Here comes summer… and the favorites of Norman booksellers!

Finally, the time comes when we take the time to settle down and when we want to immerse ourselves in stories synonymous with escape… The right book to put in your suitcase or to devour in your hammock, this is what five Norman booksellers offer us. With a little bonus, the Norman book that excites them.

How better to unearth the little literary nuggets that make you vibrate in the abundant offer of the shelves than by addressing the passionate booksellers of our five departments? Here is a deliberately non-objective and non-exhaustive proposal. Let’s enter our Norman bookstore… and there is mysticism in the air.

The ♥ of the “Quartier Libre” bookstore in Flers

It is the winner of the Inter prize awarded in June that has won the enthusiasm of Vincent Patry, manager of the bookstore “Quartier Libre” in Flers, in Orne. The author, Phoebe Hadjimarkos Clarke, was crowned for her second novel “Aliène” published by Éditions du sous-sol.

“We are literally captivated by this novel, a sort of mystical thriller. The book talks about a subject that concerns people: the animal nature of humans, savagery. We follow a main character, young Fauvel, who suffered trauma, having lost an eye following an LBD shot. She will have to take care of a dog who is himself violent in a village in which a distressing intrigue is taking place. This book captures and questions. It is current with this duality of animality and humanity. It is a useful literature which shakes up“.

As a Norman favorite, Vincent Paitry chose the poetry of Jean-Claude Touzeil.

At the origin of the poetry fair of Durcé in Orne, Jean-Claude Touzeil, passionate about cycling, wrote “Cyclitude” published by Gros Textes.It’s a pretty object book with beautiful illustrations by Claude Gosselin. At the time of the Tour de France, the author gives us pieces of life, childhood memories, winks to the champions; it is sensitive, of great humanity.”

The ♥ favorite of the “Quai des Mots” bookstore in Louviers

Stéphane Lemaître, bookseller in Louviers, in Eure, is full of praise for Cécile Coulon’s latest novel, published by l’Iconoclaste: “The Language of Broken Things”.

“This is a superb creation that is as much a novel as it is poetry. A magnificent short, mystical novel. The story takes place over one night, a son takes over from his healer mother. It is a little confusing at first, we do not know in what period it takes place. We are then captivated until the end, by this fantastic and humane story.“

The Norman author that Stéphane Lemaître introduced us to recently came to sign her book in his bookstore. Julie Cayeux is a clown, actress and poet. She published “You refused to call him Ogre” published by L’atelier de l’agneau.

“Again, it is a very short form, 80 superb pages, all in delicacy. It is a very strong novel about the hold of a man on a woman, mistreatment, which has a very strong resonance with violence against women.“.

The ♥ win from the “Les Racontars” bookstore in Saint-Lô

It is from Saint-Lô, in the Manche, that Mathilde Legroult, manager of the bookstore Les Racontars, gives us her big summer favorite. Published in pocket format by Folio, “Clara lit Proust” by Stéphane Carlier makes her laugh again.

It’s the destiny of a young woman, it feels good, we’ve all dreamed of changing our lives!

Mathilde Degroult, bookseller in Saint-Lô

“It’s funny, super tender. Clara, an employee of a hair salon, finds, forgotten by a customer, “In Search of Lost Time” by Proust. She discovers Proust and, transcended by this reading, devours all his other novels. Through this reading, she realizes that her life does not suit her.“

A story with colorful characters about the power of books.

Mathilde Legroult’s other summer tip is also made to make you smile. It’s a photo novel, an outdated style that’s coming back into fashion…”“Guacamole vaudou” by Fabcaro and Eric Judor published by Seuil, it’s great, a completely crazy, absurd, hilarious book. A loser, an employee of an advertising agency, will take his revenge through stupid and irresistible situations.”

The ♥ favorite of the bookstore “La page qui tourne” in Verson

Pascale Colin, manager of the Verson bookstore, in Calvados near Caen, is an example of a passionate bookseller, proud of her bookstore opened 3 years ago, “La page qui tourne”, a general bookstore nestled in 30 m² which was able to find a loyal clientele, outside the city center.

His favorite is also a paperback book to slip into your suitcase and which will take you on a journey even if you stay in Normandy: “Partie italienne” by Antoine Choplin, published by Le Point Poche.

“It is a book, accessible, quick to read, but with great finesse of writing. We are on the terrace of a café in Rome. A renowned Parisian artist is there, seeking solitude. A game of chess will be the trigger for a decisive encounter. A book about wandering in Rome, about the game of chess, the change of life, the mixture of cultures. The word is right, the writing poetic without great descriptions. We want to discover the eternal city“. Pascale Colin tells us that we will be talking about Antoine Choplin again at the start of the literary season with his next novel: “La Barque de Masao” published by Buchet Chastel. (released on August 22).

The Normandy favorite of the bookstore “La page qui tourne” is to take on the roads of DDay. Published by Éditions Nationale 13, based in the Manche: “Road trip on the landing beaches” is a documentary book.

“It’s a beautiful book, where we travel with Claire Larquemain, the author and Alice Bertrand, the photographer, the D-Day beaches aboard a Willys jeep. This is the book I would want to buy on the landing: informative, but also entertaining, with beautiful portraits of men and women“.

The ♥ of the bookstore “Le rabbit blanc” in Mesnil-Esnard

Finally, Laure-Aline Perois, from the Lapin Blanc bookstore in Mesnil-Esnard, near Rouen, takes us to Scotland. In the book by the Australian Charlotte McConaghy, published by Éditions Gaïa “Je pleure encore la beauté du monde”, the relationship between man and nature and animals is still discussed.

“We follow a woman and her twin sister, as well as the story of their childhood. The main heroine, passionate about biodiversity, wants to reintroduce wolves to Scotland and will find herself confronted with the fears of the population.”

This book makes us feel all the beauty in the world

Laure-Aline Perois, bookseller at Lapin Blanc in Mesnil-Esnard

“The particularity of this young biologist is to feel all the feelings and pains of other living beings. The first sentence of the novel hits home: “We were eight years old the day my dad cut me in two, from my throat to my lower abdomen”, in reality his father was butchering a rabbit… It is the story of the passage from a childhood in nature to confrontation with the world and men.”

His Norman favorite: “Roman Fleuve” by Philibert Humm at Folio, “which tells the crazy adventure of a trio of friends who undertake to go down the Seine in a canoe from Paris to Honfleur. It’s very funny and it’s in paperback!“

Have a nice summer and great reading! And maybe you will find the one who will change your life…