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Je n'ai pas tendance à aimer les préquelles, mais comme cela figurait dans le coffret de la trilogie originale Tripods, j'ai pensé lui donner une chance.

Dans la préface, John Christopher, l'auteur, explique quelques-unes des raisons qui l'ont poussé à écrire ce préquel. Les deux principales sont :

il était mécontent de la façon dont la BBC s'était si éloignée de son histoire originale dans son adaptation télévisée dans laquelle ils étaient restés plus ou moins fidèles au premier tome pendant la première moitié de la série 1, avant de prendre des libertés croissantes et d'arriver sur un tout autre chemin pendant la saison etet demie restante avant qu'ils n'annule la série.

Il avait reçu des critiques de la part des scientifiques lors de cette émission de la BBC, portant essentiellement sur son manque d'imagination en ce qui concerne la technologie infrarouge, qui n'en était qu'à ses débuts dans les années 1960 lorsqu'il écrivait la trilogie ; ne prévoyant pas la croissance et l'utilisation quotidienne d'ici le milieu des années 1980, mais son existence possible à la fin du 21e siècle.

Il a donc écrit ce prequel pour répondre aux critiques, mais aussi pour se plonger dans le passé de la trilogie, en nous racontant les premiers jours où les Tripodes sont venus conquérir la Terre et les humains qui l'habitent.

Tout comme la trilogie, le prequel est écrit à la première personne. Le narrateur est Laurence, le plus souvent appelé Laurie, qui partage quelques traits de caractère avec Will Parker, mais présente suffisamment de différences de style et de personnalité pour qu'il ne soit pas une simple copie littéraire, ce qui est une bonne chose.

J'ai trouvé que même si les préquelles ne sont pas toujours nécessaires, celle-ci était plutôt bien écrite, avec un niveau de complexité croissant - dans les limites d'un roman de science-fiction pour jeunes adultes des années 1980. Ce n’est pas une grande œuvre littéraire, et ce n’est pas censé l’être. Bien qu'elle fasse un meilleur travail en donnant des noms beaucoup moins révélateurs que celui de Will Parker et de la bataille pour le libre arbitre et la libre pensée de la trilogie originale de 1967-68, l'histoire elle-même ne cache rien et utilise très peu de métaphores. dans sa composition.

Les thèmes principaux de cette série de livres portent sur la liberté de pensée et de corps de l'homme ; dans ce prequel, les notions sont également répétées et nous pouvons voir que les éléments sociaux et les peurs des années 60 s'étaient encore accrus dans les années 80 ; Ainsi, les représentations des dangers des libertés humaines supprimées par la subversion et le conditionnement - à travers le chapeau et le culte des trépieds qui se développent lentement mais sûrement dans cette préquelle à travers la télévision et un nombre croissant d'obstacles et de limitations importants pour les humains - deviendraient la norme. élément important de l’adoration absolue que les humains ont envers leurs maîtres dans la trilogie originale.

Le récit se développe de manière organique, basé sur quelques lignes de la trilogie, comme un moyen de raconter une histoire et de revenir en arrière sur ces quelques phrases clés de l'œuvre précédente, et en cela, John Christopher parvient plutôt bien à développer des intrigues plausibles, malgré des intrigues faciles. de faire des parallèles et des conclusions possibles assez évidentes de l'histoire, et a choisi judicieusement de la terminer après seulement 151 pages, car la traîner aurait probablement été une énorme erreur.

Dans l'ensemble, lorsque les trépieds sont arrivés, il développe les faits connus de la trilogie originale, tout en donnant quelques nouveaux éléments et j'aime les explications causales directes ainsi que les diverses différences dans les personnages et l'histoire.

J'aime que malgré le fait que les principaux protagonistes soient des adolescents, il y a quelques lignes vers la fin où les personnages féminins ont leur mot à dire et ne sont pas diminués parce qu'ils se sont défendus.

Mes plus grands scrupules concernent certains dialogues concernant les animaux, mais je dois accepter le contexte de l'écriture de 1988 - même si cela montre un peu de spécisme.

I don't tend to like prequels, but as this came in the boxed-set of the original Tripods trilogy, I thought to give it a chance.

In the preface, John Christopher, the author, explains a few of the reasons which lead him to write this prequel. the main two are :

he was unhappy with the way the BBC had veered so far away from his original story in their tv-adaptation in which they remained more or less faithful to the first book during the first half of series 1, before they took increasing liberties and to arrive to a whole different path during the remain series and a half before they pulled off the plug on the show He had received critics from scientists during this BBC show, pertaining, basically, to his lack of imagination in regards to the infrared technology, which was only its beginnings in the 1960's when he wrote the trilogy ; not foreseeing the growth and daily use by the mid 1980's, yet along its possible existence in the late 21st century. So, he wrote this prequel as an answer to the critics, and also to peer into the past of the trilogy's setting, by giving us the earliest days when the tripods came to conquer Earth and the humans inhabiting it.

