An 1885 French novel suggested by a friend about an opportunistic young man hustling his way through life in France eventually profiting from the war in Morocco. Very lengthy as novels at that time were.
I found this one as an ebook and as I haven't seen the movie, I thought I should give it a try. It turned out to be just as captivating as a film. The prose is soft and beautiful and produces so many different emotions. In 19th century traditional French countryside, we see how women's lack of choice led to the decline of an aristocratic lady who can't but remain passive while her life progressively worsens.