“A hat is not just a hat. It is a story waiting to be told.” Chapter 1: The Loss François Mitterrand, the President of France, dines at a […]
French literature
The Most Beautiful Book in the World
“Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart.” — Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt Chapter 1: Odette Toulemonde The book opens with Odette, an ordinary woman […]
French literature
Oscar and the Lady in Pink
“Dear God, I’m not asking you to explain why I’m sick. I’m asking you to help me live with it.” Letters to God The story begins with Oscar, […]
French literature
The Gospel According to Jesus Christ
“What if God were not the one we imagined?” Chapter 1: The Birth of Jesus The novel opens with the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, but Schmitt reimagines […]
French literature
The Patagonian Hare
“Memory is not just the past, it is the future.” Chapter Summaries The Patagonian Hare is Claude Lanzmann’s sprawling memoir, weaving together personal history, philosophical reflections, and accounts […]
French literature
Out of the Dark
“I was nothing more than a shadow among shadows.” Chapter 1: The Encounter The narrator, Jean, recalls his time in Paris in the 1960s. He meets a mysterious […]
French literature
Dora Bruder
“I will never know how she spent her days, where she hid, in whose company she passed the winter months of her first escape, nor the few weeks […]
French literature
So You Don’t Get Lost in the Neighborhood
“Memory is a strange thing. When I was in the midst of it, it wasn’t there, and now that it’s no longer there, I can see it clearly.” […]
French literature
Honeymoon
“I had the impression that I was walking in the footsteps of a shadow.” Chapter 1: The Disappearance The novel opens with Jean B., a documentary filmmaker, stumbling […]
French literature
Missing Person
“I am nothing. Nothing but a pale shape, silhouetted that evening against the café terrace, waiting for the rain to stop.” Chapter 1 Guy Roland, a private detective […]