Just like the trilogy, the prequel is written in the first person. The narrator is Laurence, most often referred to as Laurie, who shares a few character traits with Will Parker, but has enough differences in style and personality that he isn't a mere literary copy, which is a good thing.

I found that though prequels aren't always necessary, this one was rather well written, with an increasing level of complexity - within the limits of a young adult, 1980's science-fiction novel. It's not a great literary oeuvre, nor is it supposed to be. Although it does a better job giving names that are far less revealing than that of Will Parker and the battle for free-will and free-thinking of the original 1967-68 trilogy, the story itself doesn't hide anything and uses very few metaphors in its composition.

The main themes in this book series are about human's freedom of thought and of body ; in this prequel, the notions are also repeated and we can see that the social elements and fears of the 60's had grown even further by the 80's ; so depictions of the dangers of human freedoms being taken away by subversion and conditioning - through the cap and the cult of the tripods that grows slowly but surely in this prequel through TV and an increasing number of hurdles and limitations important to humans, would become the prominent element of absolute adoration humans have towards their masters in the original trilogy.

The narrative grows organically, based on a few lines from the trilogy, as a way of story telling and back-tracking those few key phrases from the earlier work, and in this, John Christopher manages rather well, to develop plausible plots, despite easy to make parallels and the rather evident possible conclusions the story, and chose wisely to end it after a mere 151 pages as dragging it would've probably been a huge mistake.

Overall, when the tripods came expands on known facts from the original trilogy, while giving a few new elements and I like the direct causal explanations as well as the various differences in characters and story.

I like that despite the fact the main protagonists are teen boys, there are a few lines towards the end where female characters get their say and aren't diminished because they stood up for themselves.

My biggest qualms are some of the dialogues regarding animals, but have to accept the context of 1988's writing - even if it shows a bit of speciesism.

Jinn & Phylisse took vacations ... in space. They discover a manuscript in a drifting bottle ... they read the story of the adventures of Ulysse Mérou, professor Antelle and Arthur Levain, who departed in the year 2500, in their spaceship from Earth in the direction of supergiant Betelgeuse.

They discover towns, houses, forests ... would that be a sister to planet Earth? Almost, since here the monkeys reign supreme and men living in a wild state...

Pierre Boule denounces, through this fantastic classic novel, many abuses of humans on earth. He apparently imagined the story during a visit to the zoo, wondering if Darwinian evolution was reversed ... promoting intellect in apes, leaving humans completely backword...

At times, this novel is difficult to read because of some horrific descriptions - precisely, human deprivations. But it must be read, I think, so that everyone grasps the scope of the horror.

I liked the style and the division into 3 parts, and each further divided into chapters for a fast , easy and relatively continuous reading. I also enjoyed the double end of the novel, and messages throughout the story ...

This beautifully illustrated book's about women artists, a topic which is often forgotten, just like these women themselves. In our modern culture, knowledge about women have been generally set aside in favor of men and that is true not only for artists but also scientists, poets and writers, or just about any other job one can think off.

Things did change, somewhat, but the general consensus remains male-focused in a patriarchal world.

The aim of this book isn't exhaustiveness in listing ALL the women artists in the entire world and in the entire history as that would take many volumes.

The aim, therefore, is to awaken curiosity and to nudge the reader to find out more information about the various artists the author chose to discuss and showcase their art, or to search other names.

Indeed, the book in divided into 7 chapters, each concentrating on a period such as the renaissance, followed by the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, whilst the 20th in which many more women had broader access to the arts receives 2 chapters, one for the early part, and one for the mid century to mid 1980's.

The book's last chapter discusses new currents, followed by notes, a selected bibliography, acknowledgements and an index.

Nancy G. Heller evokes biographical insights into various women artists in Europe & North America, and proposes a quick overview of their artistic styles.

210 illustrations enrich the chapters, and 150 of them are in full color.

I loved the first 5 chapters, and I simply skimmed through the last two, because I do not like at all the artistic trends of the 1950's to 1980's, from Abstract Expressionism created after World war II, or the new currents of the 80's, which I personally find un-aesthetic.

In whole, the book meets its objectives, in my opinion, and I highly recommend reading it because the subject is so important and it's time to learn more about all these women artists.

I scored 8/10, because I wanted some small illustrations larger and I do not agree with the ultra-positive review of works of art that I didn't feel aesthetically pleasing.

Pour une fois, ce n'est pas Christopher Tolkien qui attire notre attention sur une œuvre fantasty jusqu'alors inconnue de son père J.R.R. Tolkien. Celui-ci vient de Verylyn Flieger, qui édite et commente The Story of Kullervo.

