French Books

‘Une femme’ is a story about a woman and her relationship with her mother. It is all the more moving because of its autobiographical nature. Read More

'Le tour du monde en 80 jours' by Jule Verne describes the story of how an English gentleman bets that he can travel around the… Read More

'La Délicatesse', by French author and screenwriter, David Foenkinos, tells the story of a widow who finds love in the most unlikely of places. Read More

'Vol 1618', by French author, Betrand Puard, was published in 2014 and is a mysterious novel that will grip you and get your adrenaline pumping… Read More

'Hygiène de l'assassin', by Amélie Nothomb, was published in 1992. The novel is a fast and absorbing read that will keep you glued to the… Read More

'Exercises de Style', by French author Raymond Queneau, is an amusing collection of retellings of the same story, each in a different style. Read More

Le Liseur du 6h27 (The Reader on the 6:27) is the first novel by French author Jean-Paul Didierlaurent. In this charming Parisian microadventure, we follow… Read More

Cahier d’un retour au pays natal (1939), the most famous work of Martinican poet and politician, Aimé Césaire, is a masterful piece of writing which… Read More

This month, although remaining in French territory, we move far beyond the modern day l’Hexagone, to trace the shocking history that binds France to lands… Read More

In her 2014 work, Visions de Barbès, author, director and screenwriter Jeanne Labrune tells her own very personal tale of loss and grief. The account… Read More

Emile Zola’s 1867 novel Thérèse Raquin, is, at the same time as being a scandalous tale of adultery and murder, an attempt to produce a… Read More

Robert Desnos’ 1930 collection of poetry, Corps et biens, unites themes and styles from several different literary movements, meaning that while some of the poems… Read More

Author Annie Ernaux’s 1983 work La Place explores her father’s life trajectory, from impoverished child to owner of a small épicerie, charting the social and… Read More

André Breton’s 1928 work Nadja, which is included in Le Monde’s top 100 books of the 20th century, is also a central work of the… Read More

The debut novel of Gustave Flaubert, Madame Bovary (1856) soon became notorious in contemporary French society for its supposedly scandalous content, and was the subject… Read More

The novel ‘La Naissance du Jour’ (Break of Day) by French writer Colette is a favourite in the Babylangues office as an example of feminist… Read More

The novel 'Bonjour tristesse' follows its teenage protagonist, Cécile, through the fateful weeks which mark the end of her childhood and the beginning of her… Read More

In Chronique de la dérive douce, Haitian-born author Dany Laferrière recounts the events and experiences of his first year in Montreal after escaping the dictatorial… Read More