My Father's Glory and My Mother's Castle

Don't be put off by the hideous cover: this is one of the funniest books ever written. There's humour all the way through, but it's concentrated in the early parts of My Father's Glory. A lot of it depends on the perceived idylls of nature and childhood and the horror at the heart of both. Also, the set-piece with the junk-man compelled to charge them fifty francs is a masterpiece.

It's also very well written, with tricolons galore and both parts constructed like novels, building to scenes of mild peril.

I first read these stories in French at school, and loved them from the start. Then I saw the films, and loved them even more. Then I found an English translation, and my joy was complete. The perfect representation of childhood, the hero worship of parents, and the start of making your own way in the world, it's all in these books, with equal measures of humour and sorrow.

Loved these books and movies. A heart-warming memoir of family taking holiday in the south of France.

Includes a long, two paragraph "blurb" by M.F.K. Fisher on the back of the dust jacket.

Bathe in the warm clarity of the summer sun of Provence, Marcel Pagnol's childhood memories celebrate a time of rare beauty and delight.

Boek gekregen van de familie Bordet voor mijn 59e verjaardag. Leest aangenaam, over het leven van de jonge Marcel Pagnol, in en rond hun weekend huis in de natuur. Vrolijke obeservaties.