Want to know what books Martin Conway recommends on their reading list? We've researched interviews, social media posts, podcasts, and articles to build a comprehensive list of Martin Conway's favorite book recommendations of all time.
1
Marguerit Yourcenar | 3.73
Le livre de Marguerite Yourcenar commence par le récit d'une naissance : la sienne. De ce point de départ elle s'interroge. D'où vient-elle ? Qui fut sa mère, morte presque aussitôt ? Qui fut son père ? Ces deux familles dont elle est issue, que peut-elle en savoir, à travers les épaisseurs du temps ? Personne ne rend sensible comme elle l'existence d'âge en âge des êtres en un lieu donné, et le fait que les générations sur le même coin de terre s'entassent comme des strates géologiques, côte à côte avec les bêtes et les plantes. Le récit s'accompagne à chaque pas de commentaires qui sont des... more Le livre de Marguerite Yourcenar commence par le récit d'une naissance : la sienne. De ce point de départ elle s'interroge. D'où vient-elle ? Qui fut sa mère, morte presque aussitôt ? Qui fut son père ? Ces deux familles dont elle est issue, que peut-elle en savoir, à travers les épaisseurs du temps ? Personne ne rend sensible comme elle l'existence d'âge en âge des êtres en un lieu donné, et le fait que les générations sur le même coin de terre s'entassent comme des strates géologiques, côte à côte avec les bêtes et les plantes. Le récit s'accompagne à chaque pas de commentaires qui sont des coups de projecteurs dans le brouillard de toute vie. Si bien que d'une histoire à peu près ordinaire ou commune Marguerite Yourcenar a fait une oeuvre extraordinaire, où la rigueur le dispute à la compassion, où le plus grand art et le plus discret est au service d'une rare noblesse de coeur. less 
Martin ConwayPeople don’t know how many famous Belgians there are because they don’t remember that people actually were Belgian. That’s to some extent true of Hergé and Simenon, but it’s also true of Marguerite Yourcenar, who is one of the leading female writers in France in the 20th century. But, if you want to look at her place of birth, she absolutely was Belgian. She was brought up in one of the... (Source)
See more recommendations for this book...
2
This book offers a comparative analysis of how postwar society dealt with the disruptive legacy of Nazi occupation in France, Belgium, and the Netherlands. It examines the postwar trajectories of resistance fighters, labor conscripts employed in Nazi Germany and victims of Nazi persecution and genocide. Their experiences were often incompatible with the patriotic narratives, aimed at restoring national pride and with the international context, requiring reconciliation with West Germany. In the conflict between memories of the war and the contingencies of the postwar political agenda lies a... more This book offers a comparative analysis of how postwar society dealt with the disruptive legacy of Nazi occupation in France, Belgium, and the Netherlands. It examines the postwar trajectories of resistance fighters, labor conscripts employed in Nazi Germany and victims of Nazi persecution and genocide. Their experiences were often incompatible with the patriotic narratives, aimed at restoring national pride and with the international context, requiring reconciliation with West Germany. In the conflict between memories of the war and the contingencies of the postwar political agenda lies a key to understanding European history since 1945. less Martin ConwayThis is probably my most serious historical choice. This is me trying to point to the fact that I am a historian and that the history of Belgium in the 20th century is really rather important. This is a book about the way in which Belgium and neighbouring states sought to recover a sense of national identity after 1944. It’s a very successful book and one that’s often referred to by other... (Source)
See more recommendations for this book...
3
The classic graphic novel. Tintin meets Professor Alembick, an expert with a very rare royal seal in his collection-the seal of King Ottokar the IV of Syldavia. Tintin joins the professor on his trip to this foreign land, but can the Professor be trusted? more The classic graphic novel. Tintin meets Professor Alembick, an expert with a very rare royal seal in his collection-the seal of King Ottokar the IV of Syldavia. Tintin joins the professor on his trip to this foreign land, but can the Professor be trusted? less Martin ConwayIt can be a bit of a cliché to refer to Hergé when talking about Belgium, but it’s difficult to resist him because of the power and wit of some of his early books. I think he becomes less effective by the 1950s. Hergé was a product of a very particular right-wing Catholic journalistic milieu in the 1920s and it is slightly accidental that he is known now for the Tintin books. He was somebody who... (Source)
Michael FarrYes, this is a wonderful example. The villain, Müsstler, is a combination of Mussolini and Hitler. King Ottokar’s Sceptre, dating from 1938-39, mirrors the Anschluss of Austria by Hitler. Here we have a small Balkan state, Syldavia, facing the threat of a fascist takeover. Hergé was thinking very much in terms of Romania, which had a king being pressured by a right-wing political group, and also... (Source)
See more recommendations for this book...
4
While the impact of a colonising metropole on subjected territories has been widely scrutinized, the effect of empire on the colonising country has long been neglected. Recently, many studies have examined the repercussions of their respective empires on colonial powers such as the United Kingdom and France. Belgium and its African empire have been conspicuously absent from this discussion. This book attempts to fill this gap. Belgium and the Congo, 1885-1980 examines the effects of colonialism on the domestic politics, diplomacy and economics of Belgium, from 1880 - when King Leopold II... more While the impact of a colonising metropole on subjected territories has been widely scrutinized, the effect of empire on the colonising country has long been neglected. Recently, many studies have examined the repercussions of their respective empires on colonial powers such as the United Kingdom and France. Belgium and its African empire have been conspicuously absent from this discussion. This book attempts to fill this gap. Belgium and the Congo, 1885-1980 examines the effects of colonialism on the domestic politics, diplomacy and economics of Belgium, from 1880 - when King Leopold II began the country's expansionist enterprises in Africa - to the 1980s, well after the Congo's independence in June of 1960. By examining the colonial impact on its mother country Belgium, this study also contributes to a better understanding of Congo's past and present. less Martin ConwayYes, I think so. There are a whole series of studies of the Congo, some of them written with a strong sense almost of wanting to put the Belgians on trial for their engagement with the Congo. This is a book which tries to get beyond those sorts of disputes. It sets out the complicated interrelationship between sections of Belgium and the Congo. (Source)
See more recommendations for this book...
5
A classic novel in the tradition of The Tin Drum, The Sorrow of Belgium is a searing, scathingly funny portrait of a wartime Belgium and one boy's coming of age-emotionally, sexually, and politically. Epic in scope, by turns hilarious and elegiac, The Sorrow of Belgium is the masterwork of one of the world's greatest contemporary authors." more A classic novel in the tradition of The Tin Drum, The Sorrow of Belgium is a searing, scathingly funny portrait of a wartime Belgium and one boy's coming of age-emotionally, sexually, and politically. Epic in scope, by turns hilarious and elegiac, The Sorrow of Belgium is the masterwork of one of the world's greatest contemporary authors." less Martin ConwayYes, this is a novel that works well in all three languages. It was written in Flemish Dutch. It’s full of Flemish slang and not easily readable—I would suggest—by some people from the Netherlands because it contains quite a lot of loan words from other languages and is full of dialect. Claus was a rather crazy, disorganised 1960s figure, but certainly saw himself as an intellectual. Above all,... (Source)
See more recommendations for this book...
Don't have time to read Martin Conway's favorite books? Read Shortform summaries.
Shortform summaries help you learn 10x faster by:
- Being comprehensive: you learn the most important points in the book
- Cutting out the fluff: you focus your time on what's important to know
- Interactive exercises: apply the book's ideas to your own life with our educators' guidance.