The least you can do when you bring together two familiar faces from the top of the table is to organize a meeting at the top. The rue de la Montagne-Sainte-Geneviève, in Paris (5th arrondissement), took us straight there. At least until the Tram, a café-bookstore that favors, on its shelves, works devoted to earthly nourishment. The Tram! This suits Aurélie Valognes perfectly, whose new and tenth work, “La Lignée” (Fayard, 360 p., 21.90 euros), is a matter of correspondence. It is an epistolary novel. Two writers, Louise and Madeleine, belonging to different generations, exchange letters. One is a beginner, the other has laid down her pen.
In the work of this native of Châtenay-Malabry (Hauts-de-Seine), this book is like a breath of fresh air and skillfully invites us to reflect on our lives. Propelled to the firmament of sales, from her first novel, “Mémé dans les orties”, in 2014, this mother of two boys who now lives in Brittany has never come down from her Olympus. From success to success – “La Cerise sur le Gâteau”, “Born under a good star” or “L’Envol”, published last year -, she is close to 5 million copies sold. On this May morning, she meets for the first time her 21-year-old elder, Marc Levy. A prolific author, with 25 novels.