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Note | Killing Commendatore, Book 1: The Appearing Idea by Haruki Murakami, Shinchosha, 2017

Information of the Book

Killing Commendatore is the 14th long novel by Haruki Murakami.

Outline and Style

A story of 36 years old male portrait specialized painter. The style is a reminiscence by the man.

Book 1 consists of 32 chapters. The chapters are attached titles of a vague passage.

Characters

Painter (‘I’)

: A portrait specialized painter. Graduated from an art collage.

Yuzu

: Former painter’s wife. Younger than him 3 years. Have a architecture licence and worked at a small architecture office. A classmate of my former girlfriend. The painter fell in love with her at first sight, because she resembles his younger sister. She married with him two times. The interval (live separately to him) was 9 months, and he lived in the valley. When he was 36 years old,

Wataru Menshiki (7 -)

: A successful IT business entrepreneur. 54 years old well-dressed good-build mysterious man with a curled long white hair.

Masahiko Amada

: Collage class mate with him. When he graduated from the Art Collage, gave up job of painting, and got a employment at an advertising agency.

Tomohiko Amada

: A 92 years old famous painter of Japanese painting. Graduated from Tokyo School of Art (present Tokyo Art University), he studied abroad oil painting at Wien from 1936 to 1938. He converted to Japanese painting during the Pacific War because of .

A later twenties married woman slept with the painter (1)

: A married later twenties women with a characteristic face, suffered domestic violence by her history private high-school teacher husband.

A 41 years old married woman slept with the painter

: The another was a wealthy 41 years old woman with chic outfits and a firm body, and her husband run a company.

Manager of a art agent (, 3)

Komichi (3, 10, 23)

: Younger sister of the painter. She suddenly dead at 12 years old by the heart disease when he was 15 years old.

‘Long face’ (5)

Ex-lover of Menshiki (13)

: Mr. Menshiki associated with her till 13 years ago. She married with other man without noticing. Mr. Menshiki thinks she may give birth his child seven months after the marriage. But she died 7 years ago.

Man of White Subaru Forester (19)

: A middle aged gray-haired man run after a girl.

A late twenties girl (19, 27)

: A late twenties girl with a uncharacteristic face and usual clothes. The painter came across her at a family restaurant in Miyagi. She run away from the man of white Subaru Forester.

Commendatore (21 -)

: Idea. A 60 cm height small man wears the clothes of the Asuka era from the painting work ’Killing Commendatore’ by Tomohiko Amada. He isn’t a ghost, is a ‘idea’ exists in some restrictions and forms himself between few hours in a day, and speaks by a strange ancient way of speaking. He had became a pure idea and he has no liner memory.

Young bartender (23, 24)

Chef (24)

Marie Akikawa (25, 28, 30)

A 13 years old, small, quiet and mysterious girl. A student of the art course run by the painter near the Odawara station, and Mr. Menshiki thought that she is a danger between him and his ex-lover.

Shoko Akikawa (30)

A early forties grace woman, an aunt of Marie Akikawa. She accompanied Marie when the painter drew the portrait of Marie. During the painter drew the portrait, she read a covered thick paperback made a secret the title in the living room of the painter’s house.

Man without face (prologue)

: A tall man without face, and wears a black cap and a dark long coat.

Locations

Upper part of the mountain near the entrance of a narrow valley

: The place where the painter stayed. The former atelier of Tomohiko Amada in the suburban Odawara city. The painter actually borrow from Masahiko Amada of the reason of worry about theft and fire.

Culture shool in the front of Odawara station

: The painter was introduced there by Masahiko Amada. He taught dessin and water colour on Wednesday and Friday.

Mr Menshiki’s house

: A big elegant white house.

A Small Shrine

Hole Under the Small Shrine

Key Elements

penguin amulet (prologue)

‘Killing Commendatore’

: A painting work by Tomohiko Amada. It was painted a violent scene of the Asuka era. A young man thrusts the breast of a old man by a heavy sword. A young women a male servant see this duel. And the strange man sees the scene from a hole of the left lower edge part of the painting.

Cheap second-handed car

: Power blued Toyota Corolla Wagon

portrait

Jungle Network (8)

Jungle Network means a word-of-mouth network among married women and housewives.

Akinari Ueda

opera

Bell like an Ancient Instrument (15 -)

: buddhist instrument

The portrait of Mr. Menshiki (, 18, 19)

idea (21)

The portrait of white Subaru Forester (20, 22, )

binoculars (24,)

Summaries and Memoirs

Prologue

A man without face visited a room of a painter and ask him to draw his face. But The painter can’t draw his ‘face’, because there’s mere nothingness. And the man has no time and left the room.

1. If the Surface is Misty

From May of the year to the begging of the next year, A painter lived an upper part of the mountain near the entrance of a narrow valley. From the house it can see the nasty part of the see and the imaginative mountain scene.

At the time, The painter and his wife divorced temporarily during nine months, and they can’t well understand why they devorced. And he can’t comprehend the time was short or long, the mean of the chaotic time and amazing events of the time.

Henri Bergson’s durée

An art collage classmate Masahiko Amada lent the painter the house of former his father’s atelier, the reason of ‘The house would fall into ruin, and there’s anxiety of theft and fire’. His father is the famous painter of Japanese painting and had entered a high-grade nursing home in Izu. powder bleu Toyota Corolla Wagon

The time of divorce, the painter had an affair with two women. Both were the students of a painting class ran by him.

When the painter was a art collage student, he made big abstract paintings. But, to earn his daily bread, he began to do the jobs of portrait painting. Somehow, his portrait paintings had got evaluations by the clients. To make portraits as a labour is easier than other labour works and abstract painting.

When he paint a portrait, he meets and interview with a client, and received snapshots of the client. he paints a portrait by the three-dimensional visual memory of a client not a client itself.

He started an independent business as a portrait-specialized-painter. Sometimes he feels ‘I’m a high-grade prostitute in painting’. But the time he were 36 years old and should wash his hands of the business.

2. Eveyone May Go to the Moon

A evening of middle of march before one month to the 6th wedding anniversary, the painter’s wife told him that she wanna divorce to him immediately by a dream she had. So he went away the home within the day.

In a hurry, he heaped up necessities and artist’s materials to his red Peugeot 205. Then his wife told me that ‘Can I remain your friend?’. red Peugeot 205

He wandered about aimlessly Tokyo by the car. Sheryl Crow’s first album

He headed for the north by highways and reached the side of the Japanese Sea. Octet by Mendelssohn; I Musici Chamber Orchstra; MJQ (Modern Jazz Quartet); Pyramid; Milt Jackson

He reached Hokkaido, then for three weeks he wandered about Hokkaido. In the later half of April he headed to Japanese mainland along the side of the Pacific.

In some parts of this novel, Murakami uses ‘ore’ as a subject pronoun of the narrator. ‘Ore’ is one of Japanese subject pronoun, adult men use. Usually Murakami uses ‘boku’ (male children and young men’s subject pronoun) or ‘watashi’ (subject pronoun of women and adult men) as a subject pronoun by the narrator.

The painter met with his wife when ‘I’ was few before 30 years old. After 6 months to the first meeting, he married with her. She worked at a architecture office and he worked at home to paint portraits.

He couldn’t think of the reason why Yuzu wanted to divorce. They spent a good married life he thought.

He felt fatigue by wandering, so he stayed a little old spa treatment spot in the mountain at border of Miyagi prefecture and Iwate prefecture. To the way to Tokyo, his red little Peugeot 205 was broken. So he returned Tokyo by train. At Tokyo, He called for Masahiko Amada to explained his circumstances, then Masahiko told him that ‘There’s a good house just for you’.

