Recommendations based on Petit paysby Gaël Faye

* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans

  1. Into the Forest

    by Jean Hegland
    Sisters attempt to survive in their rural home as society collapses around them.

    In the near future, two teenage sisters, Nell and Eva, live in a remotely located home with their father, Robert. A massive, continent-wide power outage seems to have resulted in a region-wide ... (Wikipedia)

  2. Antigone

    by Jean Anouilh
    Tragic story of a woman's courage to defy the law in pursuit of justice.

    Antigone was originally produced in Paris in 1942, when France was an occupied nation and part of Hitler's Europe. The play depicts an authoritarian regime and the play's central character, the young ... (Goodreads)

  3. Hunting and Gathering

    by Anna Gavalda
    A story of four friends who form an unlikely family and learn to take comfort in one another.

    Camille is doing her best to disappear. She barely eats, works at night as a cleaner and lives in a tiny attic room. Downstairs in a beautiful, ornate apartment, lives Philibert Marquet de la ... (Goodreads)

  4. The End of Eddy

    by Édouard Louis
    Autobiographical novel revealing the oppression and social exclusion experienced by an impoverished rural French family.

    The most talked-about European novel since My Struggle —a sexually frank, brutally honest coming-of-age story “Every morning in the bathroom I would repeat the same phrase to myself over and over ... (Goodreads)

  5. Adèle

    by Leïla Slimani
    A woman's obsession with sex and desire leads her down a dangerous path of infidelity and self-destruction.

    Adèle appears to have the perfect life: She is a successful journalist in Paris who lives in a beautiful apartment with her surgeon husband and their young son. But underneath the surface, she is ... (Goodreads)

  6. The Story of a New Name

    by Elena Ferrante
    Two young women's search for identity and independence in a patriarchal society.

    In 2012, Elena Ferrante's My Brilliant Friend introduced readers to the unforgettable Elena and Lila, whose lifelong friendship provides the backbone for the Neapolitan Novels. The Story of a New ... (Goodreads)

  7. Suite Française

    by Irène Némirovsky
    A story of love and loss set against the backdrop of Nazi-occupied France.

    The first two stories of a masterwork once thought lost, written by a pre-WWII bestselling author who was deported to Auschwitz and died before her work could be completed. By the early l940s, when ... (Goodreads)

  8. The Elegance of the Hedgehog

    by Muriel Barbery
    A story of two unlikely outcasts who find solace and comfort in each other's company.

    The story revolves mainly around the characters of Renée Michel and Paloma Josse, residents of an upper-middle class Left Bank apartment building at 7 Rue de Grenelle – one of the most elegant ... (Wikipedia)

  9. Americanah

    by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
    An exploration of race, identity, and belonging as two Nigerian immigrants experience life in America and beyond.

    Ifemelu and Obinze are young and in love when they depart military-ruled Nigeria for the West. Beautiful, self-assured Ifemelu heads for America, where despite her academic success, she is forced to ... (Goodreads)

  10. Bright Shiny Morning

    by James Frey
    A kaleidoscopic view of Los Angeles, weaving together the lives of its inhabitants in a gritty and raw portrayal of the city.

    One of the most celebrated and controversial authors in America delivers his first novel—a sweeping chronicle of contemporary Los Angeles that is bold, exhilarating, and utterly original. Dozens of ... (Goodreads)

  11. The Falls

    by Joyce Carol Oates
    A family tragedy unfolds at Niagara Falls, revealing the dark secrets and hidden desires of those involved.

    It is 1950 and, after a disastrous honeymoon night, Ariah Erskine's young husband throws himself into the roaring waters of Niagara Falls. Ariah, "the Widow Bride of the Falls," begins a relentless ... (Goodreads)

  12. The Girl from the Other Side: Siúil, A Rún, Vol. 1

    by Nagabe
    A cursed girl befriends a creature from the Other Side, against the backdrop of a dark fantasy world.

    An ethereal fantasy from the editorial team behind the, New York Times, bestselling series, The Ancient Magus’ Bride, The Girl From the Other Side: Siúil, a Rún is an all-new manga series that pulls ... (Barnes & Noble)

  13. Lie With Me

    by Philippe Besson
    A poignant tale of a secret love affair between two teenage boys in rural France, and the impact it has on their lives.

    “I remember the movement of his hips pressing against the pinball machine. This one sentence had me in its grip until the end. Two young men find each other, always fearing that life itself might be ... (Barnes & Noble)

  14. Half of a Yellow Sun

    by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
    Story of two sisters navigating a civil war in Nigeria, and the effects of colonialism.

    The novel takes place in Nigeria prior to and during the Nigerian Civil War (1967–70). The effect of the war is shown through the relationships of five people's lives including the twin daughters of ... (Wikipedia)

  15. Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage

    by Haruki Murakami
    A man's journey of self-reflection to address his past and understand his place in the world.

    A mesmerising mystery story about friendship from the internationally bestselling author of, Norwegian Wood, and, 1Q84, Tsukuru Tazaki had four best friends at school. By chance all of their names ... (Goodreads)

  16. My Friend Leonard

    by James Frey
    A man's reflection on his life, and the lessons he has learned from his friend Leonard.

