Win Stuff
The time has come again (yes, I have started with a Last Shadow Puppets reference) to win not one, not five, but three books. Give me a chance to make this more exciting: Three translations by staple French authors...and they are all (groundbreaking-ly) women! Now we're talking!
Round one, ding ding, is King Kong Theory, by Virginie Despentes.
She's the equivalent of that cool girl in sixth-form who wore a round neck jumper instead of a v-neck (rebel).
The book slaps "fusty" feminist imagery in the face, and dabbles in dealing with notoriety. It's like a realistic Ugly Betty, with naughty swear words. It's also a great shake on the shoulders for those who aspire to be Allie from The Notebook.
After a re-fuel, it's time for round two...DING DING!
If you're like me and you love a good tacky autobiography, then it's time to change your ways by reading something worthwhile. Wartime Notebooks is written by Marguerite Duras (one of the leading intellectuals and novelists of post-war France) and will make you grateful for your boring life. Duras recounts various harrowing tales from Indochina to concentration camps.
Read for round three?
Oh yeah, ding ding.
Suite Française, by Irène Némirovsky. If it's good enough to feature Kristin Scott Thomas, then it's good enough to be read. The beauty of this book is that it was written during the war, without the benefit of hindsight...hashtag mind blown.
As one Amazon reviewer puts it "The writer ain't no JP Sartre...but it's worth a read".
So there we have it: the punk, the intellectual and the fortune-teller.
Re-tweet this tweet, or email "I want to win stuff" to culturethque@institutfrancais.org.uk before the 24th of March 2016.