3. It’s Only a Physical Reflection

After the wandering, the painter phoned Yuzu from the house in Odawara, because he want to take back his belongings left in Yuzu’s room.

He went to the mansion at Hiroo and took back his belongings.

He called the agent of art and told that ‘I will never paint a portrait again.’. The manager said ‘I think you have a special ability to make portrait’. Rolling Stones;

Tomohiko Amada’s atelier is a Western style cottage (cabin) unsuspectedly. In the house there were huge Tannoy speakers, Marantz vacuum tube amp and fine record collection of opera. Masahiko Amada said his father is a fan of opera, and he went to opera theatres frequently when he studied abroad at Vienna, and he studied modern Western fine art. Volvo; Tannoy; Maranz

The painter taught dessin and water colour at a culture school in the front of Odawara station on Wednesday and Friday.

4. To See from a Distance, Almost All Things Look Beautiful

The (former) studio of Tomohiko Amada motivated the painter, but he had no idea of which he wants to draw.

Puccini; Turandot; La Bohème;

Two days of the weeks he and a 41 years old married women had affairs at the house.

They purely enjoyed the sexual connection in body.

He read Tomohiko Amada’s books and listened Amada’s records remained in the house, and shared with Amada the mind. Beethoven; Schubert

He was interested in the personality and the works of Tomohiko Amada. He researched the books about him in the Odawara City Library.

Tomohiko Amada drew sceneries of the ancient Japan especially the Asuka era. He had studied abroad western oil painting at Wien. But he suddenly backed to Japan in 1938. After the Second World War, he vividly debuted again as a Japanese art artist. Shotoku Taishi; Wien; the Second World War; Hitler; Anschluss; attack on Pearl Harbour;

The painter think he should study by the life and works of Tomohiko Amada in some means.

There was a big gorgeous white modern house on the opposing side of valley. And the owner may spend a elegant liberty life.

At that time, he didn’t think the man and the painting Killing Commendatore would affect his life.

5. Breathlessly, also Hands and Feet are Cold

In the house (atelier) of Tomohiko Amada, there’s no painting by himself and other painters. There’s a trace of Tomohiko Amada in the air. Matis; Blacque; Wien

One day, the painter accidentally found a painting work Killing Commendatore by Tomohiko Amada when he entered the attic to find a horned owl. horned owl; Killing Commendatore

He unpacked the wrapping of Killing Commendatore without agreements of Tomohiko and Masahiko Amada. The picture is Japanese art was drew a violent scene of the Asuka era. The painter hit on the painting is connected with Mozart’s opera Don Giovanni. Asuka era

For few weeks, he spent only seeing Killing Commendatore with listening to a record of Don Giovanni.

Quotation from Don Giovanni.

6. Until Now, He is a Client without Face

The painter got a mysterious request of paint a portrait by the art agent. The client offered a extraordinary reward and he requested to paint the portrait by face to face. The client lived near the house, and he said he would visit to paint the portrait. Nike; Banana Republic; Starbucks

7. Good or Bad, The Name Easy to Memorize

It’s necessity to draw vivid portrait is the ability to grasp a core in client’s face. Mr. Wataru Menshiki visited the atelier by his silver Jaguar sport coupe. Mr. Menshiki told his house is very near the atelier. He said something like a genuine personality exist on the portraits painted by the painter. Mr. Menshiki asked him to draw freely without a restriction as portrait and said Mr. Menshiki was glad to accept adopting a unusual manner. silver Jaguar sport coupe; Don Giovanni; Prague

The painter realized Mr. Menshiki may have motive for other purpose. Edger Allan Poe

8. Unusual Blessing

The painter searched the word ‘Menshiki’ by Google at an Internet Café in the front of Odawara station, but he couldn’t find the information about him. He called Masahiko Amada to ask about Mr. Menshiki. Google; Facebook

41 years old married women called the painter. He asked her about Mr. Menshiki.

Masahiko called again and he told the painter that he couldn’t find the information about Mr Menshiki and Menshiki may get rid of information about himself. Rendrandt; Doraqroi; Andy Wahhohl; ’Blessing in disguise.’

For the first time, the appearance of the internet in Murakami’s novel.

The painter had a love affair with the married woman. He talked with her about Mr Menshiki and she said she would search by the Jungle Network.

Jungle Network means a word-of-mouth network among married women and housewives.

After the affair, the painter saw the pure clean house of Mr Menshiki. And he thought ‘the whiteness is a kind of colour’.

9. Exchanging Their Own Pieces

Mr Menshiki went to the painter’s house. They talked about to paint a portrait. The painter told ‘I should critically find the essence of a model’. Mr Menshiki said ‘You may reproduce (represent) a form from a visual memory’, ‘Your works are different to portrait as a pure commercial article’ and ‘I want to paint portrait as an exchange (interchange)’. Starbucks

An important part of this novel. This discussion is a notion, a theory or a criticism to create art works, to write novel and to Haruki Murakami himself.

They went to the studio. The painter made Mr Menshiki sit a stool. Georg Solti; Richard Strauss; Ein Heldenleben; Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra; Wagner; Karajan; Erich Kleiber

The painter drew 5 pieces of dessins but he could’t draw the Mr. Menshiki’s face well because he couldn’t grasp the essential image of Mr. Menshiki. Then Mr. Menshiki talked about bits of himself, and they talked about the history of Japanese art. And the talk reached a philosophical discussion about an unconscious common sense, a difficulty of putting into words a self-evidence and a definition of the self in the front of other(s). Meiji Restration; Tenshin Okakura; Fenollosa

The painter reflected about Mr. Menshiki. He can’t draw Mr. Menshiki finely because he can’t grasp the core (heart) of a being as Menshiki.

10. We Push Away Green Grass Highly Grow Thick…

Younger sister of the painter suddenly dead at 12 years old by the heart disease when he was 15 years old. He drew her many times to stock the ‘current memory’ of her.

He suffered the extreme claustrophobia by recalling the sight of his sister was put into a small coffin, rocked and sent to the cerematory.

41 years old married woman told the information about Mr. Menshiki from the ‘Jungle Network’. Jaguar; Range Rover; Mini Cooper; BMW; Bluebeard’s Castle

After the death of painter’s sister, the relation of his family was broken, and he wanted to concentrate on painting pictures so he went to the art collage.

11. Moon Light Brightened All Things There Were

At 1:45 of a Sunday midnight, the painter woke up, then he realized a tone of a bell rung from a small shrine on a mountain behind. He went the small shrine and confirmed that the bell rung from inside the shrine. By a omnicent feeling, he got back to the house. The tone stopped at 2:31 AM.

On evening of the day, the painter went the small shrine again. The small serine looked shabby in the sunlight. The painter try to draw the portrait of Menshiku, but he can’t.

In the midnight of the next day, the painter heard the tone of bell again.

12. Like That Nameless Postman

Mr. Menshiki visited again painter’s studio. Still the painter couldn’t grasp and draw the portrait of Mr. Menshiki. Richard Strauss; Ein Heldenleben; van Gogh

In this chapter, the painter states the notion about painting portrait. Almost all ’auto pilot’ task.

The painter said ‘Anyhow I can’t draw well a ’portrait’ of conventional form as a work’. But Mr. Menshiki said he has a sound curiousity and he want to only the painter represent the shape as it is which his eyes grasp. that Postman of Arles

After the painting, the painter talked to Mr. Menshiki about the occurrences of ringing bell from the small shrine. Then Mr. Menshiki said he want to visit at this night.

