Romain Gary (1914–1980)
Author of The Life before Us
About the Author
Series
Works by Romain Gary
ליידי L : רומן 8 copies
Education européenne - Les racines du ciel - La promesse de l'aube - Lady L. (1945) — Author — 6 copies
زندگی در پیش رو 3 copies
La Exhalación 2 copies
עצור! כאן פג תוקף כרטיסך 2 copies
חרדתו של המלך סלומון 2 copies
La Exalación 2 copies
Le grand vestiaire 1 copy
הבטחה עם שחר 1 copy
Gros-Câlin (adaptation) 1 copy
A Humanist [short story] 1 copy
Decadence 1 copy
לאור אשה 1 copy
כל החיים לפניו 1 copy
Talent Scout 1 copy
Los colores del dìa 1 copy
Forest of Anger 1 copy
כלב לבן 1 copy
Обещание на рассвете 1 copy
Fiche de lecture Au-delà de cette limite votre ticket n'est plus valable (Analyse littéraire de référence et… (2018) 1 copy
Cuộc sống ở trước mặt 1 copy
ליידי ל' 1 copy
Сияние на жена 1 copy
Associated Works
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Kacew, Roman
- Other names
- Ajar, Émile (pseudonym)
Bogat, Shatan (pseudonym)
Sinibaldi, Fosco (pseudonym)
Deville, René (pseudonym) - Birthdate
- 1914-05-08
- Date of death
- 1980-12-02
- Burial location
- Cremated
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- Lithuania (birth)
France (naturalised) - Country (for map)
- France
- Birthplace
- Vilnius, Lithuania, Russian Empire
- Place of death
- Paris, France
- Cause of death
- suicide
- Places of residence
- Vilnius, Lithuania, Russian Empire
Paris, France
Nice, France - Education
- Lycée Masséna, Nice
Reçu au Baccalauréat Philosophie en juillet 1933 avec la mention "Passable"
Etudes de droit à Aix-en-Provence (1933)
Obtient la Licence de Droit en 1938
Préparation militaire supérieure au fort de Montrouge en 1938 - Occupations
- novelist
diplomat - Relationships
- Blanch, Lesley (wife)
Seberg, Jean (wife) - Organizations
- Free French Forces (WWII)
- Awards and honors
- Le nom de Romain Gary a été attribué à une promotion de l'école normale d'administration (2003-2005)
Le nom de Romain Gary a été attribué à une promotion de l'institut d'études politiques de Lille (2013)
Le nom de Romain Gary a été attribué à une promotion de l'institut d'études politiques de Strasbourg (2001-2002)
Place Romain Gary à Paris dans le XVe arrondissement (2006)
La bibliothèque patrimoniale de Nice porte le nom Romain Gary
L'institut français de Jérusalem, porte également le nom de Romain Gary - Short biography
- Romain Gary, né Roman Kacew à Vilnius en 1914, est élevé par sa mère qui place en lui de grandes espérances, comme il le racontera dans La promesse de l’aube.
Pauvre, «cosaque un peu tartare mâtiné de juif», il arrive en France à l’âge de quatorze ans et s’installe avec sa mère à Nice.
Après des études de droit, il s’engage dans l’aviation et rejoint le général de Gaulle en 1940. Son premier roman, Éducation européenne, paraît avec succès en 1945 et révèle un grand conteur au style rude et poétique. La même année, il entre au Quai d’Orsay. Grâce à son métier de diplomate, il séjourne à Sofia, New York, Los Angeles, La Paz. En 1948, il publie Le grand vestiaire, et reçoit le prix Goncourt en 1956 pour Les racines du ciel.
Consul à Los Angeles, il quitte la diplomatie en 1960, écrit Les oiseaux vont mourir au Pérou (Gloire à nos illustres pionniers) et épouse l’actrice Jean Seberg en 1963.
Il fait paraître un roman humoristique, Lady L., se lance dans de vastes sagas : La comédie américaine et Frère Océan, rédige des scénarios et réalise deux films. Peu à peu les romans de Gary laissent percer son angoisse du déclin et de la vieillesse : Au-delà de cette limite votre ticket n’est plus valable, Clair de femme.
Jean Seberg se donne la mort en 1979. En 1980, Romain Gary fait paraître son dernier roman, Les cerfs-volants, avant de se suicider à Paris en décembre.
Il laisse un document posthume où il révèle qu’il se dissimulait sous le nom d’Émile Ajar, auteur d’ouvrages majeurs : Gros-Câlin, La vie devant soi, qui a reçu le prix Goncourt en 1975, Pseudo et L’angoisse du roi Salomon.
Members
Discussions
Group Read, September 2021: Promise at Dawn in 1001 Books to read before you die (September 2021)
1914: Romain Gary - Resources and General Discussion in Literary Centennials (September 2014)
Group Read, December 2013: The Roots of Heaven in 1001 Books to read before you die (January 2014)
Reviews
The Kites is set in Normandy during the German Occupation of 1941-‘44. It’s a beautiful novel about what people do to survive the worst thing that can befall them; it’s about the importance of tradition, memory, and imagination and their links to hope. It’s about doing what it takes to endure with courage and grace in a bleak environment of despair. This was Gary’s last novel, said to be his masterpiece. I’ve read nothing else of his, but can easily believe that assessment is valid.
