New literary season: five foreign works not to be missed
The back-to-school literary season is an opportunity to discover captivating stories from abroad. This year, several international authors stand out for their pen and their ability to reinvent genres. Here are five of this season’s must-reads.
The Prophet’s Song by Paul Lynch
Winner of the Booker Prize, this dystopian novel explores a society in the throes of decay, between the ghosts of Ireland’s civil war and the echoes of authoritarian Syria. The plot follows Eilish Stack, a microbiologist and mother of four, as she confronts the disappearance of her husband Larry, the victim of a secret police force. The story, without quotation marks and carried along by dense writing, installs an oppressive tension while questioning the loss of identity in the face of authoritarian excesses. Paul Lynch’s hyper-realistic novel is deeply engaging.
The City of Uncertain Walls by Haruki Murakami
With this novel, Haruki Murakami revisits a work from his youth to offer a 550-page tale combining dreamlike imagery and introspection. The story recounts the passion of a 17-year-old teenager for a young girl living in a mysterious city protected by high walls. Murakami blends fantasy and lyricism, exploring universal themes such as love and absence. This book marks a return to the essence of his delicate, poetic style.
Lives and deaths of Sophie Blind by Susan Taubes
Published in 1969, this daring novel, now rehabilitated, is a plunge into the complex mind of a woman in search of freedom. Susan Taubes, a Hungarian-born Jew, explores in this semi-autobiographical work the dilemmas of a woman seeking to emancipate herself from an oppressive marriage. Intense and innovative in form, it resonates particularly well in the contemporary context, where the struggle for female autonomy continues to take center stage.
The untamed lands of Lauren Groff
Lauren Groff returns with a novel set in 17th-century America, where survival mingles with the quest for identity. The story follows a maid fleeing the violence of her masters to confront a hostile wilderness. Groff’s raw, immersive writing reflects the harshness of the period, while highlighting issues that are still relevant today, such as exploitation and social injustice.
The Glutton by A.K. Blakemore
This atypical historical tale plunges the reader into France in 1798, where a man nicknamed the “Glouton de Lyon” recounts his life marked by insatiable hunger. Through this fascinating character, A.K. Blakemore questions the relationship between the body, society and inequality. After her first success with The Manningtree Witches, the author delivers a tale where history and myth meet with brio.
Also read: Better Man, the atypical Robbie Williams biopic that deserves to be seen