Wiener Konzerthaus streicherquartett; Schubert; Tchaikovsky; Rachmaninov; Sibelius; Vivaldi; Debussy; Ravel; Verdy; Puccini; German Opera; Bach; Brahms; Schumann; Beethoven; Mozart

13. At Present, It is Just a Hypothesis Only

The painter and Mr. Menshiki talked about having a child. Then Mr. Menshiki told about ex-lover he associated with 13 years ago, and he inferred she may gave birth his child, but the ex-lover died 7 years ago. Ginza; Akasaka

After her death, Mr. Menshiki got her letter from her lawyer. Judged by the content of her letter, he supposed her child may be his child.

He investigated the child by his lawyer.

14. However, That’s the Strange Incident I Meet First

The painter and Mr. Menshiki went to the small shrine and they found someone rang a bell or something in the small shrine.

Then they returned the house of the painter. They drunk Scotch whiskey and Mr. Menshiki told this incident resembles a thriller in Spring Rain Stories by Akinari Ueda. Scotch whisky; White Label; Akinari Ueda; Spring Rain Stories; Bond of Second Generation

The painter called Masahiko Amada to got approval by him to dig the small shrine.

The painter read Bond of Second Generation by Arinari Ueda.

Mr. Menshiki called the painter and he said he ordered gardeners to dig up the small shrine.

15. It’s Only a Beginning

At 10 AM of a Wednesday morning, the work began.

During the work, the painter and Mr. Menshiki talked about Sokushinbutsu and Nirvana.

Mozart; Sonata for Piano and Violin; Tannoy; Autograph; George Szell; Rafael Druian; Thelonious Monk; Monk’s Music; Coleman Hawkins; John Coltrane;

Under the small shrine, there’s a hole, inside the hole there’s a room made by stones, and the bottle of the hole there’s a bell. Mr. Menshiki went in the room and handed the bell to the painter. Then Mr. Menshiki suggested this room should be investigated by the gardener.

16. A Relatively Better Day

That night the painter can’t fall asleep by the care about the bell.

The next afternoon, the painter went on with the portrait of Mr. Menshiki and he painted it only for himself. After the work, he felt a good sensation of beginning in the air of autumn evening.

At 21:00 of the day, Mr. Menshiki called the painter and they talked about the worth of the event of the day. Menshiki said they had obtained something can’t be digitized by the digging.

Married woman called the painter and they did a phone sex. Tonny Bennett; Nietzsche; Shopenhauer

17. Why Do I Missed the Very Important Thing

The painter remembered Yuzu said ‘Can we remain friends as they are? If you can?’. significance of topos; local rule

The painter gave careful consideration to and struggle with the portrait of Mr. Menshiki. Then the portrait became a work is quite different from a usual portrait. common nothingness (commonplace of absence); Annie Laurie

At 11 AM, Mr. Menshiki came to the house of the painter. V8 engin

18. Curiosity Kills Not Only Cats

The painter and Mr. Menshiki went to the small shrine. Mr. Menshiki said he want to enter and shut himself up in the hall they had dug up. Fumimaro Konoe; Hakone; Atami; curiousity; risk

Mr. Menshiki stayed in the hall covered by a lid (cover) an hour.

Sherlock Holms; Dr. Watson; shadow

The painter told Mr. Menshiki that his portrait was completed in ’a meaning’, but it’s not a portrait, it’s a rather ’a work is modeled on you’. And he said ‘I drew the thing I shouldn’t drew and pull out in you’. Then the painter showed the ‘portrait’ of Menshiki, and Menshiki said ’It’s excellent.’ and ‘You discovered this picture, you found out an image buried in your inner self’. Then Menshiki said he take in it and want to invite the painter to his house dinner. Renbrandt; ego; border between the reality and inreality

19. Do You See Anything Behind Me?

41 years old married woman visited the house of the painter, they talked about the ‘portrait’ and his invitation.

The details about the ‘portrait’ of Menshiki wasn’t described. Author described only it is an unusual ‘portrait’ but a fantastic work made by the connection the painter with Mr. Menshiki.

When the painter strolled Tohoku area, he came across a late twenties girl at a family restaurant in a baytown in Miyagi. A middle aged gray-haired man (the man of white Subaru Forester) run after the girl, so the painter and the girl got out the restaurant and run away from him. Ohgai Mori; The Abe Clan; white Subaru Forester; Fool on the Hill; John Lennon; Paul McCartney; Shinagawa

They checked in at a love hotel.

They do hard sex then slept. When he waked up, she had disappeared. After a checkout he went to the family restaurant to eat breakfast. The man of white Subaru Forester was there, and he glared at the painter and his face told the painter like that ‘I exactly know where you were and what you did’. YONEX

At the house of the painter, 41 years old married woman told him that six or seven years ago, Mr. Menshiki was taken into custody in Tokyo Detention House for a insider trading or a money laundering. Tokyo Detention House; Bluebeard’s Castle

20. A Moment Being and Anti-Being Fuse

Next morning, the painter went to the studio and faced a white canvas to foresee a thing to draw. (canvas zen). He draw a vertical line on the canvas, then started to draw the man of white Subaru Forester by a charcoal. canvas zen; a vertical line

Vertical line or border is an important thing of metaphor to divide up between reality and alter world.

He went to the hall of the small shrine and reflected why and how Mr. Menshiki had stayed in the hall.

Masahiko Amada visited the house and the painter told about the hall and the bell. Then the painter said ‘I have a fleeing I want to draw picture, and I’m getting to grasp a new form of art based on portrait’.

Amada told the painter that he and Yuzu had met. She asked his advice on her matters.

This night the painter woke up at 1:35 AM, and he heard the bell was ringing.

21. It’s Small, But the Blood Is Comming if You Cut

The painter was sure that someone ring the bell in the house or the studio. He went the studio but no one ring the bell, and the bell was a shelf he had placed. At that moment, he found a small man of 60 cm height wears the clothes of Japanese ancient era. He realized that the small man is the commendatore in the painting work Killing Commendatore by Tomohiko Amada. Mickey Mouse; Pocahontas; Walt Disney

At around 2:15, Commendatore became silent and vanished. The painter reflected that this world is neither reality nor dream.

22. The Invitation is Still Remain

The next, the painter saw the Japanese art work ‘Commendatore’ (Commendatore still existed in the tableau, the idea ‘Commendatore’ didn’t come out from the tableau), and consider the occurrence of last night and an excellent ability of Tomohiko Amada. van Gogh

Next morning, the painter drew the portrait of the man of white Subaru Forester. When he drew the portrait, the Commendatore emerged spoke to him and he can read the mind of the painter. awakening; Edward G Robinson; Theronias Monk; Don Giovanni; spiritual being

By this night, the Commendatore stopped ring the bell. Mozart; Don Giovanni

23. Everyone Really Exist in This World

At 13 years old, the painter and his younger sister Komichi (10 years old) traveled Yamanashi prefecture and went to the air hole of Mount. Fuji. In the hole, only Komichi entered a small wind hole and stayed the depth of there for a while. The painter greatly shocked. But she got out of the hole calmly and she said ’there’s a special place I can only go in, it’s a room for me’. Yamanashi; Mount Fuji; Louis Carol; Alice in Wonderland

Two years later, Komichi died. The painter felt Komichi had already died in the small wind hole. He thought she might live only the two years of postponement.

