Millhouse Letters - A Book Written for Everyone to Read

Author: Alphonse Daudet
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features: I am far away from the hustle and bustle of Paris, settled in a bright hill in Provence, surrounded by sunshine and music. With a warm and affectionate touch, Daudet depicts beautiful and moving scenes of Provence in simple strokes and clear colors: quiet forests under the southern sun, fields covered with grapes and olives, enchanting starry skies on the Luberon Mountains, windmills scattered across hills, bonfires in wheat fields during festivals, women adorned with gold crosses and floral dresses, the crisp sound of mule bells on the road, and Daudet's famous windmill, which looks like a large butterfly resting on a lush green hill. These richly southern scenes, in the local landscape gallery of French literature, retain their artistic vitality forever with their elegant style and profound charm. — Liu Mingjiu
Although Daudet is revered as the pioneer of Southern French literature for depicting the bright sunlight of the Provencal countryside, the Provence presented in this renowned Letters from the Mill is far from the vacation paradise we imagine—where the sky is clear, the earth is fiery, and the atmosphere is rich in charm. In Daudet's portrayal, the natural beauty here is heavenly, yet the people living on the ground are no happier than others. Scanning Letters from the Mill, one seems to find no favorite of God. Life's joys and sorrows—birth, death, love, and hatred—are all laid bare beneath the sun and green trees. Beyond pioneering Southern French literature, Letters from the Mill is straightforward, light, and easy to read, with no extraordinary brilliance upon close examination. Yet, literature that endures through the ages must have its reasons. Liu Mingjiu, the translator of the Chinese edition, believes that Daudet's charm lies in "viewing characters with a gentle and tender gaze, with mild satire and not overly sharp irony, and sometimes even a touch of detachment from the worldly norms and standards of right and wrong in life."
The "Foreign Classics" series recommends a collection of exquisite foreign cultural books to readers. The works selected from renowned authors around the world are gems of the humanities, many of which are representative works of the authors. They cover a wide range of topics and styles—literature, history, philosophy, religion, society, ethics, essays, sketches, travelogues, autobiographies, novels, and treatises. A small book can embody the wisdom of humanity. Through relaxed reading, we connect with the world.