Of course, authors and publishers applaud when they appear in our charts. But let’s face it, there is a world between the first and the last of the top 20 that have appeared lately. Proof of this is the sales figures (source Edistat) of the novels published in January 2023. 130,000 copies sold of volume 2 of the captive by Sarah Rivens, and… 10,000 for Gaëlle Nohant; nearly 120,000 for Pierre Lemaitre, versus 13,000 for Colson Whitehead; 80,000 for Colleen Hoover and 16,000 for Jérôme Garcin, 55,000 for Maud Ankaoua and 28,000 for Philippe Claudel…
In short, it’s the big gap. Let’s continue with the figures: if 25 publishers are present in the two prize lists, Gallimard stands out with five citations, while Grasset, Albin Michel and Hlab (a subsidiary of Hachette) accumulate three. Something to smile about, all the same. Marianne Payot
The list of best-selling books
© / The Express
12. Obverse. News from the undesirables
By JMG Le Clezio
Invisible, even undesirable, they keep Le Clézio’s characters with their heads held high throughout the eight short stories that make up this ode to the underprivileged. Orphan on the island of Rodrigues, runaway slaves, exiled Mexican children, African women from Paris… At 82, the 2008 Nobel Prize winner for literature continues her fight, and delights the press, rarely so unanimous about her.
8. Here and elsewhere
By Florence Aubenas
Eight years later In France, the great reporter once again tells us about our time, bringing together her writings here to The world between 2015 and 2022. Revolt of the yellow vests, great confinement, trip to Thailand of two cousins, war in Ukraine… hot news treated in its daily life with an incisive and precise pen. And a book on which fans of the Ouistreham wharf (Joseph Kessel Prize 2010) and The Stranger of the Post (2021) threw themselves as soon as it was published.
Spain
Trenza del mar Emerald
By Brandon Sanderson
At 47, Brandon Sanderson, the American fantasy author (published in France by Le Livre de poche) is setting Spanish bookstores on fire with Trenza del mar Emerald (“Emerald Sea Braid”), which is part of the “Cosmere” universe. This story of an island, a sailor, a witch and pirates sits on the list ofEl Cultural.