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Giá đâu đó có người đợi tôi
by
Mười hai truyện ngắn trong tập truyện ngắn đã phác hoạ rõ nét chân dung những con người tràn đầy hy vọng phù phiếm hay mang nỗi thất vọng nặng nề. Họ không phải là những người hùng, họ chỉ đơn thuần là con người. Họ không tìm cách thay đổi thế giới. Chúng ta vẫn gặp họ hàng ngày nhưng không hề chú ý đến họ, không hề để tâm đến gánh nặng tình cảm mà họ đang mang và bỗng nhi
...more
Paperback, 1st, 278 pages
Published
2008
by Hội Nhà Văn, Nhã Nam
(first published 1999)
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Je Voudrais Que Quelqu'un M'attende Quelque Part = I Wish Someone Were Waiting for Me Somewhere, Anna Gavalda
I Wish Someone Were Waiting for Me Somewhere was first published in 1999 under the title Je Voudrais Que Quelqu'un M'attende Quelque Part that met with both critical acclaim and commercial success, selling more than three-quarters of a million copies in her native France and winning the 2000 Grand Prix RTL-Lire.
عنوانها: «دوست داشتم کسی جایی منتظرم باشد»؛ «کاش کسی جایی منتظرم باشد»؛ نویسن ...more
I Wish Someone Were Waiting for Me Somewhere was first published in 1999 under the title Je Voudrais Que Quelqu'un M'attende Quelque Part that met with both critical acclaim and commercial success, selling more than three-quarters of a million copies in her native France and winning the 2000 Grand Prix RTL-Lire.
عنوانها: «دوست داشتم کسی جایی منتظرم باشد»؛ «کاش کسی جایی منتظرم باشد»؛ نویسن ...more
This is what it means to write with economy. All of these short stories – and most of them are very short— are told in the first person. No flowery metaphors here. The voices do the heavy lifting, creating these little gems that are revealing and poignant. What Gavalda does with so few words is amazing. While many are emotionally affecting and thought-provoking, there is humor too. The end of “Junior” is the funniest thing I’ve read in a while.
There is much said on Goodreads about the unreliabi ...more
There is much said on Goodreads about the unreliabi ...more
I was first attracted to the book by its title that I really liked and still do, I just loved the simplicity of it that means so much. But then I was really disappointed when I started reading it, it was BORING. Hear me out, i'm fond of boring stories/life stories where almost nothing happen cause like they say in Mr Nobody "life is like a french movie, most of the time nothing happens" so I like the truth that it implies. But this was just too much...I don't know how many times I gave up on thi
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Is That So Much To Ask?, 5 Mar 2006
"I shifted somewhat abruptly. She stood back up behind me and put both hands flat on my shoulders. She said, "I'm going to go. I want you not to move and not to turn around. Please I am begging of you.
I didn't move I didn't want to anyway, because I didn't want her to see me with my eyes swollen and my face all contorted.
I waited a while, and then headed to my car."
Anna Gavalda has seen a lot in her life. This novel with twelve short stories of people tryin ...more
This collection of short stories by Anna Gavalda, a former high-school teacher and mother of two, won the Academie Francaise Short Story Award in 2000. The citation mentions the 'dry wit and almost involuntary elegance' apparent in the twelve stories. The translation (by Karen Marker, published in 2003) manages to preserve both the wit and elegance - these stories were fun to read.
Courting rituals of the Saint-Germain-de-Pres, a country vet's terrible revenge, or an indelible encounter between ...more
Courting rituals of the Saint-Germain-de-Pres, a country vet's terrible revenge, or an indelible encounter between ...more
Dec 05, 2016
Marzieh Torabi
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
short-stories
3.5 Stars
I've always been fascinated by the French because they have this sneering way of communicating they are completely above mediocrity. It might be apocryphal, but I've bought into it. Remember that fabulous film "Diva"? The bald guy who dedicated his life to assembling a 10,000 piece puzzle? In white? He was so cooooooooooooool ... Loads of internal coolness. That white canvas was just a token of his Zen-like internal refrigeration.
It's possible I've been living under a misapprehension for most o ...more
It's possible I've been living under a misapprehension for most o ...more
“Life can be changed in just one fateful moment.” These are the words printed on the cover of “I Wish Someone Were Waiting for Me Somewhere” and they perfectly encapsulate the overarching theme that connects these stories.
The stories in this collection are, for the most part, startling in a very understated way. For example, “Lead Story,” my favorite in this collection, is about a man who makes a decision to do something that doesn’t seem particularly out-of-the-ordinary, but leads to a devastat ...more
The stories in this collection are, for the most part, startling in a very understated way. For example, “Lead Story,” my favorite in this collection, is about a man who makes a decision to do something that doesn’t seem particularly out-of-the-ordinary, but leads to a devastat ...more
This collection of short stories offers a good, satisfying mix of different voices, tones, and emotions. One of the things Anna Gavalda excels at is accurately reproducing the look and feel of our inner monologues to ourselves -- the self-doubt, guilt, awkwardness, fear, and muddle, but also the hopes, crushes, day dreams, inside jokes, and imagined futures that percolate through our brains on any given day. These stories also go by in a breeze that makes her writing seem effortless, but the the
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A strange collection of short stories in that they're not quite quotable, but often incredibly lovely and poignant. Some of the stories fall a little flat but the ones that work work so well that it makes up for it ("Courting Rituals of the Saint-Germain-des-Pres," "Leave," "For Years," and "Clic-Clac").
