The best books by Werber Bernard: description and reviews.

(Fr. Bernard Werber) Modern French writer. Started writing at the age of seven. At the university he studied law, specialized in forensic science in order to search for topics for future detectives. In 1982 he entered higher school journalism. It was at this time that he discovered Isaac Asimov, Philip Dick and Frank Herbert - writers who largely shaped his worldview, prompting him to turn to the genre that was traditionally considered the domain of the British, combining elements of science fiction, adventure novel and philosophical essay. In 1983, he received the News Foundation Award as the best young reporter for a report on a certain species of ants that live on the Shore. Ivory. Then for 7 years he worked in the journal "Nouvel Observator" - he wrote articles on scientific and near-scientific topics: about space, medicine, artificial intelligence, sociology and others. Fed up with journalism, he entered higher courses screenwriters. The first book in the trilogy about ants, The Ants, which Werber began composing at the age of 16, was published in 1991, instantly making the writer famous. True, the path to success turned out to be thorny: for six years, Werber knocked on the thresholds of editorial offices and was refused everywhere, even the Alban Michel publishing house, before accepting the manuscript, rejected it twice. Despite the reader's success, the debut was ignored by critics. The situation changed somewhat after the release a year later of the continuation of "Day of the Ants", translated into 33 languages and received the Grand Prix of the readers of the magazine "Elle". Appeared even computer game about how ants build a parallel civilization. Later, the final cycle of the trilogy appeared - "Ant Revolution" (1996). In 1993, Werber publishes The Encyclopedia of Relative and Absolute Knowledge, in which scientific information mixed with fiction, physics with metaphysics, mathematics with mysticism. After fiction, Werber turns to mythology and esotericism. In 1994, he published the novel "Thanatonauts" about death and the other world, in 1997 - "The Book of Wandering", dedicated to the technique of self-hypnosis. Completely unexpected for readers was the book "The Father of Our Fathers", which was published in 1998, which can be called an anthropological detective story. And, finally, in 2000, the continuation of "Thanatonauts" - "Empire of Angels" appeared. His books diverge in the homeland in a million copies. Werber's novels have been translated into 30 languages of the world. However, despite the huge reader success, Werber never found recognition from French critics. IN last years he deliberately timed publications for October 1, the period of awarding most of the prestigious French awards, as if he were challenging everyone: I don’t need your regalia, my books already diverge in hundreds of thousands. Among the writer's creative plans is to film his novels.

Reading good books is a great pastime. What to choose for fans of fantasy? Werber Bernard's books are a great option. This has gained immense popularity in many countries of the world. The first work was created by him in school age. There was no doubt that the boy was talented ...

Books by Werber Bernard - how did it all begin?

The author's first novel appeared in print in 1991. "Ants" was not appreciated by critics. Reviews about them were not Werber Bernard's became interested in the public only after the release of the second part of this trilogy. The author quickly gained a lot of fans.

Tells the reader about the hardest working creatures in the world. The writer talks about two civilizations, arguing about who is still more viable - people or ants. This novel is really interesting and exciting.

Continuation of "Ants"

The following books by Werber Bernard from this series were welcomed by readers. The second novel is called The Day of the Ant. The ability of these creatures to obey the rules is simply mesmerizing. The captivating plot keeps the reader in suspense, giving him real pleasure. The third book is The Ant Revolution. The author's fans have been waiting for this novel with great impatience. And their expectations were justified! The work was liked by many fans of science fiction. negative feedback did not meet again.

"Thanatonauts"

Another series attracted no fewer people. "Thanatonauts" tells the story of test pilots going to the next world. The work changes people's ideas about death and birth, about travel and the way home, about mythology, about love. Naturally, Bernard Werber did not stop there when creating the series. The books "Empire of Angels", "We, the Gods" instantly soared to the top of the literary ratings. Enthusiastic reviews easily explain this fact. Moreover, the series can be read not only in order, but also as separate independent works. To date, there are talks about the film adaptation of the world bestseller.

