Pardon my French: The embassy’s initiative to get you reading modern French literature

The initiative was kicked off on the September 20 at Alliance Française de Delhi, with a discussion on the state of reading in the digital era

The panel included (from left to right), Mohit Batra, CEO of Rajat Books Corner; Ajay Jain, founder of Kunzum Bookstores; Gregor Trumel, Director of the French Institute in India; and Patricia Loison, Director of the Alliance Française Delhi (Express photo by Anil Sharma)

For the past two decades, contemporary French literature has struggled to find room in the shelves of Indian readers, who, perhaps due to lack of awareness, have not been able to diversify their taste beyond the classics. To amend that and encourage literary cooperation between the two cultures, the French Institute in India has taken an initiative, Pardon My French!, that will partner with independent bookstores across the country to make sure curious readers are not turned away from French literature due to unavailability of titles.

The initiative was kicked off on the September 20 at Alliance Française de Delhi, with a discussion on the state of reading in the digital era. Among the panellists were Gregor Trumel, Director of the French Institute in India; Patricia Loison, Director of the Alliance Française Delhi; Ajay Jain, Founder of Kunzum Bookstores; and Mohit Batra, CEO, Rajat Book Corner.

The Book Office of the French Institute in India has curated a list of 15 must-read French titles of the 21st century. Among them are Edouard Louis’s The End of Eddy (2014), an autobiographical novel about growing up gay in a working-class town in Picardy, and Maylis de Kerangal’s Mend The Living (2014), the journey of a transplant organ that explores the metaphysical zone between life and death (also translated to the Tamil and Malayalam). Also in the list is Maryse Condé’s The Gospel According to The New World (2018), a picaresque novel that mixes humour and poetry. The book had to be dictated by the author due to her deteriorating health, and was translated into English by her husband, translator Richard Philcox.

The audience was curious about the selection criteria, to which the Books, Debates, and Ideas attaché Julia Trouilloud said, “We started with books that had been translated into dozens of other languages. However, if we limited ourselves to the sheer number of translations, the selection would have been very commercial. So our team, which had both French and Indian readers, curated a very subjective selection of lesser known books that they deemed equally important. This initiative is just the first step of something larger.”

The dialogue then shifted to the challenges brick and mortar bookstores have faced in an era that encourages mostly short form reading via social media. Batra began with stressing the importance of physical bookstores for a reading culture, “These days we all find ourselves running, a book requires you to slow down, stop and form an intimate connection. That requires a space like this.”

A gentleman in the audience lamented the seemingly shrinking volume of young readers, who often defer to the screen over the paperback. Contradicting this, Mr Jain said, “Most of our customers that read on the Kindle are senior citizens, because they can expand the font. Contrary to the hype electronic books have, even in a tech-infested society like the US, over 80% of the books being read are being printed on paper. This number goes to over 90% in Europe, and about 98%-99% in India.”

An audience member reminisced, “One of my most cherished memories with my daughter has been visiting bookstores with her when she was little.” Others exclaimed about the materiality one experiences while reading print: “the smell of books, turning over a page.”