The Ritual Master Hey there, welcome back to The Ritual of Reading.
Today I have a bit of a vlog video for you, from my morning spent at the Paris Book Festival this April. 40 years after the inauguration of the Paris Book Fair and following two years of cancellations because of COVID, the Fair has been transformed into a Festival, with free entrance and a change of scenery in the temporary building of the Grand Palais Éphémère, right in the heart of Paris. Let’s walk around and take in the bookish vibes…
It was impossible to leave without some goodies, so here is a mini haul of my Paris Book Festival. I’m taking you through the pile while I sign them, this is a habit I am proud to say I’ve inherited from many generations past, who originally signed their books in Latin, with the classic Ex Meis Libris.
Orhan Pamuk’s latest novel, already translated into French and coming this October in English, Nights of Plague tells the story of an imaginary Greek Island where Ottomans and Orthodox cope with an outbreak of plague that will mark the beginning of the great Ottoman Empire’s fall. Pamuk has a special place in my imaginary Turkish paradise and I can’t wait to read this story.
Reiner Maria Rilke, Letters to a young poet, the book that needs no introduction but that I did not have on my shelves, so what better excuse ? I’ve also been reading it for May of the Moderns this year, there will be another video on this.
Maël Renouard’s novel The Historiographer of the Kingdom is a portrait of the Moroccan monarchy told through the eyes of a scholar, former classmate of the Royal Princes, who saw the rise of rebellions and took note of a tumultuous court life. The novel was written in French, not yet translated.
This brief anthology of witches in literature goes from Shakespeare to Georges Sand, from Victor Hugo to John Updike, and offers a glimpse of 14 portraits, fascinating women both adored and rejected, through the writings of classics and contemporary authors.
Leïla Slimani’s essay The perfume of flowers at night continues the series of writers that spent a night alone in a museum, of which I’ve spoken before, I’ll link the video here. Slimani spent her night at the Punta della Dogana in Venice, and offers a beautiful essay on writers, the art of writing and the freedom to be ourselves. Kind of a contemporary reply to Rilke’s letters, the thought of reading them together gives me great joy.
And finally, Françoise Chandernagor’s novel The King’s alley is a fictional memoir of Françoise d’Aubigné, Marquise of Maintenon, secret wife and close council of King Louis XIV. After considerable research, the author has put together the portrait of a woman often forgotten by historians, key witness of fascinating moments in time, and strong character worth discovering. Plus it is said the language has a charming 17th century feel to it, so I’m twice as excited.
You’ll hear my reviews at one point or another, I can’t wait to read them all and tell you about it.
Until next time, enjoy your reading and your rituals !