The novel focusses on three men. Ludo, the young narrator, lives with his uncle and guardian, Ambrose Fleury, on a small farm near Clery. Ambrose farms and makes beautiful kites that are museum-quality works of art. Ludo, narrator and protagonist, is a teenager when the story begins; he has inherited the family gift/curse of a perfect memory. Unable to serve in the army because of an accelerated heartbeat, he is soon involved in the Resistance. He also remains faithful to his “eternal and forever” love, Lila, daughter of an aristocratic Polish family who spend their summers in Clery. The third major character, and my personal favorite, is Marcellin Duprat, fine chef and third-generation owner of Clos Joli, a world famous restaurant in Clery. Each character’s conflict is his personal struggle to maintain his integrity in a world where everything valued seems lost. The Duprat family motto is “I will stand firm,” and that is what these three eccentric characters do in The Kites, each in his own way. Ambrose expresses a similar sentiment in lines often repeated throughout the novel: “Hold tightly to the end of the line, so your kite doesn’t fly away and get lost in the pursuit of the blue yonder.”
A while after the Occupation begins, Marcellin and Ambrose have a conversation about the townspeople’s condemnation of the continuing standard of excellence at Clos Joli, whose main customers are now high-ranking German officers. The two old friends and Ludo are discussing the famous chef’s predicament and sharing a bottle of brandy at Ambrose’s home:
“Come on, Marcellin,” my uncle said gently. “Look, I know these words have often smacked of defeat, but…we’ll get them!”
Duprat pulled himself together. His eye recovered its famous steely gleam and you could even see a glint of some cruel irony. “Apparently in America, in England, they’re saying France is unrecognizable. Well, tell them to come to the Clos Joli: they’ll recognize it, all right!”
“There. That’s better,” said my uncle, filling his glass…
“Because,” Duprat went on, “I’m not one of those people whimpering, ‘Who knows what the future has in store for us!’ You ask me. I know: there will always be a France in the Michelin Guide!”
The Nazis will not extinguish the spirit of France.
A lush style that makes good use of imagery and symbolism; sympathetic main characters who are fully developed; an absorbing plot; and a theme of continuing significance make The Kites an unforgettable novel and one that I can recommend without reservation.… (more)
The novel focusses on three men. Ludo, the young narrator, lives with his uncle and guardian, Ambrose Fleury, on a small farm near Clery. Ambrose farms and makes beautiful kites that are museum-quality works of art. Ludo, narrator and protagonist, is a teenager when the story begins; he has inherited the family gift/curse of a perfect memory. Unable to serve in the army because of an accelerated heartbeat, he is soon involved in the Resistance. He also remains faithful to his “eternal and forever” love, Lila, daughter of an aristocratic Polish family who spend their summers in Clery. The third major character, and my personal favorite, is Marcellin Duprat, fine chef and third-generation owner of Clos Joli, a world famous restaurant in Clery. Each character’s conflict is his personal struggle to maintain his integrity in a world where everything valued seems lost. The Duprat family motto is “I will stand firm,” and that is what these three eccentric characters do in The Kites, each in his own way. Ambrose expresses a similar sentiment in lines often repeated throughout the novel: “Hold tightly to the end of the line, so your kite doesn’t fly away and get lost in the pursuit of the blue yonder.”
A while after the Occupation begins, Marcellin and Ambrose have a conversation about the townspeople’s condemnation of the continuing standard of excellence at Clos Joli, whose main customers are now high-ranking German officers. The two old friends and Ludo are discussing the famous chef’s predicament and sharing a bottle of brandy at Ambrose’s home:
“Come on, Marcellin,” my uncle said gently. “Look, I know these words have often smacked of defeat, but…we’ll get them!”
Duprat pulled himself together. His eye recovered its famous steely gleam and you could even see a glint of some cruel irony. “Apparently in America, in England, they’re saying France is unrecognizable. Well, tell them to come to the Clos Joli: they’ll recognize it, all right!”
“There. That’s better,” said my uncle, filling his glass…
“Because,” Duprat went on, “I’m not one of those people whimpering, ‘Who knows what the future has in store for us!’ You ask me. I know: there will always be a France in the Michelin Guide!”
The Nazis will not extinguish the spirit of France.
A lush style that makes good use of imagery and symbolism; sympathetic main characters who are fully developed; an absorbing plot; and a theme of continuing significance make The Kites an unforgettable novel and one that I can recommend without reservation.… (more)
OK story about a black guy trying to fix a dog that was trained to hate blacks.
Lists
Awards
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Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 111
- Also by
- 13
- Members
- 5,328
- Popularity
- #4,672
- Rating
- 3.9
- Reviews
- 140
- ISBNs
- 497
- Languages
- 28
- Favorited
- 24
While the debate goes on as to the morality of the Gasp, the climate of cold war leads to a race between nations on conquering this mysterious energy.
"If ever the world is destroyed, it will be by a creator."
I really enjoyed the first half of this book. The exploration of the invention and its yet unknown consequences. The author writes about quite a serious matter with a great dose of humor.
"Marc... don't you ever think of God?"
He tried to behave, but then despair always took the form of irony with him.
"Darling, you're pushing us poor scientists too hard. Give us time. We can't discover everything at once. Right now, we were able to isolate a new, cheap-the cheapest- source of energy. We haven't got to discovering God yet. In the last forty years, science's made a fantastic leap forward, but we haven't got that far yet. Progress always slows down before picking up again. Besides, this is a matter of funds, of government subsidies. We can't both land on the moon and discover God, there's simply not enough money for that kind of advance on all fronts."
We follow many points of view: the scientist, the church, the country leaders and their agents. With that, of course, come many opinions and goals.
The second half wasn't as interesting as it is more concentrated on the political consequences. It still does some exploration into the invention and its relation to humanity's nature.
… (more)