A Nissan Infinity limousin by Mr. Menshiki picked up the painter. Mr. Menshiki showed the painter his gorgeous house. A young bartender hired by Menshiki made balalaika for them. They talked about art, playing piano and human abilities. Nissan Infinity; komainu; Meißen; Steinway; Maurizio Pollini; balalaika; Baccarat; Koimari; abstract portrait; cerebral cortex; cosmos; micro cosmos; van Gogh; Mozart; Proust; Persian carpet

Mr. Menshiki showed the painter his writing room. He set the portrait on the room, and it went well with the setting. Schubert; Strings Quartet

Mr. Menshiki explained the lower two floors are used as a storehouse, a laundry room and a gym.

24. I Only Collect Pure Direct Informations

Mr. Menshiki and the painter ate dinner cooked by a chef hired by Menshiki. Robin Hood; Italia; Lucca; champagne; Sicilia; Catania; Verdi; Ernani; Bordeaux wein; souffre; espresso

After the dinner, Menshiki talked about the staying in the hole of the small shrine. He said ‘I want to touch the death’. They got out the terrace of the house, and Menshiki showed his military binoculars and a house on the mountain. And he said a girl may be his daughter lives in the house. border; Icarus; binoculars; Stainway; unlimited solitude

25. I Suppose The Truth Bring a Man Deep Solitude

Mr. Menshiki asked the painter to paint the portrait of the girl named Marie Akikawa and he wanted to see the girl when she would being painted. Menshiki want to only to see her growth in a roundabout way. Then Mr. Menshiki talked about the history of Tomohiko Amada studied abroad in Berlin. Stainway; Austria; the World War 2; Vienna; Berlin; Anchuluss; Germany; Hitler; the Anti-Comintern Pact; Gestapo; Nazi; Asuka era; Bremen

Another episode ‘Mr. Menshiki and Marie Akikawa’ begun, but there’s no necessity to .

Hakenkreuz

26. I Don’t Believe Such a Excellent Composition Exists in the World

Two days ago, the agent called the painter and told that Mr. Menshiki payed the charge of the portrait including an extra bonus and the portrait is wonderful and beyond the category of portrait.

The painter watched carefully the Killing Commedatore by Tomohiko Amada in the studio. Donna Anna; Leporello; Nazi; SS; allegory

The painter remembered and reflected that his younger sister Komichi and his visiting Yuzu’s elite family. unconsciousness; Setagaya Ward; Tokyo University

happiness; turning; affinity; solidality; single malt on the rock; Schubert; Strings Quartet; Rosamunde

27. I Remember the Shape and Form Vividly, However…

The painter told 41 years old women that the dinner at Mr. Menshiki’s house. quality; difficulty; four of British cars; Jaguar E type; Toyota Corolla wagon; Audrey Hepburn; Peter O’Toole

The portrait of the man of white Subaru Forester completed remaining uncompleted. It indicated a ominous sign.

The painter remembered the ‘affair’ with the late twenties girl in a love hotel in Tohoku. She wanted to hit her body and strangle her neck, but he declined.

The painter reflected that the man of white Subaru Forester know the ‘thing’ with the late twenties girl, and he felt restless by the presence of the portrait of the man.

28. Franz Kafka Loved Slopes

croquis; dessin; plan; first impression; view to things

The painter asked the Commendatore that the mean of Tomohiko Amada’s ‘Killing Commendatore’ according to the incident occurred in Vienna, 1938. The Commendatore said ‘you should remain the metaphor as it is, and the code as it is’ and he said metaphorically ‘Franz Kafka loved slopes and viewed them for hours’, ‘you should grasp representation as it is’. metier; metaphor; code; truth; representation; young Marlon Brando; Elia Kazan; On the Waterfront; allegory; parable; chesha cat

29. Strange Element, There Might Be Included

Two days later, Mr. Menshiki called the painter. The painter told ‘I want to draw the portrait of Marie by voluntary will and get rid of ‘a form as your request’ to be natural feeling’. code; enigma

Mr. Menshiki called the painter and he said that Marie Akikawa had accepted the offer of her portrait by her enthusiastic will. Then, he told the the attempted assacination incident in Wien committed Tomohiko Amada. Franz Kafka; 1938; Anschluss; President Miklas; Seyß-Inquart; HItler; Himmler; KZ Mauthausen; Goebbels; Kristallnacht; Paris; Herschel Grynszpan; Rath; Candela

The next day, Mr. Menshiki called again and he told ‘Marie Akikawa will visit at 10:00 AM, Sunday’. trust; secret; view; way of thinking

The next day, the painter got a divorce notice from Yuzu. In the house, he reflected the divorce, but he can’t understand the situation, cause and thier progress. sense of mental numbness; morphine for mind

30. There’re Differences Among Individuals in Such a Thing

(…)

31. Perhaps It May Be Too Perfect

(…)

32. His Specialist Skill Was Very Useful

(…)

Details of the Book

Killing Commendatore, Book 1: The Appearing Idea
Haruki Murakami
Sinchosha, Tokyo, 24 February 2017
512 pages
ISBN: 9784103534327

Note | Novelist as a Profession by Haruki Murakami, Switch Publishing, 2015

‘Novelist as a Vocation’ by Haruki Murakami is ‘essais’ about his views to literature, art and writing novel.

1: Are Novelists Tolerant Persons?

novel; novelist; literature

Murakami thinks almost all of novelists are idiosyncratic persons and hard to deal with. But they have tolerances to novel or to write novel. To write novel isn’t a difficult thing, and is a form of expression everyone easy to participate. But it’s difficult to continue to write novel in a long term. There’s a kind of a qualification.

intelligence; knowledge; low-gear; story; clitics; ‘for example’

To write novel is not suitable for smart people. Novelists change things by their consciousness to story. Novelist make use of a dynamism of difference between an original thing and a result. Smart people can’t keep on write novel. To write novel isn’t a efficient activity.

‘bovine’ work; ship in a bottle; pace

internal drive; tough endurance

Each professional novelists has a qualification or a strong core as an internal derive can’t stop writing and an tough endurance.

2. When I Became a Novelist

age 30; experiences; general; common knowledge; Jazz; coffee; liquor; the Student Movement; niche; Shigeharu Mukai; Aki Takase; difficulty; Waseda University; disturbance of university; power of moral; Shinjuku; Kabukicho

Before Murakami became a novelist, he spent an unusual life. He married when he was a university student and run a Jazz café in suburban Tokyo. His youth are a tough and hard years, but he was happy and gained wide experience.

Jazz café is the Japanese unique style of café, coffee shops play Jazz records all day long.

Jean Racine; Sendagaya; unsociable nature

a sunny day of 1978; the Jingu Stadium; Yakult Swallows; beer; green lawn and white ball; Dave Hilton; Charlie Manuel; double (two-base hit);

A sunny day of 1978, Murakami watched a baseball game of Yakult Swallows at the Jingo (Shrine) Stadium, Tokyo. When Dave Hilton hitter a double, Murakami hit on a notion ’Well, I may also write a novel’. After the works of Jazz café, he wrote his debut novel Hear the Wind Sing on a kitchen table everyday till late at night.

Russian novels in the 19th century; English paperbacks; Japanese contemporary novels; epiphany; Olivetti typewriter; écriture (style of text); ‘translational style’; neutral; flexible

Murakami finished the draft of his first novel, he was’t satisfied with it. So he rewrote the novel in English by an Olivetti typewriter. By rewriting in English, he got the his own rhythm of text. Then he translated that English text to Japanse. He think his style of text isn’t a ‘translational’ style, but is a neutral and flexible style of écriture.

way of expression; important moving; to play music; set of tools

Finding of an own method of writing and to finish the first novel are a ‘important moving’ for him and the feeling is ‘to play music’ rather than ‘to write a novel’.

