fiction - Anastasia Lester Literary Agency - Free

LITERARY FICTIONØ A tale that introduces readers to the lifestyle and beliefs of a population that is often misunderstood.Ø A desolate story, cheered up by the presence of Alba, a luminous character incarnating hope.In 1940, Alba was a girl of fourteen. Her family made their living in a traveling show touring within afifty- kilometer radius of Saint-Jean d’Angely, in Charente Maritime, France. Identity checks became restrictiveand, in April, came the decree forbidding the movement of gypsies in time of war. Soon, the Kommandanturrequired that all gypsies in the region be rounded up under the surveillance of the French police. With hundredsof others, exhausted by hours of walking, Alba crossed the threshold of the internment camp of Alliers, inNovember. Little did she imagine she would spend six long years here, between horror and a thirst for life. Intwenty or so chapters constructed like so many tableaux suspended in time, Pigani recounts how Alba grew towomanhood despite the bleakness, how she and her family managed to love, to bear children, and to work amidstthis madness of mankind.With reserve and grace, this first novel takes on a little-known page of French history and forms avibrant homage to the Rom community.Paola Pigani was born in 1963 to Italian parents who had immigrated to the Charente region of France.As an adolescent, she mingled with gypsy families and, in particular, a woman who would become theinspiration for the character of Alba. An old photo and bits of memories told by the descendants of this womanled to the writing of this first novel. A poet and short story writer, in 2006 the author won the Prix Prométhée forshort stories with her collection CONCERTINA. She lives today in Lyon where she divides her time betweenwriting and her work as an educator.“Un roman superbe, qui laisse le sentiment qu'une dette - à l'enfance, aux Tziganes, aux malheursenfouis - a pu être en partie payée.” Le Monde des Livres“Magnifique premier roman de Paula Pigani, plus qu’un hommage aux Tsiganes, c'est un grand livresur la liberté, la jeunesse et l'amour.” Page“Un roman poignant sur l’internement des Gitans au camp des Alliers à Angoulême entre 1940 et1946.” La Charente-Libre“L'époque est complexe et l'écrivain s'abstient de tout jugement facile. Elle lutte simplement contrel'oubli.” Le Matricule des angesMoix, Yann: NAISSANCE(Grasset, September 2013, 130 page)Longlisted for Prix Goncourt, Prix Renaudot, Prix Médicis and Prix DécembreØ This book is a crazy bet. Yann Moix raises the question that precedes all others – that of birth andfiliation. According to him, we aren’t born just once, but life is rather a perpetual rebirth.Ø A hilarious, serious, metaphysical and zany book, just like it’s author.This is a colossal book, both in page count and ambition. Yann Moix tells us how he came into theworld and into a family that didn’t want him. His character is born and becomes a scapegoat. He writes of thechild become writer, his mentors, and his inspirations, like the hilarious oddball collector of… collections.Here, we find everything that makes Yann Moix such a talent, the themes he loves and that weavethrough his work: childhood, madness, the provinces, mysticism, Judaism, and Christianity. Naissance is also anabsolute homage to literature. It contains chapters on Stendhal, William Faulkner, André Gide, Georges Bataille,Charles Péguy, and Brian Jones.Born in 1968, Yann Moix has published LA MEUTE, CINQUANTE ANS DANS LA PEAU DEMICHAEL JACKSON, MORT ET VIE D'EDITH STEIN, PANTHÉON, and PARTOUZ with Grasset.Rights sold for previous works: Greek (Kedros, Empeiria Ekdotiki), Italian (Messaggero Padova)Ono-Dit-Biot, Christophe: PLONGER(Gallimard, August 2013, 448 pages)Ø From the treasures of old Europe to the megalopolises of the new world, the marble of museums to thesand of sensuous banks where one is cleansed of all, PLONGER explores the itinerary of a heroine ofour times, in quest of liberty, meaning, and purity in an increasingly stifling world.22Contact: Mrs Anastasia Lester ; Email:anastassia.lester@gmail.com