Recent French Fiction (2024)

"To research his thesis on contemporary agrarian life, anthropology student David Mazon moves from Paris to La Pierre-Saint-Christophe, a village in the marshlands of western France. Determined to understand the essence of the local culture, the intrepid young scholar scurries around restlessly on his moped to interview residents. But what David doesn't yet know is that here, in this seemingly ordinary place, once the stage for wars and revolutions,...

"Paris, 1806. The renowned botanist Michel Adanson lies on his deathbed, the masterwork to which he dedicated his life still incomplete. As he expires, the last word to escape his lips is a woman's name: Maram. The key to this mysterious woman's identity is Adanson's unpublished memoir of the years he spent in Senegal, concealed in a secret compartment in a chest of drawers. Therein lies a story as fantastical as it is tragic: Maram, it turns out,...

"A tender and witty coming-of-age story about the power of literature to inspire new beginnings, peppered with a cast of quirky characters and a unique heroine. Clara is a hairdresser at Cindy Coiffure, a sleepy French salon with an identity crisis. Her relationship is fizzling out. Her tanoholic boss Madame Habib worships Jacques Chirac and talks longingly of her days in Paris. The highlight of the week was when the dishy technician came to repair...

"Louis XIV transformed from the Sun King into the King of Shadows when he embraced immortality and became the world's first vampire. For the last three centuries, he has been ruling the kingdom from the decadent Court of Shadows in Versailles, demanding the blood of his subjects to sate his nobles' thirst and maintain their loyalty. In the heart of rural France, commoner Jeanne Froidelac witnesses the king's soldiers murder her family and learns of...

"Award-winning author Joseph Andras resurrects Ho Chi Minh's formative years in Paris. Searching for traces of the past in the streets of today, Andras hears echoes of other angry histories, from terror attacks to tent encampments to the protests of the Gilets jaunes. This intensely lyrical, genre-bending book is a meditation on what could be called the grandeur of the poor, the free, the outcast, and the rebellious"--

Justine is 21 years old and has lived with her grandparents and cousin Jules since the death of her parents. She works as a carer at a retirement home and spends her days listening to her residents' stories. After bonding with Helene, an almost 100-year-old resident, the two women slowly reveal their stories to one another. Whilst Justine helps Helene to relive her memories of love and war, Helene encourages Justine to confront the secrets of her...

Manel Naher wants out. In a world where your name is currency, it's tough to make ends meet. It's even tougher when you share a name with a rising pop star. The city is unbearable -- endless high-rises, social climbers left and right, and nothing but names as far as the eye can see. But Manel is looking a little bit farther, just beyond the horizon, and she's even convinced her buddy Ali of how much more could be lying in wait right outside city limits....

"Odette is a twenty-something year old with their own place, a steady job at a local bookstore, an adorable pet rabbit, and a budding crush on one of their customers. But Odette is haunted by something only they can see: a jellyfish that's floating in their eye, blocking their vision. It's a seemingly minor annoyance...until the jellyfish starts multiplying."--

"An epic, emotional tale, The Last Queen follows Édouard Roux, a veteran of World War I whose face is left disfigured from fighting in the trenches. Édouard takes refuge in the studio of animal sculptor Jeanne Sauvage, who gives him a new face in the form of a prosthetic mask. The pair embark on an intense romantic relationship. She introduces him to the artistic community of Montmartre, Paris, and Édouard shows her the majestic mountains of his...

"This sharp, compelling legal drama from an acclaimed French journalist explores why a teenage victim lied about her rape and how the disadvantaged become scapegoats. At 15, Lisa was a typical teenager, at times rebellious and impulsive, adjusting to newfound attention from boys and men. But when her demeanor takes a sudden turn, her teachers suspect something worse than adolescent moodiness. Lisa eventually confesses that she's been abused, multiple...