First Line

Cyril Cordouan is the frustrated editor of a small French literary press with very high standards. He is bombarded daily with piles of mediocre manuscripts and must decide which authors to reject, effectively forbidding them entrance into the hallowed world of French publishing. After one of his rejected authors dies by suicide, Cyril decides takes more care when rejecting other manuscripts and even starts a support group called AA, or Authors Anonymous. They meet in the back room of a local bar where, instead of giving up alcohol like the members of the more famous AA, they try to give up writing. At one point, Cyril laments that the writing profession is hopeless, but he eventually turns to writing himself for the first time and gains infinite compassion for the people in his support group, whose mutual angst is portrayed with a huge amount of wit and humor. VERDICT This novel by an award-winning French author, translator, and editor at the publishing house Gallimard is stupendously clever; the writing is so good that some passages beg to be read at least twice. Laclavetine's highly recommended satire (his first book to be translated into English) is a must-read for anyone who ever considered writing a novel or working in publishing.--Lisa Rohrbaugh