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" Diégo? Un drôle de coin. Un peu comme ces comptoirs oubliés qu'ils avaient pu visiter ensemble en Côte-d'Ivoire ou au Sénégal, mais version glauque, "un vrai dépotoir de la névrose occidentale, une sorte de terminus des âmes à la dérive, au sens figuré et géographique du terme". Il y avait des légionnaires à la retraite, des RMIstes de la Réunion, des Belges qui faisaient du business, des petits mafieux italiens mis au vert, des repris de justice, des déprimés, des ratés... " une série B tropicale francophone en vrai. " Diégo-Suarez, Madagascar. Une baie sur l'océan Indien, du soleil, des vestiges coloniaux, des filles, des ONG. Des Blancs en fin de course dont le monde blanc ne veut plus. Des voyageurs qui débarquent. Si ce roman a un but, c'est bien de faire comprendre au lecteur occidental que, considéré depuis tous les " bouts du monde " de la planète, l'Occident, c'est le bout du monde.

Une rumeur d'éléphant by Alain Gerber (1984)

Lauréat de la journée internationale du manuscrit francophone 2022. Prix littéraire.

Peter Howells est un jeune garçon de onze ans qui grandit au sein d'une drôle de famille. Un jour, il reçoit la visite inattendue d’une surprenante créature. Celle-ci lui révèle alors qu’il possède des pouvoirs magiques, extraordinaires. Peter finit par se retrouver dans le monde d’Haddgard. Mais réussira-t-il à s’en sortir dans ce nouvel environnement peuplé d'êtres étranges et qui lui est totalement inconnu ?
Cet ouvrage vous emmènera visiter les Comptoirs des trois chaudrons où tous les produits sont faits maison, faire la fête pour y déguster des mets des plus improbables dans la Grande salle du Château, rencontrer des créatures en tout genre (fantômes, lutins, gnomes, démons, fées, sorciers, …), pénétrer dans la forêt magique de GrimBook à l'apparence tranquille, frissonner à la prison maudite, etc…Boutiques magiques, enquêtes, pouvoirs, portails et incantations seront également au rendez-vous.
Découvrez le premier tome d’une histoire captivante.

Cat lovers and francophiles rejoice—The Cat in the Hat in English and French is back in print! Perfect for teaching beginning readers simple, conversational French or English, the story is here on each page in the language the reader already knows, to guide him or her in the language they are learning. The repetition makes it ideal for learning new words, and the hilarious plot makes it easy to read again and again. Learning a new language has never been so much fun!

Triboulet fut le difforme et volubile bouffon de Louis XII et François Ier. À travers sa vie de frasques et de facéties, il testa chaque instant les limites de sa liberté. Jusqu’à… la blague de trop.
Le pouvoir tolère-t-il vraiment le rire ? Lorsqu’elle est permise par un roi, l’irrévérence fait-elle révérence ?
L’ascension et la chute de Triboulet, racontée par un bouffon du XXIe siècle.

« Une réflexion savoureuse sur le rire et le pouvoir. » Le Parisien

Famed swordsman and poet Cyrano de Bergerac is in love with his cousin Roxane. He has never expressed his love for her as  his large nose undermines his self-confidence. Then he finds a way to express his love to her, indirectly.

A documentary on the relationship between fashion designer Yves Saint-Laurent and his lover, Pierre Berge.

Drama centering around the life at the court of Louis XIV and the role of the Marquise de Maintenon.

Chien pourri a toujours rêvé d'aller à la campagne pour se rouler dans la gadoue, computer les dents des pouleset s'amuser avec la vache qui rit. Mais le hasard l'a conduit dans une une ferme dirigée par un affreux géant vert qui met les animauz en boîte. Chien Pourri et son fidèle ami Chaplapla reverront-ils un jour leur chère poublle?

Aujourd'hui Chien Pourri va à l'école ! Réussira-t-il é faire le beau devant sa maî-tresse, à la récré sans servir de ballon ? Et surtout apprendra-t-il à lire pour déchiffrer les étiquettes dans sa poublle ? Bon courage, Chien Pourri ! 

