Having coffee and reading the first love story of the French writer Agnès Martin-Lugand in Brusov (Yerevan State Institute of Foreign Languages) (photos)

The book “Happy People Read and Drink Coffee” has been a huge success since its publication in 2013 and over the last 10 years. The book is about the great loss, grief, and agony of a young French woman who lost her husband and daughter in a car accident. It has been translated into 35 languages and sold more than 5 million copies worldwide.

The novel " Happy People Read and Drink Coffee" was translated into Armenian by Francophone journalist Hasmik Arakelyan. Years later, she returned to her native university and presented the book to students and faculty members.

Bagrat Avetisyan, Ph.D. in linguistics, lecturer at the Department of World Literature and Civilizations, recently got acquainted with the story of a young woman who overcomes grief and returns to life. A few days before the event, he especially read the novel to examine the style and handwriting of the French modern writer under the magnifying glass of a specialist.

"This was an unplanned reading for me, and as it always happens in such cases, it was full of pleasant and surprises. This novel is not distinguished by the complex structural solutions that are typical of classic novels but instead has an absorbing plot with interesting characters, where the action develops at a rapid pace, like episodes of a movie. This circumstance immediately opens its doors to the reader and attracts its audience like an interesting movie."

Davit Gyurjinyan, the Rector of the university, Artak Aleksanyan, the CEO of Newmag, experts from the university, the translator of the book, and a psychologist gave speeches during the event. Davit Gyurjinyan was also familiar with the novel "Happy People Read and Drink Coffee" beforehand and noted that he took the book in his hands from the beginning to familiarize himself with the first few pages, but he fell into the author's "trap" and read it in one breath.

Citing the work of a former student of his, he encouraged students studying French to try their hand at translation. The cooperation between Hasmik Arakelyan, the translator of this European bestseller, and Newmag began 5 years ago when the publishing house started translating Charles Aznavour's books.

Artak Aleksanyan, director of Newmag, who was present at the discussion, emphasized that the publishing house is open to cooperation, noting that the editorial office had a precedent when students, under the supervision of their professor, jointly translated a book, which was published and considered as a gift for university graduation.

Referring to the selection of Agnès Martin-Lugand's novel, Artak Aleksanyan emphasized that French literature is at the center of the publishing house's attention. Newmag created the only Francofest in Armenia, which was completely dedicated to French literature. Newmag chooses what is in demand of the day and time, what today's French reads. The novel "Happy People Read and Drink Coffee" is written in modern French vocabulary.

The author of the book sent a video message from France, especially for Brusov's meeting, and stated how important the Armenian translation of her novel was because her career as a novelist began with this book. "Our countries have good relations, and day by day I am more and more interested in your country, your history, and what you are going through. This novel, in turn, became another bridge between me and you. I was very happy when I learned that students in Armenia study French. I think yes, maybe it's a bit difficult to learn French. The more you work, the more you read, the deeper you will discover the nuances of our language, which are not always easily given”.

After working as a clinical psychologist in the child protection field, Agnès Martin-Lugand decided to devote herself fully to writing. Today, she is one of the most-read authors in France and beyond.

Hasmik Arakelyan, the translator of the book, emphasized that Agnès has delicate handwriting, which allows her to create characters that quickly become close to the reader's heart. She represents such reefs of human experiences, which some may not only not talk about, but also not admit to themselves.

"Agnès Martin-Lugand is a writer who talks about complex phenomena in simple terms. Many readers in Armenia should get to know her and her books. When there is an opportunity to invite Agnès to Armenia, we will accompany her to Brusov University as well."

The students read excerpts from the novel both in Armenian and in French, and at the end of the event, shared their expectation to have meetings with Newmag on other occasions as well.

The translator studied at Bryusov University. The discussion of the book took place in a crowded hall, the warm discussion lasted longer than expected. With such meetings, the university encourages young people to learn French and try their hand at the translation world, especially in very rich French literature.