La bicyclette bleue, 1939-1942

La Bicyclette Bleue #1

by Régine Deforges

1939. Léa Delmas a dix-sept ans. Sa vie se résume aux senteurs de la terre bordelaise, à la lumière des vignobles, à la tendresse des siens. La déclaration de guerre va anéantir l'harmonie de cette fin d'été et jeter Léa dans le chaos de la débâcle, de l'exode, de la mort et de l'occupation nazie. Léa va être contrainte à des choix impossibles.

"La Bicyclette bleue" est le premier volume d'un roman épique, une grande fresque romanesque qui se déroule entre 1939 et 1945.

Genres: Historical Fiction, France, Fiction, Romance, Historical, World War II, Roman

475 pages, Poche

First published January 1, 1979

About the author

Born in Montmorillon, Vienne (but currently living in Paris), she is sometimes called the "High Priestess of French erotic literature." Deforges was the first woman to own and operate a publishing house in France. Over the years, she has been censored, prosecuted, and heavily fined for publishing "offensive" literature. She was formerly president of the Société des Gens de Lettres de France and a member of the Prix Femina jury.

Reviews

[Tea Jovanović · Rating 5 out of 5]

Da, da... Prohujalo s vihorom na francuski način... tim rečima sam nagovorila vlasnika Lagune da objavio ovu knjigu (tj. serijal knjiga)... Zaljubila sam se u tu knjigu još u srednjoškolskim danima, kada je postojao samo hrvatski prevod prvog toma... Kasnije je usledila divna TV serijal s Leticijom Kastom i ja sam to iskoristila da ponovo skrenem pažnju na ovu autorku... I naša publika ju je lepo prihvatila... Iznad očekivanja samog izdavača... A meni kao urednik je naravno bilo milo oko srca... :) Posle je, na moj nagovor, i hrvatski izdavač ponovio izdanje...

[Marquise]

Bloody hells! Three years in a row that I haven't abandoned a book, and my lucky run had to stop when it was going to complete a fourth year because of this stupid piece of plagiarism.

I've already tried twice to get past 5 chapters, but I simply can't. There's no power on Heaven or Earth that's going to make me finish this trashy novel. It's essentially a rip-off of Gone with the Wind in WWII France written by a Margaret Mitchell-wannabe who writes like the solution to every plot knot and need for character growth is to have the heroine think of, demand to have, and seek a man after a man after another man. Léa is like a sluttier and more execrably narcissistic version of Scarlett O'Hara, and for more aggravation is also too stupid to live. Say what you want about Scarlett, but at least she knew not to drop her pantalettes for every single man she walks into, and wasn't stupid. Not to mention that Laurent is like an even blander and more spineless version of Ashley Wilkes, and Francois... was this shallow paper cutout supposed to mimic Rhett Butler? It sure failed.

I'm sorry, but I didn't sign up to read about how the protagonist goes from demanding sex from her childhood pal to deciding she's in love with her engaged neighbour, to letting herself be seduced and kissed by a bad boy newcomer to back to rolling in the hay with childhood chum, to suddenly decide to marry her engaged neighbour's cousin out of spite. That's way worse than what Scarlett did, and there's neither context nor character development that'll explain all this mess, which happens in the course of only 5 chapters and not in a big fat book. A total waste of my time, and I'm annoyed I didn't read reviews first instead of just going by a friend's recommendation.

[Tamara (shales.daughter) · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Blue Bicycle (1981) is a family saga telling the eventful life story of the protagonist Lea, set in the World War II, between France and Indochina. I was really absorbed reading this story of love, passion and survival, it was a page turner - it’s true that 15 years ago when I read it, I was much younger and less cynical about love and life, but I liked it. You cannot help “living” this love story that endures time and space, survives war and death.

Curiosity: The book was a major international intellectual property court case, since Deforges was accused of plagiarizing Mitchell's “Gone with the Wind”, and later dissolved.

[Sandra Nedopričljivica · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ovo ne da su sličnosti sa Zameo ih vjetar, ovo je čisti plagijat, samo smješten u neko drugo vrijeme... sramota! Ne pada mi na pamet čitati nastavke...

