Récits d'aujourd'hui: A Literary Reader by Anne Gillain; Martine LoutfiReview by: James R. Hightower, Jr.The Modern Language Journal, Vol. 75, No. 2 (Summer, 1991), p. 251Published by: Wiley on behalf of the National Federation of Modern Language Teachers AssociationsStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/328850 .

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Reviews 251

tions provoke personalized responses and, in many instances, cloze passages give additional assistance in composing replies. With the exception of the rare use of causative faire or the passive voice, most of the structures are quite accessible to students at this level. Since many references are made to collige or lycee and the personal activities appropriate to this age group, the text would not lend itself to post- secondary classes. Because comprehension checks and pre-writing exercises are in English a process-oriented approach, whereby students could discuss and contextualize their responses before attempting to write them, is facilitated.

The already familiar Guide de correspondance enfranfais (Simone Oudot, National Textbook Company, 1985), 500 Lettres pour tous lesjours (Dominique Sandrieu, Librairie Larousse, 1979), and Le Parfait secritaire (Georges Vivien, Librairie Larousse, 1980) have for a time now assisted the more proficient and/or older stu- dents with their French correspondence. Amitids nicely fills the void for the younger ipistolier/ihre.

JO ANN M. RECKER Xavier University

GILLAIN, ANNE & MARTINE LOUTFI. Recits d'aujourd'hui: A Literary Reader. New York: Holt, Rinehart, 1989. Pp. x, 180. $19.50, paper.

Intended for students who are able to read un- edited French prose for the first time, Recits d'aujourd'hui presents excerpts from the works of ten contemporary French writers. Seven of these (J.-M. G. Le ClIzio, Annie Ernaux, Patrick Modiano, Emmanuel Carrere, Rene Belletto, Daniele Sallenave, and Didier Van Cauwelaert) have not been widely anthologized in the United States. They constitute a diversi- fied group of younger French authors who, without following in the formalist traces of the nouveau roman, exploit the narrative resources of the recit to examine emotions and sensibility while often blurring the boundaries between popular and literary traditions. Recent works of a distinctive autobiographical cast by Fran- poise Sagan, Natalie Sarraute, and Marguerite Duras round out the collection. Le Clezio's Hazarin, and Sallenave's La Siparation, both short stories, are reproduced in their entirety, while the remaining texts are drawn from longer works.

The transcript of a conversation with the author follows each selection. Most of these are original interviews that address the antholo- gized texts directly. A few have been culled from other sources. In either case, they offer useful background information about the authors and lead naturally into the Sujets de Dis- cussion et de Composition that follow.

Each selection is appropriately introduced in French and is preceded by a Prdparation a' la Lec- ture that focuses attention on major themes. The texts themselves are presented with a minimum of pedagogical clutter. Difficult vocabulary is italicized within the text and glossed in the mar- gins in English. An occasional footnote in French clarifies obscure references. Two short vocabulary exercises, pertinent comprehension questions, and a series of more searching queries regarding the structure and style of the narrative provide ample material for class dis- cussion and written analysis.

Although the intimate, conversational tone of the texts presented in Recits d'aujourd'hui is well suited to the reading level of fourth-semester college students, the stylistic, narrative, and philosophical questions that they raise could be profitably explored in more advanced courses. By the same token, graduate students preparing for a reading examination in French would probably want to supplement this reader with materials that make greater use of abstract vocabulary, literary tenses, and complex sen- tences.

Three typographical errors have escaped the otherwise alert eye of the editors: la minage (p. 36), le vie (p. 46), and the translation of rose des vents as "compass cord" (p. 55). One could complain that the vocabulary exercises and comprehension questions are cursory and un- imaginative or that there are no grammar appendixes, but to do so would be pointless. Ricits d'aujourd'hui fulfills its intended purpose admirably by giving primacy of place to the readings themselves. These engaging, lively, and accessible texts provide a good introduc- tion to the authors who produced them. Though not comprehensive, the exercises and glosses are certainly adequate, leaving teachers free to focus on what interests them, and requiring students to read, as they should, from context and with occasional reference to a dictionary.

JAMES R. HIGHTOWER, JR. Ball State University

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