Thomas B. Reverdy, Aliyeh Ataei, Alexandre Kauffman… our selection of the week

A somewhat special day in the shoes of a high school student in the Paris suburbs, stories of war between Iran and Afghanistan and the true story of the false victim of the Bataclan… Our suggestions for books to slip into your pockets this week .

“The Great Help”, by Thomas B. Reverdy

A group of teenagers who turn into out-of-control rioters. The theme resonates strangely with the events that shook France at the start of the summer of 2023. But if this is indeed what happens in Thomas B. Reverdy's new novel, we are nevertheless the exact opposite of exploitation cynical that this news channel – or this Sunday weekly is fond of… This is fiction. In this case, a day in the life of a high school in the Paris suburbs, between 7:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. And the best of fictions, that which approaches truth without claiming reality. — S.E.

Ed. I read, €8.10.

“The Border of the Forgotten”, by Aliyeh Ataei

This “frontier of the forgotten” is a chaotic world, where children live with rats while avoiding being bitten when night falls, where women have no voice but refuse to be powerless. In this frightening universe, wars always target the same victims, the eternal nomads. The writer and journalist Aliyeh Ataei is Iranian. She was born in a “non-place”, the province of South Khorasan, bordering Afghanistan, which she describes in bits and pieces in a precious book, composed of nine stories steeped in biographies and autobiography. — C.F.

Ed. Folio, 7,80 €.

“The mythomaniac of the Bataclan”, by Alexandre Kauffmann

When the horror of the attacks struck the capital in November 2015, Florence quickly left a message on the Facebook wall of Greg, her best friend: “Courage, I’m thinking of you, hold on…” A few days later, she continued: “Big thoughts… Can’t wait until you’re no longer in intensive care…” Injured in the abdomen and legs, Greg will take months to recover. Florence quickly joined the victim assistance association Life for Paris, first as a volunteer, then as an employee. Collection of testimonies, moderation of the discussion forum, organization of concerts…: for two years, the young woman, appreciated for her empathy, spared no effort. Remarkable dedication, until the truth comes out: his story is completely fabricated, his friend was never a victim of the Bataclan terrorists… — L.A.

Ed. Points, 8,4 €.

“Six versions. Volume 2: The Macleod Killing”, by Matt Wesolowski

Imagine a series of thrillers based on the staging of cold casesas the Anglo-Saxons say, these old, cold things that we take out of drawers, are obviously not revolutionary. But the idea of ​​writing them in the form of podcasts, true crime while they are entirely imaginary, it is much more so. And reading the first two volumes of the series, entitled Six Versionsturns out to be very convincing. This second volume bears a very telling title, tabloid style, The Macleod Killing. At the center of the story, a young woman famous in spite of herself, Arla Macleod. When the story begins, she is interned for life in a psychiatric hospital and has exceptionally agreed to speak to Scott King, podcast host, with the agreement of her doctors. — M.A.

Ed. Points, 8,95 €.

“The Blinded”, by Sylvie Kauffmann

Precise as an article, detailed as a novel, necessary as an essay, the work of journalist Sylvie Kauffmann mixes genres to provide a breathtaking decipherment of the European situation. Its screenplay tells the story of blindness, “twenty years of naivety, of complacency” towards Putin, summarized by this subtitle in the form of geopolitical decoding: How Berlin and Paris left the way clear for Russia. Its framework is clear: from the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 to Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. — J.Ce

Ed. Folio, 9,90 €.