[Clarabel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Premier tome flamboyant, que j'ai dévoré le cœur battant fort, fort, fort, quand bien même je l'avais déjà lu vingt ans plus tôt ! Si les premiers chapitres rappellent immanquablement que la trame d'Autant en emporte le vent constitue effectivement la base du roman, en guise d'hommage ou de pastiche, on bascule vite dans un autre monde, une autre époque, un autre combat et d'autres amours interdites. Et sulfureuses. Léa est fougueuse, sensuelle et impudique. Elle réclame de l'amour des étreintes passionnées, pouvant l'arracher du chaos ambiant et de cette guerre cauchemardesque. Elle se donne sans compter, pour conquérir sa liberté et défier la mort. Et multiplie les amants, avec cette candeur et cette gourmandise qui la caractérisent tant. Tout simplement, captivant !
♥♥♥♥♥

[Sven · Rating 3 out of 5]

Régine Deforges , geboren in Frankrijk, wordt soms wel eens de hoge priesteres van de Franse erotische literatuur genoemd. Ze was ook de eerste vrouw die een uitgeverij had in Frankrijk. Ze kreeg te maken met censuur en rechtszaken voor het verspreiden van offensieve literatuur. Werd zelfs beschuldigd van plagiaat ten opzichte van het boek Gone with the wind.
Haar boek De blauwe fiets kwam uit in ’81 was een bestseller in Frankrijk en werd in 2000 zelfs omgevormd tot een tv-serie.
Daniël Visser nam de vertaling voor zijn rekening.
Verhaal
Lea woont op het domein Montillac samen met haar vader, moeder en twee zussen. Lea is redelijk vrijgevochten en neemt geen blad voor haar mond. Ze houdt van haar omgeving en schuwt het zware werk niet. Ze is zeventien en heeft gemerkt dat ze de mannen in haar omgeving om haar vinger kan winden. Mathias, de zoon van de keldermeester. Daarbovenop de twee broers Raoul en Jean. Haar voornaamste doel is neef Laurent. Die besluit tot haar ongenoegen te huwen met Camille omdat hun vaders dit zo willen. Lea is er van overtuigd dat ze Laurent op andere gedachten kan brengen. Ze laat alles wat ze van verleiding heeft los op hem maar daar is François dan weer getuige van. Wat kan hij teweegbrengen bij Lea? Zijn de geruchten over een oorlog waarheid of niet?
Mijn gedacht
Een vlotte schrijfstijl om te lezen. Alles is makkelijk te volgen zonder dat er passages moeten herlezen worden. Een goeie combi tussen het amoureuze en spanning zorgt er ook voor dat het een verhaal is dat door veel lezers gesmaakt zal worden.
Alles speelt zich af op een mooi afgetekende omgeving waar de dreiging van de tweede Wereldoorlog stilletjes present is. Régine laat die oorlog meer en meer zijn plaats opeisen tijdens het verhaal. Die komt van op de achtergrond meer en meer op de voorgrond, waardoor hij meer invloed krijgt op het verhaal.
De gebruikte personages zijn goed uitgewerkt en komen zeker geloofwaardig over. Ze zijn zoals ze waarschijnlijk in het echt ook zullen geweest zijn. Van de collaborateurs tot de mensen van het verzet. De trotse Joodse tot de Jodenhaters.
Maar ze zorgt er ook voor, dat naarmate het verhaal vordert, bepaalde personages de lezer verrassen door acties te ondernemen die onverwachts komen.
De dynamiek tussen de personages zit er ook goed in. Zoals bv die tussen Lea en Camille. Vrouw en minnares die samen moet overleven.
Lea is het personage waar het verhaal eigenlijk om draait. Zij draagt het verhaal grotendeels op haar schouders. En ze doet dit zeer goed want soms staat ze versteld van wat ze kan bereiken.
Het slot van het verhaal is nu niet overdreven spannend maar dat is op dat moment niet storend. Sommige lijnen worden opengezet voor het volgende deel in de serie en andere krijgen een afsluiter. Het verhaal moet wel verder gaan want aan het einde blijven er toch redelijk wat vragen op tafel liggen over de toekomst van onze personages.
Conclusie
Een verhaal waar de tweede Wereldoorlog meer en meer invloed krijgt in het verhaal en het gedrag van de personages. Een mengeling van amoureuze uitspattingen en spannende gebeurtenissen. Zeer vlot om te lezen en curieus naar het tweede deel.

[Dragana Zečević · Rating 4 out of 5]

Priča koju sam čitala unazad deceniju i više. Zaslužila je da se o njoj više zna kod nas. Volim ovu priču. Šteta pa se više pažnje posvećuje nekim novim knjigama koje pojedini autori izbacuju sezonski,a ne ovakvim djelima koji su na neki način klasici književnosti.

