Book club – D’après une histoire vraie by Delphine de Vigan at Alliance Française
Carmel Smickersgill, Tours & Activities Editor
Alliance Française’s Médiathèque francophone is the largest French language resource centre in the North West. With such a wealth of reading available, it seems only natural for the centre to run a monthly book club. These happen on one Monday evening each month. In this session, the focus is on ‘D’après une histoire vraie’ by Delphine de Vigan. These clubs are open to all and centre around an informal talk about the book. It’s an excellent way to combine your reading and conversational skills in French although the sessions are also in English for those who aren’t as confident speaking French.
Located on Portland Street in the heart of Manchester’s city centre is this centre of Francophone culture and French Language. Having been based here for two years Alliance Française is a welcoming and open space of culture in an area that from the outside can seem quite hectic and busy. Once inside you would never know that you are metres away from the main road. A large part of Alliance Française’s work is offering language lessons in various formats but it also acts as a hub of French Language culture with a well stocked library, exhibitions and talks from visiting French speakers with varied areas of expertise.
The book club is an ideal place to find like minded individuals with a passion for French Literature. The particular work being discussed in this session is a story about the struggle between a writer and the mysterious character L. who they let into their life at a time when they are emotionally vulnerable and very fragile. It is a book that triggers a lot of debate so should provide plenty of stimulus for engaging conversations in French and English. The Library at Alliance Française has an excellent selection of contemporary French novels if your curiosity isn’t satisfied with one read.
