You have probably read stories and children’s books while learning French. now, you feel ready to take the next step, reading a French book for adults. but where to start?
Here’s a list of some classic French books, as well as some popular and newer ones, to inspire you!
You are reading: Best books in french
some quick notes on book options
If this article were a complete list of all French books worth reading, it would be as long as a novel. striving for as much variety as possible for a relatively short list, I chose these books based on criteria such as cultural impact, entertainment value, and relative ease of reading.
That said, reading a book in French will probably still be a challenge, especially if you don’t have much practice. So make sure you have a French dictionary or dictionary app handy, and don’t be discouraged! instead, enjoy the incredible combination of learning and entertainment that is reading in French.
With a few exceptions, all of these writers are born in France, not from the greater Francophone world. soon we will publish another article dedicated to writers from other francophone countries and cultures.
where to buy french books online?
There are many retailers to choose from if you want to buy French books online, including:
- bookstore (us, uk): my favorite option
- barnes & noble (usa)
- water stones (uk)
- indigo (canada)
classic books in French
There are many classics of French literature, and many of them are internationally known. Here, in no particular order, are a few that should be relatively easy to read and extremely entertaining:
le comte de monte-cristo (the count of monte cristo) by alexandre dumas
when edmond dantès is framed by jealous rivals, he could rot in prison. instead, he ends up on an adventure that will lead to revenge and redemption.
read the count of monte-cristo for free
au bonheur des dames (ladies’ pleasure or ladies’ paradise) by Émile zola
I think Zola is one of the best writers who ever lived. he can describe anything so vividly that you can see it, feel it and taste it, but his language rarely gets too complicated and his descriptions don’t take up pages, which also makes it an easy read for non-native speakers. Zola’s long series of books, Les Rougon-Macquart, follows two branches of one family through diverse experiences throughout the Second Empire (1852-1870). You don’t have to read them in order, since most of the books work as stand-alone works.
While his descriptions are vivid and often beautiful, Zola’s stories can often be harsh. au bonheur des dames is a good place to start because it’s a bit lighter. tells the story of denise baudu, a country woman who comes to work at au bonheur des dames, one of the first department stores in paris. Together with readers, she discovers the complex workings of the store, she sees how this new kind of shopping affects small businesses and the families that run them, and she finds friends and maybe love.
read au bonheur des dames for free
la gloire de mon père (my father’s glory) by marcel pagnol
marcel pagnol is the iconic writer from the south of france. Many of his books are classics, but La Gloire de Mon Père is especially beloved. This autobiographical novel tells the story of Pagnol’s early years and adventures in and around Marseille.
le petit prince (the little prince) by antoine de saint-exupéry
The story of a lost explorer and a prince from another planet can be a good classic book in French to start with, as it is full of illustrations and easy-to-understand phrases. however, that doesn’t make the story any less profound. There’s a reason le petit prince is one of the most popular French classics in countries all over the world!
buy it at bookshop.org
notre-dame de paris (the hunchback of notre dame) by victor hugo
Written in 1831, Notre-Dame de Paris tells the story of the hunchback Quasimodo, the downtrodden and oppressive priest Frollo, and the seductive, free-spirited Esmeralda, among many other fascinating characters. Set in a vision of medieval Paris, part of the book’s goal was to make people appreciate Notre-Dame Cathedral, at a time when Gothic art was not considered of particular value and the church was in ruins. soon after, she would be restored and loved again.
While it has been a well-known classic in France for centuries, after the devastating Notre-Dame fire of 2019, this book appeared on the national bestseller list again, proving how much the wish had come true. From Hugo: We love Notre-Dame. so much today that we want to commemorate and celebrate it.
read notre-dame de paris for free
les contes des fées (fairy tales) by madame d’aulnoy
In 17th century France, the trend of writing or inventing fairy tales began. Many women writers participated, often using the stories to question or subvert the social rules of the day. Madame d’Aulnoy, who is credited with coining the term “fairy tale” (un conte de fées in French) is among the most popular of these authors.
His many interesting and imaginative tales include the original “Beauty and the Beast,” a novel that involves the history we know today, as well as things like fairy plots, marital disputes, etc. Despite his age, d’Aulnoy’s stories are relatively easy to understand and read, as well as entertaining and full of imagination.
read the free conte des fees
the plague (the plague) of albert camus
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The story of a mysterious and deadly (fictional) plague that reaches the city of Oran in Algeria, this book is seen as an allegory of Nazism. it is an important work worth reading.
buy it at bookshop.org
les malheurs de sophie (sophie’s misfortunes) by the comtesse de ségur
this famous middle grade novel is somewhat comparable to little women in terms of its influence in france, although, to me at least, it’s not as nuanced. tells the story of sophie, a rich girl growing up in second empire (1852-1870) france, who often misbehaves.
