Books From University Presses

For those drawn to the lyrical, intricate dance of memory with the tangible, Patrick Modiano's "Suspended Sentences" could be an enriching read. It's like wandering through a Paris you feel nostalgic for, even if you've never been. Modiano masterfully weaves personal history and fiction, leaving you nestled in the gray area between them, which might resonate with anyone captivated by the shadows of the past casting upon present life.

"The Lost Domain" resonates with anyone who has experienced the intensity and confusion of youth. In its pages, you'll uncover not just Meaulnes's adventures but the heartfelt nostalgia and eternal search for a place and time that may only exist in our memories. It's an enchanting narrative that will linger with you, as it celebrates and mourns the ephemeral nature of our happiest moments.

If you find yourself fascinated by the intricate dance of ambition, power, and financial intrigue, "Money" by Emile Zola might just be your next favorite read. Zola's sharp observation of human nature, combined with a setting that ties in closely with today's financial scandals, creates a compelling narrative that feels as fresh and relevant as it must have in Zola's time. Every page is a potent reminder of how the lust for money can drive a man to create and destroy in equal measure.

"A Certain Smile" invites you into the mind of a conflicted young Parisian. Sagan's narrative captures the tumult of youthful desires against a backdrop of 1950s Paris. Its honesty and depth will resonate if you've ever grappled with the complexities of love, the pangs of boredom, and the yearning for something more. Françoise Sagan's refined prose will make you feel like you're stealing glances at a very private diary, one that is as compelling as it is disconcertingly frank.

Although originally published separately, Patrick Modiano’s three novellas form a single, compelling whole, haunted by the same gauzy sense of place and characters. Modiano draws on his own experiences, blended with the real or invented stories of others, to present a dreamlike autobiography that is also the biography of a place. Orphaned children, mysterious parents, forgotten friends, enigmatic strangers—each appears in this three-part love song to a Paris that no longer exists. In this superb English-language translation of Afterimage, Suspended Sentences, and Flowers of Ruin, Mark Polizzotti captures not only Modiano’s distinctive narrative voice but also the matchless grace and spare beauty of his prose.   Shadowed by the dark period of the Nazi Occupation, these novellas reveal Modiano’s fascination with the lost, obscure, or mysterious: a young person’s confusion over adult behavior; the repercussions of a chance encounter; the search for a missing father; the aftershock of a fatal affair. To read Modiano’s trilogy is to enter his world of uncertainties and the almost accidental way in which people find their fates.

The Masterpiece is the tragic story of Claude Lantier, an ambitious and talented young artist who has come from the provinces to conquer Paris but is conquered instead by the flaws of his own genius. Set in the 1860s and 1870s, it is the most autobiographical of the twenty novels in Zola's Rougon-Macquart series. It provides a unique insight into Zola's career as a writer and his relationship with Cezanne, a friend since their schooldays in Aix-en-Provence. It also presents a well-documented account of the turbulent Bohemian world in which the Impressionists came to prominence despite the conservatism of the Academy and the ridicule of the general public.