Jean M. Auel's The Land of Painted Caves was the big story on international bestseller lists in April. The book, "30,000 years in the making and 31 years in the writing," according to PW's review, is the sixth and final volume in the Earth's Children series. It landed high on bestseller lists in Europe: #1 in the Netherlands and Sweden, #2 in Spain, #4 in France, #5 in the U.K., and #9 in Germany.
In France, Auel debuted alongside The Angel's Call by Musso Guillaume, The Prague Cemetery by Umberto Eco, The Children of Alexandria by Françoise Chandernagor, Our Kind of Traitor by John le Carré, and Gataca by Franck Thilliez. Meanwhile, in nonfiction, Stéphane Hessel continued to lead; his books Rise in Protest! and Get Involved! kept their #1 and #3 positions, respectively.
New additions to Germany's fiction list aside from Auel included Paulo Coelho's latest, Aleph; The Summer Without Men by Siri Hustvedt; and Every Man Dies Alone by Hans Fallada—a book that was written in 24 days by a German writer who died in 1947. He was inspired by the true story of Otto and Elise Hampel, who scattered postcards advocating civil disobedience throughout wartime Nazi-controlled Berlin. Melville House rediscovered the book in 2009 and published it in the U.S., where it became a surprise bestseller. This is the first time a full German version has been available.
Out of the top 20 books on Italy's combined fiction and nonfiction list, 15 were new. Leading the pack was the nonfiction Come Away with Me by Roberto Saviano, whose Gomorrah was a huge bestseller. The new book ties into an Italian TV series of the same name, which highlights the challenges Italy is facing in the fight against the Mafia.
International Bestsellers
France
FICTION
L'appel de l'ange
The Angel's Call
Musso Guillaume
XO
Le cimetière de Prague
The Prague Cemetery
Umberto Eco
Grasset
Charly 9
Charly 9
Jean Teulé
Julliard
NONFICTION
Indignez-vous!
Rise in Protest!
Stéphane Hessel
Indigène
M. le Président: Scènes de la vie politique, 2005–2011
Mr. President: Scenes of Political Life, 2005–2011
Franz-Olivier Giesbert
Flammarion
Engagez-vous!
Get Involved!
Stéphane Hessel and Gilles
Vanderpooten
L'Aube
Germany
FICTION
Verwesung
The Calling of the Grave
Simon Beckett
Wunderlich
Für Eile fehlt mir die Zeit
No Time for Being in a Hurry
Horst Evers
Rowohlt
Schutzengel
Aleph
Paulo Coelho
Diogenes
NONFICTION
Leben oder gelebt werden
To Live or Let Life Happen
Walter Kohl
Integral
Sehnsucht nach Leben
Longing for Life
Margot Käßmann
Gebundene Ausgabe
Der ultimative Ratgeber für alles
The Ultimate Guide for Everything
Dieter Nuhr
Bastei Lübbe
Italy
COMBINED
Vieni via con me
Come Away with Me
Roberto Saviano
Feltrinelli
Gesù di Nazaret. Dall'ingresso a
Gerusalemme fino alla risurrezione
Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week:
From the Entrance into Jerusalem
to the Resurrection
Benedict XVI
Libreria Editrice Vaticana
Nessuno si salva da solo
No One Is Saved Alone
Margaret Mazzantini
Mondadori
Gran circo Taddei e altre storie di Vigàta
The Great Taddei Circus and Other Stories of Vigàta
Andrea Camilleri
Sellerio Editore Palermo
La legge del deserto
Those in Peril
Wilbur Smith
Longanesi
Il profumo delle foglie di limone
The Scent of Lemon Leaves
Clara Sánchez
Garzanti Libri
