"Modiano is an ideal writer to gorge on . . . A moody, delectable noir." — The New Yorker
"The best kind of mystery, the kind that never stops haunting you." — Entertainment Weekly
"A work of melancholic beauty . . . Sincere, shattering, magnificent." — L'Express
In the stillness of his Paris apartment, Jean Daragane has built a life of total solitude. Then a surprising phone call...

"In 1921, Franc̦oise Frenkel, a Jewish woman from Poland, fulfills a lifelong dream. She opens Berlin's first French-language bookshop, La Maison du Livre, attracting artists, diplomats, celebrities, and poets. The shop soon becomes a haven for intellectual exchange as Nazi ideology begins to poison the culturally rich city. But as the occupation intensifies and politics darken, Frenkel's bookshop is frequently visited by police officers who confiscate...

In 1921, Françoise Frenkel-a Jewish woman from Poland-fulfills a dream. She opens La Maison du Livre, Berlin's first French bookshop, attracting artists and diplomats, celebrities and poets. The shop becomes a haven for intellectual exchange as Nazi ideology begins to poison the culturally rich city. In 1935, the scene continues to darken. First come the new bureaucratic hurdles, followed by frequent police visits and book confiscations. Françoise's...