There is mystery in these three finalists… That of the almost magical charm that the bewitching prose of Quebecer Audrée Wilhelmy had on our readers. His novel “Peau-de-sang” captivated or disturbed, conquered or displeased. Those who love her voted with such enthusiasm that she is a finalist. That raised by the passion and perseverance of the Australian Anna Funder, who for a long time surrounded the life and work of Eileen O'Shaughnessy, “The Invisible Madame Orwell”. A shadowy woman mistreated by her brilliant husband, the wife of the author of “1984” finally regains, with this intimate biography, the place that is due to her: at the heart of her husband's work, which she contributed to bringing into existence, but also literary history, she who wrote throughout her life. And finally the multiple mysteries of the double novel by the Englishman Gareth Rubin, finalist in the detective category, captivated the jurors.
Also read > Grand Prix des Lectrices 2025: here are the first 3 books in the selection (1/8)
Fiction
Through its prose and its feminist aura, this book is sublime. The woman: mother, whore, innocent, guilty, young, old, prisoner, free… In Kangoq, she is the point of balance in a world unbalanced by the deviousness of men. “It’s a matter of men – but the first protects the second – the second covers the third – and the third points at Philomène. » They want her ashamed and proud, submissive and dominant, clean and dirty. Each part of this book must be read in full awareness, almost absorbed, like the most beautiful poetry. It was a pure pleasure and a great surprise to appreciate this work that I would not have discovered on my own. A successful exit from my comfort zone! To all the witches in this world. Maëva Vergoz
“Peau-de-sang”, by Audrée Wilhelmy (Le Tripode, 235 p.).
Non-fiction
Anna Funder highlights Eileen O'Shaughnessy, George Orwell's first wife. At the same time, she also talks about her own existence as an author and her difficulties in reconciling life as a woman, life as a mother and professional life. George “steals” Eileen’s time to write. He must work for his works, she must work for him AND his works. I fear that George Orwell was nothing but a selfish and despicable individual. Eileen was intelligent, hardworking, friendly… and without her, he would never have become a writer! If you, too, have difficulty dissociating the author from his work, do not read this book. After reading “The Invisible Mrs Orwell”, I am no longer sure I want to read other books by Mr. Orwell. Stephanie Morett
“The Invisible Madame Orwell”, by Anna Funder, translated from English by Carine Chichereau (Éditions Héloïse d’Ormesson, 448 p.).
Policeman
Imagine a head-to-head book, offering not one, but two stories, that's what “The Riddle of Turnglass” achieves. On the one hand, in 1881, Simeon Lee, a young London doctor, goes to Ray's Island to save his uncle, Oliver, who is convinced that he has been poisoned. At Turnglass House, he discovers Florence, Oliver's sister-in-law, locked in a glass cage. What secret weighs on this woman declared crazy? On the other side, in California, in 1939, Ken Kourian, an ambitious young actor, embarks on an investigation into the death of his writer friend Oliver Tooke. The story skilfully intertwines with Oliver's diary, strewn with clues, each turning page of which reveals a new piece of the puzzle. Gareth Rubin succeeds in maintaining the suspense in both stories. Salima Benichou
“The Enigma of Turnglass”, by Gareth Rubin, translated from English by Michael Belano (10/18, 442 p.).
This month, our jurors read in the Fiction category: “The Club of Lost Children”, by Rebecca Lighieri (POL) and “Les Enfants du broad”, by Virginia Tangvald (JC Lattès). In the Non Fiction category: “A disproportionate desire for friendship”, by Hélène Giannecchini (Le Seuil). In the Thriller category: “The Game of the Soul”, by Javier Castillo (Albin Michel).
