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English Latest
July 2006 |
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Dear all,
Here is our selection of the latest publications for early summer. We hope you will be pleased by the variety; among these translations and books on France, there is something for everyone!
Those who like to browse in American bookstores will have noticed that the numerous French translations are currently in the spotlight. Suite Française by Irène Nemirovsky has been on the New York Times Best Sellers List for more than a month, and the arrival of her daughter Denise Epstein in New York should only reinforce this already undisputed success. (USA: published April 11, 2006 by A. A Knopf, translation by Sandra Smith/GB: published March 2, 2006 by Chatto & Windus, translation by Sandra Smith.)
No need to introduce Michel Houellebecq, already well known across the Atlantic and whose latest novel, The Possibility of an Island, is the story of Daniel, an aging comedian, his loves and his initiation into a cult promising eternal life through cloning.
Also on a current theme, The Attack, by Yasmina Khadra, centers on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and tells how Dr. Jaafari discovers that the suicide bomber responsible for the death of about twenty people, many of whom were children, was none other than his wife. But Khadra's success doesn't stop with the translation of his novel because the book rights were just sold to the producers of the highly acclaimed Brokeback Mountain (Ang Lee), so The Attack will be soon adapted for the screen.
Often compared to Michel Houellebecq, Pierre Mérot also disembarks for the United States with his first novel translated into English, Mammals, in which the author, describing the journey of a failure named "Uncle," offers a paean to late-night bars, fraternal friendships and alcohol, with biting irony and quick repartee.
The Woman in the Row Behind by Françoise Dorner, which won the 2004 Goncourt Prize for Best First Novel, was also well received by American critics. This novel tells how Nina decides to dress up to seduce her husband Roger all over again.
Another first novel, Kiffe Kiffe Tomorrow by Faïza Guène, will be published in early July. In this very short narrative in the first person, Doria tells the story of her life with her mother, an illiterate Algerian immigrant, in the heart of the Paris suburbs. Both funny and disconcerting, this book brings a new perspective of French suburbs, which are too often depicted as places where violence is the rule. The young Faïza Guène shows that humor and love are also part of the day-to-day lives of second-generation immigrants. (USA: published July 3, 2006 by Harvest Books, translation by Sarah Adams /GB: published May 4, 2006 under the title of Just Like Tomorrow by Chatto & Windus, translation by Sarah Adams.)
Another bookstore success, but in another area, My Life in France by Julia Child and Alex Prud'homme recalls the memories of the first person to bring cookbooks from France to American homemakers. After the death of Julia Child in 2004 at the age of 91, her great-nephew finished this narrative, which begins in Paris at the end of the Second World War at the restaurant Le Cordon Bleu.
In the category of literary criticism, we take note of the publication of two works, one on Flaubert, the other on Proust. In Flaubert: a Biography, author Frederic Brown, who focused on Zola in his last work, explores the life of the author of Madame Bovary while going deeper into French history at the end of the 19th century in order to place it in a clearer context. (USA: published April 4, 2006 by Little Brown /GB: published June 1, by William Heinemann) In Proust at the Majestic: the Last Days of the Author Whose Book Changed Paris, author Richard Davenport-Hines, centers of the last six months of the life of Marcel Proust when he struggled to finish La Recherche du Temps Perdu. The reference to the Majestic Hotel refers to an evening at the famous Parisian hotel in May 1922 after a Stravinsky premier. That night, gathered around the same table, were: Stravinsky, Picasso, Joyce and Proust. (USA: published May 30, 2006 by Bloomsburry/GB: published February 28, 2006 by Faber and Faber under the title of A Night at the Majestic.)
Finally, as a reminder that France and Paris are still sources of inspiration for writers, we draw your attention to the publication of two novels, which are directly linked to the French capital although in different eras. In That Summer in Paris, the third novel by Abha Dawesar, Prem Rustum, an aging famous Indian writer, follows Maya, a young woman who dreams of becoming a writer, to Paris for the summer. The relationship and passion they live that summer will change their lives.
The Foreign Correspondent, by Alan Furst, also opens in Paris, but at the start of the Second World War. Carlo Weisz, half Italian half Slavic, is a correspondent in Paris for Reuters and finds himself dangerously implicated in the Italian Resistance.
Happy Reading!
Enjoy your vacation!
The New York Book Office.