"The Breath of the Gods" and "The Secret of the Gods" also could not remain without the attention of readers. Books literally swept from the shelves of stores, leaving a lot of positive feedback. Thus, the writer gained more and more popularity.

"Fathers of Our Fathers"

Books by Werber Bernard continued the classic story. In the work "Fathers of Our Fathers", the author created his own "Sherlock Holmes". By the way, this novel is one of the most beloved by Werber himself. The beginning is like a detective story. Actions here develop according to the laws this genre. That is, the reader is faced with a crime, an investigation, suspects. Further, judging by the reviews, the author noticeably surprises the audience ...

The Last Secret is another brilliant novel by the writer. This time the author invites the reader to penetrate the secrets human consciousness. A chess scientist has to play a serious game with a computer brain. And it's not easy! And at stake is the world chess crown! The man wins. The hall applauds. And suddenly the winner dies. Two journalists begin to investigate a mysterious death...

"Star Butterfly"

The French writer Bernard Werber continued to create books at a considerable speed. The plots didn't suffer at all. The author's fantasy simply amazes the reader with its infinity. The book "Star Butterfly" tells about one hundred and forty four people. They are forced to leave the perishing Earth. A solar sailboat called the Star Butterfly takes them off the planet. Travelers will be able to find a new home only after hundreds of years.

During this time, more than one generation and their worldviews will change, many wars and revolutions will happen. Heroes will be jealous, love and even kill each other. The ship damaged by meteorites leaves only six people. But on new planet only two of them can land... Judging by the reviews, the book fascinates from the first pages, and it is simply impossible to tear oneself away from it.

encyclopedias

The next stage in the work of such a remarkable author as Bernard Werber is a series of encyclopedia books. Readers took up these works with great pleasure. The first of these was the Encyclopedia of Relative and Absolute Knowledge. Every second Frenchman has read this legendary book. After its translation into other languages, it won the recognition and love of many people outside of France.

Following her came out " New Encyclopedia relative and absolute knowledge. The author reveals three hundred and eighty-four unexpected truths to the reader here, talks about various strategies and opens the curtain before his own recipes for creativity. In a word, this is a collection of amazing facts that lead the reader to complete delight. The book includes both previously published texts and new, unfamiliar to the audience.

Werber fans, lovers interesting facts, spiritual insights and scientific discoveries appreciated this work. By the way, it was first illustrated by the drawings of the author himself.

Popular works

And Bernard Werber did not stop there. The book "Travel" is not like his previous works about ants, gods and interstellar spaces. The author writes about earthly things, about people.

A special place among the many original works of Werber is occupied by the book "The Tree of the Possible". It is a collection of stories, hypotheses, assumptions. Each of them, like a compressed spring, contains the history of the future of mankind. The author tries to convey to the reader what the world will become. For example, if a huge meteorite falls in the center of Paris. Or if aliens start breeding people like pets. Or if it turns out that trees are actually thinking, intelligent beings. Or if a person starts to rebel against his own hand. In general, the author describes the future as a completely controlled element, subject to us. However, you just need to think about it in advance.

The book "Our Human Friends" also deserved considerable popularity. This is the so-called original version of the reality show "Behind the Glass". In the plot there is a man who suddenly finds himself under the dome. Here, in a glass cage, an attractive woman is with him. The hero is trying to understand who closed them here, whether they are both victims or his neighbor is an accomplice of these strange people. By the way, this work was taken as the basis for a new film by French director Claude Lelouch.

Bernard Werber wrote books one after another. "Third Humanity" also brought him considerable popularity. However, like all the work of this talented person. Fans speak enthusiastically about the author's works, note his unusual thinking, which sometimes leads the reader into another, fantastic, but such a real world.

