Volume 261
Issue 53
12/22/2014
David Foenkinos’s Charlotte, the story of a German painter who died at Auschwitz at the age of 26, rose six spots to hit #1 on France’s fiction list in November. The book bumped the previous month’s top seller, newly minted Nobel laureate Patrick Modiano’s So That You Don’t Get Lost in the Neighborhood, to the #3 spot. (On December 15, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt announced it will release the title in the U.S. in late 2015.) Lydie Salvayre’s Don’t Cry debuted on the list at #2. The book, set during the Spanish Civil War, won the Prix Goncourt, France’s top literary prize, in 2014.
In Germany, Sebastian Fitzek’s Passenger 23 pushed from #2 to #1 on the country’s fiction chart. Ken Follett’s Edge of Eternity, the third book in his Century Trilogy, jumped three spots to #2 (the bestselling book was released in the U.S. by Dutton in September).
Gianrico Carofiglio’s The Rule of Balance was new to Italy’s combined list, debuting at #1 in November. The book is the latest in the author’s series starring lawyer Guido Guerrieri, who has to, per the publisher, “deal with a judge accused of corruption and a woman with whom he falls in love with.” New titles also included Wilbur Smith’s Desert God at #4. The book, described by the publisher as “Game of Thrones meets Ancient Egypt,” was published Stateside in October by William Morrow.
Éric Zemmour held on to the top spot on France’s nonfiction list with The French Suicide. Belgian comedian Stéphane De Groodt jumped five spots to #2 with his comedic essay collection, Back to the Absurd.
Another comedian, Hape Kerkeling, topped Germany’s nonfiction list. The Boy Needs Some Fresh Air chronicles Kerkeling’s childhood and his mother’s death.
International Bestsellers
France
| Fiction | Nonfiction | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charlotte Charlotte David Foenkinos Gallimard | Le suicide français The French Suicide Éric Zemmour Albin Michel |
| 2 | Pas pleurer Don’t Cry Lydie Salvayre Seuil | Retour en absurdie Back to the Absurd Stéphane De Groodt Plon |
| 3 | Pour que tu ne te perdes pas dans le quartier So That You Don’t Get Lost in the Neighborhood Patrick Modiano Gallimard | Merci pour ce moment Thank You for this Moment Valérie Trierweiler Les Arène |
For the week ended Dec. 7; used by arrangement with Livres Hebdo/Ipsos.
Germany
| Fiction | Nonfiction | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Passagier 23 Passenger 23 Sebastian Fitzek Droemer | Der Junge muss an die frische Luft The Boy Needs Some Fresh Air Hape Kerkeling Piper |
| 2 | Kinder der Freiheit Edge of Eternity Ken Follett Bastei Lübbe | Eine Bluse macht noch keinen Sommer A Blouse Doesn’t Make a Summer Guido M. Kretschmer Edel Books |
| 3 | Die Lebenden und die Toten The Living and the Dead Nele Neuhaus Ullstein | Die Toten Hosen Die Toten Hosen Philipp Oehmke Rowohlt |
For November 2014; used by arrangement with Buchreport.
Italy
| Combined | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | La regola dell’equilibrio The Rule of Balance Gianrico Carofiglio Einaudi | 4 | Il dio del deserto Desert God Wilbur Smith Longanesi |
| 2 | Morte in mare aperto e altre indagini del giovane Montalbano Death at Sea and Other Investi-gations of the Young Montalbano Andrea Camilleri Sellerio Editore Palermo | 5 | Ciò che inferno non è What Hell Is Not Alessandro D’Avenia Mondadori |
| 3 | Un bambino è nato per noi. Natale 2014 A Child is Born For Us: Christmas 2014 Angelo Scola Centro Ambrosiano | 6 | Smith & Wesson Smith & Wesson Alessandro Baricco Feltrinelli |
For November 2014; used by arrangement with Informazioni Editoriali.
