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/lit/ - Literature

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857187 No.857187 [Reply] [Original]

Forever ago, my father read a book that he tells me was fantastic, and would do anything to read again. Problem is, he remembers almost nothing about it. We've been searching for it for years.

What he remembers about it is:
- It's French.
- It's about a man who is about to be sent to jail, but his lawyer keeps him out of there by going "you can't jail him because he has to be judged at another place for a worse crime".
- Both men are part of an acting company?
- The author (probably) has three names. Like, I dunno, Jean-Claude Whatever.
- It (probably) takes place before/during/just after the French revolution.

Since this is all based on what he remembers from a book he reaad over 40 years ago, I don't expect everything to be accurate. But any help at all would be appreciated. I think if I could find the book again and gift it to him, he would actually cry.

Pic unrelated.

>> No.857203

Might as well turn this into a "help me find that book I forgot" thread.

I remember this one book I found as a child that, in the middle, had a comic about this huge-ass city and the only person that lived in it. All I remember is that the comic was mostly in blues, whites and black. Can't remember anything about the book, though, because I was like 5 and couldn't care.

Sound familiar to anyone?

>> No.857216

Les Miserables.

>> No.857221

>>857216
Nah. He told me the book he's searching for was more of a comedy than anything. And he knows Les Miserables.

>> No.857235

>>857187

Your plight moves me Anon. I wish you luck and damn I wish I could help you but I know nothing about the title you're after.

>> No.857239

>>857235
Thank you! I'm fairly hopeful since /lit/ is visited by people from all over the world. Hopefully someone has heard of it.

>> No.857247

Any of these?
http://www.europaeditions.com/search-result.php?search-action=books&IdAutore=6

>> No.857263

>>857247
Unfortunately not. But thank you very much for the link, I will be getting The Lost Sailors for myself!

>> No.857270

>>857263

That sucks.
There are so many Jean-Claudes to look through.
I hope you find it.

>> No.857271

>>857203
make your own thread faggot

>> No.857272

>>857239

You know what? I think this should be /lit/s little crusade. Anon can you get everything - and I mean everything you can on this book from your father and we can hunt? I want to get in on this and if we can find this I'll be quite pleased.

>> No.857280

>>857187
I hope to god you find that book. Good luck anon...good luck!

>> No.857287

Possibly:
Papillon by Henri Charrière

>> No.857311

>>857287
Papillon was early 20th century and Henri Charrière wasn't part of an acting troupe, to my memory.

>> No.857323

>>857270
Woops -- sorry, I made a mistake there. The Jean-Claude bit was just an example of how he remembers the name being a three word name.

English isn't my first language so I'm having trouble coming up with a better way to explain it, sorry.

>>857272
That'd be lovely! I'll call him right now to see what else he can possibly remember, even vaguely. Unfortunately the most solid stuff he can remember is what I mentioned in the OP -- I've memorized it all after so much time looking for it.

>> No.857337

>>857287
Nope! Were it Papillon, my father would remember it because he actually knew Henri Charrière (my paternal grandfather worked in one of his restaurants here in Venezuela).

>> No.857344

>>857280
Thank you, anon!

>> No.857359

If this drops from the first page there's no justice in the world.

>> No.857375

>>857337
Well, you seem to speak spanish.
If there are any details that would be better understood in that language, go ahead, I also speak spanish.

>> No.857444

>>857375
Let's try!

La trama del libro, segun lo que mi padre recuerda, tiene al protagonista a punto de ser enviado a prision, pero su abogado dice que el protagonista cometio otros crimenes en otro sitio -- asi que lo llevan a ese otro sitio donde tambien lo juzgan y sentencian, asi que el abogado aplica la misma y dice que hay que llevarlo a que lo juzguen a otro sitio y se repite lo mismo. Ni idea de como termina.

O eso es lo que papa recuerda! Cuando trato de pasar esto a ingles me enredo bastante, y tengo miedo de confundir las cosas para aquellos que pueden conocer el libro. Si puediras ayudarme a traducirlo, tendrias mi gratitud.

>> No.857449

I have no idea, but I'd rather not see this fall of the first page.

>> No.857464

OP here! After a talk with my father, he told me he vaguely remembers a character of a dirty little girl that was called "Flea". She was apparently very rude.

This is all he can remember, though, besides what I said in the OP. Hopefully this will be helpful.

>>857359
Thank you!

>> No.857498

Lol, I know the guy who made OP's chart.

>> No.857508

>>857498
Thank him for me, then. It's a rather useful chart.

>> No.857516

I really wish I could help, anon, but I have nothing.

I suppose the least I can do is give you a brotherly bump :)

>> No.857543

>>857187

Sounds like Atlas Shrugged to me.