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Short stories, from her. Touching :)
The last book we read in French class as an example of contemporary, modern and popular literature. It is a collection of short stories, where the common themes usually are such as love and every day situations. Sometimes humour, sometimes tragedy. The titles is chosen, I believe, because "waiting" really is what the lives of all these people is marked by. Waiting for a lover, for a child to be born, to find a sense of belonging in life, to a letter from an editor to arrive...
I prefer the story ...more
I prefer the story ...more
I wish the oceans didn't separate the lit worlds so. British books sometimes make it over this way, and sometimes translations of foreign language books, but not enough. So it took a hearty recommendation from a friend who lives in Paris for me to pick up this fabulous French book by Anna Gavalda: I Wish Someone Were Waiting for Me Somewhere, which took the French world by storm, and then went international. I myself devoured it in two days.
IWSWWfMS is a collection of stories, some so short as ...more
IWSWWfMS is a collection of stories, some so short as ...more
I liked this a lot. It seems like recently I've been reading collections of short stories just to shit on them, but I felt like these stories really justified the format. They had a zing or an oomph to them that I enjoyed very much.
I think that, in some ways, these stories appealed to the part of me that makes me tear up during romantic comedies (which is something I promised I wasn't going to volunteer anymore; oops). That's not to imply that I think they are just junk food or anything like tha ...more
I think that, in some ways, these stories appealed to the part of me that makes me tear up during romantic comedies (which is something I promised I wasn't going to volunteer anymore; oops). That's not to imply that I think they are just junk food or anything like tha ...more
This collection of short stories is as easy to read as pure fluff, but has substance and passion behind it. There are twelve stories in this book, all about ten pages long, which I gleefully devoured in an afteroon. The first-person narrators speak directly to their reader in conversational tones.
One of the things I love best about Gavalda's style is that she's sparse. Her pen-strokes are never wasted; no line of melodramatic adjectives strung on to fifty-cent words. She is at once precise and v ...more
One of the things I love best about Gavalda's style is that she's sparse. Her pen-strokes are never wasted; no line of melodramatic adjectives strung on to fifty-cent words. She is at once precise and v ...more
A collection of short stories set in Paris.
We are allowed a glimpse into the -very- mundane life of the characters. Each perfectly encapsulates the bleakness of routine, the isolation and loneliness we all feel at times.
Yet I really disliked the writing, it felt almost clinical, like the author couldn't bare to get to close to the characters, which for the most part were pretty unlikeable in the first place. ...more
We are allowed a glimpse into the -very- mundane life of the characters. Each perfectly encapsulates the bleakness of routine, the isolation and loneliness we all feel at times.
Yet I really disliked the writing, it felt almost clinical, like the author couldn't bare to get to close to the characters, which for the most part were pretty unlikeable in the first place. ...more
The prose is so intimate, yet intrusive. When I was reading some of the stories, I feel like I was watching #Aldub, looking at their eyes full of unspeakable truth, but concealed with the surrounding "phenomenon". Between you and them, there is a promise that is meant to keep.
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So far I really like this book. I will definitely be reading more from this author.
Oh, how I love this book. Ever since I read this for the first time in early 2000's, it has been one of my all time favorite short story collections. After this second reading, I still love it. Each short story paints such a vivid picture with only few words. The stories are shocking, hilarious and heartfelt. Anna Gavalda, when you are good, you are really good.
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I liked it
some stories are better than others but all of them are atmospheric and carry some sort of ... je ne sais quoi
Short chapters are short stories with the French charm. Love, loss and living. This was my go to book to carry around in my purse. Author is solid.
I raise my hand unceasingly in French class to ask exactly about words, but Gavalda is as good as any dictionary:
"A un moment, elle m'a demandé la difference entre désarroi (aimlessness) et désoeuvrement (confusion)."
And the moments of kindred spirit make sense:
"When New York Review of Books Classics republished Stoner, it was reviewed quite well, but sold modestly at first — until it caught the attention of Anna Gavalda, one of France's best-selling novelists. She had to read Stoner in English ...more
"A un moment, elle m'a demandé la difference entre désarroi (aimlessness) et désoeuvrement (confusion)."
And the moments of kindred spirit make sense:
"When New York Review of Books Classics republished Stoner, it was reviewed quite well, but sold modestly at first — until it caught the attention of Anna Gavalda, one of France's best-selling novelists. She had to read Stoner in English ...more
quotes#527126 from my notebook
"I'm tough at work, but that's just because I'm playing a role, you see? I have to be tough, I have to make them think I'm a tyrant. Can you imagine if they discovered my secret? If they figured out that I'm shy? That I have to work three times harder than the others for the same result? That I have a bad memory? That I'm slow to understand. If they knew that, they'd eat me alive!
