Bastille Day

It's Bastille Day in France! So to celebrate (is celebrate the right word? I'm not sure) I will post 5 books in French that I have read. I've read most of them in English, but I did read one in French.

The Stranger by Albert Camus - This is the one I read in French. I had read it in English years before, so I decided on re-read, I'd try the French. I had my French-English dictionary close by, but I did it.

A Novel Bookstore by Laurence Cosse - This is a mystery of sorts. These two people start their perfect bookstore, but it quickly becomes the victim of hateful attacks on the internet. When three of their super secret committee members get attacked, they take it to the police.

The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery - Like the Japanese, the French tend toward the very weird in their storytelling. This one is evidence of that. It is mostly set in an apartment building. A little girl makes friends with the loner concierge.

Mr. Invincible by Pascal Jousselin - This is one of the most interesting comics I've ever read. The author plays around with the rules of comics. The characters interact between the cels. Mr. Invincible is invincible because he can climb into a future cel and borrow an item he needs to defeat the monster. I found it really entertaining.

A Winter's Promise by Christelle Dabos - This is the first in the Mirror Visitor's Quartet. I've read the first two. The fourth isn't out yet in English. This is a fantasy novel about a girl who can travel between locations by climbing through mirrors. She has left her home "planet" to marry a man on a different planet that is completely different from hers. He is a high up political person and everything on this planet is magical. Very weird things happen.

There you have it 5 of the best books in French that I have read. What are your favorite French books?