Great Stories

So, Bernard Werber is the author of many excellent books. "Paradise to order" is one of them. Here are collected wonderful stories that give great pleasure to lovers of good literary works. Every day in the head of a cult French writer new ideas are born. According to him, they develop slowly and relentlessly pursue the author.

For example, Werber tries to imagine what would happen if people began to multiply like flowers. Or if they suddenly forgot their past. Or if all men disappear on planet Earth. Such short stories are the embryos of stories, from which, perhaps, a little later, the author will be able to create new novels, and directors - new films. To the delight of readers, this talented writer offers them wonderful original stories. In a word, it is very pleasant and interesting to spend time with these books. And the rave reviews from readers speak for themselves.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

At the age of seven, Bernard wrote his first work - a story in free theme"The Adventures of a Flea". In it, on behalf of the flea itself, it was told about her journey through the wilds human body. At the same time, the future writer does not show much success at school, except for the lessons of French literature. It is especially difficult for him to memorize numbers, formulas and texts. The problem with memorization will continue to haunt the writer, which will subsequently lead to the creation of an original work - " Encyclopedia of Absolute and Relative Knowledge", in which scientific information is mixed with fiction, physics with metaphysics, mathematics with mysticism (see Kenites).

At the age of eight, Bernard writes his second story " magic castle". The secret of one castle that devours visitors. The young writer discovers new genre and independently learns to create an exciting story. At the same time, at the insistence of his mother, he learns to play the piano, later this activity, which he does not like, will result in a passion for the electric guitar. Bernard continues to write, discovering new facets. School is not going well. Outside of school, he studies what really interests him: electronics, balsa aircraft models, the Mayan civilization and the inhabitants of Easter Island. Passionate about astronomy and, in particular, the systematic study of sunspots at the Astronomical Center of Toulouse. He reads a lot, he was especially interested in The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne.

Writing activity

creative search

During his lyceum years, he joined the editorial board of the lyceum newspaper "Euphoria", wrote scripts for comics. Thanks to this, he discovered new literary "genres" for himself: American science fiction of the 1960s and baroque fiction of the last century. Discovered Lovecraft (Cthulhu cycle), Asimov (Foundation cycle), Van Vogt (world A cycle), Huxley (Best of all worlds), then Boris Vian.

Then 7 years without special success worked in the journal "Le Nouvel Observateur" - wrote articles on scientific and near-scientific topics: about space, medicine, artificial intelligence, sociology and more. After a clash with management, he was fired. Failure hurts him a lot. Taking advantage of the lull, he enters the Higher Courses for Screenwriters at the INA. Werber was already thinking about abandoning Ants, but unexpectedly he met his future publisher, who became interested in the manuscript, but asked him to reduce it from 1463 pages to 350. Werber spent 12 years writing Ants, but, according to him, these years were gone to learn the finer craft of inventing characters and situations, seeking out original mise-en-scenes, and directing dramatic tension.

First publication

At the same time, Werber began to write short novels (inspired by the work of Frederick Brown). A collection of these short stories was published in 2002 under the title The Tree of the Possible.

The beginning of active writing

Films based on Werber's works

creative process

When Bernard Werber writes a book, he always knows how it will end. He gradually leads the reader to this ending. There is always a hidden structure in all his books. In the novels he uses geometric shapes, such as spirals or triangles. Any simple figures. Thus, Werber tries to introduce the reader to the light: "After all, a good book can change a person." Werber's novels are subtly connected with the structure and features of the French language, so much is lost when translating his books into other languages.

He considers himself the prototype of all the characters in his novels.

He says the following about his state while writing: “When I write, I laugh. It is necessary to write in joy, so that the reader is happy. A book is a rest and the main thing is that a person should not be a burden to read. I try to immerse the reader in the book from the very beginning. In the morning I get up and before I sit down to write, I go to a cafe opposite my house and read magazines that pour a tub of far from favorable reality on me, which spoils my mood. In contrast to this, I write, trying to fill my works with light.

