Plenty of new fiction titles jump onto the international bestsellers list in April, with one new hot book each cracking the top three in France, Spain and the Czech Republic. New at #2 in France was The Key Star, described as a novel about a generation of women somehow related to the goddess Moira. The Cathedral of the Sea, #3 in Spain, is set in medieval Barcelona and filled with intrigue, violence and passion. Claiming the #2 spot in the Czech Republic, Onegin Was Russian is billed as a humorous novel about life in totalitarian Czechoslovakia.
Swedish author Henning Mankell hit the top 10 list in France and Spain, with different books, both Wallander mysteries. Before the Frost was #5 in Spain, while The Return of the Dancing Master was #5 in France. Both of Mankell's books are published in the U.S. by New Press in hardcover and Vintage in paperback.
In nonfiction, The Science of Health topped the list in Spain. Written by a Spanish cardiologist, the book offers advice on how to improve a person's quality of life. A couple of books on France's nonfiction list will resonate with Americans. Journey to the Land of Cotton traces the evolution of the cotton business. The Dark Side of Oil looks at the looming oil crisis; it's written by Eric Laurent, author of Bush's Secret World, which was published by Polity Press in the U.S. in September 2004.
International Bestsellers
| France | ||
| Fiction | Nonfiction | |
| 1 | Deception PointDan Brown Lattes | The President's TragedyFranz-Olivier Giesbert Flammarion |
| 2 | The Key StarBenoit Groult Albin Michel | American VertigoBernard-Henri Lévy Grasset |
| 3 | Without ReasonPatricia Cornwell Editions des Deux Terres | Learning How to LiveLuc Ferry Plon |
| For week ending April 30, used by arrangement with Livres Hebdo/Ipsos. | ||
| Spain | ||
| Fiction | Nonfiction | |
| 1 | The Painter of BattlesArturo Perez-Reverte Alfaguara | The Science of HealthValenti Fuster Planeta |
| 2 | Harry Potter and the Half-Blood PrinceJ.K. Rowling, Salamandra | The Little DictatorJavier Urra La Esfera de los Libros |
| 3 | The Cathedral of the SeaIldefonso Balcones Grijalbo | The Journey to HappinessEduardo Punset Planeta |
| For week ending April 30, used by arrangement with El Cultural. | ||
| Czech Republic | ||
| Fiction | Nonfiction | |
| 1 | The Da Vinci CodeDan Brown Metafora | Japan Sudoku- Fortuna Prin |
| 2 | Onegin Was RussianIrena Douskova Druhe Mesto | 500 Sudoku (Vol. 6)- Vasut Jan |
| 3 | The Da Vinci CodeDan Brown Argo | Art of the Court of Charles IVKarel Neubert, Karel Stejskal Knizni Klub |
| For week ending April 30, used by arrangement with SCKN, Knizni Novinky. | ||
