My Father's Glory & My Mother's Castle: Marcel Pagnol's Memories of Childhood

An evocative account of the author’s childhood summers in Provence.

This was a charming memoir about the childhood of French early film writer and director, Marcel Pagnol. His family, his adventures, his friends, all are remembered in detail. This book makes the reader wish they could have been right there with him!

This is Marcel Pagnol's memoirs of his boyhood growing up in the South of France. Perhaps one once had to be a boy to enjoy this book. Occasionally charming and humorous, but frequently tedious I found the 150 pages or so of his bird hunting trips with first his father and uncle, and then a young friend repugnant. The day after day killing of lovely game birds and small animals just does not appeal to me. Read his Jean de Florette and Manon of the Springs instead, both excellent novels.

French writer and film maker Marcel Pagnol's memoir of a childhood summer in the countryside of Provence has some satisfying moments, but somehow, for me, it didn't have the impact of the filmed version of the story. When I bought the book (circa 1960 but set around 1905), I was thinking about the incomparable evocation of the south of France that Pagnol's films (the Fanny series, Angele, etc.) contain. Probably unfair to expect the same atmosphere from the book.For anyone interested in taking this book on--it's the story of a summer spent by Pagnol's family in a rural summer house north of Marseilles--there is a lot here about hunting, the daily lives of a couple of small children and the usual mini dramas that come with family life anywhere. It has its charms, especially in the section titled "My Mother's Castle." Overall, an interesting look at a French family in the early 20th Century, and entertaining through much of the memoir.

A classicUsed book...got what I paid for...

I first read this book in a Readers Digest Condensed Book. I wanted to read the actual book. It's only taken me 40 years to do so. If you love to read great books, you will love this book. Between the wonderful story, the wonderful writing and the magic of seeing into a special family from the perspective of one of the sons, this is as close to perfection as a book can possibly be. I rated this book five stars only because the scale stops there, it rates ten stars, or a hundred! Please, do yourself a favor and read this book, it may not change your life, but it will touch your heart and your soul.

Marcel Pagnol writes with good humor and a wickedly funny and precise eye for observing human nature. He always seems to choose just the right word to characterize people, and events, and has a profound sense of place. He brings the hills of his beloved Provence alive--so much so that I find myself pulling the book out to read again every summer! Only a truly great book can captivate you time after time.

My Father's Glory & My Mother's Castle, the title works better in French, but the book is a masterpiece! Marcel Pagnol's Memories of his Childhood make you smell the lavender and hear the cicadas of Provence and the simple prose soon becomes hypnotic. Many people like to say that they have read classic novels but think it might be too highbrow or boring, but this is easy to read and one of the best.

This was a gift so I am not sure how good the translation is.

This book is as wonderful as when I first read it twenty years ago. I read it in French and purchased it for a coworker who hadrecently returned from Provence -- she loved it too.

Je ne suis pas française, donc je suis ravie d'avoir ce livre de Marcel Pagnol en anglais.J'ai lu déja le livre 3 fois, je trouve l'histoire est très émouvante.Bientôt, je lirai en français !

Nice story. Book in good condition.