La Gloire de mon père is a book written by Marcel Pagnol (1895-1974) and published in 1957 as part of a four-volume series entitled Souvenirs d'enfance. At that time, Pagnol is already a famous screenwriter and movie director and decides to write about his childhood memories.

In the first volume, the narrator describes his childhood in Aubagne and Marseille and focuses on his family vacations in the small neighboring village of La Treille. The story digresses and is filled with anecdotes, as funny as they are tender, in the tradition of the Provençal storyteller, lou galejaire, which exaggerates the facts, makes do with reality and dramatizes everything! Pagnol also draws a gallery of colorful portraits, restores the particular context of rural France at that time and delves into the quintessential and picturesque Provence with its lively charm, sunny landscapes and refreshing characters.

The book is as funny as it is tender, but it is also the description of a disenchantment, of the end of childhood when the narrator perceives his father with more authenticity. From a father glorified because he is simply a father, the narrator ultimately glorifies him because he is fallible and human. Since its publication, La Gloire de mon père continues to be read and appreciated as a classic book!

We read this book in the winter of 2020.