The Azerbaijan State Translation Centre (AzSTC) is pleased to announce the publication of “Selected Works” by André Maurois, a prominent French writer, as part of a 150-volume series “Pearls of World Literature.”

The book includes the author’s novel “To an Unknown Lady”, short stories “Tidal Wave”, “Flowers in Season”, “Ariane, My Sister...”, “The Curse of Gold”, “The Will”, “Wednesday's Violets”, “Biography”, “The Birth of a Master”, as well as essays and literary portraits about well-known writers “An Art of Living”, “From Aragon to Montherlant”, “Marcel Proust”, “Voltaire”, “Anatole France.”

The authors of the translation are notable literary translators Hamlet Goja, Mahir N. Garayev and Nariman Abdulrahmanly.

The book is preceded by the author’s valuable aphorisms related to life, optimism, pessimism, reading, and the profession of a writer.

ANDRE MAUROIS:

“I am an optimist because I believe it is possible to do something on earth to improve my own life and in a broader sense the life of humankind....”

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“My optimism is only as follows: I have always believed and still believe that we to a certain extent are capable of influencing events and, despite all our efforts, we have to weather adversity, we can triumph over it if we bear it worthily...” 

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“Pessimism is contagious. If I think that my neighbour is dishonest, and treat him with distrust, he will be so because of my fault. To instil hope in people, not fear, this is the secret of ancient sages...”

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“How should one read a book? If a book captures us, then at first we read it quickly and enthusiastically. We just flip the pages. But in the future (and a good book is read and re-read many times) you need to read with a pencil or feather in your hand. Nothing forms the taste and fidelity of judgements so much as the habit of writing out a passage you like or marking a deep thought. “You need to give yourself a promise not to miss anything when reading writers you truly appreciate. Anyone who skips long descriptions of streets or houses in Balzac's books cannot be considered his true connoisseur....”

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“How does the novelist know that the plot he needs has been found? And here's how: if, thinking it over, he experiences excitement. If the topic touches the sensitive strings of his soul and evokes painful or intoxicating memories, there is a chance that the future book will turn out to be excellent ... the events of the novel should have an indirect relevance to the writer's own life. If you want to write a novel, don't tell the story of your life in it unchanged. Tell about a fate close to yours, this will allow you to express your feelings and at the same time preserve the illusion that a mask is covering you...”

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“Poetry is an excitement that is remembered in peace. If you've just lost a loved one, don't dive in romance. The wound is still bleeding, it needs to be bandaged, not reopened…”

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“How many works, how many books are declared masterpieces by publishing houses or literary associations, but within half a year they are completely forgotten! Let's not overload our memory. Let's wait a bit, carefully observe the abundance of books in the world and try to choose a friend among them....”

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“A woman can be a thing or an individual.”

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“She is an individual if she retains independence from the man she loves, and if she is independent in her views and plans, she is the mistress of her body and thoughts.”

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“She is a thing if she allows herself to be treated as a thing, albeit beautiful and precious, but still without a will of her own, submissive to the desires and whims of her master, similar to a delicious dish that is served when the hunt comes...”

Copies of the edition are available at the bookstores below:

‘Libraff’

‘Kitabevim.az’

‘Akademkitab’

‘Akademiya’ Book House

‘Baku Book Center’

‘BookZone’Book House

‘Chiraq’ Book House

‘Chinar’Book House

Book House of the Presidential Administration of the Azerbaijan Republic

Sales kiosk of Azerbaijan University of Languages.