‘good feeling’; ‘delight’; happiness

The ‘good feeling’ and ‘delight’ he gained when he wrote the first novel, are still unchanged, and he feels the happiness of writing novel every morning when he starts work.

3. About Literature Awards

literature awards; Ryunosuke Akutagawa (Literature) Prize (the Akutagawa Prize)

literary circle; ordinary life

Murakami was’t thinking of keeping away from the Japanese literary circle, he spent only a ordinary civil life and it made his unique position spontaneously.

He wasn’t content with the first and second novels, but he was glad about to get the ticket (qualification) to write novels.

–

a storm in a teacup; business; Academy Awards; Novel Prize; Raymond Chandler; Nelson Algren; Kurt Vonnegut; Autobiography of Studs Terkel;

Murakami treasured readers buy his book out of their own pocket, rather than literature prizes, medals and favourable reviews. To miss winning the Akutagawa Prize is good for Murakami because of not to put his name and reputation on ’an Akutagawa winning writer’.

5%; Ray Bradberry; Fahrenheit 451; YouTube; 3D Video Game

Murakami thinks 5% of people read books actively. So to read books will not die out.

member of a section committee; individualism

Murakami haven’t served a member of section committee of any literature awards. It may be abandonment of responsibility to young novelists, but he thinks his primal duty as a novelist is to continue publishing high-quality works.

qualification (ability) of a individual; it can’t be argued in the same way

4. On Originality

originality; Oliver Sacks; Anthropologist on Mars; original creativity; Beatles; Please, Please Me; the Beach Boys; Surfing USA; works has fixed value; Gustav Mahler; Thelonias Monk; classic (master piece)

To explain originality is difficult. For example, people can’t continue to hear the songs of the Beatle and the Beach Boys as novel and fresh music. It’s case by case that originalities will fede or not. The originality of the music of Gustav Mahler would be discovered by the posterities.

van Gogh; Picasso; ‘reference’; Sohseki Netsuke; Ernest Hemingway; écriture; Psyche

Novel originalities might become a ‘reference’ of fine art or literature as ‘classic’, like van Gogh, Picasso, Sohseki Natsme or Ernest Hemingway. To evaluate current contemporary works is more difficult than to evaluate ‘classics’ had became original.

artist; style; unique style; standardize; flash in the pan; Beethoven; Symphony No. 9; worth as a work

By Murakami’s opinion, requirements of original artist are below.

An unique style.
He can version up his unique style by his own ability.
The unique style will became a standard among people’s psyche.

chronological substance; ‘marriage swindling’; illusionist; decency; Zbigniew Herbert; avant-garde or not; right-wing or left-wing; fine literature or popular literature; coordinate axis; ’custom’; ‘unwritten rule’; the counter generation

Murakami want to be a ‘unique (original) novelist’. But originalities should be judged by a collaborate work of readers with ‘certain time’.

information glutted society; expression; needs (necessities); freedom; model; natural feeling;

Murakami thinks to make an originality, it needs to reduce anything(s) by myself. To find your necessities, you should find your own spontaneous joy and pleasure. To novelists, it may be more difficult to write simple, necessary and dry words and texts rather than to write complicated, tricky and serious words. Murakami thinks his originality and root of writing novels are a free and natural feeling.

‘self who hopes for no one’; ‘despite’; writer’s block;

Murakami has no slump, because he write only when he want to write spontaneously by the natural feeling.

5. Well, What Should I Write?

training; custom(s); to read books a lot; to watch things and phenomenons; clear conclusion; ‘at present, I can’t conclude neither of them’; things ’as they are’; Paul Valéry; Albert Einstein

Young people who want to be a novelst has to read books a lot and watch things and phenomenons in detail. People who concludes smartly and immediately are not apt to a novelist. The attitude necessary for novelists is like one of ‘at present, I can’t conclude neither of them’ and to accept things ‘as they are’.

collection of things in details; unordered details; ’incoherent memories’; James Joyce; imagination; combination(s) of partial memories; Steven Soderbergh; KAFKA

When Murakami write novel he cites collection of things in details or incoherent memories. A combination(s) of partial memories makes a story.

essay (essai); materials; stock of junks; ‘magic’

When Murakami writes a novel he does’t writes essai or anything except for the novel, to concentrate using materials of memory for the novel.

experience(s); happiness; unhappiness; ordinary family

’nothing to write’; new words and style; not to explain; music; jazz; rhythm; harmony; free improvisation; ad-lib

When he first novel, he had no idea to write, so he felt ‘I only to write I have no things to write’ or make use of a feeling as ’I have no things to write’. But the feeling as ’I have no things to write’ changed ‘I can write anything freely’, then he wrote the novel like playing music while modelling the rhythm and free improvisation of jazz.

inner self; daily life; ’renewable energy’; enduring creativity

It’s easy for novelists to weave a story from inner self rather than to rely on the seriousness of material (facts). You may as well make use of materials as scenes and people of your daily life, and put your imagination to build your own story.

reality of novel; age; era; own reality; to deposit

6. Taking Side with Time: To Write Long Novels

long novels; novelette; short novel; characteristic; quality

Murakami thinks long novel and to write it are his life line or his main battle field, and short novel and novelette are place(s) of training.

’business as usual’; life and work cycle; chores (small jobs); noise

When Murakami writes a long novel, he fixes (keeps) a cycle of life and work like a ‘business as usual’ for keeping vast energy to do a very long term work.

regularity; artist; factory; a liberal; Isaac Dienessen

When Murakami do a long term work as writing a long novel, he must writes 10 pieces of manuscript just calmly everyday. Because the regularity of work is important for him.

first draft; rewrite; ’aging’ (leaving)

Murakami wrote a first draft then rewrote it freely without the care of the conclusion and the whole consistency. After a second or third rewriting, he leave the manuscript for one week or one month for ‘aging’.

my wife; editor(s) of a publisher

Then he consults and argue with his wife, and he rewrites parts in question. There’re no complete texts in novel. So act of rewriting itself is important.

galley; ’carpenter’s work’; Raymond Carver; time; ’preparation’ (arrangement); silent term; understanding; processes

Murakami rewrites many many times, and the works take a lot of patience. But he can’t help feeling happy during the rewritings. Time is one most important essential elements of writing novel, especially term of ‘preparation’ to cultivate a bud of novel. So novelists should set their schedule actively (aggresively).

7. Extremely Individual and Physical Activity

individual activity; intangible subjective things; tangible objective things

To write novel is extremely individual activity in an own writing room. It is the work to change intangible subjective things to tangible objective things. All of writing novel are works in your individual writing room, if you write a novel out of your room or outdoor.

individual motivation of ‘I want to write novels’; solitary work; ‘One day at a time.’

to obtain physical strength;

From Murakami’s individual view, to obtain physical strength is the most important element to write novel. To decrease physical strength makes decrease strength of thinking and mind.

hippocampus; neuron; combination in daily life, between physical exercise and intellectual work;

A combination in daily life between physical exercise and intellectual work ideally affects the kind of creative works of which novelists do. Murakami started running when he had became a professional writer, still now do it about a hour almost everyday.

to tell story; bottom of his consciousness; darkness of mind; collective unconsciousness; individual unconsciousness; ruin and chaos; anti-social literary man; ‘activist writer’

The basic of novelist is to tell (weave, make) story. And to make story is, in other words, to descend the bottom of my consciousnes or darkness of my mind. In the darkness, it’s mixed of a collective unconsciousness and an individual unconsciousness, the primitive age and the contemporary era.