>> No.857571
File: 35 KB, 324x340, -b- face.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
857571

>>857543

well at least it's a bump

>> No.857631

Well, I went through the long list of french novels one by one in wikipedia, and the closest thing I could find was this one.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Une_sorte_de_justice

En español no encontre nada tampoco.

>> No.857639

The Count of Monte Cristo

>> No.857641

Lost Illusions by Honore de Balzac

Do we have a winner?

>> No.857724

>>857641
From what I read on wikipedia Lost Illusions does not seem to be the book. I'll check out the other works by Mr. de Balzac, though!

>>857639
Nah, he knows Dumas.

>>857631
Ese tampoco es. Pero te agradezco muchisimo el haberte tomado el tiempo para ayudarme!

>> No.857760

Sounds very existential. Could it be something by Jean-Paul Sartre?

>> No.857768

Sounds like we're making progress guys

>> No.857783

>>857760
From what I see in wikipedia he isn't the author either, unfortunately.

For what it's worth, dad considers the book a comedy. He remembers the plot slowly descending into chaos, while the characters get tangled in lies to keep the one guy from being jailed/executed.

God, I wish I had more details.

>> No.858089

Bump.

>> No.858102

Was it written during/before/after the french revolution or is it a more modern work placed in that time?

>> No.858126

>>858102
I think it is a modern work placed around the time, going from what dad has told me!

>> No.858161

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban?

>> No.858169

>>858161
that's it! search over.

>> No.858287

I wish OP luck in his quest. I have nothing to offer other than a bump of this thread.

>> No.858322

Are you familiar with Rene Daumal? Mt. Analouge is one of my favorite books, and I had a very hard time finding it a few years ago....I haven't read any of his other works. This is a long shot I know.

>> No.858372

Is the novel written in French or just French?

>> No.858532

>>858322
Not that one either, I'm afraid. But still, thank you!

>>858372
The author is French -- he read the book in Spanish.

I'm really just guessing the novel was written originally in French, since it takes place in France and dad is at least sure the author has a French name.

>>858287
Thank you very much!

>>858161
...Well, at least I'm sure if I give him that book he will definitely cry.

>> No.858579

>>858322
OP here again. Just wanted to thank you for mentioning this author to me; the book Mount Analogue sounds really interesting. I'll be checking it out.

>> No.859196

Bump.

>> No.859239

Sounds like the beginning to the movie 'Catch me if you can'

>> No.859703

Bump.

>> No.860663

A new day filled with fresh possibilities.

Bump.

>> No.860681

>>857186
QUIT_AtTａCkＩng AＮｄ_CLｏＷNＩNG WwW.aＮｏｎ_Ｘ X_x
X Ｘ x TaＬK.ｓe_dIＲECｔＬy bRｏ_(RｅＭOｖｅ ａｌL X)
ipcx tz ph n w vhv zo zd bk jsz dymxnmmo kriczwbuta

>> No.860715

Though Russian, not French, Invitation to a Beheading comes to mind. The ending could lead one to remember an acting troupe, what have you. It's been a while since I have read it, so my own memory is sketchy, but worth a shot.

>> No.860763

no

>> No.860766

247045000 GET

>> No.860955

>>860663

Indeed. Bumping this onto the front page.

>> No.861000

bump

>> No.861024

>>860715
Alas, not that one either. But I do appreciate the suggestion, anon. Thank you!

Also thank you to everyone helping keep this bumped. Brofists to all of you.

>> No.861036

Was reminded of The Stranger by Camus up until the third bullet point. Anyone else?

>> No.861103

>>861036
No again. I think he owns this one, actually! Still, thank you, anon.

>> No.861147

I have absolutely no clue about french literature, but I hope you find this book (and that it's as good as he remembers it to be!)

>> No.861157

Ｑuiｔ aＴTaＣKIＮg AnＤ_ｃLOＷＮIｎｇ WWW.anON_X_Ｘ X
ｘ_ｘ_X tＡＬｋ.SＥ dＩｒＥＣＴLＹ ＢrO (ｒＥｍoＶe_ａＬL_X)
kytomel f uhufpyqkmd ev r oqi d

>> No.861174

Afraid i'm not much help, so bump it is, though i will browse the house and ask around friends and family for you. this book has intrigued me-when it is revealed i may read it myself.

>> No.861240

>>861147
Ahahah that's actually something that worries me! We've been searching for this book for about a whole decade now, and if we ever do find it and he reads it and hates it, I don't know what I'll do. Probably cry.

>>861174
You have my thanks, anon!

>> No.861252

I can't help you, but god bless you for posting that chart. I've been looking for it forever.

>> No.861272

GENTLEMEN

The game has changed.

I have come into fabulous cash monies and what better thing to do than to share it with you guys.