It’s a relatively easy read and definitely has a certain charm, though it’s more of a morality tale than a portrait of a young woman.
read les malheurs de sophie for free
madame bovary by gustave flaubert
Beautiful writing meets devastating psychological portrait, as we follow Emma Bovary through a boring marriage and its aftermath. Even if you don’t like this kind of drama, it’s a book worth reading for Flaubert’s skill at characterization and his beautiful prose.
read madame bovary for free
georges simenon’s jules maidet series
It’s hard to pick just one of these classic crime novels. Published between 1931 and 1972, Inspector Maigret’s investigations are compelling and easy to read, and are classics of French crime literature.
This helpful Wikipedia page includes a complete list of the Maigret series, including 75 novels and 28 short stories. choose the one(s) you want to read and request them at your library, local bookstore, or look for them at your favorite online bookstore.
l’écume des jours (foam in reverie or indigo mood) by boris vian
This is the strangest and possibly the most challenging book on our list, simply because of that strangeness. strange descriptions and unexpected twists abound. but it’s an amazing reading experience, one of my favorite French classics, not to mention one of the favorites of many of my French friends.
The story of young lovers Chuck and Chloe and their merry entourage begins as a lighthearted tale and ends in a surprisingly profound meditation on illness and loss. all with a surreal bent that means you’ll be constantly amazed at the depictions of the world the characters live in, where whimsical inventions, talking mice and a dangerous water lily are a part of everyday life. order it at your local library, bookstore, or find it at your favorite online bookstore.
popular French books
In lists of countries that love to read, France is often in the top ten. In addition to the classics from the previous section, the French have eclectic reading interests, poring over books translated from languages around the world, as well as works written by French authors.
here are some popular books in contemporary French that you might enjoy. order them at your local library, bookstore, or find them at your favorite online bookstore.
guillaume musso central park
musso is currently the best selling french writer in france. his books are thrillers, sometimes with a supernatural element. many present children in somewhat sad ways; for example, his first novel, et après…, follows a child who was brain dead and comes back to life, while he learns more about this experience as an adult, with the help of a mysterious doctor.
The book I have chosen for our list, Central Park, is about a man and a woman who wake up handcuffed together on a bench in Central Park… even though they are both from different countries in Europe and no one knows. how they got there.
et si c’était vrai… by marc levy
a woman in a coma “chases” the man who now lives in her house. sounds familiar? That’s because this novel was adapted into the movie Like Heaven, starring Reese Witherspoon and Mark Ruffalo. Levy’s books are usually romantic and light-hearted, although they can touch on heavy themes. its style is also generally very easy to read.
set, c’est tout de anna gavalda
This book is about a group of misfits who come together in particular circumstances to live in an apartment and the connections they make with each other. there is friendship, romance, and overcoming difficult pasts. Like many of Gavalda’s books, this one is tinged with sadness but also full of hope and love.
Virginie Grimaldi’s premier day of the rest of Friday
grimaldi, one of france’s most optimistic mainstream writers, is known for writing in the “chick-lit” genre. This particular book tells the story of Marie, who leaves her unhappy life behind and takes a cruise around the world, joining up with two other women and having adventures along the way.
the romantic love of frédéric beigbeder
An infamous party animal and bon vivant (he was notoriously arrested in 2008 for snorting cocaine off the hood of a car in central Paris), Beigbeder might be seen as a bit controversial by many people, including his fellow feminists. but he is an amazing writer, funny and moving, profound and hilarious.
l’égoïste romantique is the first beigbeder book I read, and I felt like I was reading a modern francophone oscar wilde. So much wit and wisdom. to show his range, another of beigbeder’s books, windows to the world, is a much more sober story about a family in the homonymous restaurant at the top of the north tower of the twin towers, and the author eating at the same time in a restaurant at the top of paris montparnasse tour, on september 11th.
stupefaction and tremors of amélie nothomb
Most of the other writers on this list are native French citizens, but Nothomb hails from Belgium and spent the early years of his life in Japan, where his father was the Belgian ambassador. yet he is such an iconic and prolific part of the contemporary French literary scene that it would be strange not to include him on this list. Also, her books are short, weird and easy to read.
in stupeur et tremblements, possibly her most famous book, nothomb (or a fictionalized version of her) returns to japan as an adult, to work for a company there. she quickly experiences everything from culture shock to a sort of obsession with a co-worker. it’s weird but relatable and funny but sad, as is the best of nothomb’s writing.
buy drugs and shakes at bookshop.org
in the forests of siberie by sylvain tesson
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travel writer tesson does his version of thoreau, deciding to live alone in a cabin… but in his case, it’s in siberia, on lake baikal. Unlike Walden, Tesson’s book describes encounters with locals as well as nature and his own thoughts. It is a fascinating book that is extremely engaging and will make you feel the cold of Siberia, wherever you are reading it.
kiffe kiffe demain by faïza guène
This is one of my favorite French books of all time, for what it’s worth. We follow Doria, a French teenager of North African descent who lives in a banlieue (housing project) near Paris. Told with humor, even as she touches on sad themes like abandonment, struggle at school, and poverty, this book is a delight and a true masterpiece of characterization. no wonder it’s won awards and been translated into several different languages.