Elle nous raconte le processus que JRR avait lu la traduction anglaise du Kalevala de 1907 au cours de sa dernière année à la King Edwards School de Birmingham, en 1910-11. Peu de temps après - en 1911 - il empruntait un livre sur la grammaire finlandaise, souhaitant lire l'histoire dans sa langue originale - et arriva à la conclusion que la traduction de W.F Kirby était médiocre - même si Tolkien avouerait qu'il avait également des difficultés à apprendre le finnois.

Néanmoins, il a compris le lien entre l'histoire et le langage et a été profondément influencé dans son inspiration à la fois dans l'invention/création de ses propres langages et dans la narration.

Comme le souligne Verlyn Flieger, il est très difficile de dater précisément la composition de cette histoire, qui se situe entre 1912 au plus tôt (en suivant la séquence qui vient d'être évoquée) et se termine au plus tard en 1916, lorsque Tolkien est affecté en France pour son service militaire en Première Guerre mondiale.

Peut-être que la composition principale peut être supposée en 1914 - comme pourrait le suggérer sa lettre à sa fiancée de l'époque, Edith Bratt, en octobre de la même année.

D'une certaine manière, cette (courte) Story of Kullervo est une fanfiction et une tentative de réécriture. En effet, ce personnage du Kalevala où, dans la compilation d'Elias Lönnrot de 1835 d'histoires finlandaises (qu'il a lu dans la traduction), et qui semble avoir mélangé plusieurs sources, est déjà une triste histoire, mais dans la main de Tolkien, prend une dimension plus sombre, même tragique, et tourne au désastre absolu.

Kullervo, fils de Kalervo, est à quelques générations d'un cygne (influences de l'animisme dans l'histoire originale). Il devient orphelin après l'assassinat de son père et l'enlèvement de sa mère ; il est également vendu comme esclave, détesté par sa nouvelle famille, grandit de mauvaise humeur et en quête de vengeance...

En revanche, il possède quelques capacités et protections : il apprend la magie auprès de son gardien, le chien noir Musti. Il a hérité d'un couteau de son père, et bien qu'il soit généralement seul, l'amour de sa sœur jumelle, Wanona, l'aide à apaiser sa vie – seulement pour un moment.

Tolkien a déclaré que cette histoire était « le germe de ma tentative d’écrire mes propres légendes » et « un sujet majeur dans les légendes du Premier Âge ». Le malheureux Kullervo de Tolkien est un garçon orphelin et malchanceux doté de pouvoirs surnaturels et d'un destin tragique ; il peut facilement être considéré comme un ancêtre évident de Túrin Turambar, héros tragique et incestueux du Silmarillion, également raconté plus en détail dans les Enfants de Húrin (Children of Húrin, dans la VO)

L'Histoire de Kullervo – publiée pour la première fois avec les brouillons, les notes et les essais de l'auteur sur son œuvre source, Le Kalevala – est une pierre angulaire de la structure du monde inventé de Tolkien et de ce qui allait devenir ce que l'on appelle son Légendarium. .

En le lisant, nous voyons le passage d'une narration et d'une combinaison d'histoires en un seul récit (au lieu de la version mélangée de Lönnrot), utilisant d'abord les noms originaux, puis les siens, nouvellement inventés - sur place ? - des noms pour ces personnages, au fur et à mesure qu'ils interagissent et grandissent, à mesure que le mélange d'histoire épique et de longues séquences de poèmes dévoile ce conte - avant qu'il ne soit brusquement coupé, suivi seulement de brouillons de synopsis de l'intrigue (voir pages 45-47 de ce livre), ses idées sur la façon dont il voulait poursuivre et terminer l'histoire - à l'image de nombreuses pièces inachevées de l'Histoire de la Terre du Milieu. (sur ses 12 volumes + index dans les éditions Anglophones, seuls les volumes 1 à 5 existent en Français, à ce jour, en début 2024).

En raison de l'inceste accidentel et de certains éléments, Kullervo n'est en aucun cas un conte joyeux ou facile à lire - en fait, son destin épique et déastreux se profile du début à la fin abrupte et inachevée, ce qui en fait une pilule difficile et peut avoir certains déclencheurs. (Je les partagerai ci-dessous la table des matières suivante et mes commentaires à leur sujet).

page. vi a une liste de planches (il y en a 6) p. vii est un avant, et ix à xxii l'introduction. Tous deux par Verlyn Flieger, donnant l'histoire des premières expériences de Kullervo et de Tolkien avec le Kalevala, mais aussi la première influence qu'il a eu sur le Qenya, qui donnera finalement naissance à la langue elfique plus complète, le Quenya. Le conte lui-même, Kullervo, s'étend de la p.1 à la page 40. Suivi de Liste de noms p. 41-44 (y compris les planches) ; Projets de synopsis de l'intrigue (45-47) ; Notes et commentaires (toujours par V. Flieger), donnant des références aux pages et aux lignes qu'elle explique, au lieu d'utiliser des chiffres, elle ne voulait pas interrompraient le flux de la lecture. Introduction aux essais, p. 63-65. Les essais eux-mêmes sont tous deux de Tolkien et utilisés pour des exposés (conférences) qu'il donnera plus tard, en novembre 1914, en février 1915 pour le premier essai et à une date moins déterminée pour le second, mais l'armistice de novembre 1918 après la Première Guerre mondiale doit être supposé - sur la base d'une référence à «la dernière guerre» dans le texte.