Anthony Trollope; model; usual (ordinary) life; Franz Kafka; principal occupation; side job; concentration by taciturnity; sustainability without being discouraged

Murakami thinks necessary things of novelists are a concentration by taciturnity (reticence) not to show off like ‘Well, my inner chaos is so big like this !’, and a sustainability without being discouraged.

happiness; miracle; genius (gift); ability; technique; capacity; view of the world

types of novelist; Mozart; Schubert; Pushkin; Rimbeau; van Gogh; genius artists; quality of a way of life itself; total balance

8. About School

schools; school education; whole of education

study; to read books; to listen to music; to watch movies

Murakami had been thinking the study of school is boring. But he thought he wasn’t loafing, so that to read books, to listen to music passionately, to play baseball and to go out with girls are his important private study.

English novels; mystery; sci-fi; practical English; collage entrance examination; educational system; individual nature

When Murakami was a high-school student, he started reading English novels by himself. But he could’t obtain good scores in English tests on the school, also honor students in Japan should not read a English novel or speak English with native speakers. Because Japanese English education concentrate(d) on to gain good score on collage entrance examinations, and teach(ed) the technique for it.

interest; sports; ‘doggy characteristic’; ‘catty characteristic’; ‘characteristic like sheep’; Japanese social system; stickiness of ‘priority to numerical value’; bubble economics; wisdom of men; common sense; sophistication of system; consensus; depth; profundity; reflection

The Japanese social system emphasize on utilitarianistic efficiency and materialistic profit. But Murakami thinks Japanese people should make important on flexible and total thinkings like wisdom and common sense.

Fukushima nuclear disaster; structural defeat; economic efficiency

resurgence; development; intention; individual; association; ‘recovery place of individual’

making some mutual friends; to read many books; compound view; objective

To read many in school days made Murakami’s objective compound view and his individual place.

system of school; boring; dreaming (fantasy); efficiency; safety dogma (safety dogma); dangerous brief values; a free thinking and its axe of idea

Murakami thought schools were boring. He prefer to imaginate stories than going to schools. The most different thing to imagination is ‘efficiency’. The conclusion of the Japanese efficient social system may be the Fukushima nuclear disaster. His wish to the Japanese school education is only ‘Don’t oppress children’s imagination’.

9. How Characters That I Should Present?

characters; real person; Somerset Maugham; ’automatic pygmy’s effect’; ‘making characters’

Murakami make characters during building story automatically and naturally. Writing story makes happen details and features of characters.

persons; appearance; saying; negative characters

To write novels, you must know a lot of persons include which you don’t like. To write profound stories, you need to know and write various persons include negative, malicious and curious ones.

Raymond Chandler; Philip Marlowe; first person; third person; imaginary ‘I’

One of Murakami’s pleasure of writing novels is the thing ‘If I wish, I became anyone’. In the former half of Murakami’s career, he aimed at to weave stories by the axe of imaginary ‘I’. In the later one, he began to experiment of using the voice of third person.

naming of characters; nickname

Scott Fitzgerald; * The Great Gatsby*; J. D. Salinger; The Catcher in the Rye

To adopt third personal pronoun, Murakami felt ‘I can became almost anyone’, and he can rely a separated self on a other as a method of story telling.

unpredictable elements; fiction

Novelists create novels, at the same time certain part of self of novelists are created by novels.

character of same age as the novelist; relativization

To describe novel and characters is like a testing ‘a different self’ by unfittable shoes. So Murakami hasn’t write a main character of the same age to him.

10. Who is I Write for?

(…)

11. Going Abroad: The New Frontier

(…)

12. Place a Story Is in

(…)

Product Details

Novelist as a Profession
Haruki Murakami
Switch Publishing, Tokyo, 10 September 2015
313 pages, JPY 1944
ISBN 9784884184438
Content

Are Novelists Tolerant Persons?
When I Became a Novelist
About Literature Awards
On Originality
Well, What Should I Write?
Taking Side with Time: To Write Long Novels
Extremely Individual and Physical Activity
About School
How Characters That I Should Present?
Who is I Write for?
Going Abroad: The New Frontier
Place a Story Is in: Memories of Dr. Hayao Kawai

Top 30 French Textbooks and Books in French for Beginners to Advanced Learners

1. “Collins Easy Learning French Grammar” by Collins Dictionaries, Harper Collins UK (grammar book from beginners to intermediates)

Collins Easy Learning French Grammar by Collins Dictionaries is a standard and one of the greatest French grammar books in English, for from beginners to intermediates.

This book is arranged by order of grammatical subjects in chapters and sections. Authors comment rules of grammar and differences to English, then present example sentences, charts, exceptions and comparisons to English. This book compiles essential basic points of French grammar you must know, and rather higher-level points. Comments of this book is simple and helpful. And, the features of this books are rather close explanations, and accounts of detailed usages and exceptions than other French grammar books for beginners. There’re plenty of tips and example sentences in this book.

I recommend this book to all French learners from beginners to intermediates. If you are a beginner to French, I recommend this book as the second or first book of French learning. You can master basic essential knowledge of French grammar by this book. (You must have basic French vocabulary to read this.) Also intermediate learners can use this book as a reference of grammar.

2. “Living Language French: Complete Edition”, Living Language (total solution for complete beginners to intermediates)

Living Language French: Complete Edition by Living Language is the best organized total French learning material or course of 3 textbooks (Essential, Intermediate and Advanced) with 9 CDs.

Even if you read a grammar book, but you can’t understand words of example sentences. Besides, you can’t memory and gain your vocabulary by each of words. Even if you read a reader book, but you can’t understand correct pronunciations of words and sentences. And you can’t memorize expressions on a idiom book by only examples and their translations… However, this best organized total learning material, it integrated grammar, vocabulary, conjugation of verbs, expressions, idioms, conversations, pronunciation, listening and tips on French and Canadian culture. It takes into account the combination of elements of learning foreign language. Besides, this learning material also is designed as you can learn and memorize French by only listening to CDs repeatedly. So another advantage of this product is you can learn hands-free French words, expressions, conjugation and grammar by CDs. (CDs of Essential Level include explanations of grammar.)

You can master ‘intermediate level of French’ or ‘all basic elements of French’ by only this great product!!!

3. “Easy French Reader” by R. de Roussy de Sales, McGraw-Hill Education (reader for beginners)

Easy French Reader by R. de Roussy de Sales is an very plain and a first French reader for beginners. This book consists of three parts ordinary conversations, French concise history and French short stories. You can learn effectively and enjoyably French by reading aloud these texts again and again. This book doesn’t contain English translations (Important words and expression of French translation are wrote.) and comments of grammar. Nevertheless, you can learn French by heart to read sentences while referring to your dictionary. And you can download MP3 files of first and third parts (120 minutes). That are very useful to confirm pronunciations and to memorize texts. I recommend this excellent reader to every French beginners.

