European Book Club

Come and discuss the European book of the month! We're looking forward to seeing you!

Our European Book club meets regularly to discuss a contemporary novel from one of our literatures (Austrian, Catalan, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, or Spanish, with the occasional guest literatures). The novels chosen are available as French (or English) translations, and the discussion takes place in French.

For up-to-date information on chosen works, please check this website regularly, or on our Facebook page!

We inform you in advance of the books to be read for the next book clubs. They are available at our partner bookstores (the Librairie Gallimard de Montréal and the Librairie du Square).

All the information regarding the location, moderation of the evening, etc., is communicated a few weeks before each book club meeting.

Upcoming:
-January 17, 3 pm: Ukrainian literature. "Looking at women looking at war: A war and justice diary” by Victoria Amelina.
-February 10, 6:30 pm: German literature. "The Director” by Daniel Kehlmann.

Upcoming book club

Lisez la littérature ukrainienne !

Our upcoming Lisez l'Europe book club will feature a Ukrainian book, and will take place Sunday January 18 2026 at 3 pm at the Goethe-Institut Montreal. It is organized in collaboration with the Ukrainian Club Montreal.

The book chosen for this session is "Looking at women looking at war: A war and justice diary” by Victoria Amelina. The discussion will be held in French.

Cover of The Director, by Daniel Kehlmann

Actes Sud

Lisez la littérature allemande !

Our upcoming Lisez l'Europe book club will feature a German novel, and will take place Tuesday February 10 2026 at 6:30 pm at the Goethe-Institut Montreal.

The book chosen for this session is "The Director” by Daniel Kehlmann (translated by Ross Benjamin). The discussion will be held in French and moderated by Marie-Pierre Poulin, librarian at the Goethe-Institut Montreal.

October 14 2009: Catalan literature. "The last patriarch" by Najat El Hachmi.
November 11 2009: German literature. "Measuring the world" by Daniel Kehlmann.
December 9 2009: Italian literature. "The Goodbye Kiss" by Massimo Carlotto.
January 13 2010: Portuguese literature. "The year of the death of Ricardo Reis" by José Saramago.
February 10 2010: Dutch literature. "Oeroeg" by Hella S. Haasse.*
March 10 2010: Spanish literature. "Canciones de amor en Lolita's club" by Juan Marsé.*
May 12 2010: German literature. "Silence" by Jan Costin Wagner.
June 9 2010: Catalan literature. "A not so perfect crime" by Teresa Solana.

October 13 2010: Swiss literature. "Julius le Nomade de Schaffhouse" by Claire Oechslin.*
November 10 2010: Spanish literature. "The fencing master" by Arturo Pérez-Reverte.
December 8 2010: German literature. "The taste of apple seeds" by Katharina Hagena.
January 12 2011: Italian literature. "The killer in my eyes" by Giorgio Faletti.
February 8 2011: Catalan literature. "L'últim home que parlava català" by Carles Casajuana.*
March 9 2011: Polish literature. "Travels with Herodotus" by Ryszard Kapuscinski.
April 13 2011: French literature. "Terre des affranchis" by Liliana Lazar.*

October 12 2011: Dutch literature. "The assault" by Harry Mulisch.
November 9 2011: Swiss literature. "Fremdschläfer" by Verena Stefan.*
December 14 2011: Spanish literature. "Plenilunio" by Antonio Munoz Molina.*
January 11 2012: Italian literature. "In the sea there are crocodiles" by Fabio Geda.
February 21 2012: Catalan literature. "Paco" by Jacques Folch-Ribas.*
March 14 2012: Portuguese literature. "The murmuring coast" by Lidia Jorge.
May 9 2012: French literature. "Les insurrections singulières" by Jeanne Benameur.*
June 13 2012: German literature. “Crimes” by Ferdinand von Schirac.

October 14 2012: Spanish literature. "Dafne desvanecida" by José Carlos Somoza.*
December 12 2012 (cancelled bookclub): Swiss literature. "Across many mountains" by Yangzom Brauen.
January 9 2013: Italian literature. "Stabat Mater" by Tiziano Scarpa.
March 12 2013: Catalan literature. "Tigres" by Gabriel Janer Manila.*
June 12 2013: German literature. "In times of fading light" by Eugen Ruge.