Ainsi,

le premier essai est On the Kalevala, or Land of Heroes, que l'on peut traduit comme : Sur le Kalevala, ou pays des héros, (p.67-89) + notes et commentaires de Verlyn (p.91-98) et le second s'intitule simplement The Kalevala (p.99-125) + Notes et commentaires de Verlyn (p.127-131), je trouve que la plupart des textes de ces deux essais sont très similaires, et j'ai pu accélérer mon rythme à cause de toutes les portions identiques.

Le livre se termine par Tolkien, Kalevala et l'histoire de Kullervo, de Verlyn Flieger (p. 133-164) et Bibliographie (p.165-168).

Je fini cette critique par les sujets trigger :

Outre l'inceste accidentel, des mentions de meurtres et suicide

For a change, it's not Christopher Tolkien who brings our attention to a previously unknown work of fantasy by his J.R.R. Tolkien. This one comes from Verylyn Flieger, editing and commenting The Story of Kullervo.

As she tells us about the process, JRR had read the 1907 English translation of the Kalevala during his last year at King Edwards School in Birmingham, in 1910-11. Shortly thereafter - in 1911 - he burrowed a book on Finnish Grammar, wishing to read the story in its original language - and arrived at the conclusion that W.F Kirby's translation was poor - though Tolkien would confess that he also had difficulties learning Finnish.

Nonetheless, he understood the connection between story and language, and deeply influenced his inspiration both in inventing/creating his own languages and towards storytelling.

As Verlyn Flieger points out, it's very difficult to pin-point this story's composition, set between 1912 at the earliest possible (following the sequence just mentioned), and finishing no later than 1916, when Tolkien was posted in France for his military service in WW1. Perhaps the core composition can be ascertained in 1914 - as per his letter to his then-fiancé Edith Bratt in October of that year might suggest.

In a way, this (short) Story of Kullervo is a fanfic and re-writing attempt. Indeed, this character from the Kalevala where, in Elias Lönnrot 1835 compilation of Finnish stories (that he read in the translation), and which seems to have mixed-up several sources, is already a sad tale, but in Tolkien's hand, takes a darker, even tragic, turn for absolute doom.

Kullervo son of Kalervo is a couple generations down from a swan (animism influences in the original story). He is orphaned after his father's murdered and his mother's abducted ; he is also sold into slavery, hated by his new family, grows in ill-temper and on a quest of vengeance... On the other hand, he has some abilities and protections : he learns magic from his guardian, the black dog Musti. He inherited a knife from his father, and though he's generally alone, the love from his twin sister, Wanona, helps sooth his life - only for a bit. Tolkien said this story was ‘the germ of my attempt to write legends of my own’, and ‘a major matter in the legends of the First Age’. Tolkien’s hapless Kullervo is a luckless, orphan boy with supernatural powers and a tragic destiny ; he can easily be seen as a clear ancestor of Túrin Turambar, tragic incestuous hero of The Silmarillion, also told in fuller in the Children of Hurin.

The Story of Kullervo – published for the first time with the author’s drafts, notes and lecture-essays on its source-work, The Kalevala – is a foundational stone in the structure of Tolkien’s invented world and what would become what is known as his Legendarium.

In reading it, we see the shift from a retelling and combining stories into a single narrative (instead of the mixed-up Lönnrot version), first using the original names, into his own, newly invented - on the spot? - names for these characters, as they interact and grow, as the mixture of epic story and long stretches of poems unravels this tale - before it is abruptly cut, only followed by draft plot synopses (see pages 45-47 in this book), his ideas on how he wanted to pursue and finish the story - much in the image of many unfinished pieces in History of Middle-Earth would have.

Because of the accidental incest and some material, Kullervo is by no means a happy or easy tale to read - in fact, its epic doom looms from start to the abrupt un-finished-end, makes it a tough pill and may have some triggers (I'll share them bellow the following table of content and my comments about them).

P. vi has a list of plates (there are 6 of them)

p. vii is a forward, and ix to xxii the introduction. Both by Verlyn Flieger, giving the backstory of Kullervo and Tolkien's first experiences of the Kalevala, but also the earliest influenced it had on the Qenya, which would give, eventually, birth to the fuller elvish language, Quenya.

The tale itself, Kullervo, runs from p.1 - 40.

Followed by List of Names p. 41-44 (including plates) ; Draft plot synopses (45-47) ; Notes and commentary (again by V. Flieger), giving references to the pages and lines she explains, instead of using numbers, she felt would interrupt the flow of reading.

Introduction to the essays, p. 63-65.