C'est Nöel dans la poubelle de Chien Pourri et Chaplapla. Cette année, les deux amis sont bien décidés à passer le réveillon dans une maison. Mais quo voudrait d'um chien mité et d'un chat écrasé un soir de fête ? La famille Nöel, peut-être ?Quand Chien Pourri gratte à leur porte, il tombe à pic. Marie-Nöel. est ravie d'avoir enfin trouvé le pire cadeau à offrir à son frère, Jean-Nöel. Au pied du sapin, la guerre des cadeaux pourris peut commencer. Poupàe sans bras contre chien pourri et chat aplati, c'est le début dlun merveil leux conte de poubelle. Un Livre pour les enfants qui aiment déjà lire tout seuls. 

Pour faire plaisir à Nicolas, son papa lui offre un vélo. Mais voilà que le voisin Blédurt s'en mêle : il veut à tout prix l'essayer ! Quand les adultes font des bêtises, ils ont plutôt intérêt à les réparer! 

Trois œufs dans un nid, au chaud. Trois petits oiseaux sont nés. Maman les nourrit. Ils grandissent vite et pourront bientôt voler. 

Balthazar's s'assoit sur la plage. Dans son coquillage, il entend toutes sortes de sons : celui de la pluie, celui d'un cheval au galop, celui du battement de son coeur... 

The Little Prince Folio junior edition 

Un grondement de roues et de sabots enfle soudain. Ce que voit Ulysse à travers les yeux du cheval de bois fige son sang. -- Les Troyens.. ils lancent une charge. Fer,mes la trappe ! Vite ! jette-t-il à ses soldats. 

The BFG by Roald Dahl

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

Ann (Isabelle Huppert) is a gifted and brilliant musician whose sense of security falls to pieces when she witnesses her husband kissing another woman. Without hesitation, she abandons him and takes a headlong rush into the arms of a new beginning, embarking on a transnational journey that ultimately takes her to an isolated villa on the secluded island of Ischia, Italy. Once settled, Ann insists on goading herself to fresh extremes, and takes it upon herself to swim out as far into the ocean as possible. Fainting under the scorching summer rays, her floating body is pulled out of the water by local woman Giulia (Maya Sansa), with whom Ann begins to explore a whole new facet of life.

 THE FLOWER OF EVIL tells the story of a seemingly perfect family, whose distinguished facade starts to crack when the wife ( Nathalie Baye ) ventures into local politics and the prodigal son ( Benoit Magimel ) returns from overseas. On the eve of the local election, a corpse appears, and the long dormant seeds of a past family crime begin to bloom. It's not long before three generations of scandel explode, burying the family under the weight of mysterious deaths, incest and patricide. Chabrol's merciless eye has never been so sharp and his gift for humor never so wicked. 

Philippe Abrams is a post office manager in the South of France. He is married to Julie, a difficult woman who makes his life miserable. To please her, he tries to cheat his way into a job transfer to the French Rivera. Busted, he is instead sent to Bergues, France's northernmost city. 

 Operation Sussex was one of the most important intelligence operations of World War II. This top secret spy mission was created and directed by the headquarters of General Eisenhower. The Plan was for the Americans, British and Free French intelligence services to recruit and train volunteers for an Allied resistance network. One hundred twenty operatives parachuted 2 at a time into occupied FRance without Geneva Convention protections and then provided crucial details about the German military leading up to the D-Day invasion and beyond. 

This is a romantic comedy set in Paris about a family that goes there because if business, and two young people who are engaged to be married in the fall, have experiences there that change their lives. It's about a young man's great love for a city, Paris, and thr illusion people have that a life different from theirs would be much better. 

After mourning the loss of Laura, Claire comes across Laura's husband David dressed head-to-toe in his wifes clothes. Unsure whether his new guise is the result of foul play, she threatens to reveal David to Laura's family. But the more time she spends with him, the more Claire becomes seduced by his beautiful new incarnation. As the two become inseparable, Claire wonders whether she is falling for David's alter ego, of perhaps a part of Laura's resurrected soul. 

The story of Pascal. a lonely French boy who befriends a wondrous red ballon which follows him everywhere. Lovely, finely done parable of childhood, imagination and friendship. 

Un dîner, c'est la dictature de l'apparence : on se fait beau, on rit, on raconte, on frime, on partage souvenirs et projets. Les angoisses sont cachées sous l'humour et les chagrins étouffés par les éclats de rire. Et pour quelques heures, on y croit ! C'est ça le principal. Si on a le bon code et que l'on respecte les autres, cordialité, hypocrisie, bonne humeur, on risque de passer une bonne soirée. Cependant, les masques tombent dès le chemin du retour.

