Le temps des amours (1977)

[master]

   

Fifth grade; the discovery of his poetic "vocation"; Lagneau, the heroic dunce; and, ever-present, Lili, who, along with Marcel, supports Joseph during an epic game of boules...

Announced as "forthcoming" upon the release of *Le Temps des secrets*, *Le Temps des amours* (1977) was delayed by Pagnol, who was preoccupied with other projects and perhaps procrastinated on leaving behind the heroes of his childhood. No one believed it would ever be published until, three years after the writer's death, his family found several completed chapters in his papers which, when pieced together, formed the long-awaited *Le Temps des amours*. More eclectic than the first three volumes, this fourth book nevertheless contains some of Pagnol's finest work, notably a story about the plague in Marseille, a subject particularly dear to the writer.

"It was only much later that I discovered the most surprising effect of my new life: my family, my dear family, was no longer the center of my existence."