The essays themselves are both by Tolkien, and used for talks (conferences) he'd give later on, in November 1914, February 1915 for the first essay, and a less determined date for the second, but post WW1 Armistice of November 1918 must be assumed - based on a reference 'the late war' within the text.

Thus,

the first essay is On the Kalevala, or Land of Heroes (p.67-89) + Verlyn's notes and commentary (p.91-98) and the second is simply called The Kalevala (p.99-125) + Verlyn's notes and commentary (p.127-131), I find most of the texts in these two essays to be very similar, and I was able to hasten my pace because of all the identical portions. The book ends with Tolkien, Kalevala and the Story of Kullervo, by Verlyn Flieger (p. 133-164) and Bibliography (p.165-168)

I end this review with the trigger topics:

Besides accidental incest, mentions of murder and suicide

Original title (spanish) : Un paseo por el cosmos

Also: Vianney Aubert (French adaptation); Magali Mangin (Translation); Alain Bouquet (scientific proofreading); Tiphaine Diaconu (correction)

4th book finished in January (2024) but only pages 36-154 were read this month (details at the end).

Completed the 'Incognito' challenge (cover without characters) at LucieBulle.

Science book - Astronomy. See at the end and in key words, the associated tags.

Before starting my review, I will copy - then comment on - the back cover, which might cause confusion.

"Over the last few decades, scientific observations have apparently detected the presence in the cosmos of a new category of matter. Described as "black", because it is very difficult to detect, it is much more abundant than its ordinary counterpart. With the no less mysterious “dark energy”, it represents 95% of the total content of the cosmos. Its density is such that it conditions the future of the entire Universe. Research carried out to identify its nature promises to open new horizons to our understanding of reality."

First, scientists have not actually detected the presence of either dark matter or dark energy. In fact, the book is about the research to find what they suppose represents them.

Second, the 95% does not correspond to dark matter, but to its combined value with that of dark energy.

I now move on to details/critique:

The book traces the history of discoveries and theories which led to the supposition that the known matter in our universe is ultimately only a tiny part, or 5% of the total, while the rest is made up of 27% of matter black and 68% black energy.

In detail, the book begins, pages 5-6, with Hubert Reeves' preface to the collection Voyage Dans le Cosmos, which includes this work.

Followed by an Introduction (p. 9-12),

Then, chapter 1 (p.13) ""à la découverte de la matière noire" discusses the mass of the Earth, how it was determined; the discoveries of Newton in 1665 (law of gravitation), the questions of planetary orbits, and how we "weigh" the sun and galaxies, up to the research of Vera Rubin and Kent Ford, in the 1960s and 70s .

In chapter 2 (p.37) "des expériences cosmiques" discusses the modification of Newton's law, goes through the theory of relativity and as Einstein himself modified it, the curvature of space-time which makes it part, gravitational lenses and their role in astronomical research.

Chapter 3 (p.59)"la trace de l'invisible dans les reliques du Big Bang" bounces back and continues the previous subjects, putting them in the light of the Big Bang, of primordial nucleosynthesis - that is to say the syntheses of atomic nuclei, in a period which goes from the Big Bang to the first 380,000 years of our universe.

We continue with the discovery, in 1969, of the irregularity in the cosmic diffuse background.

This chapter also talks about the 'sound' of the early Universe and how researchers used the sound spectrum to track evolution and an oscillation period of 760,000 years.

The 4th chapter (p.93) "la nature de la matière noire : à la recherche de la particule X" This chapter uses the analogy of a criminal investigation and how scientists develop the supposed criteria for dark matter, and ends with an overview of the research and tools used for this purpose.

Finally, chapter 5 (p.127-154) "l'énergie noire et le destin de l'Univers" explains a little more the stretching of galaxies - part of the expansion of the universe - and compares the approaches at the age that we gave it before 1998 and the discoveries which led to the various new theories - those of dark matter and energy - and what age we obtain with the formulas which result from the suspected presence of these "new things". We go from 12 billion years if dark matter and energy do not exist (but with a major problem: it is also the age of the oldest known stars, which would be illogical) to 13.8 billions if we assume these existences.

The chapter ends with theories of the future of our Universe - according to still unknown variables - and this results in 3 possibilities (increasingly rapid extension, with a preponderance of dark energy), or, if it does not exist not, we will either slow down but the extension continues, or, slow down until the Big Crunch, the collapse of the Universe.

And the very last discussion covers the theory of the Multiverse, the multiple universes.

The whole thing is illustrated with mathematical formulas, generally simplified/shortened if necessary, spatial figures and photographs; as well as boxes giving short biographies (see the tags at the bottom) or even on specific tools.