[Kasia · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book has 2 parts. First 250 pages deserve none star. It was such A ROBBERY. I was very disappointed and angry that somebody made money selling story that was told before, invented, created by someone else. Deforges put characters created by Margaret Mitchell in ¨Gone with the Wind¨ to European reality with changed names. So we´ve got all the same story for more than 60 % of the book, instead of American Civil War - II World War. And characters... the same temperaments, just putting a bit of erotism to the plot. Arter 250 pages, FinaLLY, somethig more than a poor copy, short stories about conspiration in occupied France. Did the author create the second part by her own ? I have no idea but I wouldn´t be surprised if she has borrowed it from another writter. For inspiration I say yes, for plagiarism NO! Such a shame. Next Bestseller? Are you kidding me?

[Flaneurette · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was mesmerised by these books when I read them as a teenager. I cannot say much about the quality but I remember they made the second world war seem very erotic and they certainly spurred my francophilia!

[Edward · Rating 2 out of 5]

It wasn't an accident that the estate of GONE WITH THE WIND sued Deforges for plagiarism in this French novel of World War II. She freely admitted that she had been influenced by GWTW but after a few hundred pages, she went her own way. After an initial ruling against the novel, an appeal reversed the decision - no plagiarism.
It's a page-turner, sometimes excessively melodramatic, but it does a good job of following a family that is torn apart by the war. Lea, the heroine, and 2nd daughter in a family of three, can't decide who she really loves, steady Laurent, unfortunately already married, or the infuriating Francois, a Rhett Butler type. Her older sister falls in love with a German officer, her mother is killed by a bomb, an uncle enlists her in the resistance movement, her younger sister thinks Petain is the savior of France and that DeGaulle is the devil incarnate, and the novel moves briskly along with such conflicts. I just read the first 400 page installment (fairly easy French); there are seven or eight sequels, as Deforges apparently knew she had a good thing going. One volume was enough for me. For reluctant readers there's a 2000 tv mini-series.

[Dragana · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bestseller in France, brazenly "borrowing" from Gone With The Wind.

[Suze · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good old-fashioned novel about ordinary citizens in World War II, in France - and how they coped with life. I found this book mentioned within another novel I enjoyed - 'Stolen Lives'. Good read, without having to expend a lot of brain power.

[Celinethesword · Rating 3 out of 5]

on lui a longtemps reproché de plagier 'gone with the wind' mais j'avoue que meme sans ca, le livre est prenant on a du mal a le poser et c'est un tres bon roman d'été a devorer sur la plage. j'aouterai que jusqu;au 5eme episode c'est interessant, apres ca devient un peu toujours la meme chose...

[Maria Carmo · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is well written and plenty of adventure, and I would have given more stars if it weren't such a "pastiche" of "Gone with the wind"! But the Author, in her initial thanks, includes Margaret Mitchell, so maybe the parallel between Scarlet O'Hara and Léa was more than intended, an open intention from the Author, who gets all the characters around Léa to somehow correspond to the "Gone with the wind" characters and the relationship of Lea with her family, with her lovers and with her home house and land mimics exactly the reactions and attachments of Scarlet...

This said, the book is realistic in as much as it portrays the situation of France during the second world war, especially after the invasion by Germany... The suffering of people, the first acceptance by the generality of French of Pétain's Government of Vichy, the slow emergence of a growing resistance - all this is interestingly exposed and makes reading this book quite worthwhile!

I am already starting the second volume (it's s trilogy) and I do not think the Author thanks Margaret Mitchel, but she thanks a number of people, so I will probably not be aware of another "pastiche" unless it is of an author known to me. On the other hand, that might make reading the second volume and possibly the third somewhat less of a "déjà-vue" sensation!

Anyway, a good read!

Maria Carmo,

Lisbon 18 November 2014.

[Olivera Katic · Rating 1 out of 5]

didn't like it 'cause plagiarism of Gone with the wind of Margaret Michells

[Marianna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Avete letto “ Via col vento”? Se la risposta é affermativa evitate questo libro in caso contrario leggete il libro di Margaret Mitchell

[Francesca · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ma stai a scherza'?

[Karen Beavers · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story line was amazing. Set in WWII France after the armistice was signed. A story woven with survival, love and political intrigue. Now want to read more in this series.

