Sale of books: the powers of literature in the face of death

Chance of publications, the questioning of the powers of literature in the face of death crosses several of the bestsellers of this autumn. Starting with Justine Augier’s book, Believe (23rd on our list), written on the “injunction” of his dying mother. While Marielle de Sarnez, suffering from leukemia, died, her daughter took up the pen, attached to this belief “in the ability of sentences to change something in reality, through those who read”.

The director of France Inter Adèle Van Reeth, also struck by mourning, that of her father, underlines for her part in Inconsolable that “other people’s words are not consoling. To look death in the face, isn’t that not to note our condition of resolutely inconsolable beings?”. Finally, the journalist Jérôme Garcin, marked once again by misfortune, continues his tributes: after his father (Horsefall) and his twin brother (Olivier), here, in 29th place, my fragile ones, superb tribute to his mother, Françoise, “woman of light in every sense of the term”, and to her brother, Laurent, both recently deceased. Marianne Payot

3. Forever

By Colleen Hoover

Until now, it invaded the only Anglo-Saxon charts. But, carried by BookTok, the literary platform of TikTok, the former social worker from Texas ended up crossing the Atlantic and placing her romance (pocket formats have been a hit in France for a long time) in our top 10 fictions. Following never again, For ever lingers in third place.

7. Origins. Why do we become who we are?

By Gerald Bronner

Son of a cleaning lady, the sociologist Gérald Bronner, columnist at L’Express, stigmatizes here the stories of defectors, of which he disapproves “the pain” and the reduction of the reproduction of inequalities to the only class of origin. For his part, he refuses any notion of shame (“the stigma that organizes all these stories”) and any pity. Released on January 25, The origins proudly remains at the top of the test charts.

UNITED STATES

Still In Death

By JD Robb

She writes thrillers under the pseudonym of JD Robb, and romances under that of Nora Roberts. At 72, Eleanor Marie Robertson accumulates novels (impossible to count them all) and millions. In the 56th volume of the series In Death (published by J’ai lu), Eve Dallas investigates the mysterious death of a Hollywood star, and wins the award for New York Times.