Marcel Pagnol

Die Kindheitserinnerungen Marcel Pagnols in einem Band zumSonderpreis. In den Wiesen und Hügeln der Provence mit ihren Zikadenund ihrem Lavendelduft verlebt der elfjährige Marcel einen Sommervoller Schönheit und Abenteuer. Da bricht jäh ein schwarzgelocktes Geschöpf indas Ferienidyll: Es ist das Mädchen Isabelle, das ihn die Qual früherLeidenschaft erfahren läßt.

Ein Dorf in der Hochebene bei Marseille. Unter einem Berghof sprudelteine kostbare Quelle. Doch wer den Besitz unrechtmäßig an sich reißt,den führt er ins Verderben. Habsucht, Mord und Vertreibung zerrüttendie Gemeinschaft. Erst das schöne Quellenmädchen Manon, das zurfaszinierenden Lichtgestalt dieses berühmten Epos wird, kann dieOrdnung in der Welt des Dorfes wiederherstellen.

In Jean de Florette and Manon of the Springs, Marcel Pagnol (called by Andre Malraux "one of the great writers of our generation" and by Jean Renoir "the leading film artist of his age") achieves the fullest and most satisfying expression of a story that haunted him for years, a Provencal legend of vengeance exacted by a mysterious shepherdess. Pagnol brings to his treatment of this powerful, moving story his dramatist's sense of place, ambience, and character and his keen understanding of the Provencal countryside and its people. Rich with twists and ramifications, Jean de Florette and Manon of the Springs sets an idealistic city man against two secretive and deceitful Provencal country men in a superbly realized story of a struggle for life, of crime and punishment, of betrayal and revenge, and of judgment and forgiveness. In this edition, illustrated with images from the acclaimed film adaptation by Claude Berri, North Point presents Pagnol's enduring story in W. E. van Heyningen's exact and sensitive translation. Biblical in its cadences, epic in its sweep to destiny, and old fashioned in development of character and plot, this saga charts the destruction of a Provencal family.

Bathed in the warm clarity of the summer sun in Provence, Marcel Pagnol's childhood memories celebrate a time of rare beauty and delight. Called by Jean Renoir "the leading film artist of his age," Pagnol is best known for such films as The Baker's Wife, Harvest, Fanny, and Topaze, as well as the screen adaptations of his novels Jean de Florette and Manon of the Springs (North Point, 1988). But he never forgot the magic of his Provencal childhood, and when he set his memories to paper late in life the result was a great new success. " My Father's Glory and My Mother's Castle" appeared on the scene like a fresh breeze, captivating readers with its sweet enchantments. Pagnol recalls his days hunting and fishing in the hill country, his jaunts about Marseilles, his schoolboy diversions, and above all his family: his anticlerical father and sanctimonious uncle, his mild and beautiful mother, and many others. This bright and lively book sparkles with the charm and magic that were Marcel Pagnol's own.

Apr s la mort du Bossu, et la vente des Romarins, Manon et sa m re s'installent dans la grotte de Baptistine. Quelques ann es plus tard, Manon trouve l'occasion de se venger... Pagnol s'est souvent adapt lui-m me, passant ais - ment du th tre an cin ma. Ici, il fait le chemin inverse, et adapte un film en roman: Manon des sources (1963), deuxi me partie de L'Eau des collines, est la mise en roman du film ponyme. tourn dix ans plus t t. On en retrouve tous les personnages, et on est merveill de voir que les dialogues, qui sont souvent, mot mot., les m mes, s'entendent aussi bien sur la page que sur l' cran. Manon des sources sera une sorte de testament: Pagnol ne r alisera jamais Jean de Florette, et n' crira plus de fiction. Le murmure tait plus fort; c' tait une chanson tintante et cristalline... Elle s'arr ta, leva la petite flamme au-dessus de sa t te, et vit sur le sol danser une toile: comme elle se penchait, un visage monta vers elle, et c ' tait le sien.