Recommendations based on "The Night Watch"

'A story for our, and all, times' GuardianThe Plague is Albert Camus's world-renowned fable of fear and courageThe townspeople of Oran are in the grip of a deadly plague, which condemns its victims to a swift and horrifying death. Fear, isolation and claustrophobia follow as they are forced into quarantine. Each person responds in their own way to the lethal some resign themselves to fate, some seek blame, and a few, like Dr Rieux, resist the terror.An immediate triumph when it was published in 1947, The Plague is in part an allegory of France's suffering under the Nazi occupation, and a story of bravery and determination against the precariousness of human existence.'A matchless fable of fear, courage and cowardice' Independent'Magnificent' The Times

« Année après année, Mathilde revint à la charge. Chaque été, quand soufflait le chergui et que la chaleur, écrasante, lui portait sur les nerfs, elle lançait cette idée de piscine qui révulsait son époux. Ils ne faisaient aucun mal, ils avaient bien le droit de profiter de la vie, eux qui avaient sacrifié leurs plus belles années à la guerre puis à l’exploitation de cette ferme. Elle voulait cette piscine, elle la voulait en compensation de ses sacrifices, de sa solitude, de sa jeunesse perdue. »1968 : à force de ténacité, Amine a fait de son domaine aride une entreprise florissante. Il appartient désormais à une nouvelle bourgeoisie qui prospère, fait la fête et croit en des lendemains heureux. Mais le Maroc indépendant peine à fonder son identité nouvelle, déchiré entre les archaïsmes et les tentations illusoires de la modernité occidentale, entre l’obsession de l’image et les plaies de la honte. C’est dans cette période trouble, entre hédonisme et répression, qu’une nouvelle génération va devoir faire des choix. Regardez-nous danser poursuit et enrichit une fresque familiale vibrante d’émotions, incarnée dans des figures inoubliables.

Published when she was only nineteen, Fran�oise Sagan's astonishing first novel Bonjour Tristessebecame an instant bestseller. It tells the story of C�cile, who leads a carefree life with her widowed father and his young mistresses until, one hot summer on the Riviera, he decides to remarry - with devastating consequences. In A Certain SmileDominique, a young woman bored with her lover, begins an encounter with an older man that unfolds in unexpected and troubling ways. These two acerbically witty and delightfully amoral tales about the nature of love are shimmering masterpieces of cool-headed, brilliant observation.

Written when execution by guillotine was still legal in France, Albert Camus' devastating attack on the 'obscene exhibition' of capital punishment remains one of the most powerful, persuasive arguments ever made against the death penalty.

No exit, unabridged. Edition of Sartre's well known existentialist novel.

Bonjour Tristesse Is Françoise Sagan's Stylish, Shimmering And Amoral Tale Of Adolescence And Betrayal On The French Riviera, Published When Its Author Was Just Eighteen Years Old. It Tells The Story Of Cécile, Who Leads A Carefree Life With Her Widowed Father And His Young Mistresses Until, One Hot Summer On The Riviera, He Decides To Remarry - With Devastating Consequences. In A Certain Smile, Which Is Also Included In This Volume, Dominique, A Young Woman Bored With Her Lover, Begins An Encounter With An Older Man That Unfolds In Unexpected And Troubling Ways. Both Novellas Have Been Freshly Translated By Heather Lloyd And Include An Introduction By Rachel Cusk. Françoise Sagan Was Born In France In 1935. Bonjour Tristesse (1954), Published When She Was Just Eighteen, Became A Succès De Scandale And Even Earned Its Author A Papal Denunciation. Sagan Went On To Write Many Other Novels, Plays And Screenplays, And Died In 2004. Heather Lloyd Was Previously Senior Lecturer In French At The University Of Glasgow, And Has Published Work On Both Bonjour Tristesse And Françoise Sagan. Rachel Cusk Is The Author Of Saving Agnes (1993), Which Won The Whitbread First Novel Award; A Life's Work: On Becoming A Mother (2001); And Arlington Park (2006), Shortlisted For The 2007 Orange Prize For Fiction. Her Most Recent Book Is Aftermath: On Marriage And Separation (2012). 'funny, Thoroughly Immoral And Thoroughly French' The Times

"An obsessive and revealing self-portrait of a remarkable woman humiliated by the circumstances of her birth and by her physical appearance. La Batarde relates Violette Leduc's long search for her own identity through a series of agonizing and passionate love affairs with both men and women. When first published, La Batarde was compared to the work of Jean Genet for the frank depiction of sexual escapades and immoral behavior. A confession that contains portraits of several famous French authors, this book is more than just a scintillating memoir - like that of Henry Miller or Charles Bukowski, Leduc's brilliant writing style and attention to language transform this autobiography into a work of art."--BOOK JACKET.

Henri Charriere, called "Papillon," for the butterfly tattoo on his chest, was convicted in Paris in 1931 of a murder he did not commit. Sentenced to life imprisonment in the penal colony of French Guiana, he became obsessed with one goal: escape. After planning and executing a series of treacherous yet failed attempts over many years, he was eventually sent to the notorious prison, Devil's Island, a place from which no one had ever escaped . . . until Papillon. His flight to freedom remains one of the most incredible feats of human cunning, will, and endurance ever undertaken. Charriere's astonishing autobiography, Papillon, was published in France to instant acclaim in 1968, more than twenty years after his final escape. Since then, it has become a treasured classic -- the gripping, shocking, ultimately uplifting odyssey of an innocent man who would not be defeated.

When Édouard’s mother reveals she is—not for the first time—enduring an abusive relationship, mother and son plot her next steps in what is at once an edge-of-the-seat escape narrative and a meditation on freedom and renewal.Late one night, Édouard receives a telephone call from his mother. In tears, she tells him that her partner, her first since her abusive marriage with Édouard’s father, has been insulting, degrading, and humiliating her. I thought this would be a new life for me and now it’s starting all over.From afar, in Athens, Édouard swiftly sets a plan in place for Monique; the next morning, she departs the apartment she has been sharing with the man. What takes shape over the next weeks, over phone calls and informal Internet tutorials, on video chats and train rides, is a powerful and transformative shared experience for mother and son as they navigate the aftermath of male brutality, confront the limitations of class and society, and lay bare the pain of their past. With characteristic insight into society’s underpinnings and oversights, and with exquisite and tender portraiture, Édouard Louis’s Monique Escapes is a profound story of a woman, a mother, and a family’s search for more.

In May 1779, the son of a prominent but poor Corsican family arrives at a military school in eastern France. Barely able to speak the language and fiercely proud of his Genoese heritage, it will nevertheless take Napoleon Bonaparte just 20 years to become absolute ruler of the country he once saw as his oppressor. Set against the murderous unpredictability of revolutionary politics and the battlefields of Italy, Egypt, and France, The Song of Departure introduces us to the man who would become the Little Emperor.