Elèves de Terminale L, ES et S du lycée Edouard Herriot de Lyon, notre spécialité à nous, c’est le portugais !

Nous découvrons la richesse des cultures lusophones avec notre professeur Mme Farneti.

Nous avons lu Baie des Tigres, le roman de Pedro Rosa Mendes et nous désirons partager nos impressions…

Here is an email message Sandra sent me when she was reading the book during the holidays:

Hello teacher,

I have just finished the first chapter (I read also the prologue) and I'm afraid I did not understand it at all or I didn't understand it in the right way sometimes!
I don't want to go to look for all words I misunderstood in the dictionnary so I read and I try to understand. I do my best but it's difficult because Sweeney tells his story in disorder so.
In the prologue, Sweeney tells us the first time he saw Quinn to the court; he used to describe him so precisely. After, Quinn lied? He said he had a tooth ache to go to the dentist and (in chapter one) we know he did that to escape. We also know that Sweeney wants to kill Quinn because of what he did to his daughter, and Sweeney was alcoholic, he had problems with his wife then she is dead (but we don't even know why/how).In chapter one, he tells his daughter (who's lying comatose in a hospital) the first time he met her mother. In a passage (I think I didn't understand it clearly) Sweeney went to a psychiatric hospital (because he was alcoholic? or...)when his child was about 8.(???)

You were right, the story is very exciting but it looks very very difficult for me to understand it all and every passage!

It's a bit laborious! Sorry

Sandra

Dear Friends

Below, immediately after your questions, you will find my answers.


1. What motivated you to become a writer?
I liked telling stories and I liked to read and so at some point in my teens - I would say when I was about 17 - I began to wonder if there was a way I might combine those two interests and be a professional writer.

2. How long does it take you to write a book? How long did it take you to write The Salesman?
About two years.

3. Why did you choose this title? The French translation is "A l'Irlandaise" (or "The Irish way") what do you think of it?
I chose the title 'The Salesman' because the protagonist is a salesman. I would prefer if the French title had been the French words for 'The Salesman'.

4. How did you get the idea for the plot? Is it a true story? Is it a personal story?
No, it's not a true story, The Salesman is a work of fiction. To be totally honest, I can't really remember where it came from.
I think I wanted to write a story asking if it is possible to forgive one's enemies. In a Judeao-Christian culture we hear this advice often, but of course we rarely follow it. My book, in one way, was an attempt to explore, in fiction, the idea of forgiveness.

5. Do you think it's your best book?
No. There are thing I like about it but also things I don't like. I think my two best books are my two most recent books 'Star of the Sea' and 'Redemption Falls'.



I wish you well,

Joseph O'Connor

Joseph O'Connor has agreed to answer our questions.

The best way to establish a quick communication is sending him an email.

That's why we devoted our last session to a quick overview of your reading ( Yes, I know it's quite difficult for you to read a > whole book in English, but keep on trying and it will only get easier and easier...) and then we prepared a list of questions and a short presentation of the class to sen him.

Dear Mr. O'Connor,


We are French students attending Lycée Edouard Herriot in LYON.
We are between 16 and 18 years old and are in Première STG. This is one year before we take the Baccalauréat ( the French equivalent of the Leaving certificate. "STG" stands for "science et technologies de la gestion". It's a vocational section specialized in Management and marketing.


We reading your novel The Salesman in our English class. It's very difficult for us because we're reading it in English (with the help of our teacher) and to undestand your work and the book better we have some questions we'd like to ask you:

1. What motivated you to become a writer?
2. How long does it take you to write a book? How long did it take you to write The Salesman?
3. Why did you choose this title? The French translation is "A l'Irlandaise" (or "The Irish way") what do you think of it?
4. How did you get the idea for the plot? Is it a true story? Is it a personal story?
5. Do you think it's your best book?


Thank you for your time,
With our best regards,

The students from 1ere STG and their English teacher, W. FIZE

La classe de 1ère STG, encadré par leur professeur d'anglais, W. FIZE, participe aux deuxièmes Assises Internationales du Roman, en collaboration avec la Villa Gilet, le journal Le Monde et le quotidien gratuit LyonPlus.

L'auteur qui nous a été attribué est l'irlandais, Joseph O'Connor.

Nous aurions du travailler sur son recueil de nouvelles True Believers, pour pouvoir choisir des textes plus courts, mais il n'est hélas plus édité, ni en V.O., ni en V.F.
Nous allons travailler sur le troisième roman de Jospeh O'Connor, The Salesman.



Voici le synopsis du roman tel qu'il est disponible sur Amazon.co.uk:

It's Dublin, June 1995, the hottest summer since records began. But Billy Sweeney, a middle-aged salesman with a failed marriage, a faltering career and a tumbledown house, has more than weather on his mind. His youngest daughter lies in a coma in hospital following a mysterious attack on the petrol station where she worked. Devastated by the unfolding consequences of that hot, violent night, frustrated by officialdom and failed by the system, Billy finally tires of seeking legal justice. He decides to take the law into his own hands...

Il s'agit d'un roman relativement long (390 pages en V.O. et près de 600 en V.F.!)

Nous avons reçu une dizaine d'ouvrage en anglais et seulement 2 exemplaires en français. N'hésitez pas à vous procurer la traduction si vous ne vous en sortez pas. Nous étudierons certains passages en anglais en cours, mais l'essentiel reste que vous lisiez l'oeuvre.


Voici ce qu'on peut lire sur le quatrième de couverture de la traduction française:

Ma tendre chérie ". C'est ainsi que Billy Sweeney s'adresse à sa fille violée dans une station-service et depuis lors plongée dans le coma. Dans une longue lettre passionnée et mélancolique, il lui raconte son histoire et comment il a cherché à se venger de son agresseur. Billy se souvient de l'insupportable culot qui émanait de Donal Quinn le premier jour du procès. Il se souvient que c'est à ce moment-là qu'il a décidé de tuer le jeune homme. Quand, le deuxième jour du procès, il apprend que Quinn s'est enfui, Billy se transforme en chasseur. Nuit après nuit, il traque le voyou évadé dans les bas-fonds de Dublin. Bientôt, le père meurtri et sa proie se retrouvent face à face dans une volière désaffectée. S'ensuit une confrontation entre deux hommes qui n'ont plus rien à perdre et rivalisent de cruauté. Selon Roddy Doyle, " Joseph O'Connor a l'œil pour saisir l'absurde de la vie quotidienne, et l'oreille pour capter le comique dans les propos les plus banals "; il le démontre dans cette renversante ode à la fragilité humaine.

Bonne lecture!!!