Aide à la rédaction: recueil des fautes les plus fréquentes enfrançais écrit par Louise Tellier, Benoît Leblanc (review)

Reviews 285 are not sure where to begin, delving into Mooney’s collection of 160 monologues taken from seventeen of Molière’s comedies is a surefire way to be quickly introduced to the playwright’s comedic style and to appreciate the wealth of his work. Mooney’s subtle translation captures the spirit of Molière and allows twenty-first-century students to understand his humor and irony. This book could be integrated at the high school level, as an introduction to French history and culture, or into acting courses. The five-page biography of Molière, from the early to the golden years, will be useful to students learning about seventeenth-century French society and politics in order to understand how the playwright mocked particular features of his contemporaries. With Mooney’s clever explanations, which introduce each play, readers will recognize Molière’s motivations and familiarize themselves with the characters, the plot, and his comic genius. Each monologue is preceded by a short description of the character, as well as the circumstances that led him or her to deliver the long oration. Mooney’s book features five monologues from Les précieuses ridicules, two from Le médecin volant, ten from L’école des maris, thirteen from L’école des femmes, seven from La critique de l’école des femmes, sixteen from Tartuffe, eighteen from Dom Juan, five from Le docteur amoureux, eight from Le médecin malgré lui, twenty from Le misanthrope, nine from L’avare, seven from Monsieur de Pourceaugnac, ten from Le bourgeois gentilhomme, seven from Les fourberies de Scapin, eleven from Les femmes savantes, and ten from Le malade imaginaire. All in all, Mooney’s book is an entertaining way to learn about classical theater and about the work of the most celebrated French playwright. While there is no substitute for reading an entire play in order to fully understand the characters, this collection of classic as well as less famous lines will be a valuable addition to any high school curriculum. It should be noted, however, that despite the quality of Mooney’s translation and the variety of passages and comic styles he presents, his book unfortunately does not feature the original French versions of the monologues written by Molière. Purdue University Calumet Florian Vauléon Tellier, Louise, et Benoît Leblanc. Aide à la rédaction: recueil des fautes les plus fréquentes en français écrit. Trois-Rivières: SMG, 2013. ISBN 978-2-89094-290-5. Pp. 170. $30 Can. Comprised of six sections (Approche méthodologique; Ouvrages de référence; Dictionnaire—Nos fautes et nos très grandes fautes; Exercices; Corrigé des exercices; Annexe—Consignes du sondage) plus a bibliography and index of words and expressions , this guide reflects the authors’ efforts at compiling, via a survey sent to professionals who edit and revise texts, the most frequent errors in written French. Tellier and Leblanc explain what happened when sorting through the survey feedback: “Ainsi, s’est dégagée une liste de problèmes de vocabulaire (anglicismes, archaïsmes, barbarismes, etc.), de grammaire et de ponctuation auxquels nous avons proposé des formes correctes assorties, au besoin, de notes explicatives” (1). As opposed to other French stylistic guides, information provided on common errors is not done in alphabetical order but in order of frequency of the errors, according to the survey conducted with the writing specialists. So that in the section“Dictionnaire,”the most common error—the confusion between “ballade (poème)” and “balade (promenade sans but précis)”(17)—is the first entry; while the contrast of “plus tôt [plus de bonne heure (s’oppose à plus tard)]”and“plutôt (de préférence)”(94) is the last one. It is also in this section that the authors give a concise explanation for each of the 500 identified errors and its correct usage. For example, #244: “Jules est *excessivement gentil/Jules est extrêmement gentil. L’adverbe excessivement s’emploie exclusivement avec des adjectifs à dénotation négative. Ex. René est excessivement hargneux quand il perd au billard”(59). Not to be overlooked are the eleven exercises.While the first three are the standard ones that...