100 Must-Read Books Translated From French

100 Must-Read Books Translated From French French is a rich language, and its literature is richer still. Where to start with getting to know this literature? In honour of Bastille Day and Belgiums National Day in July, I humbly suggest the (non-exclusive) list of books below. Theyve all been translated into English (sometimes multiple times) and are must-reads for different reasons. Maybe they are oft-studied classics, or written by popular contemporary authors, or the language is beautiful, or the themes are important, or they are representative of a genre that is done well by Francophone writers. There are poems, plays, novels, essays, and bandes dessinées. There are books from Québec and Belgium and various French-speaking African countries as well as France itself. (Thanks to wordswithoutborders.org, frenchculture.org, and various university syllabi for helping me fill in the gaps in my knowledge.) A Bag of Marbles, by  Joseph Joffo A Dilemma, by Joris-Karl Huysmans, transl. Justin Vicari A Novel Bookstore, by Laurence Cossé, transl. Alison Anderson   A Very Long Engagement, by Sébastien Japrisot, transl. Linda Coverdale After the Crash, by Michel Bussi, transl. Sam Taylor Algerian White, by Assia Djebar, transl. David Kelley Ambiguous Adventure, by Cheikh Hamidou Kane, transl. Katherine Woods Antigone, by Anouilh, transl. Barbara Bray Apocalypse Baby, by Virginie Despentes, transl. Sian Reynolds Around the World in Eighty Days, by Jules Verne, transl George Makepeace Towle Arsène Lupin, Gentleman-Thief, by Maurice Leblanc Asterix in Britain, by René Gosciny and Albert Uderzo, transl. Anthea Bell and Derek Hockridge Bel-Ami, by Guy de Maupassant, transl. Douglas Parmee Benny Shrimp, by Katarine Mazetti, transl. Sarah Death Bonjour Tristesse, by Françoise Sagan, transl. Irene Ash Candide: Or, Optimism, by Voltaire, transl. Theo Cuffe Cyrano de Bergerac, by Edmond Rostand, transl. Lowell Bair Dangerous Liaisons, by Pierre-Ambroise Choderlos de Laclos, transl. Helen Constantine Destination Moon, by Hergé, transl. Leslie Lonsdale-Cooper Dreams of my Russian Summers, by Andreï Makine, transl. Geoffrey Strachan Elise or The Real Life, by Claire Etcherelli, transl. JP Wilson Exercises In Style, by Raymond Queneau, transl. Barbara Wright Fantasia: An Algerian Cavalcade, by Assia Djebar, transl. Dorothy S. Blair Fear and Trembling, by Amélie Nothomb, transl. Adriana Hunter For Bread Alone, by Mohamed Choukri, transl. Paul Bowles French Women Poets of Nine Centuries: The Distaff and the Pen, by Norman R Shapiro Germinal, by Emile Zola, transl. Roger Pearson Gods Bits of Wood,  by Sembène Ousmane, transl. Ros Schwartz How to Talk about Books You Havent Read, by Pierre Bayard, transl. Jeffrey Mehlman Hunting and Gathering, by Anna Gavalda, transl. Alison Anderson I Am Fifteen and I Dont Want to Die, by Christine Arnothy If Only It Were True, by Marc Levy, transl. Jeremy Leggatt In the Name of God, by Yasmina Khadra, transl. Linda Black Kiffe Kiffe Tomorrow, by Faïza Guène, transl. Sarah Adams Last Love Poems of Paul Eluard, by Paul Eluard, transl. Marilyn Kallet Eugelionne, by Louky Bersianik Les Misérables, by Victor Hugo, transl.  