Read Around Europe Challenge
Read at least one book by an author from each country in Europe.
Best books from Europe (2669)
701.
Self-Portrait in Green by Marie NDiaye EN
FranceDescription:
'NDiaye is a hypnotic storyteller with an unflinching understanding of the rock-bottom reality of most people's life.' New York Times ' One of France's most exciting prose stylists.' The Guardian. Obsessed by her encounters with the mysterious green women, and haunted by the Garonne River, a nameless narrator seeks them out in La Roele, Paris, Marseille, and Ouagadougou. Each encounter reveals different aspects of the women; real or imagined, dead or alive, seductive or suicidal, driving the narrator deeper into her obsession, in this unsettling exploration of identity, memory and paranoia. Se... continue
702.
Inseparable : A Never-Before-Published Novel by Simone de Beauvoir EN
Description:
A never-before-published novel by the iconic Simone de Beauvoir of an intense and vivid girlhood friendship From the moment Sylvie and Andrée meet in their Parisian day school, they see in each other an accomplice with whom to confront the mysteries of girlhood. For the next ten years, the two are the closest of friends and confidantes as they explore life in a post-World War One France, and as Andrée becomes increasingly reckless and rebellious, edging closer to peril. Sylvie, insightful and observant, sees a France of clashing ideals and religious hypocrisy--and at an early age is determined... continue
703.
Moravagine by Blaise Cendrars EN
Description:
At once truly appalling and appallingly funny, Blaise Cendrars's Moravagine bears comparison with Naked Lunch—except that it's a lot more entertaining to read. Heir to an immense aristocratic fortune, mental and physical mutant Moravagine is a monster, a man in pursuit of a theorem that will justify his every desire. Released from a hospital for the criminally insane by his starstruck psychiatrist (the narrator of the book), who foresees a companionship in crime that will also be an unprecedented scientific collaboration, Moravagine travels from Moscow to San Antonio to deepest Amazonia, engag... continue
704.
The Margot affair by Sanae Lemoine EN
Description:
A NEW YORK TIMES EDITORS’ CHOICE The secret daughter of a French politician and a famous actress drops the startling revelation that will shatter her family in this beguiling debut novel of intrigue and betrayal. NAMED ONE OF SUMMER’S BEST BOOKS BY The Skimm • Marie Claire • LitHub • Subway Book Review • Paperback Paris Margot Louve is a secret: the child of a longstanding affair between an influential French politician with presidential ambitions and a prominent stage actress. This hidden family exists in stolen moments in a small Parisian apartment on the Left Bank. It is a house of cards th... continue
705.
The Red Notebook by Antoine Laurain EN
Description:
"Laurain presents the story as if it were reportage, but with the confidence of an age-old storyteller."—San Francisco Book Review "Laurain's gentle, satirical humor remind this reviewer of Jacques Tati's classic films, and, no, you don't have to know French politics to enjoy this charming novel. Fans of Muriel Barbery'sThe Elegance of the Hedgehog will want this."—Library Journal "A hymn to la vie Parisienne . . . enjoy it for its fabulistic narrative, and the way it teeters pleasantly on the edge of Gallic whimsy."—The Guardian Heroic bookseller Laurent Letellier comes across an abandoned ha... continue
706.
Moderato Cantabile by Marguerite Duras EN
Description:
A distressed young man murders the woman he loves in a caf�, watched by a large crowd. Fascinated by the crime she has witnessed, Anne Desbaresdes returns several times to the scene, forming a relationship with a man who also saw the murder, and drinking through the afternoon with him as he patiently answers her eager questions. Slowly, they find themselves being taken over by forces which threaten their own stability.Moderato Cantabile is a carefully woven tapestry of emotion, in which the characters' inner lives are reflected by the story's spaces and landscapes.
707.
Sans famille by Hector Malot, Christine Ferreira FR
Description:
Un des premiers romans dont le héros est un enfant. Les aventures de Rémi, l'enfant trouvé, se passent dans la France du XIXe siècle. Une histoire émouvante qui nous touche encore aujourd'hui... Et qui finit bien. -- [l'Éditeur].
708.
A Plea for the Animals : The Moral, Philosophical, and Evolutionary Imperative to Treat All Beings with Compassion by Matthieu Ricard EN
Description:
Every cow just wants to be happy. Every chicken just wants to be free. Every bear, dog, or mouse experiences sorrow and feels pain as intensely as any of us humans do. In a compelling appeal to reason and human kindness, Matthieu Ricard here takes the arguments from his best-sellers Altruism and Happiness to their logical conclusion: that compassion toward all beings, including our fellow animals, is a moral obligation and the direction toward which any enlightened society must aspire. He chronicles the appalling sufferings of the animals we eat, wear, and use for adornment or "entertainment,"... continue
709.
Description:
FILLE, nom féminin 1. Personne de sexe féminin considérée par rapport à son père, à sa mère. 2. Enfant de sexe féminin. 3. (Vieilli.) Femme non mariée. 4. Prostituée. Laurence Barraqué grandit avec sa soeur dans les années 1960 à Rouen. "Vous avez des enfants ? demande-t-on à son père. - Non, j'ai deux filles" , répond-il. Naître garçon aurait sans doute facilité les choses. Un garçon, c'est toujours mieux qu'une garce. Puis ... continue
710.
Annapurna by Maurice Herzog EN
Description:
Provides an account of the author's conquest of the Himalaya peak, and the difficulties that arose afterward