Wednesday, August 18, 2021

Europa Editions Books - 4 new ones and I can't decide which to read first!

Europa Edition Books have long been my favorite imprint for translated fiction.  The stories are always well-written, diverse and the stories are ones that make you think and or reflect. I've probably read at least 30 of their books and own at least another 30 (which look beautiful on my shelves).  These (4) are new ones that either came out this month or will release in September or October.  I plan to read all 4.  

Which of these would you try?


A Single Rose; Muriel Barbery
Europa Editions - release date - 9/28/21
(160 pages)

(about the book)

From the best-selling author of The Elegance of the Hedgehog comes a story about a woman's journey to discover the father she never knew and a love she never thought possible.  

Rose has just turned forty when she gets a call from a lawyer asking her to come to Kyoto for the reading of her estranged father’s will. And so for the first time in her life she finds herself in Japan, where Paul, her father’s assistant, is waiting to greet her.  

As Paul guides Rose along a mysterious itinerary designed by her deceased father, her bitterness and anger are soothed by the stones and the trees in the Zen gardens they move through. During their walks, Rose encounters acquaintances of her father—including a potter and poet, an old lady friend, his housekeeper and chauffeur—whose interactions help her to slowly begin to accept a part of herself that she has never before acknowledged.  

As the reading of the will gets closer, Rose’s father finally, posthumously, opens his heart to his daughter, offering her a poignant understanding of his love and a way to accept all she has lost.


NOTE - I've read and enjoyed previous books by this author.


Trust; Domenico Starnone
Europa Editions - Release Date - 10/19/21
(144 pages)

(about the book)

Following the international success of Ties and the National Book Award-shortlisted Trick, Domenico Starnone gives readers another searing portrait of human relationships and human folly.

Pietro and Teresa’s love affair is tempestuous and passionate. After yet another terrible argument, she gets an idea: they should tell each other something they’ve never told another person, something they’re too ashamed to tell anyone. They will hear the other’s confessions without judgment and with love in their hearts. In this way, Teresa thinks, they will remain united forever, more intimately connected than ever.

A few days after sharing their shameful secrets, they break up. Not long after, Pietro meets Nadia, falls in love, and proposes. But the shadow of the secret he confessed to Teresa haunts him, and Teresa herself periodically reappears, standing at the crossroads, it seems, of every major moment in his life. Or is it he who seeks her out?

A master storyteller and a novelist of the highest order, Starnone’s gaze is trained unwaveringly on the fault lines in our public personas and the complexities of our private selves. Trust asks how much we are willing to bend to show the world our best side, knowing full well that when we are at our most vulnerable we are also at our most dangerous.

NOTE: I've read both of the previous books by this author and enjoyed them so much.  This one was translated from the Italian by author Jhumpa Lahiri.




The Double Mother; Michel Bussi
Europa Editions - release date - 8/17/21
480 pages

(about the book)

From the author of the “wonderfully ingenious” (Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review) novel After The Crash comes a brilliant work of deception that dives deep into the psyche of a child and cruel game of manipulating a person’s memory.

Four-year-old Malone Moulin is haunted by nightmares of being handed over to a complete stranger and begins claiming his mother is not his real mother. His teachers at school say that it is all in his imagination as his mother has a birth certificate, photos of him as a child and even the pediatrician confirms Malone is her son. The school psychologist, Vasily, believes otherwise as the child vividly describes an exchange between two women. Vasily begins recording their conversations and reinterprets the creatures Malone uses in the childish tales he recounts to his stuffed toy to piece the story together as much as he can.

Convinced that Malone is telling the truth, Vasile approaches police commander Marianne Augresse with the case, who has been searching for a gang of thieves that robbed a luxury store and left a couple dead in the neighboring town of Deauville to no avail. Not knowing why a child would lie and with perhaps her own own maternal and protective instinct kicking in, Marianne takes Vasile’s plead for help seriously.