Charles Wilbour Madame Bovary, by Flaubert, transl. Lydia Davis Maigrets First Case, by Georges Simenon, transl. Ros Schwartz Mission to Kala, by Mongo Beti, transl. Peter Green Moderato Cantabile, by Marguerite Dumas, transl. Richard Seaver My Fathers Glory My Mothers Castle: Marcel Pagnols Memories of Childhood, by Marcel Pagnol, transl. Rita Barisse Nedjma, by Yacine Kateb, transl. Richard Howard No Exit, by Jean-Paul Sartre, transl. Stuart Gilbert Losing North: Essays on Cultural Exile, by Nancy Huston, transl. Nancy Huston Oscar and the Lady in Pink, by Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt, transl. Adriana Hunter Poems of Emile Verhaeren, by Emile Verhaeren, transl. Alma Strettell Rhinoceros, by Eugène Ionesco Sarahs Key, by Tatiana de Rosnay Savage Seasons, by Kettly Mars, transl. Jeanine Herman Selected Poems, by Emile Nelligan, transl. P.F. Nelligan Silent Day in Tangier, by Tahar Ben Jelloun, transl. D. Lobdelli So Long a Letter, by Mariama Bâ, transl. Modupe Bode-Thomas Sphinx, by Anne Garréta, transl. Emma Ramadan Submission by Michel Houellebecq, transl. Lorin Stein Suite Française by Irène Némirovsky, transl. Sandra Smith Suspended Sentences: Three Novellas, by Patrick Modiano, transl. Mark Polizzotti Swanns Way, by Marcel Proust, transl. Lydia Davis The Cid, by Pierre Corneille, transl. John Cairncross The Complete Essays, by Michel de Montaigne, transl. M.A. Screech The Count of Monte-Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, transl. Robin Buss The Dark Child by Camara Laye, transl. Ernest Jones and James Kirkup The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, by Jean-Dominique Bauby, transl. Jeremy Leggatt The Elegance of the Hedgehog, by Muriel Barbery, transl. Alison Anderson The Exchange of Princesses, by Chantal Thomas, transl. John Cullen The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir who got trapped in an Ikea Wardrobe, by Romain Puertolas, transl. Sam Taylor The Fairies are Thirsty, by Denise Boucher, transl. Alan Brown The Flowers of Evil, by Charles Baudelaire, transl. James N McGowan The Foreign Student, by Philippe Labro The Grand Repudiation,  by Rachid Boujedra, transl. Golda Lambrova The Hunchback of Notre Dame, by Victor Hugo The Illusionist, by Francois Mallet-Joris, transl. Terry Castle The Imaginary Invalid by Moliere, transl. Henri van Laun The Library of Unrequited Love, by Sophie Divry, transl. Sian Reynolds The Little Prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, transl. Richard Howard The Lover, by Marguerite Duras, transl. Barbara Bray The Meursault Investigation, by Kamel Daoud, transl. John Cullen The Poor Mans Son by Mouloud Feraoun, transl. James D Le Sueur The Red and the Black, by Stendhal, transl. Roger Gard The Red Collar, by Jean-Christophe Rufin, transl. Adriana Hunter The Rights of the Reader, by Daniel Pennac, transl. Sarah Ardizzone The Sand Child, by Tahar Ben Jelloun, transl. Alan Sheridan The Savage Night, by Mohammed Dib, transl. C. Dickson The Scar, by Bruce Lowery, transl. Bruce Lowery The Scorpion: Or, The Imaginary Confession, by Albert Memmi, transl. Eleanor Levieux The Second Sex, by Simone de Beauvoir, transl. Constance Borde The Simple Past, by Driss Chraibi, trans. Hugh A. Harter The Song of Roland, by Unknown Author, transl. Dorothy L Sayers The Stranger, by Albert Camus, transl. Matthew Ward The Suns of Independence, by Ahmadou Kourouma, transl. Adrian Adams The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas, transl. Tom Gauld The Wound, by Laurent Mauvignier, transl. Nicole and David Bell The Wretched of the Earth, by Frantz Fanon, transl. Richard Philcox The Year of the Elephant, by Leila Abouzeid, transl. Barbara Parmenter Thérèse and Isabelle, by Vioilette Leduc, transl. Sophie Lewis Tom Is Dead, by Marie Darriesseucq, transl. Lea Hills Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, by Jules Verne, transl. Scott McKowen Waiting For Godot, by Samuel Beckett, transl. Samuel Beckett Will You Be There?  by Guillaume Musso With Downcast Eyes, by Tahar Ben Jelloun, transl. Joachim Neugroschel