“I have a very bad memory, so when an idea comes to me, I quickly write it down on my phone or laptop. Without these advanced technologies, I cannot live a day. After all, I have been writing every day for several hours for many years. Even if I end up on a desert island where there are no opportunities, I will still continue to write - on papyrus. If I stop writing, I'll just go crazy. Because the price we pay for our talent is loneliness."

According to the writer, a person needs three things to be happy: a dream, love (in any of its manifestations) and good sleep. “My next book will be about the mystery of dreams. Those people who sleep well wake up rested and full of energy. For some, sleep is also a source of inspiration. Those who suffer from insomnia are unlikely to be fully happy. But despite this, never take sleeping pills.

Werber's novels French have weird punctuation. The author explains this by saying that when he writes, he listens to music, and punctuation comes from music. He does not like exclamation points, therefore, tries to put as many dots as possible, thereby making sentences shorter - this gives lightness to the style and helps not to be distracted from the main plot.

Personal life

Bernard Werber is a confirmed bachelor.

Favorite female images in art, literature, life - Kate Bush, Jodie Foster, Marilyn Monroe.

The only inhabitant of his apartment is a cat, which replaced the anthill.

List of works

/ fr. L'Encyclopedie Du Savoir Relatif Et Absolu , English The Encyclopedia of Relative and Absolute Knowledge ()
/ fr. Nouvelle encyclopedie du savoir relatif et absolu ()

The Ants Trilogy

Ants / fr. Les Fourmis (March 1991)
Day of the ant / fr. Le Jour Des Fourmis (1992)
Revolution of ants / fr. La Revolution Des Fourmis (1995)

Dilogy "Thanatonauts"

Thanatonauts / fr. Les Thanatonautes (1994)
Empire of angels / fr. L'Empire des anges (2000)

Trilogy "We the Gods"

We, the gods / fr. nous les dieux (September 2004)
Breath of the gods / fr. Le Souffle des dieux (2005)
The secret of the gods / fr. Le Mystere des dieux (2007)

The Fathers of Our Fathers Trilogy

Father of our fathers / fr. Le Pere De Nos Peres (1998)
The last secret / fr. L'Ultime Secret (2001)
Laughter of the Cyclops / fr. Le Rire du Cyclope (2010)

The Third Humanity Trilogy

Third humanity / fr. Troisieme Humanite (2012)
Micro people / fr. Les Micro Humains (2013)
Voice of the earth / fr. La Voix de la Terre (2014)

Individual editions

"Book of travel" / fr. Le Livre Du Voyage (1997)
"The Tree of the Possible and Other Stories" / fr. L "Arbre des possibles (2002)
"Our friends Humans" / fr. Nos Amis Les Humains (2003)
"Star Butterfly" / fr. Le Papillon Des Etoiles (2006)
"Paradise to order" / fr. Paradis sur Mesures (2008)
"Mirror of Cassandra" / fr. Le Miroir de Cassandre (2009)
"Welcome to Paradise" / fr. Bienvenue au Paradis (2014)
"The Sixth Dream" / fr. Le Sixieme Sommeil (2015)

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"Ants"

"Thanatonauts"

"We are the gods"

"Fathers of Our Fathers"

