Pourquoi ne s’amuse-t-on jamais en lisant de la SF en français? (French panel)

Why we never have fun when we read  French SF? with Alain Ducharme, Christian Sauvé, Alamo St-Jean, Benoît Girard

On this panel, the discussion was about how difficult is it to find humor in French SF novels and how difficult is it to write such novels.

First, humor is culturally different if you live in France, Africa or North America. Even if you write in French, people from Paris won’t laugh for the same thing than French Canadian.

Second, the language structure is not the same than English. For example, the translation of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy was a real challenge for the translator Jean Bonnefoy (he complains all along the preface of the book). French writers cannot do humor the same way than English writers.

Third, it’s hard to find a writer skilled enough to make a humorous novel even in non-SF novel.

At last, it is hard to find such novel to be published or translated.

If you find such novel, write us and we will read it happily!