Promising French women writers, they say.
I’m sorry but this post is only a selfish reminder. The news magazine L’Express published a list of promising contemporary French women writers and I’m interested in discovering them, but of course, I won’t remember their names if I don’t write them down. And then I thought, where do I file the paper list? So here I am, writing an entry as a post-it, to keep the information somewhere I know it won’t get lost.
So here we are with the recommended books:
Confidences à Allah by Saphia Azzedine
She’s influenced by Robert Merle and Philip Roth. That’s a good sign for me.
Héloïse est chauve by Emilie de Turckheim
Her references are Faulkner and Malcom Lowry. I never managed to finish a Faulkner and Under the Volcano has been sitting on the shelf for 3 years now. Heloïse is bald, the title says. Why do I fear a book about Heloïse having cancer?
Des vies d’oiseaux by Véronique Ovaldé
She likes Faulkner, Bolaño, Antonio Lobo Antunes. I don’t know this Portuguese writer but I should check him out.
Du domaine des Murmures by Carole Martinez
She’s fond of Faulkner (Is there a Faulkner mania I’m unaware of, in this country?), Goran Tunström (Don’t ask me who he is), Toni Morrison, Cormac McCarthy, Maupassant, Claudel, Baudelaire and Rimbaud. Claudel ? Brr… I have Le Coeur Cousu at home, her other book but I haven’t started yet.
Rien ne s’oppose à la nuit by Delphine de Vigan
She’s a fan of Modiano, Nathalie Sarraute, Michel Tournier, Laura Kasischke and James Salter. After reading Underground Time, I wouldn’t have imagined her as a fan of the Nouveau Roman.
Les Séparées by Kéthévane Davrichewy
Her influences? Carson McCullers, Raymond Carver, Virginia Woolf, Edith Wharton, Marguerite Duras and Francis Scott Fitzgerald. An intriguing mix of writers.
La Ballade de Lila K by Blandine Le Callet
She’s into Greek tragedies and contemporary American literature. Hum.
Cronos by Linda Lê
Her favourite writers are Marina Tsvetaeva, Louis-René des Forêts, Louis Calaferte and Stif Dagerman. I don’t know her and I’ve never heard of the writers she mentioned. I’m terribly intrigued.
La Mémoire des murs by Tatiana de Rosnay.
She’s influenced by Daphne du Maurier and Ian McEwan. I’ve never been tempted by her books but I may be wrong.
Have you ever heard of them before or read their books?
Book Around the Corner 
As you know I read Underground Time too.
And I’ll agree what is UP with the Faulkner mania?
I’ve heard of Tatiana de Rosnay but I can’t recall where. Based on the influences, I’d go with Rosnay and Kéthévane Davrichewy.
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Ok, now I know where I’ve heard the name…Sarah’s Key. Not my type of book.
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Exactly the same reaction here…
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have you seen the film? It was entertaining, but throughout the film I had this feeling of manipulative storyteller. It was a great story, don’t get me wrong, but the twists and turns were very Hollywood-feeling.
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No, I wasn’t tempted by the film either, for the reasons you mention.
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I don’t know about this Faulkner mania.
I’m tempted by Kéthévane Davrichewy too. And I’m curious about Linda Lê.
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Well, as everyone knows, Americans do rule world literature, so therefore Faulkner is required reading.
Oh, wait, no they don’t…
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No? I thought we ruled the world literature 🙂
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Faulkner is a big turn off for me.
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Same here, I never managed to finish one of his books. Well, we can’t like all writers, geniuses or not.
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It’s the style in his case.
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Wonderful list. thanks. I know most of the writers they like (should read my Lobo Antunes on my TBR pile) Not many of the French writers I know though.
I have the Tatjana de Rosnay here and another ordered which looks great. I almost bought it in French but it seems that some of her novels were written in English. I had the same feeling about her like you. She is currently the French writer who sells the most books and all of her books are bestsellers in English speaking countries too. Enough to be suspicious, right?
I liked the topic of La mémoire des murs but that one hasn’t been translated.
I noticed the Faulkner mania before. He is also in the Pancol book.
You made me change my avatar. You think that’s better now?
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I love this cat picture, thanks for changing the pink for it, it suits you.
For me Tatiana de Rosnay is a female Douglas Kennedy. I looked at her books several times but I never bought any. Your comment it right, successful writers are suspicious sometimes. She has a French father and an English mother, I think. So she also writes in English.
I’ll have a look at La Mémoire des murs. (A friend lent me Le Voisin, but it’s still on the shelf…)
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Yes, I guess I’ll keep it. My old autogenerated avatar was pink but I’m rather a dark purple-black-silver kind of person. Therefore – cats it is.
I would have suggested a de Rosnay readalong but your time… maybe we can do it any way, it’s very short. That would at least make one mutual reader who is interested in a non-translated book. 🙂
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Yes, why not a readalong, as long as I have enough time. It’s an easy read, I should be OK.
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Have you read any Douglas Kennedy? I have some of his books here. Of course you know he wrote THE BIG PICTURE and then there’s The Woman in the 5th (due to be released soon I hope). I read somewhere that he’s much more popular in Europe–esp. France.