Happy Feet is a 2006 computer-animated jukebox musical comedy film directed, produced, and co-written by George Miller. Set in the cold land of Antarctica, the film follows Mumble, an emperor penguin who, despite his lacking the ability to sing the heartsong to attract a soul mate, is able to tap dance brilliantly. After being continuously ridiculed and rejected by peers and his own father, Mumble departs on a journey to learn what is causing the local fish population to decline--and to find himself along the way.

A musical drawing room farce set in Paris in October, 1925. Gilberte, in middle-age, flirts with men but loves her husband Georges, wishing he were more demonstrative. He's negotiating a deal with an American, Eric Thomson, who turns out to be Gilberte's first husband from an annulled and secret stateside marriage. Along with her sister Arlette, Gilberte begs Eric not to tell Georges about the marriage. Meanwhile, a young artist, Charly, pursues Gilberte while Arlette tries to match him with the young Huguette, who loves him. Will Eric play along or try to re-win Gilberte's affection? Can Gilberte play one off against another? And who will manage to kiss whom on the lips? 

Tomboy tells the story 10-year-old Laure (played by the amazing Zoè Heran) who moves to the suburbs and decides to pass a boy amongst the pack of neighborhood kids. As "Mikael" she catches the attention of leader of the pack Lisa, who becomes smitten with her. Finding resourceful ways to hide her new identity, as if the end of the summer would never reveal her unsettling secret. 

This cheeky, coming-of-age comedy tells the story of 11-year-old Ricardo, who in 1981, struggles to fit in at his new school. With a falir for inventiveness and a desperate desire to impress his classmates, Ricardo weaves a web of untruths, which he must carefully maintain to keep up appearances for his new friends. But when reality finally catches up with him, Ricardo is forced to come to tearms with his true self. 

Romain Duris (L'AUBERGE ESPANGOLE), in a standout preformance, plays Tom, a 28 year-old who seems destined to fallow in his father's footsteps as a Parisian property shark working in a sleazy and some times brutal world. However, a chance encounter with his late mother's music agent leads him to believe that he can become, like his mother, a concert pianist. In earnest, he starts preparing for the audition with the help of a beautiful young virtuoso pianist who has just arrived from China. She doesn't speak a word of French; music is their only exchange. But pressures from the ugly world of his day jon soon become more than he can handle...

France is afraid! A "granny killer" is loose in Paris, inciting fear and havoc amongst its residents. Based on the true story of Thierry Paulin who, with his male lover, murdered over twenty elderly women in the eighties, I Can't Sleep  is an eerily atmospheric noir of contemporary urban alienation. A series of characters haunt the nights of Paris. Daiga, an aspiring Lithuanian actress unaware of the newspaper headlines due to a language barrier; Theo, a moody musician and carpenter from Martinique who longs to return to the safety of his homeland with his wife and young son; his brother Camille, a beautiful drag queen who seductively performs at local nightclubs. 

Acclaimed director Claire Denis (Chocolat; No Fear, No Die) navigates through a dozen characters who have little in common except location. Their lives briefly intersect and just as quickly separate. A disturbing portrait of dislocation and arbitrary violence, I Can't Sleep will challenge your notion of security and "will make you look differently at the people on the street" (Amy Taubin, Village Voice.) 

Mon curé chez les nudistes [Region 2 - Europe - Doesn't play on US Players] by Robert Thomas (2015)

Adama by Simon Rouby (2018)

Adama a 12 ans et vit dans un petit village a'Afrique avec sa famille. Une nuit, son grand frère Samba quitte en secret le village. 
Ne reculant devant rien, Adama s'enfuit et part à sa recherche. 

Sur son chemin, il rencontre Djo et Abdou qui vont l'aider dans sa quête. Mais aussi, Maximin, in petit voyou parisien, qui val'accompgner dans ses aventures. Jusqu'où ita Adama pour retrouver son grand frère ? 

Life of Jesus follows the life of 20-year-old Feddy. When he's not at the hospital getting treatment for his epilepsy, Freddy spends his free time - and he has plenty of it - hanging out with his pals. The boys have little schoolling and are chronically unemployed. For entertainment, they race around town and through the French countryside on their motorbikes. Life changes for Freddy when Kader, the teenage son of an Arab family, enters the picture. Freddy and his friends are already threatened by Kader for being gainfully employed when none of then can find a job. When the fearless Kader stubbornly and aggressively pursues Marie, Freddy's girlfriend, Freddy and his pals take out their latent jealousy and anger in an astonishing way, which drmatically alters all of their lives. 

