3 books linked to the 20th arrondissement of Paris, to slip under the tree

3 books linked to the 20th arrondissement of Paris, to slip under the tree – Mon Petit 20e

They have come out in recent weeks, highlight our district and can still be slipped under the tree. Two comics, a children’s album. The Père-Lachaise cemetery has the honors of two of them, while the third is part of the post-war Ménilmontant.

1/ “Père-Lachaise. Legends, celebrities and unusual burials” (Delcourt, 21,50 €). A unique guided tour of one of the most mysterious and fascinating cemeteries in the world. Why do people kiss Oscar Wilde’s tomb? Who was the vampire Countess Stroganoff? Why this gum tree near Jim Morrison’s grave? Frédéric Chopin, Victor Noir, Sarah Bernhardt, Alfred de Musset, Honoré de Balzac… Some of the best kept secrets of the Père-Lachaise cemetery are revealed in this comic book bringing together 16 talented authors, with Sébastien Floc’h on the screenplay.

2/ “The Fox of Père-Lachaise” by Nicolas Gilsoul. (Robert Laffont Jeunesse, €15). Benjamin bet to spend the night alone in the Père-Lachaise cemetery. All alone ? Really ? In the tall grass, it creaks, it hisses, it claws and it whispers… At first frightened, Benjamin will quickly discover, at the bend of the tombs invaded by vegetation, an unexpected life and adorable inhabitants. Several levels of reading in this tale: it is both an adventure book, a naturalist guide to the animals of our cities, but also a way of talking to children about the cycle of life and death.”

3/ “Some rififi in Ménilmontant! Nestor Burma in the 20th arrondissement » by Tardi based on the characters of Léo Malet. (Casterman, €25). A time journey through the post-war 20th arrondissement. “December 1957, Burma has a severe bout of flu, which he tries to treat with the latest fashionable drug from Manchol laboratories. But not having the habit of giving up in the face of adversity, he still agrees to receive a new client, the bourgeois type who is not afraid. What is his surprise when she reveals her identity to him… Madame Manchol! What follows is an investigation behind the scenes of the pharmaceutical laboratories, where there will be talk of big money, of course, and animal abuse.”