"Plus, I don't know how to make myself liked ... I have no charisma, as they say. If I ...more
"I'm tough at work, but that's just because I'm playing a role, you see? I have to be tough, I have to make them think I'm a tyrant. Can you imagine if they discovered my secret? If they figured out that I'm shy? That I have to work three times harder than the others for the same result? That I have a bad memory? That I'm slow to understand. If they knew that, they'd eat me alive!
"Plus, I don't know how to make myself liked ... I have no charisma, as they say. If I ...more
I never read short stories. It’s not that I don’t like them, I just appreciate novels more. I had to read a collection of short stories because of school. I liked the title and the cover was pretty, so I thought, why not this one? It’s short. Yeah, I hated this book.
Gavalda’s stories are all almost pretty much the same. The characters have relationship issues, they all smoke, yearn for something that they don’t have. This book is SO french!! As a person who a) isn’t french b) has never been to ...more
Gavalda’s stories are all almost pretty much the same. The characters have relationship issues, they all smoke, yearn for something that they don’t have. This book is SO french!! As a person who a) isn’t french b) has never been to ...more
I don't remember the first short stories book I've ever read, so assumingly this is the first one. My first thought was, "This is strange." I guess I'm finally too used to fat books, which was why I felt funny when the first short story abruptly stopped. I told myself, "Well, what did you expect?" but still, it takes a little effort to enjoy (very) short stories.
But once I was in, this book was alluring. Each story is distinguishing, its theme is completely different - and yet has something in c ...more
But once I was in, this book was alluring. Each story is distinguishing, its theme is completely different - and yet has something in c ...more
My friend and colleague lent me one of her books for the intention of helping me pick up a lesson or two about dating. It was originally in French, and I was a bit uncertain if I must read it. Some translated works turned out garbage, you know.
But this novel was different. It was actually a collection of short stories with the title as the theme. I enjoyed reading them and had a good laugh for some, but as I was drawing near the last story, I had this sudden heaviness in my chest that I couldn’t ...more
But this novel was different. It was actually a collection of short stories with the title as the theme. I enjoyed reading them and had a good laugh for some, but as I was drawing near the last story, I had this sudden heaviness in my chest that I couldn’t ...more
This piece is a compilation of short stories. It is originally written in French, but is well-translated for its non-French readers.
The book is packed with stories about love, family, and friendship. I would have given it five stars, but there were some stories that kind of left me hanging. Well, they are short stories, but those made me want for more. Among my favorite stories are Clic-Clac, For Years, and Junior. They either made me laugh or touched my heart in a way that is relatable.
So, will ...more
The book is packed with stories about love, family, and friendship. I would have given it five stars, but there were some stories that kind of left me hanging. Well, they are short stories, but those made me want for more. Among my favorite stories are Clic-Clac, For Years, and Junior. They either made me laugh or touched my heart in a way that is relatable.
So, will ...more
Perhaps the most readable short story collection I have come across to date. Each of them makes you feel, reflect and enjoy, albeit a distilled form of human passion, pain, and desire. They are offered without the distraction of the author's emotions, but the character's deepest seated ones, rendering the writing an emotional depth worth envy, and cherish. Something light. Something worth. Something you can go back to once in a while when you have a minute or two to spare.
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although this book is not "my type of book "
i still enjoyed it
its a collection of short stories , im not sure why but every time i finish one story i get this warm ,nostalgic feeling .
that's what i call good writing ...more
i still enjoyed it
its a collection of short stories , im not sure why but every time i finish one story i get this warm ,nostalgic feeling .
that's what i call good writing ...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Play Book Tag: I Wish Someone Were Waiting for Me Somewhere by Anna Gavalda 2 stars | 1 | 13 | Jun 22, 2017 03:24PM | |
| Armenian readers ...: Ամսվա ընթերցանություն. I Wish Someone Were Waiting for Me Somewhere | 10 | 34 | Feb 14, 2016 05:12AM | |
| Read by Theme: I Wish Someone Were Waiting for Me Somewhere | 1 | 27 | Jul 13, 2012 05:32PM | |
| Discussion for a book club | 1 | 18 | Sep 01, 2011 09:17PM | |
| nice | 1 | 17 | Sep 06, 2009 10:01AM |
Readers also enjoyed
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" that met with both critical acc ...more
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" that met with both critical acc ...more
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“How could you let yourself be sidetracked while I was waiting for your breath on my back?”
—
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“Quand j'arrive à la gare de l'Est, j'espère toujours secrètement qu'il y aura quelqu'un pour m'attendre. C'est con. J'ai beau savoir que ma mère est encore au boulot à cette heure-là et que Marc est pas du genre à traverser la banlieue pour porter mon sac, j'ai toujours cet espoir débile. [...] Je voudrais que quelqu'un m'attende quelque part... C'est quand même pas compliqué.”
—
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