Dear All,

For Febuary we have a diverse selection of books tackling various aspects of twentieth century French culture, whether in the form of history, philosophical essays, or ambitious fiction which attempts to confront some of the most traumatic periods in France's history.

Flammarion have published a vibrant new tome by Brian Moynahan. The French Century offers sixteen chapters packed full of French achievements sprawling across the fields of arts, entertainment, sports, science and technology, from the Belle Epoch to the present day. All of the chapters are accompanied by beautiful photographs, bringing the acutely observed events to life.

Two collections of essays concerning two of France's most important writers give a fascinating insight into the French psyche in the twentieth century. Adieu Derrida, edited by Costas Douzinas (Palgrave Macmillan) is the publication which accompanied the Humanities’ lectures at The Birkbeck Institute last year. The internationally renowned contributors explore the influence of the great French intellectual both at large, and on their own personal development.

Jordon Stump has translated a choice selection of essays by Raymond Queneau in Letters, Numbers, Forms: Essays, 1928-70 (University of Illinois Press). The essays range from his thoughts on language, literary fashions, other authors, and politics and poetry, serving to reveal the writer's encyclopedic curiosity.

Three new moving novels courageously confront some of the horrors of the twentieth century. Refusal by Soazig Aaron, translated by Barbara Bray (Harvill Secker), is the story of Klara, who wanders through war-torn Europe after her release from Auschwitz in 1945, on her way back to Paris. The book is written in diary form which affords an intimacy and a deep honesty as Klara reveals the brutal extent of her experiences in the death camp.

In Clara's Tale by Pierre Péju, translated by Euan Cameron (Harvill Secker), the ravages of war haunt the two main characters, Clara and Paul, as they grow up and become artists trying to find ways of expressing their experiences. This ambitious novel spans the second half of the twentieth century and examines whether the weight of such a memory can ever be escaped.

We are transported to contemporary Haiti for Alphabet of the Night by Jean-Euphèle Milcé, translated by Christopher Moncrieff (Pushkin Press). This dark novel is a tale of oppression and fear, as we are introduced to the dangers of Port-au-Prince through the eyes of Jeremy, a threatened homosexual Jewish shopkeeper who has just seen his lover murdered outside his shop. He sets out on a quest to find a long-lost friend and discovers the true horrors of his country.

Moving to the underbelly of present-day France, Dominique Manotti bursts onto the scene with two new explosive thrillers translated by Amanda Hopkinson and Ros Schwartz and both published by Arcadia, which delve into the dark depths of modern-day politics and corruption, drug-trafficking and gambling. Dead Horsemeat (paperback) has the seedy world of horse-racing as the backdrop to an inside account of ruthless buisness deals and low morals.

Similarly, in Lorraine Connection a grim factory in Lorraine is the scene of murders, blackmail and shady deals as the factory becomes the centre of an international battle to take over the eletronics giant Thompson. Another original novel offers a more intimate portrait of a killer. The Power of Flies by Lydie Salvayre (Dalkey Archive Press) is the story of a man who recounts his life and philosophical influences to a courtroom, and thus reveals how he was capable of the murder he is accused of.

Finally, Yasmina Traboulsi’s Bahia Blues, translated by Polly McLean (Arcadia), is longlisted for the “Independent Foreign Fiction Prize”. Fingers crossed !

“Bonne lecture” !

Best wishes,

Rachel Page, Paul Fournel and Sophie Moreau