The novel traces landmark moments in French history, from the 1971 Manifesto of the 343 to the 1981 election of President François Mitterrand.
Getting Lost leaves one submerged in Ernaux’s world, gasping for breath, and fighting for reason.
Perrin has a beautiful talent for capturing the atmosphere of small-town France
The excitement begins at the airport. You know deep down that in that bag is a ring, a big diamond one that shoots doves at unhappy people, a ring that ...
The French have always done things in their own way. They’re headstrong and have a desire to be the best of the best of the best. They eat frogs’ legs ...
The Tour de France is the most sought after crown in the cycling world. This epic race covers 2200 miles, takes 22 days to complete, has men with shaved legs ...
Thinking the worst of people is too easy and leads nowhere nice or even interesting. Being generous in spirit, without too much naivety, is usually fruitful.
The February evening is sharp as I step out of the hotel. A walk through the cobbled streets of Rouen clears my head and brings the blood pumping back into ...
Cover design by Luke Bright
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The relationship between the English and the French—our one-time conquerors, trade rivals, enemies, allies, and nearest neighbours in Europe–has always been complicated. Since 1066 France and the French have been ...
In the Annals of the Four Masters we are told how Suibhne, king of Kildare, has a taste for the things of this world. He is a simple man. His ...
I feel like giving up, and collapse on the back seat. But the wheels of need start turning again. The evening’s ruined, maybe the week, maybe even the rest of ...
The old man sighed. He looked up at the sky, a gunmetal grey, and then at the godless world around him. He thought it bleaker than he ever thought possible. ...
In the morning, Madeleine awakes from a dream that smells of boiled eggs. She lies under the covers, tired for a moment and then remembers that today is Friday. Today ...
‘A fireball cartwheeling right across the road, then, suddenly, after the bend, blat! Into a tree. This fireball smashes into the trunk and burns the lot, leaves, branches, even the ...
Joël, the unpopular proprietor of local hangout Bar Balto, has been found brutally murdered in the suburban nowhere town of Making-Ends-Meet. Yeznig is a thirteen-year-old mentally-handicapped boy with no sense ...
'I’m sick of it,' said a girl of low reputation. 'You know what I am, but I wouldn’t recommend joining me. Lots of people, they think that the profession is ...
Translated by Delphine Grass and Timothy Mathews I no longer go on trips, really, Because I know the place And I know my rights, And I’ve lived through rage. ...
January 23, 2010—Dany Laferrière is in Haiti for the literary festival Etonnants Voyageurs. Like so many others, he is caught in the earthquake. Unlike many, he escapes the catastrophe unscathed. ...
Steven Appleby’s work has appeared in newspapers, on television, on Radio 4, on stage at the ICA and in over 20 books. His Coffee Table Book of Doom was published ...