April 16, 2019 Adèle by Leïla Slimani Translated by Sam Taylor Review by Annabel Slimani’s first novel to be translated into English, Lullaby, took the English-speaking publishing world by storm. It…
February 5, 2019 No Place to Lay One’s Head by Francoise Frenkel Translated by Stephanie Smee Reviewed by Harriet When I was first offered this book for review, I turned it down, for reasons that are…
October 25, 2018 The Lady and the Little Fox Fur by Violette Leduc Translated by Derek Coltman Review by Karen Langley There’s been a buzz recently about Penguin’s (re?) launch of their European Writers series, with the…
August 14, 2018 The Bright Side of Life by Emile Zola Translated by Andrew Rothwell Reviewed by Harriet Fans of Monty Python may have a bit of trouble with this title – I’ve had their…
July 24, 2018 Vernon Subutex 2 by Virginie Despentes Translated by Frank Wynne Review by Basil Ransome-Davies Almost two decades ago I saw a French movie called Baise-moi. It contained, besides much simulated…
July 17, 2018 Disoriental by Négar Djavadi Translated by Tina A Kover Review by Marina Sofia With a blurb promising a story of growing up in exile and even the title…
July 12, 2018 Retribution Road by Antonin Varenne Translated by Sam Taylor Review by Gill Davies Having become rather jaded with the predictability of the crime fiction genre and wearied by the…
February 20, 2018 Savages: The Wedding by Sabri Louatah Translated by Gavin Bowd Reviewed by Annabel This debut novel is the first volume of Louatah’s planned Saint-Étienne quartet named after the French city…
January 23, 2018 Lullaby by Leïla Slimani Translated by Sam Taylor Reviewed by Harriet Moroccan born novelist Leïla Slimani is not the first woman to win France’s most prestigious literary prize,…
November 16, 2017 Shadows and Sun by Dominique Sylvain Translated by Neil Caistor Reviewed by Terence Jagger I enjoyed this book, set amongst the French police in Paris and in Abidjan, but that’s…
November 14, 2017 A Love Story by Émile Zola Translated by Helen Constantine Reviewed by Harriet Here on Shiny we’ve reviewed several of the new Oxford World Classics editions of the novels of…
July 13, 2017 The Portrait by Antoine Laurain Translated by Jane Aitken and Emily Boyce Review by Annabel French author Antoine Laurain has already got himself an army of fans (or should…
June 13, 2017 The Santiago Pilgrimage by Jean-Christophe Rufin Translated by Martina Devis & Malcolm Imrie Reviewed by Terence Jagger Monsieur Rufin is an impressive man, having founded Médecins sans Frontières, been an…
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 19, 2016 About My Mother by Tahar Ben Jelloun Translated by Ros Schwartz & Lulu Norman Reviewed by Alice Farrant About My Mother is the story of a Lalla Fatma, written down by…
October 18, 2016 Diary of the Dark Years 1940 – 1944 by Jean Guéhenno Translated and annotated by David Ball Review by Terence Jagger This is a sombre book, the diary of a thoughtful but determined man – …
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…
October 11, 2016 Night Flight by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Translated by David Carter Reviewed by Simon If the name Antoine de Saint-Exupéry means anything to you, it probably only means one thing: The…
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…
