“The earth teaches us more about ourselves than all the books. Because it resists us. Man discovers himself when he measures himself against the obstacle.” Part I: The […]
French literature
The Little Prince
“All grown-ups were once children… but only few of them remember it.” Chapter 1: The Narrator’s Childhood Drawing The narrator recalls his childhood drawing of a boa constrictor […]
French literature
The Seventh Function of Language
“Language is not innocent. It is a weapon.” Prologue The novel opens with the mysterious death of renowned literary theorist Roland Barthes in 1980, shortly after being struck […]
French literature
HHhH
“This is a true story.” — Laurent Binet, HHhH Prologue The novel opens with the author reflecting on the nature of historical storytelling, questioning how to faithfully recount […]
French literature
The Great Swindle
“The war had turned them into thieves, liars, and killers. Now peace would make them something worse.” Chapter 1: The Aftermath of War The novel opens in 1918, […]
French literature
Alex
“The worst thing about suffering is that it’s invisible.” Part One: The Abduction The novel opens with the kidnapping of Alex Prévost, a young woman who is snatched […]
French literature
The Map and the Territory
“Art is no longer enough, alas, to fill a man’s life.” Chapter 1: Introduction to Jed Martin The novel opens with the introduction of Jed Martin, a reclusive […]
French literature
Submission
“The world had changed, and I hadn’t noticed.” Chapter 1: A Disillusioned Academic The novel opens with François, a middle-aged literature professor at the Sorbonne, reflecting on his […]
French literature
Platform
“The world is a marketplace; it always has been.” The novel follows Michel Renault, a disillusioned French civil servant in his forties, who drifts through life with little […]
French literature
Atomised (The Elementary Particles)
“The individual is not only unhappy, but he also grasps his unhappiness as a necessary consequence of his condition as an individual.” Part One: Childhood and Early Life […]