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Any Port in a Storm :: On the Plaza :: The Library :: Fred Vargas
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AuthorTopic: Fred Vargas (Read 1,075 times)
kerouac2
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Fred Vargas
« Thread Started on Oct 28, 2009, 8:39pm »		[Quote]
Am I the only fan of Fred Vargas crime novels? Of course, she is a French author and is read mostly in France, but I know that many of her books have been translated into English and other languages.

The dark atmosphere of her books seems quite unlike most of what I have read and her 'Adamsberg' character is the perfect flawed hero for many of the intrigues.

She is considered to be really a major writer in France, and if I am mentioning her at the moment it is because I am watching a TV movie based on one of her books as I write this, with an absolutely all-star cast ranging from Jean-Hugues Anglade (from Betty Blue) as Adamsberg, to Jean-Pierre Léaud (from all of the François Truffaut films) and Charlotte Rampling as the female lead.
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bixaorellana
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Re: Fred Vargas
« Reply #1 on Oct 28, 2009, 9:04pm »		[Quote]
Huh! I never heard of her, but after looking up her Wikipedia entry, I know I could become a fan.

Is the one you're watching called L'homme aux cercles bleus? (English/international title: The Chalk Circle Man)

Here is a trailer for the movie Pars vite et reviens tard. Apparently the English title for the book was Have Mercy On Us All.


More on Fred Vargas & movies: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1725456/

Interview with Fred Vargas: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2004/nov/18/italy.france
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kerouac2
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Re: Fred Vargas
« Reply #2 on Oct 28, 2009, 9:24pm »		[Quote]
Yes, that's what I was watching but then my former Chinese colleague called and stole 40 minutes of my life.
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bjd
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Re: Fred Vargas
« Reply #3 on Oct 29, 2009, 10:03am »		[Quote]
I have read all of her books that are in my local library. She's good -- I don't usually like French detective story writers.
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jazz
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Re: Fred Vargas
« Reply #4 on Feb 26, 2010, 9:59pm »		[Quote]
What :o Vargas, an iconic 40's illustrator of pin-up girls and erotica, wrote suspense novels?

[image]

Until this thread, I had never heard of Fred Vargas. I love reading great mystery novels and Fred Vargas is great! I've read all of them now, but my absolute favorite is The Chalk Circle Man. It is the first of her Commissare Adamsberg series and I think it should be read first. Her work is brilliant. I love her cast of characters, Adamsberg's crew. I especially love Commissaire Adamsberg and his second in command, the alcoholic single father, Danglard. hmmm...my friend said that I remended her of Mathilde?

Obviously, bjd and Kerouac know her work well. The Adamsberg series is fascinating, Vargas works on so many levels. Thanks for the recommendation. :)
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kerouac2
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Re: Fred Vargas
« Reply #5 on Feb 26, 2010, 10:05pm »		[Quote]
I have two Fred Vargas books piled up in the reading pile. I hope I get to them soon! And yes, I am an absolute fan of Adamsberg -- I should have put him on the thread of favorite literary characters if I did not.
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jazz
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Re: Fred Vargas
« Reply #6 on Feb 26, 2010, 10:28pm »		[Quote]
I'm going to reread The Chalk Circle Man tonight and be totally and happily 'disengaged'. Of course, I know the ending, but with Fred, that doesn't matter. She subtly works on many levels. Did I forget to say that she is very funny as well? I recommended her to a few friends and all of their friends got copies of Fred for Christmas.

I am an eclectic reader, but in my suspense division, Fred Vargas is now 'there'. There is a distinct difference between North American, British and French suspense novels. To the time before Fred, I loved the British the most...ie: P.D. James, who is masterful. Fred is different...perhaps a 'French sensibilty?' Are there other French suspense writers (translated into english) that are as good?
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kimby
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Re: Fred Vargas
« Reply #7 on Feb 26, 2010, 11:13pm »		[Quote]

Feb 26, 2010, 9:59pm, jazz wrote:
What :o Vargas, an iconic 40's illustrator of pin-up girls and erotica, wrote suspense novels?

[image] :)


Vargas was (is?) an illustrator that appeared frequently in Playboy Magazine for decades. Is he dead?

To continue the thread-jack, In 1957, Playboy magazine published a pictorial feature on Vargas' nudes, which drew the attention of publisher Hugh Hefner In August 1958, Vargas and Anna Mae travelled to Lima, Peru, for a highly successful exhibition of his paintings. They were greeted upon their return with a personal invitation from Hefner to have Vargas' work appear monthly in Playboy.

Embarking on this momentous association in 1960, Vargas was to paint 152 works for Playboy during this period, adapting to new moral standards and more explicit sexuality. Vargas painted only two front- cover images for Playboy during his long reign as the magazine's primary artist: a cut-out figure of a girl in a bathing suit that was part of a montage created by art director Reid Austin in 1961 and the cover for the March 1965 issue.

He died in 1982, but lost enthusiasm for his work after his wife's death in 1974...
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jazz
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Re: Fred Vargas
« Reply #8 on Feb 27, 2010, 1:19am »		[Quote]
Yes, Kimby, Alberto Vargas died in 1982. However, Frederique Audoin-Rouzeau....or, 'Fred Vargas' is very alive and writing in Paris. Fred Vargas is a medieval historian and archeologist, as well as a remarkable suspense writer. Her writings on the Black Death and the Bubonic Plague culminated in a work considered definitive in the area. Her twin sister, Joelle, is a painter of note.
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bjd
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Re: Fred Vargas
« Reply #9 on Feb 27, 2010, 10:56am »		[Quote]
I bought a Fred Vargas book to take on vacation in December -- Dans les bois éternels. Just looking on a few websites concerning the author, I don't think it has been translated into English yet.

One of the books takes Adamsberg to Montreal (and Ottawa?) -- can't remember the title.

Offhand, I can't think of many French suspense writers -- there are some but I don't imagine they have been translated. Maybe the French tend to be too abstract and theoretical in their writings to write a good story?
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Re: Fred Vargas
« Reply #10 on Feb 27, 2010, 5:08pm »		[Quote]
Wash This Blood Clean from my Hand
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icy
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Re: Fred Vargas
« Reply #11 on Apr 3, 2010, 10:38am »		[Quote]
I love her books. The Adamsberg books are great, and I loved The Three Evangelists as well.
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kerouac2
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Re: Fred Vargas
« Reply #12 on Apr 4, 2010, 8:01pm »		[Quote]
Is she translated into Icelandic, or have you read her books in some other language?
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