Jacaranda, of Gael Faye
The roots of life. Milan’s mother is Rwandan but she now lives in France and has never said a word to her son about her country. In 1994, after the massacres, she welcomed a child seriously injured in the head into their home, saying: “he’s my nephew.” Milan is stunned but, as an only son, he begins to love Claude, the young martyr, with an unalterable brotherly love. From separation to reunion, from Paris to Kigali, Milan will never stop wanting to find Claude, and to put down roots in a land full of meaning. Through this simple story, the rapper musician Gaël Faye, who has already enjoyed immense success with his first novel Small Countrymanages to evoke the history of Rwanda over several generations. We meet an extraordinary centenarian, a prodigious kid in love with a tree, men with big hearts. Even if the tragedy surfaces relentlessly, this marvel of a novel dazzles us thanks to the incredible capacity for reconstruction of this very living people.
Jacaranda, from Gael Faye, ed. Grasset, 288 p., 20.90€.
The courage of the innocent, by Véronique Olmi
Current. A young man crosses France to retrieve, from an orphanage, his half-brother who has just been taken from his father’s care. By observing the fate of children deprived of parents, he discovered a humanitarian streak that would lead him to Ukraine. A novel in touch with current events and the emotions it arouses.
The courage of the innocentby Véronique Olmi, ed. Albin Michel, 288 p., €21.90.
The Boat of Masao, by Antoine Choplin
Minimalist. A Japanese worker finds his daughter, who became an architect, who was taken from him when she was a child. He tells her what his life has been like from his meeting with his strange mother, to the sacrifice he secretly made to allow her to continue her studies. A very Far Eastern minimalism, all in kindness.
Masao’s Boatby Antoine Choplin, ed. Buchet-Chastel, 208 p., €19.50.
The Jaguar’s Dream, by Miguel Bonnefoy
Baroque. A baby abandoned in a small town in Venezuela is rescued by a beggar who uses him to soften passers-by. Despite this hazardous start in life, he will become a very prominent personality… A baroque, colorful, epic, abundant, and authentic novel since it is the author’s grandfather!
The Jaguar’s Dreamby Miguel Bonnefoy, ed. Shores, 304 p., €20.90.
The Thickness of Dawn, by Nicolas Garma-Berman
Odd. Two Scottish children left their country when their mother disappeared. With their father, they started a new life in Switzerland. Having reached adulthood, the eldest loses his daughter and this tragedy gives rise, for both of them, to disturbing apparitions from the beyond. Lots of poetry and sweetness in this endearing novel.
The Thickness of Dawnby Nicolas Garma-Berman, ed. Belfond, 368 p., €20.
Pocket side: Full sail, by Jean Le Cam
While the tenth edition of the Vendée Globe Challenge, a round-the-world sailing trip, is about to be launched, the famous sailor, who should also set off on November 10 in Les Sables d’Olonne, tells us about his crazy sailor’s life.
All sails outby Jean Le Cam, ed. I read, 416 p., €9.
The True Story of Bonnie and Clyde
Killed in their early twenties in 1934, gangsters Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow are told here by the mother of one and the sister of the other. Their statements were compiled chronologically. It’s incredible to relive this legendary escape up close!
The True Story of Bonnie and Clydeed. Libretto, 288 p., €10.50.
Reread in pocket The painting of the Flemish master, by Arturo Pérez-Reverte
The discovery of a mysterious message on the back of a 15th century Flemish painting depicting two chess players rekindles a thrilling contemporary murder investigation. To link crime fiction, art and medieval history in the same reading.
The painting by the Flemish masterd’Arturo Pérez-Reverte, ed. Folio, 480 p., €9.40.
Mesopotamia, by Olivier Guez and The Invisible Madame Orwell, by Anna Funder
It’s trendy. Find the woman. Behind every great man, there is a woman, Talleyrand would have said. Two novels seem to support this proverb. The British Gertrude Bell, born at the time of the British occupation of the Middle East, thanks to her fortune, encouraged archeology in Mesopotamia (today Iraq), and cornered the man who would become the famous Lawrence of Arabia. (Mesopotamia, by Olivier Guez, ed. Grasset, 416 p., €23). L’Invisible Madame Orwell, by Anna Funder, dissects the work of the author of 1984 based on recently found letters from his wife to her best friend. Marital inspiration becomes striking! (Ed. Héloïse d’Ormesson, 492 p., €23).
