Back to school: the favorites of Pau booksellers

400 pounds at Tonnet

At Tonnet, on Place Marguerite Laborde, Martine Lahitte and Jean-Jacques Tonnet admit that it is difficult not to put the new releases on the shelves this fall. “We must have 400 of them,” the bookseller estimates. The 14 employees have already read about sixty books.

” Well-being ” by Nathan Hill at Gallimard is Jean-Jacques Tonnet’s favorite. It is a large fresco – 800 pages – in Chicago in the 1990s, linked to the story of a couple.

“The Staple”by Maryline Desbiolles published by Sabine Wespieser, released on the opening day of the Paralympic Games, is the story of a young girl who is mad about running and who, following an accident, finds herself unable to do so. She will use this weakness to discover things about her family. “A very beautiful text,” says Martine Lahitte, who will be hosting the author in November.

“Mesopotamia” by Olivier Guez at Grasset focuses on presenting Gertrude Bell. A tireless traveler, passionate archaeologist, fine diplomat and formidable schemer, she reveals a dreamed, fantasized, coveted and redesigned Orient. The author will be signing books at Tonnet in November.

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With “Day of undertow”at Verticales, Maylis de Kerangal follows the narrator back to Le Havre for 24 hours. “It’s very well constructed, we’re gripped from start to finish,” warns the bookseller.

“Houris”by Kamel Daoud, published by Gallimard, is set in Algeria in the 1990s. We follow the voice of a woman seriously injured in an attack. She speaks to the child she is carrying. “The style and writing are remarkable. This text shows what war can do to women,” says Martine Lahitte.

Two books, linked to one of the major themes of the new school year, which is ecological concerns, were selected by the booksellers: ” Hut “ by Abel Quentin at L’Observatoire – “an incredible quartet, marked by colossal research work linked to growth, becomes what it can with its questions, its convictions and its doubts” – and “Sleep your brute sleep” by Carole Martinez, published by Gallimard – “Eva and her daughter Lucie flee… The Camargue will be their refuge, far from everything and everyone. What will this wild land have in store for them: destruction or renewal?”

In “Long Island”published by Grasset, Colm Toibin “marvelously narrates everyday life, impeded existences and missed appointments. A novel of immense subtlety”, note the booksellers.

Who had a collective crush on “The ephemerals” by the Scot Andrew O’Hagan, published by Métailié. “Thirty years after that Scottish summer in 1986 that sealed the friendship of Tully, James and the others, the time has come for James to prove himself worthy of this bond. What he promised Tully must be done. In the name of their insolent, rebellious, audacious and crazy youth. As moving as it is scathing in humor, as profound as it is rock’n’roll, this novel is an ode to life,” they write.

“So that’s good.”by Clémentine Mélois, published by Gallimard: “We love this crazy family led by this father who is an inventor, sculptor, hard worker, a genius troublemaker, and so tender that he touches our hearts.”

Martine Lahitte’s favorite is “The Eye of the Partridge” by Christian Astolfi at Bruit Du Monde. Two women who arrived from Corsica and Algeria meet in Toulon. Every week, they will meet up and tell each other stories. A fairly socially committed book that Martine likes to highlight.

A comic book about gastronomy

At Bachi-Bouzouk, a double bookstore specializing in comics and manga, rue Latapie, Laurent and Fred are offering six favorites from the last few weeks (while waiting for the literary rentrée).

“Worm”by Edel Rodriguez, published by Bayard Graphic’, is an uncompromising autobiographical work, served by powerful graphics. From the Cuban revolution to the migration to the United States, including the Castro dictatorship, the author powerfully recounts a dark period in history that unfortunately still resonates today.

“Ulysses & Cyrano: It simmers and it simmers”by Servain, Dorison and Cristau, published by Casterman, is a hymn to simple joys, authentic happiness, values ​​and sharing. A bittersweet tale about gastronomy and intergenerational transmission. “Surely the best comic book of the year,” assure the booksellers of Bachi-Bouzouk.

