Day 3381 (Friday) 11th September 2026

This is Peille, north of Menton

and this is Menton.

I found this interesting website about books about France - it's quite long so I'll post it over a few days.

Contemporary fiction books about France

Chocolat

by Joanne Harris

"Even before it was adapted into the Oscar-nominated film starring Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp, Joanne Harris' New York Times bestselling novel Chocolat entranced readers with its mix of hedonism, whimsy, and, of course, chocolate." 

The Cleaner of Chartres 

by Salley Vickers

“If you enjoy the work of Marilynne Robinson, Penelope Fitzgerald, James Salter…you should be reading Vickers.” —Michael Dirda, The Washington Post Book World.

A cleaning woman with a past works at the Chartres Cathedral (you'll love the descriptions). Soon she will have to confront her past.

The Elegance of the Hedgehog 

by Muriel Barbery and Alison Anderson

The phenomenal New York Times bestseller that “explores the upstairs-downstairs goings-on of a posh Parisian apartment building” (Publishers Weekly).

"In an elegant hôtel particulier in Paris, Renée, the concierge, is all but invisible―short, plump, middle-aged, with bunions on her feet and an addiction to television soaps. Her only genuine attachment is to her cat, Leo."

Hunting and Gathering

by Anna Gavalda

This heartfelt and award-winning novel follows four Parisians of different ages and backgrounds who randomly happened to become roommates. Each is burdened with their own set of worries and sorrows, finding themselves united in their loneliness and struggle to find their place in this world.

The author manages to create something meaningful: a connection with the four protagonists and with it a deeper understanding of the Parisians and their day-to-day life. While this is one of those books set in Paris, it is not about Paris, but about the Parisians who inhabit it.

Kiffe Kiffe Tomorrow

by Faïza Guène

This is a coming of age story about a Muslim teenager from a suburban Paris housing project, a part of Paris no visitor ever sees. It paints a picture of immigrant life, which can be difficult, but is full of hope. Highlights the clash of cultures, the issue of illiteracy and the position of women in this culture.

Labyrinth

by Kate Mosse

Book 1 of the Languedoc Trilogy, where an archeologist makes a surprising discovery about an event and a secret that took place 800 years ago – the secret must be kept. For lovers of the Carcassonne region and 12th-century France.

The Little Paris Bookshop

by Nina George

The Little Paris Bookshop is the wonderful story of a Parisian bookseller nursing a broken heart. The protagonist, Jean-Perdu, runs a book barge on the Seine, aka The Little Paris Bookshop, which he refers to as his literary apothecary. Passersby will step upon his barge, explain what's troubling them and Jean-Perdu will find the perfect book to "cure" them.

It's only when he opens a long-lost letter from a former lover that he sets out on his own journey of healing and self-discovery. He travels in his barge from Paris to Provence, meeting many characters on the way who offer both entertainment and enlightenment. Translated from French, this book gives an insight into French culture, French attitudes and the different areas of France between Paris and Provence. Cities you'll discover along the way include Saint-Mammès, Cepoy, Briare-le-Canal, the Loire Valley, Chalon-sur-Saône, Cuisery, Lyon, Avignon and more. A must-read for Francophiles and bibliophiles.

Murder on the Quai

by Cara Black

If you like French detective series books with a strong no-nonsense heroine, you'll like Aimée Leduc... and this is how a Paris medical student inherits a detective agency and launches a career. The Berlin Wall, a cheating boyfriend and Nazi gold are all somehow involved.

Bruno, Chief of Police (first of the series)

by Martin Black

In this series of mystery novels set in France, soldier-turned-policeman Benoît Courrèges, the eponymous Bruno, solves mysteries while serving the community of Saint-Denis (in real life, Le Bugue, where Walker lives), wooing women and drinking wine, a slow jaunt through the French countryside.

Perhaps not surprisingly, Walker, a former bureau chief for the Guardian in Moscow and Washington, DC, weaves in international intrigue, local history, French politics and — of course — French bureaucracy. He has a formula but a very good one and very entertaining. (Recommended by Brad)

Paris

by Edward Rutherford

This is a heavy tome, one of those bricks you eye twice before starting, but it's worth every page. It's not the greatest literature but as a sweeping history of Paris from 1261 to 1968, it is perfect, a giant among French historical novels that brings several historical periods of Paris alive.

It does so through characters that are intertwined, relatives and descendants dancing through time together, weaving their stories through one another and through time.

Definitely one of the best books set in Paris if what you're looking for is the sweep of history. I thoroughly enjoyed the read.

The Piano Shop on the Left Bank

by Thad Carhart

A secret piano shop a story of musical friendship and the reawakening of a childhood passion, all disposed in a special Paris.

Here's how the publisher describes it: "Intertwined with the story of a musical friendship are reflections on how pianos work, their glorious history, and stories of the people who care for them, from amateur pianists to the craftsmen who make the mechanism sing."

Sarah's Key

by Tatiana de Rosnay

This is contemporary historical fiction with two storylines: one follows a young Jewish girl arrested during the Nazi Occupation of Paris Vel'd'Hiv roundup, a shameful page of Parisian history, while the other follows a journalist research that raid on its 60th anniversary. The book provides a strong picture of the Occupation and of the complicity of Vichy bureaucrats, which France is still trying to come to terms with. 

A Sport and A Pastime

by James Salter

A rather explicit affair between a young American college dropout and a French girl in provincial France during the 1960s, with plenty of room for rural France to paint pictures in our minds.

Three Strong Women

by Marie NDiaye

This book about France looks at the country differently: it traces the lives of three West African immigrants in France – a teacher in Senegal who follows her boyfriend back to France; a French-born lawyer summoned back to Senegal by her father; and an abandoned widow with little hope beyond a vague contact in France.

The author is the first black woman to ever win the prestigious Prix Goncourt, so it is very French in approach and a challenging, intelligent read.

Zazie in the Metro

by Raymond Queneau

A cult classic about a provincial pre-teen who comes to Paris to ride the Métro and when she finds it (in true French fashion) on strike, proceeds to tumble into a series of adventures that will allow her – and us – to discover Paris. Full of wit and humour, quirkiness and charm. Captivating and endearing.