The last stages of the book, especially scientific, are recommended readings (p.155) and Index (p. 157-159)

Tags: * Popular works (except that I think it is relatively advanced, and nevertheless contains jargon necessarily accessible to neophytes) * Universe * Rubin, Vera (1928-2016) * Einstein, Albert (1879-1955) * Newton, Isaac (1642-1727) * Science * Nonfiction * Big Bang * Dark Matter * Dark energy * Gravitational lenses * Nucleosynthesis * Scientific research

I said I read pages 36-154 in January 2024. I actually started this work on 10/10/2023 (up to page 12), then December 27 (up to p.36)

4e livre terminé en Janvier (2024) mais, seules les pages 36-154 étaient lues ce mois (détails à la fin).

Accompli le défi 'Incognito' (couverture sans personnage) chez LucieBulle.

Livre de science - Astronomie. Voir à la fin et en mots clé, les tag associés.

Deux précisions, comme la 4ème de couverture (en description) peut prêter à confusion.

Primo, les scientifiques n'ont pas réélement détécté la présence, ni de la matière noire, ni de l'energie noire. En fait, le livre parle des recherches pour trouver ce qu'ils supposent les représenter.

Deuxio, les 95% ne correspondent pas à la matière noire, mais à sa valeur combinée avec celle de l'énergie noire.

Je passe maintenant aux détails/ critique :

Le livre retrace l'histoire des découvertes et théories qui ont menées à la supposition que la matière connue dans notre univers n'est finalement qu'une infime partie, soit 5% du total, alors que le reste se compse de 27% de matière noire et 68% d'énergie noire.

Dans le détails, le livre débute, pages 5-6, avec la préface d'Hubert Reeves à la collection Voyage Dans le Cosmos, qui inclu cet ouvrage.

Suivi d'une Introduction (p. 9-12),

Puis, le chapitre 1 (p.13)"à la découverte de la matière noire" discute de la masse de Terre, comment elle fut déterminée ; les découvertes de Newton en 1665 (loi de gravitation), les questions des orbites planétaires, et de comment l'on "pèse" le soleil et des galaxies, jusqu'aux recherches de Vera Rubin et Kent Ford, dans les années 1960-70.

Au chapitre 2 (p.37) "des expériences cosmiques" discute de la modification de la loi de Newton, passe par la théorie de la relativité et comme Einstein la modifia lui-même, la coubure de l'espace-temps qui en fait partie, les lentilles gravitationnelles et leur rôle en recherches astronomiques.

Le chapitre 3 (p.59) "la trace de l'invisible dans les reliques du Big Bang" rebondis et continue les sujets précédents, les mettant à la lumière du Big Bang, de la nucléosynthèse primordiale - c'est à dire les synthèses de noyaux atomiques, dans une période qui va du Big Bang aux 380,000 premières années de notre univers.

On poursuit avec la découverte, en 1969, de l'irrégularité dans le fond diffus cosmique.

Ce chapitre parle aussi du 'son' de l'Univers primodrial et comment les chercheurs ont utilisé le spectre sonore, pour suivre l'évolution et une période d'oscilation de 760,000 années.

le 4e chapitre (p.93) "la nature de la matière noire : à la recherche de la particule X" élargi l'ensemble des notions apprises dans les 3 chapitres précédents, et avance les fondements des théories derière la matière noire, également connue comme 'particule X' tout en précisant que cette X pourrait être une, ou plusieurs, particules, pour combler les connaissances actuelles, et vraisemblament mener vers une nouvelle version de Physique, dépassant tout ce que nous savions avant la découverte espérée de X / matière noire.

Ce chapitre utilise l'analogie d'une enquête criminelle et la façon dont les scientifiques élaborent les critères supposés de la matière noire, et termine par un apperçu des recherches et outils utilisés à cette fin.

Enfin, le chapitre 5 (p.127-154) "l'énergie noire et le destin de l'Univers" explique un peu plus l'étirement des galaxies - faisant partie de l'expansion de l'univers - et compare les approches compte à l'âge qu'on lui donnait avant 1998 et les découvertes qui menèrent aux diverses nouvelles théories - celles de matière et énergie noires - et quel âge on obtient avec les formules qui découlent de la présence suspectée de ces "nouveautés". L'on passe de 12 milliards d'années si matière et énergie noires n'existent pas (mais avec une problématique de taille : c'est aussi l'âge des étoiles les plus vielles connues, ce qui serait illogique) à 13,8 milliards si l'on présume de ces existences.

Le chapitre termine avec les théories de l'avenir de notre Univers - selon des variables encore inconnues - et cela résultat en 3 possibilités (extension de plus en plus rapide, avec une prépondérence d'energie noire), ou, si elle n'existe pas, on va soit ralentir mais l'extension continue, ou encore, ralenti jusqu'au Big Crunch, l'effondrement de l'Univers.

Et la toute dernière discussion couvre la théorie du Multiverse, les multiples univers.

L'ensemble est illustré avec des formules mathématiques, généralement simplifiées/écourtées si besoin, des figures et photographies spatiales ; ainsi que des encadrés donnant de courtes biographies (voyez les tag en bas) ou encore sur des outils spécifiques.