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June 2012 on DVD
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Yes I’ve read:
– The Pursuit of Happiness, I guess you’d like it, I thought it was good.
– In God’s Country: Travels in the Bible Belt. It’s non-fiction about reborn Christians. Frightening but interesting for a French.
– Dead Heart : excellent, you’d probably like it. It’s crime fiction.
– A Special Relationship : don’t give it to a pregnant woman. But I thought this one felt a bit of making a recipe so I stopped reading his books after this one.
The plot of L’homme qui voulait vivre sa vie is excellent, isn’t it ?
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Thanks I may pick one up soon
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Ha! I have splendid news. Danielle will read Tracy Chevalier with us. I told her about it.
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Great! Thank you. I have to write something about it. Usually nobody reads the book along with us.
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I know. they don’t know about it. I actually bought it because Danielle mentioned in one of her Thursday Thirteen posts on novels on friendships between women. She has just done another great Thursday Thirteen on novels based of fictitious diaries btw.
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One of the best French films I’ve seen recently.
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You haven’t seen the latest Guediguian, that’s why.
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Is there a Faulkner mania I’m unaware of, in this country?
Yes. Faulkner was a huge influence on the nouveaux romans writers. Claude Simon is especially close to being French Faulkner.
The one Lobo Antunes novel I have read was full of Faulkner. Cormac McCarthy and Toni Morrison are Faulknerians, which makes the Carole Martinez list kind of amusing.
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Thank you very much for your comment ; everything is crystal clear now.
I’ve never been able to finish a Faulkner.
I’ve never been tempted by the Nouveau Roman.
I’ve put down all the Cormac McCarthy I took in hand in book stores.
I don’t like Toni Morrison.
Isn’t my consistency quite amazing ? 🙂
Shall I deduct from all this that I shouldn’t read Carole Martinez?
CQFD?
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Shouldn’t read Carole Martinez? Probably not!
I have a friend who is similarly consistent with Proust and any writer who can be described as at all Proustian (Nabokov, Edmund White, John Banville), etc. She can’t stand any of them.
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Well that’s fair enough, but she’s missin’ out on some good eatin’.
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Take Under the Volcano, read it as if you were reading a foreign language, and tell me if it wasn’t worth disturbing the dust on your shelf ! And Heloïse has no cancer, I promise.
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Hello,
Thank you for dropping by and leaving a message.
I haven’t given up on trying Under The Volcano. I’ll be reading it as a foreign language since I bought it in English and I think I was slightly optimistic that day. That’s also why it’s still on the shelf: I need to be on holiday to read this or get a copy in French.
I’m so glad to hear that Héloïse has no cancer. There’s is this trend about bleak stories in French literature (Tom est mort, D’autres vies que la mienne, Claustria) and I’m a bit suspicious with such a title.
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Heloïse is bald because she’s a 5 months old baby ! It’s a love story, a bit insane and unrealistic. But it was such a violent happiness writing it! (i’m French. Hence my shitty english…)
Why do you want to read Lowry in French…? Are you French? (sounds like I’m saying : “you’ve got cancer?”)
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A story about a baby ! Now I’m terribly intrigued.
Guilty ! I’m a French woman who got the crazy idea to create a literary blog in English. One of the best ideas I’ve had in the two years.
PS : (sounds like I’m saying : “you’ve got cancer?”) After suspecting your character had cancer, I deserved this 🙂
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Not feeling the love for the Bard of Yoknapatawpha County here!
Thanks for the list & precis, Emma. Interesting to see what writers opt for for when pressed about influences etc.
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Afraid not. My heart beats for the Bard of Wessex.
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thanks for sharing I shall keep eye out for these writers ,all the best stu
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Hi Stu,
I’m afraid some of them aren’t translated into English yet.
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Now that I know how to deal with WordPress’ idiotic comment changes, Emma, here is the simple comment I tried to leave you approx. 30 comments back on this post! I very much enjoyed seeing the list of authors you mention here–in particular because male authors outnumber female authors among the books I most want to read by a wide margin. Seeing a list of all new women writer possibilities is thus very gratifying to me. I also wanted to add that even though I’ve yet to read Antonio Lobo Antunes, he comes highly recommended by people whose tastes I trust. Cheers!
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Hi Richard!
Thanks for trying again, I’m glad you managed to go through the new virtual gates.
I’m delighted that you – and other readers – found an interest in that entry. I was sure it would just be a reminder for me.
I’ve already read Delphine de Vigan and I liked her book very much. (Les Heures souterraines)
Good to know about Antonio Lobo Antunes.
Cheers!
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That is a wonderful list, Emma! I have read one book by Tatiana de Rosnay called ‘Sarah’s Key’ and liked it. I liked Tatiana’s insight into French culture in day-to-day life (I don’t know whether it is authentic, but sounded so to me :)) and into French history in the book. Have you read this book? I loved Emilie de Turckheim’s comment to your post 🙂
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Hello Vishy,
Thanks for the message.
I guess I’ll try a Tatiana de Rosnay with Caroline one of these days.
I’m always delighted when a writer leaves a comment.
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