Marianne and her team soon discern that Malone’s memory is in the hands of those around him; the cold members of the Moulin family and the people that they associate themselves with. With Malone’s recollection of the past quickly fading to give way to pirates, animals and other more innocent thoughts children have at his age, Marianne is desperate to find a through line.

Well-crafted and showcasing the fragility of a child’s cognition, The Double Mother is a riveting investigation to follow.


No Touching; Ketty Rouf

Europa Editions - release date - 8/1/21

113 pages

(about the book)

A story of liberation and a heartrending portrayal of a woman’s sense of self, Ketty Rouf’s extraordinary debut shatters tired prejudices about sex, women, and society.   

Josephine teaches philosophy in a high school in Drancy, a suburb of Paris. Her life is a balancing act between Xanax, Propranolol and Tupperware lunches in the staff room. The directives of the National Education Board are increasingly absurd and intolerable and she follows them with playfulness at times and derision at others. 

When, one evening, Josephine walks into a strip club on the Champs-Elysée, her life is completely overturned. There she learns a secret nocturnal code of conduct; she discovers camaraderie and the joys of female company; and she thrills at the sensation of men’s desire directed toward her. Josephine, a teacher by day, begins to lead a secret existence by night that ultimately allows her to regain control of her life. This delicate balance is shattered one evening by an unexpected visitor to the club where she dances.

25 comments:

  1. They all sound interesting. The description of A Single Rose stands out to me so that's the one I'd read first.

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    1. Yes, Mary - I love the cover of that one and the description and Trust also is high up on my list.

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  2. Vicki, we think alike - those 2 were my fist 2 choices as well.

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  3. That sounds like a whole lot of thought-provoking reading!

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    1. Yes, these type of books tend to have some depth, a nice change from the thrillers I always seem drawn to.

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  4. I've read very positive reviews on Muriel Barberry. The others are new to me.

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    1. I do like the was she writes and that cover is so pretty. It sounds like a nice story.

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  5. All four of these sound interesting, but personally I would probably read The Double Mother first just to unravel that mystery and what's going on in the boy's head. The plot sounds familiar for some reason, but I know I haven't read this one.

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    1. It's a terrible problem to have having to choose between too many books that sound good. I am curious about them all.

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  6. They all seem to have something of interest and could be worthwhile reads.

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    1. I know, having to choose, I'll probably pick a name out of a bag in the end...LOL

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  7. I'm curious about The Double Mother-- the mystery most of all. Wishing you the best of luck with these!

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  8. Tough decision! I'd go with either A Single Rose or Trust... primarily because I've read and enjoyed both authors. Let us know which one(s) you choose.

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    1. I loved everything Starnone has written and have only read (2) by Muriel B but, I liked them a lot as well.

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  9. These do all sound good. I'd probably start with A Single Rose, although No Touching has me a bit intrigued as well. :)

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    1. Those seem to be the 2 everyone is suggesting. I really do want and need to read them all.

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  10. I don't know any of these books! I love the covers and they all sound like good reads.

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    1. I like that the stories seem different. I've been on thriller overload. (Love them though).

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  11. I really don't read enough translated fiction and should make more of an effort. The Double Mother is the one I'm most intrigued by.

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    1. Double mother does have an intriguing story line, I'm more curious about that one but it's 400++ pages so I may tackle the others (all shorter) first.

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  12. I need to google Europa editions now first... Not something we know in SA at all. Or that I know about.... I think all 4 of these sound like worth the read for sure.

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  13. I loved listening to the audio of The Elegance of the Hedgehog, so I'd go with A Single Rose by Muriel Barbery. Do let me know what you think once you've read it!

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  14. I agree Europa puts out some interesting translated works. The hedgehog novel was quite unique.

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  15. I'm always so interested in the books published by Europa Editions. Not just the fiction but their crime selections are so interesting too. One of my favorite books in August was from these publishers. All of these sound so interesting and I would probably go with Trust. Can't wait to see what you think of these!

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