Characters

An excerpt characterizing Werber, Bernard

The little princess and m lle Bourienne have already received everything necessary information from the maid Masha about what a ruddy, black-browed handsome minister's son was, and about how papa dragged them by force of legs to the stairs, and he, like an eagle, walking up three steps, ran after him. Having received this information, the little princess with m lle Bourienne, still audible from the corridor with their animated voices, entered the princess's room.
- Ils sont arrives, Marieie, [They have arrived, Marie,] you know? - said the little princess, waddling her stomach and sinking heavily into an armchair.
She was no longer in the blouse in which she sat in the morning, and she was wearing one of her best dresses; her head was carefully removed, and on her face there was a revival, which, however, did not hide the drooping and dead outlines of her face. In the attire in which she usually went in society in St. Petersburg, it was even more noticeable how much she had grown ugly. On m lle Bourienne, too, there was already imperceptibly some improvement in the outfit, which made her pretty, fresh face even more attractive.
- Eh bien, et vous restez comme vous etes, chere princesse? she spoke. – On va venir annoncer, que ces messieurs sont au salon; il faudra descendre, et vous ne faites pas un petit brin de toilette! [Well, are you staying, what were you wearing, princess? Now they will come to say that they left. You will have to go downstairs, and at least you dressed up a little bit!]
The little princess got up from her chair, called the maid, and hurriedly and cheerfully began to invent an outfit for Princess Marya and put it into execution. Princess Marya felt insulted in her feelings. dignity the fact that the arrival of the bridegroom promised to her excited her, and she was even more offended by the fact that both of her friends did not even imagine that it could be otherwise. To tell them how ashamed she was for herself and for them meant betraying her excitement; moreover, to refuse the dress that was offered to her would lead to lengthy jokes and insistence. She flushed, her beautiful eyes went out, her face became covered with spots, and with that ugly expression of the victim, which most often stops on her face, she surrendered to the power of m lle Bourienne and Lisa. Both women cared quite sincerely about making her beautiful. She was so bad that the thought of rivalry with her could not come to any of them; therefore, quite sincerely, with that naive and firm conviction of women that an outfit can make a face beautiful, they set about dressing her.
“No, really, ma bonne amie, [my good friend,] this dress is not good,” said Lisa, looking sideways at the princess from afar. - Tell me to file, you have a masaka there. Right! Well, after all, it may be that the fate of life is being decided. And this is too light, not good, no, not good!
It was not the dress that was bad, but the face and the whole figure of the princess, but m lle Bourienne and the little princess did not feel this; it seemed to them that if they put a blue ribbon on their hair, combed up, and lowered a blue scarf from a brown dress, etc., then everything would be fine. They forgot that the frightened face and figure could not be changed, and therefore, no matter how they modified the frame and decoration of this face, the face itself remained pitiful and ugly. After two or three changes, to which Princess Mary obediently obeyed, at the moment she was combed up (a hairstyle that completely changed and spoiled her face), in a blue scarf and a smart dress masaka, the little princess walked around her twice, with a small hand here she straightened a fold of her dress, there she tugged at her scarf and looked, bowing her head, now from one side, then from the other.
“No, you can’t,” she said decisively, clasping her hands. - Non, Marie, decision ca ne vous va pas. Je vous aime mieux dans votre petite robe grise de tous les jours. Non, de grace, faites cela pour moi. [No, Marie, this definitely doesn't suit you. I love you better in your gray everyday dress: please do it for me.] Katya,” she said to the maid, “bring the princess a gray dress, and see, m lle Bourienne, how I will arrange it,” she said with a smile of artistic anticipation joy.
