the beginning of the book from Yafi'i's Rawd al-Rayyâh în ("The Grove of Sweet Scents"), which goes in French:
ls ont dit : Tu es devenu fou ŕ cause de Celui que tu aimes.
J'ai dit :Ť More...
If you have a copy of this book in Arabic, maybe you can help me. (I know that this thread is about the Persian edition, but I could not find that Arabic on goodreads.)
I am looking for the original arabic version of the quote that stands at the beginning of the book from Yafi'i's Rawd al-Rayyâh în ("The Grove of Sweet Scents"), which goes in French:
ls ont dit : Tu es devenu fou ŕ cause de Celui que tu aimes.
J'ai dit :Ť More...
Jul 24, 2008
Mahdiye
rated it: 
هیچ چیز، سفید سفید یا سیاه سیاه نیست. سفید گاهی همان سیاه است که خودش را جور دیگری نشان داده و سیاه هم گاهی سفید است که سرش کلاه رفته
0 comments
like
(5 people liked it)
Nov 28, 2011
soul
rated it:
"Животът пред теб" е великолепна, много топла и мила книга. Без претенции към определен кръг читатели, тази силно емоционална история може да докосне всеки и всяка страница от нея грабва, без да остави нито ред пространство за равнодушие или скука.
Трудно ми е да опиша стила на Ромен Гари: малкият Мохамед (Момо) от Алжир разказва за първите осъзнати години от живота си и за неочакваното си възмъжаване - по детски наивно и сериозно, със съвсем семпли думи, носещи много смисъл, мъдр More...
Трудно ми е да опиша стила на Ромен Гари: малкият Мохамед (Момо) от Алжир разказва за първите осъзнати години от живота си и за неочакваното си възмъжаване - по детски наивно и сериозно, със съвсем семпли думи, носещи много смисъл, мъдр More...
Sep 16, 2010
Azra
rated it:
" خوابیدیم. اما خواب راحت بی گناهان به سراغمان نیامد. خیلی در این باره فکر کردم و می کنم که آقای هامیل در گفتن آن حرف اشتباه کرده. فکر می کنم این گناه کارانند که راحت می خوابند. چون چیزی حالیشان نیست و برعکس، بی گناهان نمی توانند یک لحظه چشم روی هم بگذارند. چون نگران همه چیز هستند. اگر غیر از این بود بی گناه نمی شدند. "
خواندن داستان به لطف بی کران ترجمه ی بی نظیر « لیلی گلستان »، لذتی بی انتها داشت. دمش گرم! More...
خواندن داستان به لطف بی کران ترجمه ی بی نظیر « لیلی گلستان »، لذتی بی انتها داشت. دمش گرم! More...
Mar 27, 2011
Salimeh
rated it:
This book reminded me do not judge people by their apperience and let myself to know everybody.
خوندن کتاب مصادف شد با ورود م به فرانسه و درک فضای ساخته شده توسط نویسنده جذابیت کتاب رو برام دو چندان کرد. چیزی که از این کتاب دوس دارم بیان زندگی قشری از آدماس که تو نیگاه اول خیلی آدمای قابل احترامی دیده نمی شن اما وقتی وارد جزییات زندگی اونا میشی میبینی که با توجه یه شرایطی که داشتن رفتارشون قابل درکه و قابل ستایش. More...
خوندن کتاب مصادف شد با ورود م به فرانسه و درک فضای ساخته شده توسط نویسنده جذابیت کتاب رو برام دو چندان کرد. چیزی که از این کتاب دوس دارم بیان زندگی قشری از آدماس که تو نیگاه اول خیلی آدمای قابل احترامی دیده نمی شن اما وقتی وارد جزییات زندگی اونا میشی میبینی که با توجه یه شرایطی که داشتن رفتارشون قابل درکه و قابل ستایش. More...
Oct 10, 2011
Violetta
rated it:
Я случайно наткнулась на эту книгу в интернет-магазине. На следующий день после доставки я открыла книгу и уже не смогла оторваться.
Этот роман был удостоен Гонкуровской премии, самой престижной литературной премии Франции. Я считаю, что данное произведение одно из лучших, опубликованных в 20 веке. More...
Этот роман был удостоен Гонкуровской премии, самой престижной литературной премии Франции. Я считаю, что данное произведение одно из лучших, опубликованных в 20 веке. More...
May 02, 2011
E' un piccolo libro, questo di Romain Gary, ma che riesce ad affrontare temi fondamentali della vita di un essere umano con la semplicità disarmante del punto di vista di un bambino.