If you’re looking for information about life in the French banlieues, especially what it’s like growing up there, this is a great place to start. but even if that’s not your primary interest, I’d still recommend this book for its deft and engaging writing.
buy kiffe kiffe demain at bookshop.org
Christelle Dabos’ fiancés de l’hiver
This fantasy book is the first in the four-part passe-miroir (mirror visitor) series, which has become an international sensation. fun, humor, suspense, and romance abound.
In this first volume, the world is divided into many small islands, called arks. ophélie lives in a peaceful ark where she works in a museum, using her gift of touching objects to understand her past. When she is placed in an arranged marriage with the mysterious Thorn, she must journey to her ark, a brutal world of hunters and courtiers: she thinks Versailles meets Vikings. Will she survive her and unravel the many mysteries that surround her? This book is long, but despite its length, it is quite easy to read in French.
the mechanics of the heart of mathias malzieu
This novel by Malzieu, who is also the leader of the French rock band Dionysos, is a fantasy story about love, starring Jack, a young man with a heart like a cuckoo clock. What happens when he falls in love? As he will know if he has seen the movie adaptation of the book or even the artwork of it, this story gives off great Tim Burton/Goth vibes. It’s a quick, fun, and moving read.
buy la mécanique du cœur at bookshop.org
the stairs of montmartre by michel peyramaure
peyramaure is not as popular as the other authors on this list, but i really wanted to add him because his historical fiction novels about france are engaging and relatively easy reads. my personal favorite is les escaliers de montmartre, which covers the early life of suzanne valadon, artist, muse, and mother of the utrillo painter. Surrounded by legendary Parisian artists of the belle-Époque, her life and her times were dazzling, sensual and painful.
non-fiction books in French
It’s hard to list any kind of French language book, as there will always be something you end up leaving out, for one reason or another. A list of non-fiction books in French would be even more difficult, as there are books on just about every subject under the sun, and not all of them have the same interests.
so I won’t include any French non-fiction books here. but I advise you to read non-fiction books in French on topics that interest you. These don’t have to be things specific to France or French culture, of course; you’ll still get plenty of vocabulary and reading practice regardless of what you’re reading in French.
Also, many (but not all) French non-fiction books will also be written in a simpler style than fiction or poetry books, so they can be a good way to start reading longer texts in French. French.
To find the perfect French non-fiction book for you, start by doing an internet search for the topic that interests you (in French, of course) and the word livre.
Where can I find more reading recommendations in French?
If you’re looking for even more ways to read French, I suggest you take a look at our list of French stories and fairy tales. many of these are also classics in the French canon, and will often be referred to in French popular culture.
Search the internet for specific authors, titles, themes, and genres in French. And of course, a general search for something like “livres polars en français” (thrillers in French) should return some results as well.
In addition, you can search for topics such as “bestsellers in france” or “auteurs français”. The home pages of French and Francophone websites that sell books can also be a good way to find new reading; many showcase covers from recent releases.
You can also check your local library to see if they have French books in their collection. some larger libraries will probably have, or will have, bilingual classics.
If you’re on a tight budget, keep in mind that most books published before 1923 are in the public domain and you may be able to find them for free online at sites like gallica.fr or wikisource. You can often find links to these free versions at the bottom of French or English Wikipedia entries.
how easy is it to read books in French?
If you’re wondering how easy it is to read a book in French, unfortunately there’s no easy answer for that. For one thing, each author has a particular style, and in some cases, even if they don’t use arcane vocabulary or complex grammatical structures, their writing can be difficult for you to understand. mother tongue. the works of some writers “speak” to us more clearly than those of others.
reading French will have its challenges, regardless. it’s always a good idea to keep a dictionary or dictionary app open. but like anything else, with time it will get easier. the more you read, the more vocabulary you acquire, the more you get used to seeing different grammatical structures and expressions, and the more natural everything feels.
Ultimately, remember that you will get used to reading in French. There will probably always be some challenges, because even native speakers can find a particular author difficult to understand, after all. but you will do better and better. And if you choose books that interest you, at least you will be entertained while you learn and practice. that’s the best thing about reading French.
Do you have a favorite French book or French author? Have you read any of the books on this list? if you did, what did you think of them? feel free to share in the comments!
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