Best French novels of all time for a window into the Gallic soul
If you’ve ever been lucky enough to travel to France, you’ll likely have come across those unmistakable, classic French literature covers.
These remarkably understated, cream-coloured paperbacks are the signature design for all books published under Gallimard – a French publishing house founded in 1911 by Gaston Gallimard, André Gide, and Jean Schlumberge which originally held the name Les Éditions de la Nouvelle Revue Française.
Whether French is your native tongue or not, there’s something strangely intimidating about these beautiful and incredibly uniform cover designs. Indeed, the French certainly know how to make their cultural practices at once inherently desirable, yet frustratingly impenetrable.
Not indicative of the wonders which lay between the folds, Gallimard's books are nonchalant about whether they entice you or not – unlike the covers which normally adorn English translations. Instead, you are encouraged to take the time to thoroughly browse the selection