Mohammed, detto Momo, vive nella periferia di Parigi insieme all'unica persona che si è mai occupata di lui, una vecchia ex prostituta che tira avanti tenendo a pensione i figli delle sue più giovani colleghe ancora in attività.
http://ghettodeilettori.blogspot.com/201... More...
Mohammed, detto Momo, vive nella periferia di Parigi insieme all'unica persona che si è mai occupata di lui, una vecchia ex prostituta che tira avanti tenendo a pensione i figli delle sue più giovani colleghe ancora in attività.
http://ghettodeilettori.blogspot.com/201... More...
Dec 25, 2010
Radina
rated it:
"Към пет часа осъзнах, че съм се натъкнал на един проблем и че имам нужда от нещо друго, сигурно, лишено от грешка-човешка. Чувствах такава нужда от първа необходимост, с нещо друго, различно, добре измайсторено във всяко едно отношение, че изтичах при часовникаря на улица "Тривиа", където придобих право на собственост върху един часовник придружител, с бял, прям и открит циферблат и две изящни стрелки, Циферблатът тутакси ми се усмихна. Часовникарят веднага ми предложи друг един
More...
Oct 10, 2010
Kaloyana
rated it:
Добре де, как става така че някой може да пише с думи, които не стигат само до главата, а продължават към сърецето и си остават там!
Много мила книга! Ето такива най-вече обичам - силно-емоционална история, страхотен стил - не знам как да го опиша, но като усещане е онова, към което нямаш повече претенции, към което не искаш да добавиш нищо повече. Хумор, който минава през тъгата и трагедията, но нито една страница не те оставя равнодушен. Животът, та животът! Колко хубаво е описан с цялата More...
Много мила книга! Ето такива най-вече обичам - силно-емоционална история, страхотен стил - не знам как да го опиша, но като усещане е онова, към което нямаш повече претенции, към което не искаш да добавиш нищо повече. Хумор, който минава през тъгата и трагедията, но нито една страница не те оставя равнодушен. Животът, та животът! Колко хубаво е описан с цялата More...
0 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
Oct 31, 2011
Elodie
rated it:
Momo est un personnage particulier, avec une histoire plus que particulière. Ce roman fait découvrir toute une série de personnages pas comme les autres, et forcément attachants, comme monsieur Hamil qui est ami avec Victor Hugo et le confond avec le Coran parfois, madame Lola qui est un travesti ancien champion de boxe au Sénégal, avec des gros seins, qui aurait fait une mère parfaite si elle avait eu le matériel, le docteur Katz avec toute son affection pour Momo, et puis bien sûr, Momo et Mad
More...
Aug 03, 2008
Vanillabricot
rated it:
Quand un livre a atteint la note maximale de 5/5 on le sait de suite. Dès qu'on met la tête hors de l'eau après avoir été happée par ses pages, dès qu'on revoit la lumière du soleil, on sait.
Le 5/5 ça frappe comme une évidence.
POur les autres notes il y a un instant de réflexion. On prend en compte plusieurs considérations: le style de l'écrivain, l'intérêt pour l'histoire, le fond, la forme, on dose les émotions que nous a procuré la lecture, on pèse, on tergiverce, on More...
Le 5/5 ça frappe comme une évidence.
POur les autres notes il y a un instant de réflexion. On prend en compte plusieurs considérations: le style de l'écrivain, l'intérêt pour l'histoire, le fond, la forme, on dose les émotions que nous a procuré la lecture, on pèse, on tergiverce, on More...
Jul 24, 2008
C(h)ristine
rated it:
The same good friend who recommended Memory recommended The Life Before Us (and I was to read Memory first, which I did with great obedience).
Heartbreaking story. Reminds me of Dickens. The greatest piece of brilliance in this book was Gary/Ajar’s characterization of Momo, Madame Rosa, and all of the other children and neighbors in a Parisian immigrant slum. I’m working on characterization in my novel right now, so this book came to me with great timing.
Also, it’s gott More...
Heartbreaking story. Reminds me of Dickens. The greatest piece of brilliance in this book was Gary/Ajar’s characterization of Momo, Madame Rosa, and all of the other children and neighbors in a Parisian immigrant slum. I’m working on characterization in my novel right now, so this book came to me with great timing.
Also, it’s gott More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Jun 09, 2008
Avital
rated it:
The life before us is a story of of a miserable child. The story actually begins with the identity of the author who signs by the pen name: Emile Ajar. (Some say it is Romain Gary).
Momo, (short for Mohamed) an Arab son of a prostitute, is being raised by a retired Jewish prostitute, who had survived the holocaust but is having some difficulties surviving her poor life in Paris.
Rosa, the caretaker, is protecting Momo – and herself – from the truth and conceals the identity More...
