Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol was at or near the top in a number of major international markets in November. One exception was France, where Symbol has only recently been released and where Three Powerful Women by Marie NDiaye, the 2009 winner of France's top literary prize, the Prix Goncourt, stood at #1. In 2001, NDiaye won the Prix Femina prize for Rosie Carpe, which was released in the U.S. by University of Nebraska Press. No word on a U.S. deal for NDiaye's new novel.

Another French literary sensation, Anna Gavalda, debuted in the second spot with A Beautiful Escape. Gavalda burst onto the French publishing scene with a short story collection in 1999 and published her first novel in 2002. Riverhead has published trade paperback editions of three of her works, beginning with I Wish Someone Was Waiting for Me Somewhere. Escape was originally released in France in 2001, but the text was revised for this reissue.

Debuting at #2 in Spain behind Symbol is a special edition 50th anniversary edition of the comic book series Asterix. The series, which originates in France and has resulted in film spinoffs and video games, is hugely popular in Europe, but much less so in the U.S. Landing behind Brown in Italy with a new novel was Andrea Camilleri. The bestselling mystery writer is popular in the U.S. as well as in Italy, with publisher Penguin just releasing Camilleri's The Wings of the Sphinx. New to the list in third place is the latest from writer and academic Antonio Tabucchi, which is a collection of nine short stories about the lives of several people during the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Among new nonfiction bestsellers is the first volume of memoirs by former French president Jacques Chirac, in which he discusses his life up until his election.

International Bestsellers

France
Fiction Nonfiction
1 Trois Femmes Puissantes Three Powerful WomenMarie NDiaye Gallimard Memoires, Vol. 1: Chaque Pas Doit Etre un But Memories, Vol. 1: Each Step Must Have a GoalJacques Chirac NIL
2 L'Echappée Belle A Beautiful EscapeAnna Gavalda Le Dilettante Metronome MetronomeLorant Deutsch Michel Lafon
3 Un Roman Français A French NovelFrederic Beigbeder Grasset Sous Ton Regard: Le Combat de Gregory Continue Beneath Your Eyes: Gregory's Struggle ContinuesLaurence Lemarchal Michel Lafon
For week ending November 22, used by arrangement with Livres Hebdo
Spain
Fiction Nonfiction
1 El Simbolo Perdido The Lost SymbolDan Brown Planeta El Secreto The SecretRhonda Byrne Urano
2 Asterix: 50 Aniversario Asterix 50th AnniversaryAlbert Uderzo, Rene Goscinny Salvat Suarez y el Rey Suarez and the KingAbel Hernandez Espasa Calpe
3 La Reina en el Palacio de Las Corrientes de Aire The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' NestStieg Larsson Destino Memorias de un Preso Memoirs of a PrisonerMario Conde MR
For week ending November 22, used by arrangement with El Cultural
Italy
Combined
1 Il Simbolo Perduto The Lost SymbolDan Brown Mondadori Il Vincitore e Solo The Winner Stands AlonePaulo Coelho Bompiani
2 La Rizzagliata The StraightenedAndrea Camilleri Sellerio Editore Zia Mame Auntie MamePatrick Dennis Adelphi
3 Il Tempo Invecchia I Fretta Time Is Aging FastAntonio Tabucchi Feltrinelli Pane e Tempesta Bread and StormStefano Benni Feltrinelli
For week ending November 22, used by arrangement with Informazioni Editoriali