Learn French With Books: Emil Cioran
On n’habite pas un pays, on habite une langue. Une patrie, c’est cela et rien d’autre.
— Aveux et anathèmes (1987), Emil Cioran
If you are interested in philosophy (especially existentialism and nihilism), I have a good recommendation for you. This writer is fascinating and could be an inspiration for you, because he became a French writer despite not being a native French speaker.
Emil Cioran was born in Romania and later settled in Paris. His first books were in Romanian, but after moving to France, he switched to French. This shift (that happened in his 30s) changed both his style and his way of thinking.
His books are known for being random ramblings about doom and gloom, but in my opinion they are more than that.
Recommended French Level: C1/strong B2.
Struggles with French
French was never effortless for Cioran. He worked at it for years. Writing in Romanian allowed him intensity; French forced him to calm his impulses and express ideas with more restraint. He considered it to be a “hostile” and rigid language, but in a good way - because the language forced discipline and gave a sense of calmness to his writing.
It’s said that he struggled with the language a lot, and he would rewrite sentences dozens of times until satisfied with the result.
And if you compare his early works with his later works, you can see it very clearly - it became much simpler, while the ideas arguably grew more complex and more mature.
That’s why, beyond being a writer, he can also be an example as a learner: many adults start or return to language learning at a moment of personal transition. In their thirties, people often feel pressure or uncertainty around work, identity, or expectations. You are already somewhat set in your ways, you are no longer a young person, but you are not yet in that phase when everything is stable and calm.
In these circumstances learning a language can be an arduous task that takes a lot of effort, but it can also affect your thinking and modify your life outlook.
Recommended Books
The Trouble with Being Born (De l’inconvénient d’être né) Extremely short entries, easy to read in small amounts.
A Short History of Decay (Précis de décomposition) More challenging, but still divided into short, independent sections.
All Gall Is Divided (Syllogismes de l’amertume) Fragmented reflections, ideal for brief daily reading.
History and Utopia (Histoire et Utopie) A take on the human societies and why people love to imagine utopias.
If you like these books, he has many more, and of course you can also go and read his early works, even though they were originally written in Romanian.