The international appeal of major novelists was very apparent in February. Stephenie Meyer, a big hit in the U.S., debuted at the top of the German charts last month with Bella and Edward, while Philip Roth’s Exit Ghost landed at #8. A debut novel by Tom Rob Smith, Child 44, due out in the U.S. from Grand Central next month, hit the German fiction list in the fifth slot.
Khaled Hosseini maintained his top spot on the combined bestseller list in the Netherlands with The Kite Runner, while A Thousand Splendid Suns was at #3. A movie tie-in edition of Kite Runner was at #9. In Italy, Kite Runner was in the sixth spot of the combined list, with Suns one spot below. Debuting at #1 in Italy was J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. A lesser-known author with growing international appeal is Muriel Barbery. Her second book, Hedgehog’s Elegance, has been a mainstay on the French fiction list, and it moved up to the fourth spot in Italy in February. Europa Editions will publish Hedgehog in the U.S. in August.
On the nonfiction side, the highest debut in Germany, Who Am I, and How Many, is described as a humorous guide to the questions of life. Landing at #7 was The Law of Attraction, which was released in the U.S. in 2006 by Hay House.
International Bestsellers
| For week ending February 23, used by arrangement with Buchreport | ||
| Fiction | Nonfiction | |
| 1 | Bella and Edward: A Bite for SupperStephanie Meyer Carlsen | I Am Off for a Little WhileHape Kerkeling Malik |
| 2 | The Cathedral of the SeaIldefonso Falcones Scherz | Who Am I, and How ManyRichard Precht Goldmann |
| 3 | The Last WeynfeldtMartin Suter Diogenes | The SecretRhonda Byrne Arkana |
| For week ended February 23, used by arrangement with Informazioni Editoriali | |||
| Combined | |||
| 1 | Harry Potter and the Deathly HallowsJ.K. Rowling Salani | The Hedgehog’s EleganceMuriel Barbery E/O | 4 |
| 2 | A Journey Across the Economic Empire and Dreams of the CamorraRoberto Saviano Mondadori | The Sum of DaysIsabel Allende Feltrinelli | 5 |
| 3 | One More DayFabio Volo Mondadori | The Kite RunnerKhaled Hosseini Piemme | 6 |
| For week ending February 23, used by arrangement with Boekblad/GFK | |||
| Combined | |||
| 1 | The Kite RunnerKhaled Hosseini Piemme | Endless ConsciousnessPim van Lommel Ten Have | 4 |
| 2 | The AppealJohn Grisham A.W. Bruna | What Is Healthy Now?Martijn Katan Bert Bakker | 5 |
| 3 | A Thousand Splendid SunsKhaled Hosseini De Bezige Bij | Anna BoomJudith Koelmeijer Atlas | 6 |
