If January is any indication, 2011 is going to be another big year for Nordic crime all over the world. While Stieg Larsson's Millennium trilogy continues its run on many international lists, those books aren't alone. In the U.K., Norwegian Jo Nesbø tops the list with the eighth installment of his Harry Hole series, The Leopard. In Spain, Åsa Larsson's The Black Path is #3. And in France, the Swedish Camilla Läckberg, who has been groomed by her French publisher as an heiress to Larsson, has landed her latest, The German Child, at the very top of the list.
Coming in second on the French fiction list is Alexandre Jardin, who addresses the dark secrets of his family history in Very Nice People. Jardin's grandfather Jean Jardin, was a Vichy collaborator; in the novel, Jardin blames him for his judgments against Jews. The third title is Kathryn Stockett's debut, The Help, a blockbuster in the U.S.; at #8, Michel Houellebecq is back with a new novel, The Map and the Territory.
Germany's fiction list has four new titles, two of them by foreign authors: Mockingjay by American Suzanne Collins (#1) and Allmen and the Dragonflies by Swiss Martin Suter. The other new entries are from German authors: Ruby-Red. Love Has Always Been Around by Kerstin Gier (#9) and A Dream of a Ship by Christoph M. Herbst (#10).
In Spain, two new titles grace the fiction list: the aforementioned Black Path, as well as a French book: Katherine Pancol's The Turtles' Slow Waltz.
France
| Fiction | Nonfiction |
|---|---|
| L'Enfant allemand The German Child Camilla Läckberg Actes Sud | Indignez-vous ! Be Outraged! Stéphane Hessel Indigène |
| Des gens très bien Very Nice People Alexandre Jardin Grasset | Françoise: biographie Françoise: A Biography Laure Adler Grasset |
| La couleur des sentiments The Help Kathryn Stockett Jacqueline Chambon | Métronome: L'histoire de France au rythme du métro parisien Metronome: A History of France in the Rhythm of the Paris Metro Lorànt Deutsch Michel Lafon |
Germany
| Fiction | Nonfiction |
|---|---|
| Die Tribute von Panem. Flammender Zorn Mockingjay (The Hunger Games) Suzanne Collins Oetinger | Deutschland schafft sich ab Germany Does Away with Itself Thilo Sarrazin DVA |
| Kein Wort zu Papa Don't Tell Dad! Dora Heldt dtv premium | Wofür stehst Du? What Are You Standing for? Axel Hacke and Giovanni di Lorenzo Kiepenheuer & Witsch |
| Allmen und die Libellen Allmen and the Dragonflies Martin Suter Diogenes | Anstandig essen Eating Proper Karen Duve Gallani |
Spain
| Fiction | Nonfiction |
|---|---|
| El cementerio de Praga The Cemetery in Prague Umberto Eco Lumen | El poder The Power Rhonda Byrne Urano |
| La caída de los gigantes Fall of Giants (The Century Trilogy, Vol.1) Ken Follett Plaza & Janés | Los días de gloria The Glory Days Mario Conde Martínez Roca |
| La senda oscura The Black Path (Swedish title Svart stig) Åsa Larsson Seix Barral | María la Brava Maria, the Brave Pilar Eyre La Esfera de los Libros |