4. “French Verb Drills” by R. de Roussy de Sales, McGraw-Hill Education (verb drill for beginners to intermediates)

French Verb Drills by R. de Roussy de Sales is the best book to review and memorize exclusively ‘verbs and conjugations in all tenses’ by writing answers. It contains all conjugations in every tense. Part 1 entries regular verbs (-er, -ir, -re verbs, and être and avoir), and part 2 entries irregular verbs (such as vouloir, aller and faire and so on). The order is from the present tense to complicated conjugations such as the simple past and the subjunctive, reasonable from easy to difficult. Each chapters consists of comments, charts and examples of verb, tense and conjugation system, and questions. You read comments and examples, then on question parts you fill in blank with French or English words or phrases.

This book is really helpful for French beginners to learn and memorize verbs, their conjugations and means of tenses by practise.

5. « Le petit prince (Folio Junior) » de Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Editions Larousse (children’s story & audiobook for begginers and intermediates)

The most efficientive learning foreign languages I think, is reading in practice. I think French leaners should read book by French from children’s stories while referring to your French dictionary or the English edition, rather than to keep ‘studying French’ endlessly. Reading books by French makes you memorize and learn words, phrases and grammar in contexts and contents. There are multiple language translations, German, Spanish, Italian and so on.

Le petit prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry is the most famous French children’s story has a deeper insight than other average children’s books, also be suitable for adults. And another good point is there’re the audiobook and the English edition of this book. Reading the book with audiobook, hearing the audiobook makes you learn correct pronunciation of French and grasp the story profoundly. A only difficult point of this book is past sense described by the simple past tense…

This story is a beautiful, cherish and precious but painful story from the viewpoint of a child. It was described by the sensibility of a child, but therefore the little prince’s words resonate your heart.

6. « La grande histoire du monde » de François Raynaert, Livre de Poche (world history book for intermediates)

La grande histoire du monde is a present highly reputed world history book in France. It describes the entire world history includes culture and thoughts, Asia, Africa and America concisely and neither too much nor too little. Also the audiobook version is easy to listen and useful for French learning.

7. « Histoire mondiale de la France » de Patrick Boucheron, Éditions du Seuil (world history book for intermediates)

8. « Toute l’histoire du monde: de la préhistoire à nos jours » de Jean-Claude Barreau & Guillaume Bigot, Le Livre de Poche (history for intermediates to advanced learners)

My recommended way to learn and grasp foreign languages is reading world history and European history books. The descriptions on history books are plain, essential and easy to understand. You should have the knowledge of history learned by schools and heard by any books or TV programs. So you would read history books in foreign languages easily. In a history book, you can partially grasp and understand descriptions in a paragraph or a chapter, rather than a novel or a philosophy book. Besides connecting knowledges among some languages are exciting and enjoyable. And… history seems to be the root and essence of story. In French, the word ’histoire’ has the means of both ’story’ and ‘history’.

Toute l’histoire du monde: de la préhistoire à nos jours by Jean-Claude Barreau and Guillaume Bigot is the plain, interesting and instructive world history book. The title is ’whole world history’, in fact this book is chronological digests of major events in world history. So you can read easily and understand.

A flaw of this book is that is described by a francocentric view. Descriptions of some incidents and great persons of French is very long! For example, Charles le Grand, Jeanne D’arc, Louis ⅩⅣ, the French Revolution, Napoleon and the French Empire, and Charles de Gaul in the Second World War. Undoubtedly France has played a principal role in the world history… Despite there are any disappointing points, this book is a great read for French learners.

9. « Petite Histoire de France, De Vercingétorix à nos jours » de Jacques Bainville (french history Book for begginners)

Petite Histoire de France is a highly evaluated french history book for children written by french. Also, there is audiobook edition, so you can use them as a french reader and a listening learning material.

10. “Barron’s 501 French Verbs” by Christopher Kendris and Theodore Kendris, Barron’s Educational Series (verb and conjugation book with MP3 CD and CD-ROM for beginners to intermediates)

Barron’s 501 French Verbs by Christopher Kendris and Theodore Kendris is a big French verb book, contains many common French verbs in fully conjugations in all the tenses. The former part explains the system of verbs, tenses and their conjugations. The later part entries fully conjugated 501 French verbs in all tenses. It’s very helpful for from beginners to intermediates. If you finished learning French, it could be a reference book of verbs.

The true value of this book for beginners is the attached MP3 CD. The MP3 CD contains explanations of tenses and conjugations by English narrations, pronunciations of French verbs. It’s really useful for beginners to memorize by heart basic conjugations of verbs, and usages and means of tenses!!!

11. « Le petit Nicolas » de Jean-Jacques Sempé & René Goscinny, Editions Flammarion (children’s story & audiobook for intermediates)

I recommend this children’s story to French beginners by the same reason above. There’re the audiobook and the English edition of this book which useful for beginners. There’s also the movie. This book is consists of 19 short stories and a good read for French beginners. You can increase your vocabulary and ability to read French. Also you can learn the real ordinary colloquial French expressions.

Le petit Nicolas by Jean-Jacques Sempé & René Goscinny is the stories of ordinary life of French schoolboys. They are funny and charmed but sometimes bitter. Experiences of boyhood are common to the all over the world!!! You’ll remember your sweet memories of boyhood! My favourite episode is the last episode, ‘Je quitte la maison’ which describes a common boy’s dream and ambition you also might have.

And also I recommend following series of Le Petit Nicolas, especially Les vacances du Petit Nicolas.

12. “Drive Time French: Beginner Level” Living Language (audio CD with booklet for intermediates)

Drive Time French: Beginner Level by Living Language is a audio French learning material for beginners to intermediates. The CDs are a important stuff, so the booklet is a attachement.

This learning material contains useful words and expressions for traveling and staying French speaking countries and talking with French speakers. And this entries basic useful words and expressions in various scenes and situations such as salutations, self-introduction, appointment, train station, restaurant, pharmacy, driving, shopping, telephone, bank and everyday talking. The advantage of this book is you can learn hands-free French words, expressions and grammar by only listening to CD repeatedly while you are driving, walking in town and commuting by train. But, at least one time, you must read the booklet with listening to CD. Out of the first CD, the pace is faster. So you can learn more things. But complete beginners can’t catch up… This learning material is very helpful for beginners and intermediate leaners of French to gain their French vocabulary and ability of French listening and talking.

It’s very disappointing to me this learning material releases “beginner level” only…

13. “Barron’s French Grammar” by Christopher Kendris & Theodore Kendris, Barron’s Educational Series (grammar book for beginners)

Barron’s French Grammar by Christopher Kendris and Theodore Kendris is a handy basic grammar reference guide, comments by many short example sentences and phrases, charts and comparisons to English, rather than explanation sentences.

This book is a concise and informative grammar guide for English speaker, composed by many examples, charts and comparisons. It entries many explanations, short example phrases and sentences, charts, exceptions, comparisons to English and definitions of grammatical terms. You can learn French grammar in this book from pronunciation of French sounds and French rules of writing and speaking (capitalization cases in French, kinds and names of punctuation marks, and word division rules) to tenses, moods and definitions of grammatical terms. The explanations in this book are short, essential and concise. In many parts, authors comment grammar by examples, phrases, charts, exceptions and comparisons to English.

I recommend this grammar book to French beginners to brush up and solidify their knowledge of grammar.

14. “French Phrase Book & CD (Eyewitness Travel Guides Phrase Books)”, DK Publishing (phrase and vocabulary book for beginners)

French Phrase Book (Eyewitness Travel Guide) by DK Publishing is A little handy book contains short everyday basic words and expressions for traveling and staying French speaking countries, also useful for compelete beginners of French.