Here's the game. Here is the plan. Is this a thread hijack? Fuck no.

THIS ANON NEEDS OUR HELP

IF WE FIND THE BOOK, I WILL GIFT AT LEAST 10 OF YOU BASTARDS WITH A COPY (as long as it's not like a massive heardback as I'll have to scale it back) IN REWARD FOR YOUR EFFORTS.

It's game on.

>> No.861306

I'm at a loss but interested enough to bump.

>> No.861329

>>861272

an incentive to do this shit? one wasn't needed but hot damn lets find this

>> No.861359

>http://www.amazon.com/Being-Adventures-French-Prisoner-England/dp/1847187978/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8
&s=books&qid=1278099988&sr=1-11

A long shot. It doesn't meet the acting company bit though.

>> No.861365

>>861359
Here's the summary
>St. Ives: Being The Adventures of a French Prisoner in England (1897) is an unfinished novel by Robert Louis Stevenson. It was completed in 1898 by Arthur Quiller-Couch.

>The plot concerns the adventures of the dashing Capitaine Jacques St. Ives, a Napoleonic soldier, after his capture by the British.

>The 1949 film The Secret of St. Ives and the 1998 film St. Ives, also known as All For Love, were based on the novel.

>> No.861366

ｑUit AＴＴACKｉnG_aNＤ ｃＬｏｗNIｎｇ_wＷＷ.ａnon Ｘ_X_ｘ
ｘ_ｘ x ＴaｌK.ｓｅ ＤiＲｅctly_BＲo (ｒｅＭovｅ ａＬL Ｘ)
wpokuiadlmdlagueeje sycivwrky ffrxp a af

>> No.861399

The first thing that came to my mind was Scaramouche by Sabatini. It fits most of the things you mentioned, except for maybe the part about the lawyer.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scaramouche

>> No.861406

>>861399
Oh hey, it looks like the main character WAS a lawyer! And an actor! I hope this is it, I really want you to find this book!

>> No.861433

OP, from what you described, this book sounds very interesting. I may pick up a copy once its found. Also, bump

>> No.861440

Bump

>> No.861445

>>861272
Woah, really?

OP here. You're amazing. Slightly nuts, probably, but amazing!

>> No.861489

>>861359
Alas, that's not the one either. Still, thank you very much!

>>861399
So far, this one sounds the closest to what dad remembers. But the thing is, the plot he remembers is like this (and I apologize if my explanation gets confusing):

Man is judged in Place A for some crime. Lawyer/Friend keeps him out of jail/possible execution by saying Man commited a terrible crime in Place B, so he needs to be judged there.

In Place B he is also found guilty, so Lawyer/Friend says that, well, he also commited other terrible crimes at Place C, and they also have the right to judge him, so off they go and it continues like that until it's a complete chaos.

I think the best characteristic to go by is the girl that was refferred to as The Flea.

In any case I am calling him to talk to him about Scaramouche. It has been over 40 years after all. Crossing my fingers here.

And, just. You guys are amazing for helping me this much. Seriously, to all of you bumping and suggesting titles, and that one insane anon with money, thank you so much. Thank you.

>> No.861594

bump

>> No.861613

>>861445

Cashmoneybags Anon here.

I'm actually >>857235 and >>860955 - I've been getting home from work keeping an eye on this and considering I just got a MASSIVE FUCKING PROMOTION I wanted to share some love.

Some things are more important than money. For me, this is one of them. I think for you as well too. I get surrounded by a lot of shit in my work, I see a lot of bad things happen to good people so seeing people try and find this thing for you warms me up.

I will keep watching. Best of luck to you.

>> No.861645

bump

>> No.861649

>>861613
Congratulations on your promotion! And thank you, a thousand times, for this. This search does mean a lot to me, since I've been asking around libraries, publishing houses, and just trying my damn best to find it ever since I was 14. Now I'm 24, and I am convinced the internet has got to be the tool that will help me end this search.

And, well, dad is a good man who has had to go trough a lot of hard times. He deserves a lot of good things, and the joy of this book will probably be the biggest I can give him.

At least until he starts asking for grandkids.

>> No.861652

bumping for OP

>> No.861679

bumping

>> No.861691

Find the fucking book

>> No.861702

This thread has reminded me that not all of humanity is the heartless, soulless monster I sometimes think we are. Best of luck anon, I really hope you find this book.

>> No.861712

Plot reminds me a bit of The Trial. A long shot, obviously, as it's not French and has... no other relation to OP's book except the accused man and the delaying of the sentence. Still, if the memory is hazy then maybe it could be relevant.

>> No.861720

>>861712

Yeah, I thought that too because of the conversation the main character has with that french painter.

>> No.861726

>>861720

Or maybe the painter was Italian...don't remember.