“We called him Bebeto”by Rey, published by Dargaud, is a social chronicle that moves us with its accuracy of tone and the tenderness we feel for young people from an industrial suburb near Barcelona who are gradually leaving childhood behind.

After his Spirou and Fantasio, Émile Bravo returns to another successful series, that of the dwarf bears with “The 7 Dwarf Bears Against the Big Bad Wolf”at Seuil jeunesse. A mix of tales, very hungry humor and soup grimace. A youth comic for readers of all stripes.

“Shinkirari – Behind the Curtain, Freedom”by Murasaki Yamada, published by Kana, is a hard-hitting work that highlights the deep-seated issues of Japanese society, particularly those related to family and romantic relationships.

With its colorful protagonists and captivating plots and twists, “Wedding of gold and water” by Nao Iwamoto, at Akata offers a unique experience.

Eclecticism at L’Escampette

Rue des Cordeliers, at the L’Escampette bookstore, Aline Audran, Hugo Lassalle and Bertrand Foujanet defend an eclectic selection.

Aline Audran fell for “The Cabin” by Abel Quentin at L’Observatoire, which also won over the booksellers of Tonnet. In the 1970s, four young researchers put the finishing touches to the report that would change their lives: if industrial and demographic growth does not slow down, the world as we know it will collapse during the 21st century. Within the team, everyone reacts according to their temperament. “Their portraits are very accurate, these characters are touching. It is a very committed book with rhythmic writing. And it is also funny, the characters are deliberately archetypal and the line is emphatic. A pleasure to read,” assures Aline Audran.

“Believe in what?” by Richard Krawiec, guest of the show A Round Trip in the Dark this fall, published by Tusitala, takes place in Pittsburgh in the late 80s. It is the story of a working-class family struggling to make ends meet and whose eldest daughter is handicapped. “They are good people, touching in their attempt to get by. They show determination, stick together with each other and with their neighbors, and are looking for justice. Without ever falling into pathos,” assures the bookseller.

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Who also advises “North Sentinel” by Jérôme Ferrari at Actes Sud. A young man kills another young man, a tragic event that will lead the narrator into the story of a family. “It is a singular writing, with long sentences loaded with details, adjectives. But the author never lets go of his reader who reads breathlessly,” appreciates Aline.

“Theodoros” by Mircea Cartarescu, published by Noir sur Blanc, is recommended by Hugo Lassalle. Around the figure of Tewodros II, Emperor of Ethiopia in the middle of the 19th century^e century, the Romanian writer “deploys a teeming novel, of astonishing breadth, which blurs the tracks of historical truth, mixes the picaresque, the epic, the biblical, in a dazzling writing.”

“It’s snowing on the pianist”by Claudie Hunzinger, Grasset. “A true ode to music, to the senses, to language, to the body, to nature. All with a lightness, a rhythm that recalls the freedom of 18th century writers^e century,” writes Bertrand Foujanet on the bookstore’s website.

Emotion for Dancing under the pen

“The choice was not easy. I hesitated for a long time,” admits Karine Bourda, head of the bookstore Danser sous la plume, opposite the castle.

“I was once again moved by Gaël Faye’s very simple and striking style… His first book “Petit pays” adapted for the cinema was astounding; “Jacaranda” is her new novel but also a tree, symbol of life, symbol of the strength of a people trying to survive generations after the Rwandan genocide.” She also recommends “It’s snowing on the pianist” by Claudie Hunzinger. “Because this book places music, literature, love and old age at its heart in a style that is both contemporary and poetic. It is the story of an old novelist who falls in love with a fox and a young pianist. The book is captivating and disconcerting, right down to its last lines.” Her latest favorite of this literary rentrée is “The skinny children” by Tang Loaëc published by Passiflore. “It’s a very small book but it denounces so much. The story of Chinese children stolen from their families and then enslaved in factories, the story of a father who will never find peace again until his son is found. It’s the same story for many Chinese people. How many books like this will it take to take action?”