Students Parlez French Novels into Discussion

On Monday night, an eclectic mix of students, retirees, francophones, and francophiles will gather at Columbia’s Maison Française. They gathered to hold a stimulating and informal conversation about French literature.

The Maison’s book club is held one Monday each month, and March’s installment will feature La Joueuse de Go, or “The Go Player,” an award-winning novel by Chinese-born French author Shan Sa.

Danièle Lasser, a former Columbia French professor, is the coordinator of the book club. After retiring from teaching, Lasser returned to Columbia as a member of the club, and eventually assumed administrative responsibility. “The club has a very democratic organization,” she said. All participants are encouraged to make suggestions on what to read. Past discussions have focused on contemporary French novels, francophone literature from around the world, biographies, and even The Adventures of Tintin, a classic French comic series.

At each monthly meeting, a different moderator leads the discussion. “This provides a different tone and character to each session,” Lasser explained. The conversation is conducted in French, and all participants are encouraged to speak, regardless of their fluency level. Lasser is primarily responsible for pairing each book with the perfect moderator. “Sometimes it takes me several years to find the right person,” she said.

Geneviève Lafrance, a post-doctoral candidate at Columbia, will moderate the discussion of La Joueuse de Go. Lafrance specializes in French literature from the Revolutionary period, but she spent several years teaching in China and is very familiar with Chinese culture.

La Joueuse de Go, which received international acclaim and won the Prix Goncourt des Lycéens in 2001, tells the story of the complex relationship between an aristocratic Chinese young woman and a Japanese officer in Manchuria in the 1930s. “They meet in front of a go game, hardly speaking, but slowly starting to know each other through the game,” Lafrance said.

Go is a complex military strategy game. To win, you must surround your opponent’s pieces. Sa uses it as a metaphor for the larger tensions in the novel. “There’s that military side of it and there’s also something quite erotic that’s going on in the go game,” Lafrance explained. According to Lafrance, the novel explores three different struggles: political and military conflict between China and Japan, emotional and sexual tension between the two protagonists, and the intellectual battle of the go game.

Lafrance is excited about Monday night’s discussion. “I’m looking forward to seeing who is going to be there,” she said. Both she and Lasser encouraged all Columbia French enthusiasts to attend.

The discussion of Shan Sa’s La Joueuse de Go will be tonight at 7:00 p.m. The Maison Française is located on the second floor of Buell Hall. Its Book Club is open to Members of the Société des Amis de La Maison Française and Columbia University students with a valid CUID.