Les dernières étapes du livre, surtout scientifique, sont des lectures recommandées (p.155) et Index (p. 157-159)

Tags : * Ouvrages de vulgarisation (sauf que je pense qu'il est relativement avancé, et contient néanmoins du jargon par forcément accessible aux néophytes) * Univers * Rubin, Vera (1928-2016) * Einstein, Albert (1879-1955) * Newton, Isaac (1642-1727) * Science * NonFiction * Big Bang * Recherche scientifique * Dark matter (Matière noire) * Dark energy (Énergie sombre) * Lentilles gravitationnelles * Nucléosynthèse

Je disais avoir lu les pages 36-154 en ce mois de Janvier 2024. J'avais en fait commencé cet ouvrage le 10/10/2023 (jusqu'à page 12), puis 27 Décembre (jusqu'à la p.36)

Book read as part of "common reading" for October 2023, at LucieBulle's book club. Warning : adult material. This novel was translated into English : The Life Before Us.

Paris, Belleville district, 1970s. Momo, aged ten, lives in a boarding house specially created for kids who were "born crooked", the words he uses for the children of prostitutes, at a time when this was so frowned upon, that public assistance would have intervened to remove all these children and place them elsewhere, especially since Ms. Rosa, the creator of this particular shelter, had also been a prostitute.

She is also a survivor of Auschwitz, and thus, Momo sees her prey to both her traumas, and her failing sick body - which pushes the doctor to want to have her hospitalized, against the wishes of Mrs. Rosa, who doesn't want not become a vegetable, forced to live.

Momo lacks neither philosophical vision, from his young age but his 'great experience', nor humor; However, despite long passages that are very pleasant, even funny, to read, his views of life and the multitude of people, religious and/or cultural barriers, but also the acceptance of different people, depending on the case, there also has passages that are very difficult to read: whether these are actions that Momo did to receive attention, or to take care of the other, younger children, or of Mrs. Rosa, the common point is a number of triggers of the scatophobia (also known as coprophobia), and for me, the complication of emetophobia that comes with it.

So, I had to read it away from meals, and rush through those personally difficult moments to swallow with my eyes. On the other hand, the narrative style, often with very crude dialogue; the built suspense, a child's unique view of the world and the people around him are all well portrayed. Also, the author, via Momo, rather takes the positive side of accepting people who are often marginalized: prostitutes, but also homosexuals and Trans people - but given that the character in the novel is in transition and 'transvestite' I assumes that the term Trans did not exist at the time Gary/Ajar wrote and published this novel.

Certainly, certain words sometimes come back often, while our author with 7 names was able to find original ways to vary and avoid it, this didn't really bother me, given that the narrator is a child. On the other hand, I don't know if children Momo's age would have used certain more complex words, several seemed out of character to me.

I also have some doubts about the approach to obesity: that of Mrs. Rosa is very regularly repeated and sometimes I have the feeling that it was done with denigration, while others that doesn't sound like it to me at all, so it's hard for me to decide.

I wanted to like this novel more than my 5/10, but I have to face the facts: I had too much trouble reading it, and although I liked the ending (very sad, but at the same time fair), I cannot give it any further credit. This novel, as a whole, is well outside my literary habits and comfort zones, it has at least these merits.

The title both caught my eye, while revolting me a little; What do you mean, a man who no longer liked cats?! Why ?! So, when I read the back cover, I said to myself, ah, a dystopian novel, it must just be a metaphor and there won't even be any cats!

Well, hold on: the cats are there, but after a few chapters of introduction to a peaceful town on an island, the narrator announces that they have simply disappeared, for no apparent reason, except the words of a child who tends to lie, or at least exaggerates facts, you know, like the one who cries wolf.

The narrator ultimately addresses Thomas' grandson, the lighthouse keeper, who died before the long-awaited arrival of his children. He tells us about the inhabitants of this island, their jobs, the consensus of their arrival which was voluntary exile from France, but above all, of the sudden disappearance of the cats from this island, and government agents, who insist that the dogs they brought (as replacement) are actually cats.

This is how we see the dystopia part: the attempt to enslave a population by giving them a false need, whether commercial or emotional, and dividing them by those who accept the new narrative of those who are doubtful. We see it very quickly by the same effect that I was able to experience as a person who walked his dog, to whom other people with their own, spoke, and afterwards: I am no longer just a person walking alone, and (since I no longer have a dog) I'm ignored, exactly like in this novel.

Although his style is fluid, it took half the novel to arrive at something that really seemed to take the path of 'Farenheit 451' and '1984', both of which each have a quote at the beginning of the novel. Indeed, in chapter 4, the narrator gives the backstory of Sergei, the village poet-musician, and ends with 'we cannot compare the communist dictatorship with our book world. We couldn't, could we?'. Unfortunately, I feel a bit of a lack, as the sequel and the resolution happen a little too quickly and above all, without any explanation of why, especially not the praise that The Man Who No Longer Loved Cats entered into the lineage of these great dystopian novels...