[Luna Fidalgo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ce livre a vraiment très mal vieilli

[Julie Rasmine Larsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

“August gik på hæld. Léa, Pierre Delmas’ næstældste datter, som lige var fyldt sytten år, sad med halvt lukkede øjne på den lille stenmur rundt om Montillacs terrasse, der vendte ud mod det åbne land, hvorfra der visse dage steg en havagtig duft af fyrretræer op. Hun sad og balancerede med sine nøgne, solgyldne ben og med fødderne i stribede stofsko. Med hænderne støttet dels mod murværket og dels mod sin krop, lod hun sig helt gribe af den velbehagelige lykkefølelse ved at føle sin hud leve under den lette hvide lærredskjole. Hun sukkede af velvære og strakte sig ud i en langsom bølgebevægelse lige som sin kat Mona, når den vågnede i solskinnet.'”

En duft af Frankrig, en sublim fortælling om lidenskab, krig, kærlighed, ondskab, egoisme og patriotisme. Régine Deforges franske bestseller fra 1982 holder stadig i dag.

Det er næsten umuligt for mig at gengive min læseglæde, da jeg læste Pigen med den blå cykel for første gang. Sproget, stemningen, smagen, duften af Frankrig skinner igennem og kan mærkes fra første sætning i prologen. Men jeg vil forsøge.

I romanen følger vi den unge, lidenskabelige og modige Léa Delmas fra vinslottet Montillac i Bourdeaux og følger hende gennem årene 1939-1942, hvor Frankrig bliver besat. Pigen med den blå cykel er på én gang den ultimative feel-good-bog for frankofile, men den er også en slægtskrønike om familie, arv, gods og det gode ry, det er en barsk og skræmmende førstehåndsberetning om livet før, under og efter slaget om Frankrig, en kærlighedshistorie om ulykkelig, forbudt og passioneret lidenskab, og en politisk beretning om modstandskamp, besættelse og patriotisme. Léa er en nuanceret karakter, som jeg gennem bogen udviklede et had/kærlighedsforhold til. På mange måder er hun forud for sin tid, hun udnytter den opmærksomhed hun får fra landsbyens bejlere, hun er fuldt ud bevidst om sin seksualitet og tøver ikke med at udøve den, også selvom bomberne falder om hovedet på hende: “Hun elskede med en spontanitet og en glad vildskab, som hun ganske givet hverken havde arvet fra sin mor eller lært af damerne i Sacré-Coeur i Bordeaux“. Hun er kløgtig og modig, viljestærk og lader sig ikke kue, hun passer på sin familie og sætter sit eget liv på spil, da besættelsen for alvor kommer til landsbyen, og hun må hjælpe folk omkring sig. Men hun er samtidig også håbløst forelsket i Laurent d’Argilat, hun anerkender ikke Franqois Taverniers følelser for hende og misbruger ham verbalt og fysisk, hun taler før hun tænker, er ofte meget egoistisk og gider ikke snakke om den uundgåelig krig. Fx er hun uforstående overfor sin søsters ulykkelige kærlighed og siger bare: “Når man bliver så grim af at græde, skulle man hellere gå afsides“. Men Léa Delmas er så kompleks en karakter, at man bare ønsker mere. Og heldigvis har Deforges da også produceret yderligere seks bøger i serien om den sensuelle pige fra Bourdeaux.

Régine Deforges døde i 2014 og var ikke kun en succesfuld forfatter, hun var den første kvinde, der ejede og drev sit eget forlag i Frankrig. Pigen med den blå cykel udkom første gang i 1982, og skulle være første bind i en trilogi, der endte med at tælle syv yderligere bøger. De er solgt i millionvis af eksemplarer og i et så stort omfang, at Régine Deforges blev en af de bedst sælgende franske forfattere overhovedet. Pigen med den blå cykel er alene solgt i over 10 millioner eksemplarer! Jeg valgte at læse Pigen med den blå cykel, ikke kun pga. den lokkende bagsidetekst og den tiltrækkende forside fra FREMAD, men fordi jeg havde læst en del om Deforges inden. Jeg beundrer hende, fordi hun var så selvsikker og erotisk en forfatter. I løbet af hendes lange forfatterkarriere nåede hun både at blive censureret og modtage bøder for sine værker, fordi myndigheder fandt dem stødende og krænkende. Men hun fortsatte! Og tak for det. Der er nemlig høj litterær kvalitet i Deforges bøger. Pigen med den blå cykel er æstetisk smukt skrevet, den er gribende, sensuel, romantisk, humoristisk og barsk på samme tid, og så evner hun med sin alvidende fortæller at springe let fra den ene karakters tanker og følelser til den næste på et splitsekund, og uden at det bliver overfladisk. Præsident François Hollande har sagt i et mindeord om forfatterinden, at Deforges “var en oprører, der lidenskabeligt kæmpede feminismens sag og modarbejdede tabuer“. Jeg kan kun tilslutte mig. Régine Deforges forfører sin læser, og jeg planlægger allerede nu en ferie på et vinslot i Sydfrankrig, hvor jeg passende kan læse de sidste seks bind i serien. Til dig kære læser, kan du starte med Pigen med den blå cykel og vil IKKE blive skuffet!

