June 6, 2017 Maigret Goes to School by Georges Simenon Translated by Linda Coverdale Reviewed by Harriet What was he doing there? A hundred times, in the middle of an investigation, he’d had the…
June 6, 2017 Checkpoint by Jean-Christophe Rufin Translated by Alison Anderson Review by Terence Jagger The first character we meet is Maud, a young and naive Frenchwoman who is apparently badly…
February 7, 2017 The Gardens of Consolation by Parisa Reza Translated by Adriana Hunter Reviewed by Terence Jagger “To the east, bare earth as far as the eye can see. To the west, hills…
October 13, 2016 French Rhapsody by Antoine Laurain Translated by Jane Aitken and Emily Boyce Reviewed by Annabel I experienced the sheer joy of reading French author Antoine Laurain earlier this summer…
August 23, 2016 Blood Wedding by Pierre Lemaitre Translated by Frank Wynne Reviewed by Annabel In the UK, Lemaitre has been best-known for his ‘Brigade Criminelle’ trilogy of novels featuring the detective…
August 3, 2016 Marie by Madeleine Bourdouxhe Translated by Faith Evans Reviewed by Rachel Fenn Belgian writer Madeleine Bourdouxhe’s intriguing novella, originally published in 1943, has been newly translated by Faith…
June 30, 2016 Paris Vagabond by Jean-Paul Clébert Translated by Donald Nicholson-Smith Reviewed by Karen Langley There’s a current literary trend of reissuing lost classics, and one of the most reliable imprints…
June 30, 2016 Ladivine by Marie Ndiaye Translated from French by Jordan Stump Reviewed by Kate Gardner Marie Ndiaye’s latest book could be described as a surrealist family saga, perhaps even…
June 23, 2016 The Sun King Conspiracy by Yves Jégo & Denis Lépée Translated by Sue Dyson Reviewed by Helen Skinner This fascinating and complex historical thriller is set in 1661 at the court of France’s Sun…
June 16, 2016 Sentimental Education by Gustave Flaubert Translated by Helen Constantine, Editor Patrick Coleman Reviewed by Victoria If you’ve read a book by the 19th century French novelist, Gustave Flaubert, the…
June 3, 2016 The Life of Elves by Muriel Barbery Translated by Alison Anderson Reviewed by Annabel If like me, you read and loved Muriel Barbery’s bestselling novel The Elegance of the Hedgehog, which blended…
April 21, 2016 Mend the Living by Maylis de Kerangal Translated by Jessica Moore Reviewed by Annabel It is easy to see why this novel (in this translation; Sam Taylor has translated it in…
April 14, 2016 Tram 83 by Fiston Mwanza Mujilla Translated by Roland Glasser Reviewed by Terence Jagger TRAM 83: BY DAY AS BY NIGHT, ETERNAL IN ITS SPLENDOUR OF A PARADISE GOING TO…
April 14, 2016 Earth by Émile Zola Translated by Brian Nelson and Julie Rose Reviewed by Hayley Anderton Regular readers of my blog might remember that I set myself the task…
January 18, 2016 The Great Swindle by Pierre Lemaitre Translated by Frank Wynne Reviewed by Annabel French author Lemaitre is best known for his gory yet gripping trilogy of serial killer novels featuring…
October 7, 2015 The Meursault Investigation by Kamel Daoud Translated by John Cullen Reviewed by Victoria In a bar in Oran, Algeria, a lone man sits drinking. He draws his companion – the…
April 23, 2015 Tregian’s Ground by Anne Cuneo Translated from the French by Roland Glasser and Louise Rogers Lalaurie. Reviewed by Jean Morris The year is 1649 or thereabouts. In a verdant…
April 9, 2015 Billie by Anna Gavalda Translated by Jennifer Rappaport Reviewed by Harriet Anna Gavalda is a greatly admired novelist in her native France. All her books have been bestsellers…
January 23, 2015 The Fires of Autumn by Irène Némirovsky Translated by Sandra Smith Reviewed by Harriet The Fires of Autumn, first published in France in 1957, is the most recent of Irène Némirovsky’s…
January 21, 2015 Dear Reader by Paul Fournel Translated by David Bellos Reviewed by Karen Langley One of the continual debates nowadays amongst readers is the notion of paper versus e-reader. So…
January 16, 2015 Harraga by Boualem Sansal Translated by Frank Wynne Reviewed by Alice Farrant Harraga by Boualem Sansal is a dazzling mix of poetry and prose set in the old quarters…
December 5, 2014 The Peculiar Life of a Lonely Postman by Denis Thériault Translated from the French by Liedewy Hawke Reviewed by Ali Hope Swirling like wateragainst rugged rocks,time goes around and around The art of the…
December 1, 2014 Translator’s Perspective: An ‘Ordinary’ Christmas By Emily Boyce During the festive season, Versailles sparkled with inevitability While translating Pascal Garnier’s novel The Islanders, set over several days in December in…
December 1, 2014 The Islanders by Pascal Garnier Translated by Emily Boyce Reviewed by Annabel I am a recent convert to the dark noir novels of French author Pascal Garnier. There has…
October 24, 2014 Under the Tripoli Sky by Kamal Ben Hameda Translated by Adriana Hunter Reviewed by Bookgazing. At the beginning of Under the Tripoli Sky, the book’s young narrator, Hadachinou, is subject to a bris;…