This book is a little handy book contains useful words and expressions for traveling and staying French speaking countries. This book entries very basic elemental words (months, seasons, numbers, time and directions) and basic everyday short phrases in various scenes and situations (salutations, self-introduction, telephone calling and in hotel, driving, restaurant, store, post office, hospital, pharmacy and emergency). This also useful for leaners and beginners of French, not only traveller, to learn French everyday language and expressions.

You must get the CD. The CD contains most of phrases on this book in English and French. The narrator speaks each English phrases, then he speaks French translations one time or two times. It makes you learn words and phrases by heart quickly and good for your pronunciation.

15. “French for Dummies Audio Set” by Zoe Erotopoulos, Dodi-Katrin Schmidt, Michelle M. Williams & Dominique Wenzel, For Dummies (vocabulary book with 3 CDs for complete beginners)

I recommend French for Dummies with CD by Erotopoulos, Dodi-Katrin Schmidt, Michelle M. Williams and Dominique Wenzel the 3 CDs and a booklet set learning material for complete French beginners as the first french learning material. I think one of important points of learning foreign languages is pronunciation. To know correct pronunciation is the key to understand and gain your abilities to read, speak and listen foreign languages. To start learning French by this audio learning material is the best choice I think.

In each chapters of this material, entries words and phrases in various situations of ordinary life, travel and working. The CDs contain an english voice and two times of French voices of each words and phrases. Also some chapters consider to learn very basic French grammar automatically. You pronounce French words and phrases with CDs, you learn pronunciation and basic French vocabulary and grammar effectively. Also you can learn hands-free by listening CDs while walking, commuting, cooking and driving.

16. « Bescherelle La grammaire pour tous » de Nicolas Laurent and Bénédicte Delaunay, Édition Hatier (grammar book for advanced learners)

Bescherelle La grammaire pour tous by Nicolas Laurent and Bénédicte Delaunay is an excellent French grammar book in French comments by ’la grammaire moderne’ (modern grammar). This book entries necessary grammatical elements to comprehend and practice French, and review and brush up your French grammar knowledge. The explanations are clearly, instructively and not difficult, but deal with all rules and grammatical informations from very basic structures in detail. The descriptions are reasonable, practical and essential.

This book wasn’t written as a beginners’ (of foreigners) guide book. It’s for advanced learners want to brush up and perfect their knowledge and skill. I recommend it to advanced French learners who want to acquire collect usage of French and improve their practises and expressions.

17. “Practice Makes Perfect French Verb Tenses” by Trudie Booth, McGraw-Hill Education (verb drill for intermediates and advanced learners)

Practice Makes Perfect French Verb Tenses by Trudie Booth is useful to memorize conjugations of verbs and correct usase of them in various tenses and sentences. The content of this is a guide of close step by step approach to French verb and conjugation. It curries the wide range of information about verb, conjugation and tenses. You read the explanations, then fill in verbs and sentences on the exercises. So you can gain the ability to write French verbs and sentences, also your vocabulary and knowledge of grammar. Then you would master French verb and conjugation by this drill.

18. « Discours de la méthode » de René Descartes, Editions Flammarion (philosophy book for advanced learners)

Discours de la méthode by René Descartes is a great introduction to philosophy by the greatest philosopher, a masterpiece and the milestone of the modern philosophy and science. It’s also a starting point and milestone of modern French language like Martin Luther’s Bible. There’re some important notions and topics, common sense (part 1), the principal rules of the scientific method (part 2), the rules of moral (part 3), the method of doubt, the proof of God and the soul, ‘Cogito ergo sum.’ (I think, therefore I am.) and the Cartesian dualism (part 4).

To read book is useful and valuable for all people especially students, including considering and criticizing the Descartes’ thinkings. And you can learn and memorize important terms of philosophy, religion and science. And this book is the Descartes’ autobiography of his intellectual career like an adventure. So you read this book enjoyably.

The description of this book is not particularly the way of thinking and the style of writing of French language. The paragraphs and sentences are long as for French. I think the style of thinking of this book is from Latin language. Despite this book is very worth for the people of today and interesting, so I recommend this book to all French advanced learners. Also there’re audiobook and the English edition.

19. « Mythologies » de Roland Barthes, Édition du Seuil (criticism, sociology book for advanced learners)

Roland Barthes was a French critic, semiologist or ‘écrivain’ (writer). His one of the representative works is Mythologies. The former part of the book is a collection of essays taken from a magazine, in which the essays appeared serially. The essays introduce and examine modern cultural myths in France and modern societies. Barthes picked up various things from French daily things (wine, beef steak, soap and detergent), products (Citroën, toys and plastic), music, social effects of photography, sports (wrestling and Le tour de France), political symbolism to ways of criticism (Critique muette et aveugle and La critique Ni-Ni). You will experience the vivid and keen écriture and analysis by Barthes. Each essays are very short (2 to 5 pages, except Le monde où l’on catche and Le Tour de France comme épopée).

The later part Le myths, aujourd’hui is a brilliant essay of general social mythology analysis applying Ferdinand de Saussure’s theory of semiology. The good point of this essay is a criticism to signs and the system of daily life, which resulted in a criticism or mention to the latent cultural ’politics’ in/by a entire social system.

I recommend this book to French advanced learners. Because it’s exciting and you can feel way of thinking by French language (sticky argument and keen logic, neither syllogism or paragraph writing) by it. And there’re the audiobook and the English edition.

20. “Berlitz Phrase Book & Dictionary French (Bilingual dictionary)”, Berlitz Language (phrase and vocabulary book for beginners)

21. “French Grammar and Usage (Routledge Reference Grammars)” by Roger Hawkings & Richard Towell, Routledge (grammar reference for intermediates to advanced learners)

This book is a 450 paged large book, but it’s easy to read. The spacing leaves margins. And the descriptions and editing are accessible and clear. Despite its scale, comments in this book are short, but the authors explain French grammar by many lists, examples, charts and comparison to English. The authors comment differences to English many times, especially the points English speaker are apt to make mistakes. I recommend this book to intermediates and advanced learners who want to brush up and complete their knowledge of French grammar.

22. « Pensées » de Blaise Pascal (thought, philosophy)

23. “Barron’s Complete French Grammar Review” by Christopher Kendris & Theodore Kendris, Barron’s Educational Series (grammar book and drill for intermediates)

Barron’s Complete French Grammar Review by Christopher Kendris and Theodore Kendris is a grammar book to review the points and to solve your weak points of French grammar. This reference book for brush up your ability of French grammar, designed for the leaners already have basic knowledge. You’ll reconfirm the points of French grammar by reading explanations, examples and charts, and answering questions. The descriptions are clear and easy to understand and well organized. I recommend this to the beginners want to become intermediates.

24. « Bonjour Tristesse » de Françoise Sagan, Presse Pocket (novel)

25. « La nausée » de Jean-Paul Sartre, Éditions Gallimard (novel)

26. « Bescherende La conjugaison pour tous », Hatier (guidebook about conjugation and verbs for advanced learners)

Bescherelle La conjugaison pour tous is a guidebook for French verb conjugation. The former part is ‘Les tableaux de conjugaison’ is a verb reference entries conjugation tables of essential and most know verbs. And the design is compact and visible. There’re tables of 104 verbs, but they are connected with almost all French 9600 verbs in the index.

The later part ‘Les regales de conjugaison et d’accord’ comments the rules of conjugation. The comments includes verb and tense system and their usage from their foundation, not only conjugation. It’s helpful for you to grasp the French verb and conjugation system deeply.

This book is compact to carry and place on your desk than 501 French Verbs, and the cover is sturdy. So you can use a portable reference of conjugation.