But when Katya brought the required dress, Princess Marya sat motionless before the mirror, looking at her face, and in the mirror she saw that there were tears in her eyes, and that her mouth was trembling, preparing for sobs.
“Voyons, chere princesse,” said m lle Bourienne, “encore un petit effort.” [Well, princess, just a little more effort.]
The little princess, taking the dress from the hands of the maid, approached Princess Marya.
"No, now we'll make it easy, sweetie," she said.
The voices of her, m lle Bourienne and Katya, who laughed about something, merged into a cheerful babble, like the singing of birds.
- Non, laissez moi, [No, leave me,] - said the princess.
And her voice sounded with such seriousness and suffering that the chirping of the birds immediately fell silent. They looked at the large, beautiful eyes, full of tears and thoughts, looking at them clearly and pleadingly, and realized that it was useless and even cruel to insist.
“Au moins changez de coiffure,” said the little princess. “Je vous disais,” she said reproachfully to m lle Bourienne, “Marieie a une de ces figures, auxquelles ce genre de coiffure ne va pas du tout.” Mais du tout, du tout. Changez de grace. [At least change your hairstyle. Marie has one of those faces that this kind of hairstyle does not suit at all. Please change.]
- Laissez moi, laissez moi, tout ca m "est parfaitement egal, [Leave me, I don't care,]" answered the voice, barely holding back tears.
M lle Bourienne and the little princess had to admit to themselves that they were a princess. Marya in this form was very bad, worse than ever; but it was already too late. She looked at them with the expression they knew, an expression of thought and sadness. This expression did not inspire them with fear of Princess Mary. (She did not inspire this feeling in anyone.) But they knew that when this expression appeared on her face, she was silent and unshakable in her decisions.
- Vous changerez, n "est ce pas? [You change, don't you?] - said Lisa, and when Princess Mary did not answer, Lisa left the room.
Princess Mary was left alone. She did not fulfill Liza's wishes and not only did not change her hairstyle, but she did not even look at herself in the mirror. She, helplessly lowering her eyes and hands, silently sat and thought. She imagined her husband, a man, a strong, dominant and incomprehensibly attractive creature, suddenly transferring her into his own, completely different, happy world. Her child, such as she had seen yesterday with the nurse's daughter, seemed to her at her own breast. The husband stands and looks tenderly at her and the child. "But no, that's impossible: I'm too bad," she thought.
- Come for tea. The prince will come out now, - said the voice of the maid from behind the door.
She woke up and was horrified at what she was thinking. And before going down, she got up, entered the figurative and, gazing at the black face of the large image of the Savior illuminated by the lamp, stood in front of him with her hands folded for several minutes. There was an agonizing doubt in Princess Mary's soul. Is it possible for her to enjoy the joy of love, earthly love for a man? In thoughts of marriage, Princess Mary dreamed of both family happiness and children, but her main, strongest and most hidden dream was earthly love. The feeling was the stronger, the more she tried to hide it from others and even from herself. My God, she said, how can I suppress these thoughts of the devil in my heart? How can I renounce evil thoughts forever so that I can calmly do Your will? And as soon as she made this question, God already answered her in her own heart: “Desire nothing for yourself; do not seek, do not worry, do not envy. The future of the people and your fate must be unknown to you; but live so as to be ready for anything. If it pleases God to test you in the duties of marriage, be ready to do His will.” With this soothing thought (but still with the hope of fulfilling her forbidden, earthly dream), Princess Mary, sighing, crossed herself and went downstairs, not thinking about her dress, or her hair, or about how she would enter and what she would say. What could all this mean in comparison with the predestination of God, without whose will not a single hair will fall from a human head.

