October brought lots of new titles to the international bestseller lists, including Bernard Werber's The Butterfly of the Stars, which knocked The Benevolent Ones out of the top fiction spot in France. Werber is a well-known SF author whose The Empire of the Ants was published in the U.S. by Bantam. Another popular French novelist with a breakout hit is Jean d'Ormesson, whose The Creation of the World landed at #3 in France in October.
While six of the top fiction titles turned over in Spain in October, the #1 book continues to be The Cathedral of the Sea; U.S. rights to the long-running bestseller were acquired by Dutton earlier this month (Deals, Nov. 13).
The three top fiction spots in Sweden are occupied by titles from the small but hot house Piratforlaget (Pirate Publishing). Pirate cofounder Jan Guillou's Madame Terror has topped the list for several months, but Sigh, My Heart, but Do Not Break and The Martina Code are new to the bestseller ranking. Both are compilations of works by popular Swedish personalities.
In nonfiction, the French top 10 list is dominated by titles discussing such weighty issues as politics and philosophy. An exception is #8, TheKing Kong Theory by Virginie Despentes, who created a sensation in France 13 years ago with her first novel, Baise-Moi (published in the U.S. by Grove as Rape Me). King Kong examines a host of social issues that Despentes uses as a basis to argue for a new feminism.
International Bestsellers
| France | ||
| Fiction | Nonfiction | |
| 1 | The Butterfly of the StarsBernard Werber Albin Michel | Of Flesh and SoulBoris Cyrulnik Odile Jacob |
| 2 | The Benevolent OnesJonathan Littell Gallimard | The Tyranny of RepentancePascal Bruckner Albin Michel |
| 3 | The Creation of the WorldJean d'Ormesson Robert Laffont | Sexual PoliticsChristophe Deloire, Christophe Dubois XO |
| For week ending October 28, used by arrangement with Livres Hebdo/Ipsos. | ||
| Spain | ||
| Fiction | Nonfiction | |
| 1 | The Cathedral of the SeaIldefonso Falcones Grijalbo | Sabina in Vivid FleshJoaquin Sabina, Javier Menendez Flores Ediciones B |
| 2 | Everything Under the SkyMatilde Asensi Planeta | The Accomplished GrammarAlex Grilelmo Santillana |
| 3 | Ines of My SoulIsabel Allende Plaza & Janes | Goodbye DepressionEnrique Rojas Temas de Hoy |
| For week ending October 28, used by arrangement with El Cultural. | ||
| Sweden | ||
| Fiction | Nonfiction | |
| 1 | Madame TerrorJan Guillou Piratforlaget | Better Self EsteemMia Tornblom Forum |
| 2 | Sigh, My Heart, but Do Not BreakMark Levengoods Piratforlaget | The Year of Magical ThinkingJoan Didion Atlas |
| 3 | The Martina CodeMartina Haag Piratforlaget | Our Best GI RecipesOla Lauritzson Albert Bonniers |
| For week ending October 28, used by arrangement with Svensk Bokhandel. | ||