October 16 2013: Spanish literature. "El lector de Julio Verne" by Almudena Grandes.*
November 20 2013: Austrian literature. "The Radetzky March" by Joseph Roth.
December 11 2013: Portuguese literature. "O apocalipse dos trabalhadores" by Valter Hugo Mae.*
January 15 2014: Italian literature. "L'incontro" by Michela Murgia.*
March 11 2014: Catalan literature. "Victus" by Albert Sanchez-Pinol.
May 15 2014: German literature. "The giraffe's neck" by Judith Schalansky.
July 9 2014: French literature. "Le liseur du 6h27", by Jean-Paul Didierlaurent.*

November 12 2014: Austrian literature. "Roppongi. Requiem pour un père", by Josef Winkler.*
December 10 2014: Spanish literature. "The infatuations", by Javier Marias.
January 14 2015: Italian literature. "Accabadora", by Michela Murgia.
February 11 2015: Norwegian literature. "Berlin poplars" by Anne B. Ragde.
March 17 2015: Catalan literature. "La femme pressée" by Imma Monso.*
April 22 2015: French literature. "L'empreinte à Crusoé" by Patrick Chamoiseau.*
May 14 2015: German literature. "All Russians Love Birch Trees" by Olga Grjasnowa.
July 9 2015: Walloon literature. "La nuit sans fin" by Thierry Horguelin.*

October 5 2015: Portuguese literature. "Lisbonne mélodies" by Joao Tordo.*
October 28 2015: Catalan literature. "Russian stories" by Francesc Serés.
November 11 2015: Austrian literature. "Le tabac Tresniek" by Robert Seethaler.*
November 25 2015: Walloon literature. "Patsy" by Éditions Trames.*
December 9 2015: Spanish literature. "Crematorio" by Rafael Chirbes.*
February 22 2016: German literature. "Vielleicht Esther" by Katja Petrowskaja.*
March 15 2016: Catalan literature. "Les yeux fardés" by Lluis Llach.*
May 12 2016: French literature. "Celle que vous croyez" by Camille Laurens.*
June 9 2016: Spanish literature. "The Impostor" by Javier Cercas.

September 26 2016: Portuguese literature. "Les Mémorables" by Lídia Jorge.*
October 19 2016: Italian literature. "The Prague Cemetery" by Umberto Eco.
November 17 2016: Austrian literature. "Angel of oblivion" by Maja Haderlap.
February 7 2017: German literature. "The hottest dishes of the Tartar cuisine" by Alina Bronsky.
March 14 2017: Catalan literature. "Confessions" by Jaume Cabré.
May 19 2017: Spanish literature. "The heart has its reasons" by Maria Dueñas.

October 18 2017: Italian literature. "One, no one, and one hundred thousand" by Luigi Pirandello.
November 22 2017: Austrian literature. "Cox, oder die Lauf der Zeit", by Christoph Ransmayr.*
February 13 2018: German literature. "Memoirs of a polar bear", by Yoko Tawada.
March 13 2018: Catalan literature. "War, so much war", by Merce Rodoreda.
April 19 2018: French literature. "Le tigre bleu de l'Euphrate" by Laurent Gaudé.*
June 12 2018 : Spanish literature. "La carne" by Rosa Montero.*

September 17 2018: Portuguese literature. "Rebellion" by Cristina Carvalho.
October 10 2018: Italian literature. "Lehman Trilogy" (in Italian - English translation coming in 2020) by Stefano Massini.
October 16 2018: French literature. "Marx et la poupée" by Maryam Madjidi.*
November 22 2018: Austrian literature. "Two Gentlemen on the Beach" by Michael Köhlmeier.
February 19 2019: German literature. "Babylon Berlin" by Volker Kutscher.
March 12 2019: Catalan literature. "L'Altra" by Marta Rojals.*
May 3 2019: French literature. "Là où les chiens aboient par la queue", by Estelle-Sarah Bulle.*
June 6 2019: Spanish literature. "Hombres buenos", by Arturo Pérez-Reverte.*

