10Les Faux-monnayeurs (André Gide)
Les Faux-monnayeurs is a 1925 novel written by André Gide and is known as a precursor of the ‘nouveau roman’. The story revolves around many characters (you’ll almost need a cheat sheet to remember them all) and their intertwined lives. One of the characters, Édouard (the author’s alter ego) is writing a book with the same title but the plot mostly revolves around Bernard, a young man. There is an omniscient narrator who sometimes shares its opinion on the characters and addresses the reader directly. There are many homosexual characters in the novel, which unfortunately meant that when it was first received, there were some prejudices against the book.
Hopefully, you found something to read amongst these 20th century French books. Do you have a favorite French book? Something classic that you would recommend to a friend? If you’re more into graphic novels, we made a list of classic French graphic novels.