Dear lovers of literature, 

La rentrée littéraire (the new literary season), a landmark of French cultural life, has come to a close. Like every year, hundreds of new books featured in bookstores and publishing houses have competed to win the most prestigious literary prizes. We all know that the Goncourt prize, for example, has been awarded to Alexis Jenni's much deserved L'Art français de la Guerre while the Renaudot prize went to Emmanuel Carrère's new novel Limonov. However, among old-timers and seasoned authors whose work is sure to sell, lesser known writers of the rentrée littéraire have a special place in our hearts. Here we introduce you to an original selection of emerging talents and new voices, en français! that we hope will be translated in the near future. And let's start with two debut novels:

Léna by Virginie Deloffre
Virginie Deloffre takes us right into the hearts and minds of Russians in her first novel about the race to conquest both space and the infinite expanse of Siberia. While awaiting the return of her husband Vassia, a pilot in the Soviet airforce, Léna writes to her adoptive parents about her days and the constant anticipation of her husband's return. This novel evokes the atmosphere of a historic moment.

Le Val d’absinthe by Anna Roman
During the 1980s, L., 40, married, with two children, decides to take part in a program that prepares prison inmates for a college entrance exam. After one of these inmates is transferred to Clairvaux prison, a high-security facility located in the "Valley of Absinthe", he begins a correspondence with L. that becomes increasingly intimate. A poignant novel that places the ancient prison at the center of the story and guides the reader through an emotional tale.

Crossing borders has become a common theme among writers with novels that reflect the increasing impact of globalization on literature. So, get ready and pack your bags!

Kampuchéa by Patrick Deville
The explorer Henri Mouhot was chasing a butterfly, net in hand, when he bumped his head, looked up, and discovered the temples of Angkor. That is year zero of this story, which takes place along the Mekong River and the countries it bounds or crosses, in a journey that unfolds between the trial of the Khmer Rouge leaders in Phnom Penh, Cambodia and the revolt of the Red Shirts in Thailand. Patrick Deville meditates on mankind's story, his nobleness and his tragedy.

Ces âmes chagrines by Léonora Miano
Léonora Miano tells the story of Maxime and Snow, two brothers who are deeply different. Maxime, an undocumented immigrant, has managed to find a job in banking, but to avoid legal problems, he is working under the identity of Snow. Snow is a born schemer: he lives off of undocumented immigrants who pay for his services. The two brothers live in unspoken but deep opposition, linked to their birth. Snow is a child born of love; Maxime, of rape. With sincerity, Miano describes how secrecy and deceit alter the fate of each character.

Dans les forêts de Sibérie by Sylvain Tesson
Sylvain Tesson takes us through his extraordinary experience in the Siberian forests. For six months, the author cut himself off in a hut on the banks of the Baïkal lake. Tesson, who won the "Médicis Essai" prize for the book, takes an introspective approach when examining the human condition and civilization.

Un avenir by Véronique Bizot
From a triplex in Monaco to the Malayan jungle, Un avenir draws us into a deceptively thin intrigue, all without leaving the couch in the family library, or almost. By combining art, drama, and life expectations, Véronique Bizot succeeds in leading the reader into an introspective spiral.

And finally, here are some novels that are just plain…great!

Opium Poppy by Hubert Haddad
Opium Poppy explores the haunting tragedy of child soldiers. It tells the story of an Afghani boy, confronted too soon with a terrible reality. This 12-year-old boy becomes a child soldier for the terrorist army after the abandonment of his mother. Saved by a NGO, he becomes a refugee and arrives in Paris where a difficult life awaits him. In this traumatizing story, Hubert Haddad demonstrates his ability as a writer to capture the most intimate sentiments and hardships of these child soldiers.

Rouler by Christian Oster
With this road-novel in which geography plays a major role, Christian Oster gives us one of his strongest novels. Its enigmatic ending has shades of tragedy. A rarity from an author known for humor and a taste for nonsense.

La Dame à la larme by Claire Wolniewicz
La Dame à la larme introduces the reader to Adam's world of fantasy, a character from Claire Woliewicz's first novel Ubiquity, and sheds light on the origins of his bizarre "non-personality". At the same time, this fascinating story demonstrates to what extent family secrets can infuence a person’s destiny.

Veuf by Jean-Louis Fournier
Jean-Louis Fournier wanted to die first, however he lost. With his wife gone, he has no one to talk to. He begins to speak about her as a  way to comfort himself, or as a  way to retaliate against his loss, and in doing so, he speaks about himself. In this novel, Fournier writes with both sadness and humor, confirming that the loss of a loved one is universal.

Bonne lecture!

Book Department, New York