All new and beautiful, they are starting to appear in bookstores this Wednesday. 511 books - including 65 first novels and 145 foreign novels - are on the starting line in this literary re-entry which will see the publications spread out until September. We will have to reckon with the annual Amélie Nothomb, Les Aérostats (Albin-Michel), or with Histoires de la nuit (Les Editions de Minuit) by Laurent Mauvigner, announced everywhere as one of the essentials of the new school year - it will be available on September 3. But to help you navigate this forest of colorful pages and covers, nothing beats advice from booksellers. 20 Minutes collected suggestions from three of them.
"Apeirogon", by Colum McCann
Apeirogon is “ a geometric figure with an infinite number of sides” informs Gaëlle of the Page 189 bookstore, located in the 11th arrondissement of Paris. In this novel, which appears Thursday at Belfond, the Irish author tells the trajectory of the Israeli Rami Elhanan and the Palestinian Bassam Aramin torn by the loss of their respective daughters and who unite for a common fight: peace. The story is that of “people talking to each other to get things done. A work that is both "easy to read, brilliant and fascinating", assures the bookseller.
"Nothing for tomorrow", by Bruno Remaury
On the French literature side, Gaëlle encourages reading Nothing for Tomorrow by Bruno Remaury (José Corti Editions, released on August 27). The author treats in a singular way "the great story through the eyes of a person like you and me", describes the bookseller. Over the pages, the stories of astronomer John Herschel, industrialist Louis Renaut, Claude Monet, Captain Hook or even "Nicolas Sarkozy in Dakar, this" little white man "never named but whom we discover in the background ”. A text on our relationship to the world, “brilliantly written” concludes Gaëlle.
“The Cost of Living” by Deborah Levy
As for autobiographical stories, bet on the author Deborah Levy who puts down on paper her experience as a woman in full reconstruction following a divorce. In The cost of life (published Thursday by Editions du Sous-sol), she testifies to her fight - or rather that of all women in search of a life of their own. Gaëlle greets “a very beautiful text, which does not teach a lesson. It is steeped in cynicism, but it's very fashionable. "
"One day it will be empty" by Hugo Lindenberg
Head to Le Comptoir des mots, bookshop in the 20th arrondissement of Paris. Philippe, the bookseller, was seduced by Un jour ce sera vide , the first novel by journalist Hugo Lindenberg published by Christian Bourgeois this Thursday. The book tells of the awakening of a young boy on summer vacation on the Normandy coast. Through his contemplations, “he manages to make us feel different sensations linked to childhood,” underlines Philippe. A dive into the whimsical and solitary spirit of the young boy, whose author, "with very small touches, manages to draw the whole family history". The text, both "subtle and charming", explores the meanders of feelings with "elegance and mastery" greets the bookseller.
"Betty" by Tiffany McDaniel
This novel by the American Tiffany McDaniel, already available and published by Gallmeister, follows in Betty Carpenter's footsteps for 700 pages. Born of a white mother and a Cherokee father, “she is Native American,” notes Philippe du Comptoir des Mots. He adds: “Through the novel, we come up against the question of racism in the United States towards Indians. "Via the voice of her narrator, the author also deals with" violence, especially sexual violence against women. " Or, "a striking book, which we will hear a lot about", predicts the bookseller.
" Capsize " by Lola Lafon
Released this Wednesday by Actes Sud, Chavirer tells the story of Cléo, a 13-year-old girl who dreams of a future in dance and joins a prestigious school. However, the narrator ends up "realizing that it is a scam and is sexually assaulted", advance Ophélie of La Librairie du Tramway, in the third district of Lyon. Throughout the pages, Cléo's point of view shifts and tells us about this traumatic story as an adult. A retrospective look supported by "a remarkable incisive tongue" applauds the bookseller.
“ Five in your eyes ” by Hadrien Bels.
It is a plebiscite at the Librairie du Tramway. Ophélie assures him: “Three of us read and adored Five in your eyes ” published by L'iconoclaste. Hadrien Bels' first novel walks the streets of Marseille from the 1990s until today, where sores are everywhere. Stress tells about his childhood in working-class neighborhoods and introduces his friends today as a bus driver, security guard, dealer. His dream ? Become a filmmaker and replay their past time. "A rather extraordinary novel", enthuses Ophélie.
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