When Princess Mary entered the room, Prince Vasily and his son were already in the living room, talking with the little princess and m lle Bourienne. When she entered with her heavy gait, stepping on her heels, the men and m lle Bourienne rose, and the little princess, pointing at her to the men, said: Voila Marie! [Here is Marie!] Princess Marya saw everyone and saw them in detail. She saw the face of Prince Vasily, which for a moment seriously stopped at the sight of the princess and immediately smiled, and the face of the little princess, who read with curiosity on the faces of the guests the impression that Marie would make on them. She saw m lle Bourienne with her ribbon and pretty face and animated, as never before, a look directed at him; but she could not see him, she only saw something big, bright and beautiful moving towards her when she entered the room. First, Prince Vasily approached her, and she kissed the bald head, which bent over her hand, and answered his words that, on the contrary, she remembers him very well. Then Anatole approached her. She still hasn't seen him. She only felt a gentle hand, firmly taking her, and lightly touched her white forehead, over which beautiful blond hair was pomaded. When she looked at him, his beauty struck her. Anatop, laying thumb right hand behind the buttoned button of his uniform, with his chest arched forward, and back with his back, swaying one leg aside and slightly bowing his head, silently, cheerfully looked at the princess, apparently not thinking about her at all. Anatole was not resourceful, not quick and not eloquent in conversations, but he had, on the other hand, the ability of calmness, precious to the world, and unalterable confidence. Shut up at the first meeting, a not self-confident person and show the consciousness of the indecency of this silence and the desire to find something, and it will not be good; but Anatole was silent, shaking his leg, cheerfully observing the princess's hairdo. It was evident that he could remain silent so calmly for a very long time. “If anyone is uncomfortable with this silence, then talk, but I don’t feel like it,” his appearance seemed to say. In addition, in dealing with women, Anatole had that manner that most of all inspires curiosity, fear and even love in women - a manner of contemptuous consciousness of his superiority. It was as if he was telling them with his appearance: “I know you, I know, but why bother with you? And you would be glad!” It may be that he did not think this when he met women (and it is even likely that he did not, because he did not think much at all), but he had such an appearance and such a manner. The princess felt this and, as if wanting to show him that she did not even dare to think about keeping him busy, she turned to the old prince. The conversation was general and lively, thanks to the voice and the sponge with the mustache, rising above the white teeth of the little princess. She met Prince Vasily with that trick of a joke, which is often used by talkatively cheerful people and which consists in the fact that between a person who is treated like that and herself, some long-established jokes and funny, partly not known to everyone, amusing memories are assumed, then as there are no such memories, as there were none between the little princess and Prince Vasily. Prince Vasily willingly succumbed to this tone; the little princess drew into this recollection of never-before funny incidents and Anatole, whom she hardly knew. M lle Bourienne also shared these common memories, and even Princess Mary felt with pleasure that she was drawn into this cheerful memory.
“Well, at least we’ll make full use of you now, dear prince,” the little princess said, in French, of course, to Prince Vasily, “it’s not like at our parties at Annette’s, where you always run away; remember cette chere Annette? [sweet Annette?]
“Ah, you won’t let me talk about politics like Annette!”
What about our tea table?
- Oh yeah!
"Why have you never been to Annette's?" the little princess asked Anatole. “But I know, I know,” she said with a wink, “your brother Ippolit told me about your affairs. - ABOUT! She shook her finger at him. - Even in Paris I know your pranks!
“But he, Hippolyte, didn’t tell you?” - said Prince Vasily (turning to his son and grabbing the princess by the hand, as if she wanted to run away, and he barely managed to hold her back), - but he didn’t tell you how he himself, Ippolit, dried up for the dear princess and how she le mettait a la porte? [kicked him out of the house?]
- Oh! C "est la perle des femmes, princesse! [Ah! This is the pearl of women, princess!] - he turned to the princess.
For her part, m lle Bourienne did not miss the opportunity, at the word Paris, to also enter into a general conversation of memories. She allowed herself to ask if Anatole had long left Paris, and how much he liked this city. Anatole very willingly answered the Frenchwoman and, smiling, looking at her, talked to her about her fatherland. Seeing the pretty Bourienne, Anatole decided that here, in the Bald Mountains, it would not be boring. “Very stupid! he thought, looking at her, “this demoiselle de compagn is very pretty. [companion.] I hope she will take her with her when she marries me, he thought, la petite est gentille. [little - cute.]
The old prince was leisurely dressing in his study, frowning and pondering what he should do. The arrival of these guests made him angry. “What is Prince Vasily and his son to me? Prince Vasily is a braggart, empty, well, a son should be good, ”he grumbled to himself. It annoyed him that the arrival of these guests raised in his soul an unresolved, constantly muffled question, a question about which the old prince always deceived himself. The question was whether he would ever decide to part with Princess Mary and give her to her husband. The prince never directly dared to ask himself this question, knowing in advance that he would answer fairly, and justice contradicted more than a feeling, but the whole possibility of his life. Life without Princess Mary to Prince Nikolai Andreevich, despite the fact that he seemed to value her little, was unthinkable. “And why should she marry? he thought, probably to be unhappy. Won Liza after Andrei (it seems hard to find a better husband now), but is she satisfied with her fate? And who will take her out of love? Foolish, embarrassing. Take for connections, for wealth. And don't they live in girls? Even happier! So thought, dressing, Prince Nikolai Andreevich, and at the same time, the question that was being put off all the time demanded an immediate solution. Prince Vasily brought his son, obviously with the intention of making an offer and, probably, today or tomorrow he will demand a direct answer. Name, position in the world decent. “Well, I don’t mind,” the prince said to himself, “but let him be worth it. That's what we'll see."
"That's what we'll see," he said aloud. - That's what we'll see.
And he, as always, with brisk steps entered the living room, quickly cast his eyes around everyone, noticed the change in the dress of the little princess, and the Bourienne ribbon, and the ugly hairstyle of Princess Marya, and the smiles of Bourienne and Anatole, and the loneliness of his princess in the general conversation. "Get out like a fool! he thought, looking angrily at his daughter. “There is no shame: but he doesn’t even want to know her!”
He went up to Prince Vasily.
- Well, hello, hello; glad to see.
“For a dear friend, seven miles is not a suburb,” Prince Vasily spoke, as always, quickly, self-confidently and familiarly. - Here is my second, please love and favor.
Prince Nikolai Andreevich looked at Anatole. - Well done, well done! - he said, - well, go kiss - and he turned his cheek to him.
Anatole kissed the old man and looked at him curiously and completely calmly, waiting to see if the eccentric promised by his father would soon happen from him.

