Whenever I visit France or Quebec, I make it a point to visit as many bookstores as I can squeeze into my packed travel itinerary. Compared to the United States, the brick-and-mortar bookselling business is still thriving in France. The French people are not only buying books, they’re selling their books…
I recently read Suite Française, a poignant novel by Irene Némirovsky that would have remained hidden from history were it not for the courageous actions of her daughter, Denise Epstein. In 2004, sixty-two years after Némirovsky’s death in Auschwitz, Suite Française appeared in French libraries for the first time. It…
Kobane Calling, a new graphic novel by Italian cartoonist, Zerocalcare, provides a riveting account of the author’s humanitarian trips into war-torn Syria. Enlightening as well as entertaining, the book is fascinating on many levels and well worth your time and/or money. Originally written in Italian, a French version appeared last…