La Femme gelée est le troisième roman d'Annie Ernaux, publié en 1981 aux éditions Gallimard. Il est considéré comme un récit autobiographique dans lequel elle retrace toute son enfance sans contrainte.

Mitri, 15 ans, vit dans un village au Sénégal. Il joue au soccer et rêve de faire partie des grands clubs. Lorsqu'un agent recruteur le repère, Mitri croit en sa chance.

Real-life father and son Gérard Depardieu and Guillaume Depardieu star in this almost too-close-for-comfort drama about fame and family dysfunctionalism. Paul (Guillaume) is a menacing yet sympathetic twenty-something drifter who has lived his life in the shadows of celebrated novelist Leo (Gérard), his emotionally and communicatively distant father. Leo wins the Nobel Prize and takes off to Stockholm on his motocycle. In an attempt to contact is father after the good news by catching up with him on the road, Paul is once again rejected. He stalks his dad and after an accident, the son takes advantage of a dazed Leo to abduct him. Now, tied down and essentially kidnapped, the two, trapped with each other as they travel the European contryside, begin to talk. 

From the director of WATER LILIES and TOMBOY, comes GIRLHOOD, the critically-acclaimed hit from Sundance and the director's Fortnight in Cannes. Fed up with her abusive family situation, lack of school prospects and the "boys' law" in the neighborhood, Marieme a teenage girl in Paris, starts a new life after meeting a group of three fee-spirited girls. She changes her name, she style, drops out of school and starts stealing to be accepted into the group. When her home situation becomes unbearable, Marieme seeks solace in an older man who promises her money and protection. Realizing this sort of lifestyle will never result in the freedom and independence she truly desires, she finally decides to take matters into her own hands. With dazzling visuals and music, GIRLHOOD is a powerful and inspiring coming of age story for this generation. 

From the director of Amélie, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, comes a post-apocalyptic comedy that's both bitingly hilarious and absolutely one-of-a-kind. When meat becomes so rare that it is used a currency, residents living above a deli must depend on a menacingly strange butcher (Jean-Claude Dreyfus) for thier supply. But when a new tenant (Dominique Pinon) arrives and takes a job as thebuilding's handyman, he unknowingly steps into the butcher's trap... to serve his as the next meal!  

Avant, Gabriel faisait les quatre cents coups avec ses copains dans leur coin de paradis. Et puis l'harmonie familiale s'est disloquée en même temps que son «  petit pays  », le Burundi, ce bout d'Afrique centrale brutalement malmené par l'Histoire.Plus tard, Gabriel fait revivre un monde à jamais perdu. Les battements de cœur et les souffles coupés, les pensées profondes et les rires déployés, le parfum de citronnelle, les termites les jours d'orage, les jacarandas en fleur... L'enfance, son infinie douceur, ses douleurs qui ne nous quittent jamais.   Un livre lumineux.  Astrid de Larminat, Le Figaro. Un très beau premier roman, déchirant et incandescent, qui force l'admiration.  Yann Perreau, Les Inrockuptibles.   Gaby n'est pas un petit Africain, c'est un enfant du monde emporté par la fureur du destin. Notre hantise commune.  Maria Malagardis, Libération.    PRIX GONCOURT DES LYCÉENS / PRIX DU ROMAN FNAC / PRIX DU PREMIER ROMAN

La littérature potentielle, qu'est-ce que c'est ? Une littérature sous contrainte. Selon la définition que l'on prête à Queneau, l'auteur oulipien est un «rat qui construit lui-même le labyrinthe dont il se propose de sortir». Un labyrinthe de lettres, de mots, de sons, de phrases, de paragraphes, de chapitres, de livres, de bibliothèques, de formes, etc.
L'écriture sous contrainte ne saurait être réservée aux seuls trente et quelques membres de l'Oulipo, de Perec à Calvino (excusés aux réunions pour cause de décès), de Fournel à Roubaud ou aux autres.
Cet abrégé se veut d'utilité publique. Il propose à tous les principales contraintes de l'Ouvroir de littérature potentielle (anagrammes, palindromes, acrostiches et autres lipogrammes) et quelques exercices, pour produire de la prose et de la poésie… à l'infini.