Momo, (short for Mohamed) an Arab son of a prostitute, is being raised by a retired Jewish prostitute, who had survived the holocaust but is having some difficulties surviving her poor life in Paris.
Rosa, the caretaker, is protecting Momo – and herself – from the truth and conceals the identity More...
Aug 10, 2007
Mira
rated it:
I have to confess that this book made me cry.
And that's not a common thing,
I can't even remember the last time I cried while reading a book before this,
it was probably more than 7 years before.
This is an exceptional book.
If I could give 10 stars I would.
The author probably knows the secret of life or something.
I mean even though the author was unknown when the book was first published.
When you read the book,
you would immediately know More...
Jul 26, 2011
Ghazaleh
rated it:
این کتاب درد دارد!!!
بچه ای که با تموم بجه بودنش به خاطر چیز هایی که تو زندگی کشیده کلی حرفای گنده گنده داره که بزنه،و به خاطر بچگیش خیلی راحت بیانشون می کنه!
این وسط ها چرت پرتم زیاد می گه که همین شخصیتشو باور پذیر تر می کنه
زیر بعضی جمله های کتاب باید خط کشید...
بچه ای که با تموم بجه بودنش به خاطر چیز هایی که تو زندگی کشیده کلی حرفای گنده گنده داره که بزنه،و به خاطر بچگیش خیلی راحت بیانشون می کنه!
این وسط ها چرت پرتم زیاد می گه که همین شخصیتشو باور پذیر تر می کنه
زیر بعضی جمله های کتاب باید خط کشید...
May 03, 2011
Elizabeth
rated it:
One of my all-time favorite novels is Roman Gary's The Roots of Heaven, so I snapped Madame Rosa up when I saw it on my mother's bookshelf. It's quite a short novel -- just under 200 pages -- and is narrated by an Arab boy named Momo whose prostitute mother has left him in the care of Madame Rosa, a former hooker and Auschwitz survivor now living in Paris. This is not the Paris of the Seine and Tour Eiffel. Rather it is the Paris of the poor slums circling the affluent core, gritty neighborhoods
More...
Aug 22, 2011
Joanna
rated it:
Amazingly philosophical and yet convincingly coming from the mouth of a child. Gary's style is fresh and alive, it bounces and lets you breath unlike many French authors. It's also a recognisable style, so very idiosyncratic in its intelligence. It could be no one but Gary and still people thought it was this Ajar behind the pen.
The story is heart-wrenching for any hard-core realist; dramatic yet it never falls into the self-pity of pathos. There is no sense of restraint and yet the balan More...
The story is heart-wrenching for any hard-core realist; dramatic yet it never falls into the self-pity of pathos. There is no sense of restraint and yet the balan More...
Nov 14, 2011
Linh
rated it:
Đây chính là cuộc sống, trần trụi khổ đau mà lớn lao qua lời một thằng bé mười ba già trước tuổi. Bên ngoài những 'cuộc sống' hùng hục nihilistic ngoài kia, bên ngoài những quyển sách triết lý nhiều lời hay dò dẫm từng vụn vặt cảm xúc, đây là tình yêu, là lòng ngây thơ và niềm tin không chết, để làm ta cũng tiếp tục tin và giữ được hi vọng. Vẫn biết những gì ông viết nhiều phần dựa vào kí ức bản thân, nhưng Romain Gary quả thực xứng đáng với 2 lần Prix Goncourt khi ông hoàn toàn làm chủ được giọ
More...
Feb 01, 2012
Albena
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Oct 24, 2011
Ayla
rated it:
Loved it. This is the love story of Momo, a Muslim Algerian boy, and Madame Rosa, an old, Jewish woman who retired from prostitution to become a caretaker of prostitutes' children. These two only have each other in the world. Momo doesn't know who his parents are - they left him with Madame Rosa when he was an infant and never returned. And Madame Rosa has no family, other than the children she cares for. They live on the 6th floor of an old Parisian apartment building without an elevator.
More...
Oct 15, 2011
Roberta
rated it:
Scritto da Romain Gary, cosa che venne scoperta solo dopo la sua morte, questo romanzo vinse il Premio Goncourt (che l'autore però rifiutò proprio per mantenere l'anonimato).
Momò, giovane figlio di prostituta cresciuto per soldi da un'ex prostituta, ci racconta la sua storia di formazione nel quartiere di Belleville.
Commovente e umoristico.
Momò, giovane figlio di prostituta cresciuto per soldi da un'ex prostituta, ci racconta la sua storia di formazione nel quartiere di Belleville.
Commovente e umoristico.
