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Image source: Wellesley College
Within a week of the release of the French edition of My Brilliant Friend by bestselling Italian novelist, Elena Ferrante, the book has become a top seller in Parisian bookstores.
Once again, the Italian novelist was brought to the epicentre of media attention with many people wondering if going by a pseudonym is reason behind this success, while some others are of the opinion that the popularity comes from the delayed release of the French edition that kept the audience waiting impatiently for this last last volume in the series.
Editions Gallimard has published 150,000 first edition-copies of the new novel The Lost Daughter. The copies were sold out one week after distribution in the market mid-January 2018, later a second edition has been released with sales of more than 320 thousand at the end of that month.
Along with Elena Ferrante’s bestseller book, Et moi, je vis toujours by French author Jean d`Ormesson, was in the running of top sellers. The autobiography was the #1 bestseller in the first half of 2018, till The Lost Daughter took over.
Critics believe that this is part of a competition between two departments in Gallimard. Jean d`Ormesson’s book feature in the art of NRF series, dedicated to the best literary works, while Ferrante’s book is published as part of international series.
