You have to have a strong heart when you are a novelist from the August literary season and you see yourself little by little being beaten by later authors. The fact remains that around ten of them are resisting. Among these, two first-time novelists, Panayotis Pascot (Next time you bite the dustStock), about which we have already spoken to you a lot in our comments on the list, and Neige Sinno, which continues to amaze its readers with its Sad Tiger (POL). Other surprises, the insistent presence of the amazing Jean-Baptiste Andrea (Watch over herThe Iconoclast) and the very good performance of Lilia Hassaine’s first novel (Panorama, Gallimard). Likewise, Quebecer Eric Chacour (Prime Plume prize) continues to make his publisher Philippe Rey happy with his first fiction What I know about you. Many first novels all in all, alongside more successful authors such as Sorj Chalandon, François Bégaudeau, Amélie Nothomb, Laurent Binet and Gaspard Koenig.
As for the essays, a funny week with two very disparate entries: on the one hand, that of the novelist Didier Van Cauwelaert who believes more than ever in miracles and our ability to bring them about (The Insolence of Miracles, Plon); and on the other hand, that of the Franco-Israeli journalist Charles Enderlin, former correspondent of France 2 in Jerusalem, who has lost faith in the future of Israel since the return to power of Benjamin Netanyahu in 2009 and the rise religious fundamentalisms. Published on September 29, its wording, Israel. The agony of a democracy (Threshold), is, it is true, extremely topical. Just like the essays by Amin Maalouf and Gilles Kepel, requested by all the press on the future of nations. Consequently, politicians are lagging behind: Jean-Luc Mélenchon loses 5 places, while Nicolas Sarkozy and Edouard Philippe tumble in the ranking, occupying 18th and 20th places respectively. Alain Juppé, for his part, disappears from the radar.