But I'm pretty sure that there was no character named flea.

>> No.861739

>>861726

True, but translations do occasionally add random-seeming elements.

Okay, I don't know.

>> No.861769

>>861613
>seen bad things happen to good people
Are you in insurance or something?

>> No.861793

>>861712
Kafka's The Trial? If you mean Kafka's, he has the book, I'm afraid. Hopefully you mean another book with the same title?

>> No.861882

>>861793
I'm not either but I'm pretty sure it's Kafka's. At least the first book that came to my head when I read the OP post was it too, but then I thought a little more and discarded it.

>> No.861897

>>861769
Social services

>> No.861992

Something by Moliere? If you mean for the author to belong to an acting company.
Maybe the Roman Comique, although I don't know much about it except that there are lawyers and actors.
Scaramouche? Set during the French Revolution.

>> No.862120

Bump-a bump-a

>> No.862353

Has OP confirmed a title yet? Also, bump.

>> No.862392

bump

>> No.862642

bump

>> No.863243

bump

>> No.863461
File: 29 KB, 275x200, d-reading.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
863461

>> No.863566

Moneybagsanon checking the progress this morning. Bump to the front you go.

>> No.863570

must be that scaramouche thing, good luck

>> No.863602
File: 48 KB, 362x450, A3256.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
863602

B
u
m
p

>> No.863611

Bumping

>> No.863691
File: 79 KB, 579x529, 1263875604045.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
863691

>> No.863729

So bump. Like.

>> No.863803

OP maybe a john le carre book?

>> No.863804
File: 18 KB, 400x500, bamfnxb.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
863804

bamfing

>> No.863806

OP maybe a john le carre book?, someone has probs said it already, but it sounds like Scaramouche by sabatini. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scaramouche

>> No.863870
File: 77 KB, 356x533, bamf.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
863870

>> No.863895

>>863806
>>863803
>>861992
OP here!

I've been checking all the titles by these authors one by one, and so far, I think, the closest is Scaramouche. I called dad and while he doesn't really think that's the one, he'll be searching for it today just in case.

In any case, he seems to remember thinking that the author was a female. I don't know how reliable that bit of info is, since many names that are considered strictly female in Spanish are valid for males and females in French, but I guess a clue is a clue?

Thank you again to everyone helping, and moneybagsanon, who is still insane and wonderful!

>> No.864048

>>857187
Moneybags anon here. Back up you go, thread.

>> No.864311

BUMP BUMP BUMP

>> No.864377

I can't believe no one crated yet a /lit/ imdb.

>> No.864746

bump

>> No.864753

>>864377
That's a good idea...

>> No.865238

Buuump

>> No.866124

Bumping.

>> No.866711

Bumping

>> No.866716

If you haven't found the answer in 2 days, nobody fucking knows.

>> No.867200

I'm pretty sure your dad dreamt the whole thing.

That book may have never existed, or his memory might be extremely tangled up.

>> No.867664

bymp

>> No.867944

Another moneybags bump

>> No.867964

/b/ dweller here, this thread moves my cold cold heart

bumping

>> No.868025
File: 9 KB, 240x180, robotnikaahreaction.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
868025

BUMP

>> No.868045

Have you tried posting on forums or a book focused website? idk how much that would help but there might be somebody there who could help a bit more.

>> No.868112

bump.

Feel lucky op.

I wanna help you

>> No.868379

>>867200
I actually considered that, since it has been so long. But during one of my many online searches for the thing, I found that a girl in Argentina had posted to Yahoo! Answers looking for the same book. Almost all the characteristics matched up -- only thing that didn't was that her father didn't remember anything about the author, which mine did.

So at least I know it exists! Or that my dad posts online as an Argentinian girl. I like to stay positive.

>> No.869123

Moneybags dropping by. Bumping away.

>> No.870740

Hopeful bump?

>> No.870765

>>868379
Ask your dad if he ever wishes he was an Argentinian girl.

>> No.870783

You should tell your dad to write the book.

>> No.871285

Bump

>> No.871728

>>857187

Moneybags bumpage. Still watching guys.

>> No.873816

I don't know what book this is.

>> No.875359

Bump.

>> No.875406

>>857187

Which discworld series is about kings and kingdoms and knighthood and such. Maybe even wizards added to the mix, i'm feeling a bit crazy.

>> No.875458

bump man. I want this book found. Good luck.

>> No.875471

I searched my e-heart out for your book on google based on the info I got from this thread, but I wasnt able to help you anon.

Bumping, for I truly hope you're able to find this book. I'll be back

>> No.875515

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_French-language_authors

any anons down to tackle this list?

>> No.876338

Bump.

I don't know if this has been answered but does he recall if the title was in English or French?