Bernard Werber was born in Toulouse in 1961. Started writing at the age of seven. At the university he studied law, specialized in forensic science in order to search for topics for future detectives. In 1982 he entered the Higher School of Journalism. It was at this time that he discovered Isaac Asimov, Philip Dick and Frank Herbert - writers who largely shaped his worldview, prompting him to turn to a genre that was traditionally considered the domain of the British, combining elements of science fiction, an adventure novel and a philosophical essay.

In 1983, he received the News Foundation Award as the best young reporter for a report on a certain kind of ant that lives on the Ivory Coast. Then he worked for 7 years in the Nouvelle Observatory magazine - he wrote articles on scientific and near-scientific topics: space, medicine, artificial intelligence, sociology, and more. Fed up with journalism, he entered the Higher Courses for Scriptwriters.

The first book in the trilogy about ants, The Ants, which Werber began composing at the age of 16, was published in 1991, instantly making the writer famous. True, the path to success turned out to be thorny: for six years, Werber knocked on the thresholds of editorial offices and was refused everywhere, even the Alban Michel publishing house, before accepting the manuscript, rejected it twice.

Despite the reader's success, the debut was ignored by critics. The situation changed somewhat after the release a year later of the continuation of "Day of the Ants", translated into 33 languages and received the Grand Prix of the readers of the magazine "Elle". There was even a computer game about how ants build a parallel civilization. Later, the final cycle of the trilogy appeared - "Ant Revolution".

In 1993, Werber publishes the "Encyclopedia of Relative and Absolute Knowledge", in which scientific information is mixed with fiction, physics with metaphysics, mathematics with mysticism. After fiction, Werber turns to mythology and esotericism. In 1994, he published the novel "Thanatonauts" about death and the other world, in 1997 - "The Book of Wandering", dedicated to the technique of self-hypnosis. Completely unexpected for readers was the book “The Father of Our Fathers”, which was published in 1998, which can be called an anthropological detective story. And, finally, in 2000, the continuation of "Thanatonauts" appeared - "Empire of Angels".

However, despite the huge reader success, Werber never found recognition from French critics. In recent years, he has deliberately timed publications to coincide with October 1, the period when most of the prestigious French awards are awarded, as if challenging everyone: I don’t need your regalia, my books already diverge in hundreds of thousands.

Among the writer's creative plans is to film his novels.