    The New York Times bestselling follow-up to the #1 New York Times bestseller A Million Little Pieces -the heartrending story of a friendship between a newly-sober James and the charismatic, ... (Goodreads)

  17. The Unconsoled

    by Kazuo Ishiguro
    A surreal and dreamlike exploration of a man's inner self and his search for purpose.

    Ryder, a renowned pianist, arrives in a Central European city he cannot identify for a concert he cannot remember agreeing to give. But then as he traverses a landscape by turns eerie and comical – ... (Goodreads)

  18. The Lady and the Unicorn

    by Tracy Chevalier
    A tapestry weaves the story of a noblewoman, her maid, and the mysterious unicorn. A tale of love, desire, and art in medieval France.

    A tour de force of history and imagination, The Lady and the Unicorn is Tracy Chevalier’s answer to the mystery behind one of the art world’s great masterpieces—a set of bewitching medieval ... (Goodreads)

  19. A Winter's Promise

    by Christelle Dabos
    A young woman embarks on an adventurous quest to recover her family's lost secrets.

    Amazon Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy Book of 2018,One of, Entertainment Weekly,'s 10 Best YA Books of 2018,One of, Publishers Weekly,'s Best YA Book of the Year,A National Indie Bestseller,Longlisted for Irish ... (Barnes & Noble)

  20. Sweet Bean Paste

    by Durian Sukegawa
    An elderly woman's story of redemption, exploring life's hardships and joys.

    Sentaro has failed. He has a criminal record, drinks too much, and his dream of becoming a writer is just a distant memory. With only the blossoming of the cherry trees to mark the passing of time, ... (Goodreads)

  21. The Ice Princess

    by Camilla Läckberg
    Detective fiction set in a small Swedish village, uncovering secrets and solving a murder.

    Erica Falck has returned to her family home in Fjällbacka after her parents died. While coping with the death of her parents, she is trying to work on a biography of Selma Lagerlöf , a Swedish author ... (Wikipedia)

  22. The Perfect Nanny

    by Leïla Slimani
    A captivating and chilling story of a nanny's descent into madness.

    This is an alternate cover edition for ISBN 9780143132172. When Myriam, a French-Moroccan lawyer, decides to return to work after having children, she and her husband look for the perfect nanny for ... (Goodreads)

  23. The Reckoning

    by John Grisham
    A WWII veteran murders a local minister and refuses to explain why. The town seeks justice, but the truth is more complicated than they realize.

    The plot centers on the 1946 murder trial of prominent family patriarch Pete Banning, a war hero who has returned home from the Second World War . The story takes place in the fictional town of ... (Wikipedia)

  24. L'Assommoir

    by Émile Zola
    An exploration of poverty and alcoholism in the Parisian working class.

    The novel is principally the story of Gervaise Macquart, who is featured briefly in the first novel in the series,, La Fortune des Rougon, , running away to Paris with her shiftless lover Lantier to ... (Wikipedia)

  25. Chess Story

    by Stefan Zweig
    A chess master's attempt to regain his lost skill, and the psychological battle he faces.

    The narrator opens the story on a passenger liner traveling from New York to Buenos Aires. Driven to mental anguish as the result of total isolation by the Nazis , Dr B, a securities expert hiding ... (Wikipedia)

  26. Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress

    by Dai Sijie
    Two city boys discover the beauty of the countryside, and the power of art, during the Cultural Revolution.

    The novel, written by Dai Sijie, is about two teenage boys during the Chinese Cultural Revolution , Luo, described as having "a genius for storytelling", , and the unnamed narrator, "a fine ... (Wikipedia)

  27. Milkman

    by Anna Burns
    A young woman navigates the dangerous political and social landscape of Northern Ireland during the Troubles.

    In this unnamed city, to be interesting is dangerous. Middle sister, our protagonist, is busy attempting to keep her mother from discovering her maybe-boyfriend and to keep everyone in the dark about ... (Goodreads)

  28. Leo Africanus

    by Amin Maalouf
    An epic historical novel, tracing the journey of a North African explorer and diplomat in the 16th century.

    "I, Hasan the son of Muhammad the weigh-master, I, Jean-Leon de Medici, circumcised at the hand of a barber and baptized at the hand of a pope, I am now called the African, but I am not from Africa, ... (Goodreads)

  29. Tales of the City

    by Armistead Maupin
    A warm and comedic exploration of 1970s San Francisco and its colorful inhabitants.

    San Francisco, 1976. A naïve young secretary, fresh out of Cleveland, tumbles headlong into a brave new world of laundromat Lotharios, pot-growing landladies, cut throat debutantes, and Jockey Shorts ... (Goodreads)

  30. Anything Is Possible

    by Elizabeth Strout
    An exploration of the interconnected lives of a small town's inhabitants, and the power of redemption.

    Short story collection Anything Is Possible explores the whole range of human emotion through the intimate dramas of people struggling to understand themselves and others. Here are two sisters: one ... (Goodreads)