I find that a bit of a shame, because apart from the philosophical aspect of how close people who know each other well, can change sides more than once depending on the circumstances, we don't have enough information on the causes of the event , nor a real rebellion as in the great dystopias, precisely. Of course, the villagers learn, especially the narrator, but it doesn't have the same magnitude at all and I therefore think it's a bit of an over-sale to announce this lineage, whereas otherwise, the novel is just a dystopia that holds to itself, well composed, but which nevertheless leaves one wanting more, and also misses a fundamental aspect:

the realism in the number of people questioning what is happening is completely absent. Where F451 and 1984 gave movements attempting to bring back the truths hidden by their respective states, here we have a narrator who asks questions, who tries, and who is ultimately detached from a cohesive whole.

Without the comparative hype, this is a novel of good quality and good style, but which lacks narrative bits - I'll go as far to say that it's full of plot-holes. With the hype, this novel disappoints by the too hasty comparison. I warn you.

Also watch out for a passage of a violent attack by a dog, and two small emetophobia triggers.

This short story by Kurt dating from 1962 already imagined a possible solution to the problem of overpopulation, although less serious than today. I warn you, the subject can be triggering.

No future date is given, but, in this story where the society in which aging has been cured, and where a painter is already 200 years old, we can assume minimum around 2150...

Additionally, individuals have an indefinite lifespan and population control is used to limit the population of the United States to forty million.

Here we come to the chilling part, or imagined necessity... Because this number is maintained thanks to a combination of infanticide and government-assisted suicide - via the dedicated service number of the Federal Bureau of Termination - the Bureau Federal Terminations. This number is 2 B R 0 2 B, to be pronounced 2 B R naught 2 B, a pun on the famous quote from Shakespeare, To be or not to be... to be or not to be... with emphasis about “not”.

For someone to be born, someone else must first die voluntarily. As a result, births are rare and deaths occur mainly by accident - or the service one makes an appointment with.

The narrative style is fluid, but, as stated, the subject can be triggering.

Lily Bart, about 29 at the start of the novel, had been orphaned a few years prior, and raised by Julia Peniston, her aunt. Lily is accepted in New York City High Society of Nouveaux-Riches, and courted by several men, whom she refuses to marry, not wishing to settle with any one of them, in her yearning to be free of societal pressures, conventions and expected Rôle.

In this novel, Wharton depicts a complex woman, at the turn of the last century, around 1899-1900, who is torn between her wishes for independent, luxurious lifestyle in the Higher Classes, and societal pressures and expectations for her to marry a rich man to secure her positions, both financially and socially. Lily uses her charms – she is depicted a stunning beauty – but refuses marriage proposals.

In her attempt to safeguard the reputation of a person for whom she has very complicated feelings, she lets ill-founded rumors run against her, finding herself gradually excluded from her Milieu, and experiences the pangs of want, isolation, loneliness, and, though not named but vividly described, depression.

The assumption that the story takes place around 1899-1900 is based on a line in the first chapter, about Grand Central Station, the name of the railroad terminal in NYC given in that period, as it was previously called Grand Central Depot.

Edith Wharton’s novel criticizes the Upper Class, its disdain towards lower classes and its moral double-standards.

I enjoyed the fluid narrative in the omniscient third-person style, limiting dialogues to bare minimum exchanges in key moments. The 29 chapters comprised in its “two books”, or “two periods” in Lily’s life, flow naturally from one to the other, with mini-cliffhanger in some but not all of the shifts between chapters. Wharton uses clever, witty and often poetic wording and phrases, often giving ironic, humorous and dramatic effects to her descriptions, much like the three main communication devises her heroine Lily Bart uses with everyone around her.

I appreciated her characterization and complexity for the persons involved; and the unexpected turns of events in their lives.

The book was at first serialized in Scribner’s Magazine, beginning in January 1905 and had a rapid success – in fact, the highest that Magazine had had before. The House of Mirth was published as a novel on 14th of October 1905 and would later be adapted to a play by Edith Wharton herself, with Clyde Fitch, in 1906 ; a silent film in 1918, under the title La Maison du Brouillard (= The House of Fog), directed by Albert Capellani, featuring Katherine Harris Barrymore as Lily Bart.

It was then presented on radio’s Theatre Guild on the Air, in 1952, starring Joan Fontaine and Franchot Tone ; an episode of Martinee Theatre in 1956 and directed by John Drew Barrymore ; A tv-movie for PBS in 1981, directed by Adrian Hall and starred Geraldine Chaplin ; again into a play in 1995, adapted by Dawn Keele, and a last movie in 2000, directed by Terence Davies, featuring Gillian Anderson as Lily Bart.

The House of Mirth was Wharton’s second full-length novel and ensured her reputation as a major novelist and I can understand the influence she had on American authors.