November 19 2019: Austrian literature. "Die Rückkehr", by Ernst Lothar.*
December 3 2019: Italian literature. "La teologia del cinghiale", by Gesuino Némus.*
February 12 2020: German* literature. "The capital", by Robert Menasse (*Austrian writer, laureate of the German book prize in 2017).
March 17 2020: Catalan literature. "L'île de Maians", by Quim Monzo.
April 7 2020: Greek literature. "Rien ne va plus", by Margarita Karapanou.
Maz 13 2020: French literature. "L'école des soignantes", by Martin Winckler.*

November 5 2020: Italian literature. "La profezia dell‘armadillo", by Zerocalcare.*
November 25 2020: Austrian literature. "The Wall", by Marlen Haushofer.
February 10 2021: German literature. "What you can see from here", by Mariana Leky.
March 10 2021: Catalan literature. "Brother in Ice", by Alicia Kopf.
May 5 2021: French literature. "Rosa dolorosa", by Caroline Dorka-Fenech.*

October 20 2021: Italian literature. "L'espion inattendu", by Ottavia Casagrande.*
November 17 2021: German literature. "Daughters", by Lucy Fricke.
February 9 2022: Austrian literature. "Unter der Drachenwand", by Arno Geiger.*
March 23 2022: Catalan literature. "Learning to talk to plants", by Marta Orriols.
May 5 2022: French literature. "La porte du voyage sans retour", by David Diop.*
May 11 2022: Swiss literature. "Les vies de Chevrolet", by Michel Layaz.*
June 9 2022: Walloon literature. "Mahmoud ou la montée des eaux", by Antoine Wauters.*
June 22 2022: Italian literature. "Isole minori", by Lorenza Pieri.*

October 19 2022: Italian literature. "Après la pluie", by Chiara Mezzalama.*
November 23 2022: Austrian literature. "Héritages", by Monika Helfer.*
January 12 2023: Swiss literature. "Dans la ville provisoire", by Bruno Pellegrino.*
February 7 2023: German literature. "The end of loneliness", by Benedict Wells.
March 15 2023: Catalan literature. "Napalm dans le coeur", by Pol Guasch.*
April 30 2023: French literature. "Le Ghetto intérieur", by Santiago H. Amigorena.*
June 10 2023: Ukrainian Literature. "Grey Bees", by Andrey Kurkov.

September 28 2023: Franco-Belgian literarure. "Rouge Western" by Isabelle Wéry.*
October 26 2023: Italian literature. "Marcovaldo: or The Seasons in the City" by Italo Calvino.
November 22 2023: Austrian literature. "The sealed train" by Stefan Zweig (found in Triumph and Disaster: Five Historical Miniatures).
November 26 2023: Ukrainian literature. "L'Oreille de Kyiv" by Andrey Kurkov.*
February 8 2024: German literature. "Archipel" by Inger-Maria Mahlke.
March 12 2024: Catalan literature. "Boulder" by Eva Baltasar.
April 24 2024: Swiss literature. "Le vieil incendie" by Elisa Shua Dusapin.*

October 15 2024 : Italian literature . "L'île des âmes" by Piergiorgio Pulixi.*
November 17 2024: Ukrainian literature. "Les gens ordinaires ne portent pas de mitraillettes" by Artem Chapeye.*
December 5 2024: Austrian literature. "Superhéroïnes" by Barbi Markovic.*
March 11 2025: Catalan literatur. "Le temps des cerises", Montserrat Roig.*
March 31 2025: Italian literatur. "Wasteocene: Chronicles from the Global Dump” by Marco Armiero. (Essay)
May 21 2025: Belgian-French literature. "L'orangeraie", Larry Tremblay & Pierre Lecrenier (Comic).*
June 5 2025: German literature. "Where you come from" by Saša Stanišic.

October 14, 6 pm: Italian literature. "Whereabouts" by Jhumpa Lahiri.
December 3rd, 6:30 pm: Swiss literature. "Le secret de Thyrcée" by Aline Desarzens.*

Note: book titles which are * are not yet translated into English.

European Book Club

Come and discuss the European book of the month! We're looking forward to seeing you!

Upcoming book club

Lisez la littérature ukrainienne !

Lisez la littérature allemande !

List of books read

Partnership with 3 Montréal bookstores

How does it work?