[Sabah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Très long au démarrage et trop proche d'Autant Emporte le vent... j'ai eu beaucoup de mal à rentrer dans le roman, il faut vraiment s'accrocher parce que les 100 dernières pages sont intéressantes.
Léa n'a aucun charme, je n'ai pas du tout aimé son personnage, ni aucun autre personnage du roman d'ailleurs... et c'est peut être ça le soucis, aucun des personnages n'est attachant ou touchant. Et j'ai remarqué ça dans plusieurs romans français... (mais c'est un autre débat ^^)

Je vais continuer à lire parce que je l'ai promis à ma grand mère et parce que je pense, et j'espère, que les prochains tomes ne seront pas des copiers collers bas de gamme d'Autant Emporte le vent...

[Maria Elmvang · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first book of a series that I've heard about for YEARS (since I was 13-14 or so) but never got around to read. A friend of mine owns them, so I thought I should finally give them a shot. They're about a young girl who lives in France during WWII and are actually better than I'd expected. However, they're practically true copies of "Gone with the Wind" which does get pretty annoying...

[Leonor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book, I have read it at least three times. While your reading it, it pretty much seems like a copy of Gone with the Wind, but set in France during World War II, only a bit more spicy.

It is worth a read, specially because it is only the beginning of Léa Delmas (the main character) story, and basically in this volume she goes from being a stubborn little girl into a fierce fiery woman.

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was recommended to me. Apparently it’s the 1st installment of many books by a French author that were translated to English for publication. I guess at the time of publication, this was a “racy” book. The author was sued for plagiarism of Gone With The Wind. She won on appeal. It’s a so-so historical fiction romance set in France during the first few years of WW II. I’d advise you to read something else.

[Madhushree Rc · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read it in High School in 90s. After I read GONE WITH THE WIND, by Margaret Mitchell, I was looking for more similar because that's what that book does to you, you just want more of the same (but there is none!)and I found this.

The writing is not bad.Unfortunately it's just an echo of Gone With The Wind, just set in France and WW2 as the backdrop.
So if you still want to read Gone With the Wind,skip this read GWTW then if you really want more of the same you can give this a go.

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! It's Gone with the Wind' a la francais...instead of the The American Civil war, it's in France during WWII, Tara is a vineyard in Bordeaux, Scarlet is Lea, Rhett is Francois, Ashley is Laurent...and you get the picture. This book only covers until 1942 and just bought 'la suite' and will start reading soon.

[Carrie · Rating 2 out of 5]

french sound of music (excise the whole nun/convent situation and replace w lengthy descriptions of meals and love scenes). Easy read good french-language refresher although lots of specific war vocabulary...Not la grande litterature comme disait une amie francaise, mais quand-meme, c'est un tres bon livre de plage!

[Anne-Constance · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sur les pas de Léa, jeune fille originaire de la région de Bordeaux, au caractère bien trempé. 1939 les allemands envahissent la Pologne marquant le début d'un conflit que beaucoup redoutait. A la suite de Léa, de la zone libre en zone occupée, voici l'histoire d'une jeune fille passionnée pour sa terrre, son pays, son ami Laurent... et que rien n'arrête.

[Dana · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've had this book on my shelf for 5 years and I cannot get through it. I'm really trying now, but. . .hélas! I bought it thinking that it would be good to keep reading in French after my year abroad - I should have picked something that wasn't so poorly-written!

[Dennis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book seems to be a World War II adaptation of "Gone With the Wind." However, the French loved it since it has sold more than 5,000,000 copies. I almost expected Mammy to appear and say, "A young lady eats like a bird, not like a field hand."