As expected, The Lost Symbol debuted on top of the French fiction bestseller lists last month when the Dan Brown novel was finally released there, and the title is at the top on a number of other European markets as well.
In France, Brown's thriller beat out a new novel by the international bestselling author Marc Levy, whose The First Night landed at #2. Night is the sequel to Levy's summer 2009 bestseller, The First Day.
Although Symbol remained in the top spot in Spain in December, the next three bestsellers were all newcomers to the list. Debuting at #2 was Paul Auster's Invisible, which Holt released in the U.S. last fall. Auster is no stranger to international readers with his books now translated into 35 languages. Debuting in third place was Against the Wind, for which author Angeles Caso won Spain's richest literary award, the Premio Planeta. The novel about the relationship between a rich and a poor woman has not been scheduled for release in the U.S. The third new bestseller, landing in fourth position, was The Dawn of Time by Antonio Muñoz Molina, which tells the story of an architect who flees to America to escape the Spanish Civil War. Molina has been published in the U.S. by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
There were a number of new books on Italy's combined bestsellers list in December, led by Let the Party Begin, which debuted in second place behind Symbol. Party is the newest black comedy from Niccolo Ammaniti, whose As God Commands was published in the U.S. last October by Black Cat. Italian writer and director Alessandro Baricco debuted in third place with Emmaus; Baricco's novella Silk was released in the U.S. in 2007 by Vintage.
International Bestsellers
| France | ||
| Fiction | Nonfiction | |
| 1 | Le Symbole perduThe Lost SymbolDan Brown Lattes | Mémoires, Vol. 1: Chaque pas doit etre un butMemors, Vol. 1: Each Step Must Have a GoalJacques Chirac NIL |
| 2 | La première nuitThe First NightMarc Levy Robert Laffont | MétronomeMetronomeLoránt Deutsch Michel Lafon |
| 3 | L'Echappée belleA Beautiful EscapeAnna Gavalda Le Dilettante | Laissez flotter les rubansLet the Ribbons FlyVictor Lanoux Le Cherce Midi |
| For week ending December 20, used by arrangement with Livres Hebdo | ||
| Spain | ||
| Fiction | Nonfiction | |
| 1 | El simbolo perdidoThe Lost SymbolDan Brown Planeta | El secretoThe SecretRhonda Byrne Urano |
| 2 | InvisibleInvisiblePaul Auster Anagrama | Cuando éramos honrados MercenariosWhen We Were Honored MercenariesArturo Perez-Reverte Alfaguara |
| 3 | Contra el vientoAgainst the WindAngeles Caso Planeta | Memorias de un presoMemoirs of a PrisonerMario Conde MR |
| For week ending December 20, used by arrangement with El Cultural | ||
| Italy | ||
| Combined | ||
| 1 | Il simbolo perdutoThe Lost SymbolDan Brown Mondadori | Il temp che vorreiThe Time You WishFabio Volo Mondadori |
| 2 | Che la festa cominciLet the Party BeginNiccolo Ammaniti Einaudi | La rizzagliataThe StraightenedAndrea Camilleri Sellerio Editore |
| 3 | EmmausEmmausAlessandro Baricco Feltrinelli | Ho anch'io Qualcosa da Dirti, SignoreI've Something to Tell You, LordDionigi Tettamanzi Centro Ambrosiano |
| For week ending December 20, used by arrangement with Informazioni Editoriali | ||
