Contemporary literature

Few contemporary novels linger in the mind as stubbornly as Laurent Mauvignier’s "The Empty House". On the surface, it unfolds as the story of a family across several generations; beneath that surface, however, it becomes an exploration of memory, silence, and the invisible forces that shape lives long after the original events have faded into history. At the heart of the novel stands Marie-Ernestine, a woman whose love for music is sacrificed to the conventions of her time when she is forced...

Flesh by David Szalay follows the life of István through a fragmented narrative composed of selected moments from different stages of his existence. Rather than presenting a continuous chronological development, the novel offers a series of snapshots that reveal decisive experiences and turning points. The story begins with a shocking event: as a teenager, István enters into a sexual relationship with an older woman. The affair results in tragic consequences when her husband dies in an accide...

"Impasse Verlaine" by Dalie Farah is a rare and deeply moving book, one that stands out immediately for its honesty, emotional power, and the precision of its language. The narrative takes the form of a Bildungsroman, following the narrator from birth to the age of eighteen, the decisive moment when she leaves the family home. Interwoven with this trajectory is that of her mother, Vendredi, which gives the novel one of its most striking singularities: it also becomes, unexpectedly, a coming-o...