Popular/Recommended French Novel/Book?

[Ronlop 6,783]

Hey,

I was wondering if any of you French users could recommend me a great French novel/book?

If it's in the Thriller, Psychology, Suspense and Mystery category- then it's even better

 

Thank you! 

[Gagadonna 10,801]

René Barjavel's La Nuit Des Temps 

[Ada 1,665]

Well I remember I enjoyed Balzac's "Le centenaire" (he published it under a pseudonym) and "Le père Goriot" (although this last one doesn't really fit in the genres you asked for). I'm currently reading "Le comte de Monte-Cristo" and I'm loving it. I can't tell you that much about the story because I'm not even half way there but I know it fits your taste.

PS: I can't leave without recommending Cortázar's books. Although he's not french, he lived in Paris most of his life and made of that city his biggest inspiration. It really conveys the french spirit in a way that made me fall in love with it. "Rayuela" ("Marelle" in french).

[Luxe Ford 3,481]

Not what you're asking for, but Huysmans' À Rebours and Cocteau's Les Enfants Terribles are both books that have shaped my life in big ways. 

 

[Ronlop 6,783]

17 minutes ago, Gagadonna said:

René Barjavel's La Nuit Des Temps 

 

5 minutes ago, MrA said:

Well I remember I enjoyed Balzac's "Le centenaire" (he published it under a pseudonym) and "Le père Goriot" (although this last one doesn't really fit in the genres you asked for). I'm currently reading "Le comte de Monte-Cristo" and I'm loving it. I can't tell you that much about the story because I'm not even half way there but I know it fits your taste.

PS: I can't leave without recommending Cortázar's books. Although he's not french, he lived in Paris most of his life and made of that city his biggest inspiration. It really conveys the french spirit in a way that made me fall in love with it. "Rayuela" ("Marelle" in french).

 

4 minutes ago, Luxe Ford said:

Not what you're asking for, but Huysmans' À Rebours and Cocteau's Les Enfants Terribles are both books that have shaped my life in big ways. 

 

Thank you so much guys!

 

[Guest]

Good french books with the genre of thriller or mystery are so rare (in my opinion). Americans do it best. French are better with romance, or again in my personal opinion, intellectual/serious topics (which bore me, but it's just my opinion).

Spoiler

Just my onion

 

[littlepotter 72,831]

Sans Famille is one of my favorite books ever. It's just beautiful.

[Oriane 18,984]

The classics :
Les Misérables - Victor Hugo
Le Rouge et le Noir - Stendhal
La Chartreuse de Parme - Stendhal
Candide - Voltaire
Au Bonheur des Dames - Emile Zola

"Modern" classics (from the 20th century) :
La Gloire de mon Père/Le Château de ma Mère - Marcel Pagnol
L'écume des jours - Boris Vian
Bonjour Tristesse - Françoise Sagan

Plays (for theater but you can still read them) :
Huis clos - Jean-Paul Sartre
Lorenzaccio - Alfred de Musset
Le Dieu du Carnage - Yasmina Reza

Poetry :
Les chants de Maldoror - Comte de Lautréamont

Modern books :
Stupeur et Tremblements - Amélie Nothomb (and and all of her books in general, I have read a few)
Les Ombres du métis - Sébastian Meier (this one you should like more, it's a thriller, I think the author is Swiss)

I'm too lazy to look for the titles in English right now, if you want more information on any of these books don't hesitate to ask.