Pierre Lemaitre is a French writer renowned for his work of fiction. He also has non-fiction works. At the same time, as a creator of stories he has written scripts, and some of his books have been adapted for film and television. He is passionate about crime and crime novels, a genre in which his novels move. However, he has also written short stories and comics.
His most outstanding work is See you up there awarded in 2013 with the Goncourt, one of the most important literary awards in France. This novel begins the trilogy. children of disaster. Also, Wedding dress also enjoys a good reception. His work is being broadcast in thirty languages. Here we present the most popular novels of him.
The most popular books of Pierre Lemaitre
Camille Verhoeven Series
- Irene (2006). The first part of this series introduces Camille Verhoeven, a police inspector married to Irène; the couple is about to become parents. But his life is interrupted when a murderer commits a brutal crime. Camille must focus all her efforts on catching such an unusual criminal whose modus operandi consists in imitating the events of the black novel. For the character it is a form of intellectual expression; for Lemaitre a means of paying tribute to the writers he admires.
- Alex (2011). Camille will once again have to face another professional challenge that will also involve her on a personal level. A woman, Alex, has been kidnapped in a singular and cruel way. She doesn't seem to be just any woman and Camille and her team must unravel a complex personality that only leaves behind clues that are difficult to decipher.
- Rosy & John (2016). It is the story of Jean Garnier, an introverted boy who plans to crash several projectiles over all of France to get his mother, Rosie, released. Camille Verhoeven back in action and You will have to use all your cunning to discern between the deception and the real threat Of a boy who has nothing to lose.
- Camille (2016). With this novel comes the end of the Camille Verhoeven police series. The victim this time is Anne Forestier and the woman Camille loves. Despite surviving a traumatic experience, this woman's life hangs in the balance because she knows the face of her attacker. Camille will be willing to do whatever it takes to protect her, even if the threat is shocking..
See You Up There (2013)
First part of this trilogy children of disaster. With her, Lemaitre changes register and leaves the crime and crime novel to delve into the thriller dramatic, although it is a novel full of nuances and one can also speak of popular narrative that flirts with a slightly higher literature.
See you up there is a story that talks about war and the fragmented society that is left by this. Its protagonists are three men who have fought in the First World War: Édouard Péricourt (from an important Parisian family), Albert and Pradelle. Although very different from each other, the three come up with a grandiose plan that makes them lose the status of failures where they are stuck.
The Colors of Fire (2019)
Continuation of the trilogy. We go a little further in time between 1927 and 1933. Lamaitre expertly narrates the context of the time and continues to create plausible characters and exciting plots full of intrigue. The colors of the fire is the story of Madeleine, the heiress of the Péricourt family after the death of her father and the suicide of her brother Édouard. It is in a hostile environment and has many open fronts. Even so, he will have to carry out the family empire on the verge of a world financial crash and another war that will destroy Europe.
The mirror of our sorrows (2020)
The last part of this trilogy shows the most destructive side of the human condition. Paris, 1940. Louise Belmont survives the shock at the beginning of the war with German troops besieging the French capital. As a consequence, she Louise will arrive at a Loire camp and there she will meet different characters who will accompany the reader in the closing of this saga that goes through the pain of war.
wedding dress (2009)
Published in Spanish in 2014, Wedding dress tells the story of Sophie Duguet, who is the protagonist of a strange case. This young woman in her thirties is beginning to have gaps. Her life is filled with blank spaces and she doesn't remember many of her day-to-day things. But besides losing things and forgetting circumstances, Sophie begins to be involved in a multitude of crimes that seem to have nothing with her. Lemaitre returns to the noir novel with a work imbued with Hitchcock's cinematographic influence. With all the mystery and addiction that a novel can offer, this is a thriller frenetic.
Three days and a life (2016).
It arrived in Spanish bookstores in 2020. Pierre Lemaitre impresses again with his way of narrating. this time tells the story of Antoine Courtin in condensed and representative moments of what happened in 1999, 2011 and 2015. He must bear the blame and responsibility for what he did out of an outburst, and assume that there is a before and after after his own actions. The characters that revolve around him and the rural place that serves as space will also be fundamental in the construction of Antoine.
Inhuman Resources (2017)
Alain Delambre has lost his job. He is fifty-seven years old and has always held a management position. Now he is willing to do anything to redeem himself and return to the world of work once again. For this he will have to lie, borrow money and play the rules of a harsh selection process. Never before has an interview been so difficult. Lemaitre surprises again with this stark novel, a role-playing game that tests human integrity and the principles of the world of work and business.
The Big Serpent (2022)
Mathilde Perrin is the complete opposite of what one expects when seeing her. Because she is a widowed lady of sixty-three who seems to lead an insubstantial, calm and uneventful life. However, she is a hired assassin who begins to lose faculties and commit carelessness. It is a black novel with a witty and cheeky plot, full of humorous overtones.
About the Author
Pierre Lemaitre, born in Paris in 1951, ventured into literature in his fifties. However, that has not prevented him from developing as an author with great success. He studied psychology and his working life has been spent teaching adults, explaining general culture and literature.
His passion for crime novels made him rethink his profession and decided to write fiction. He published his first novel in 2006, Irene, from the series called Camille Verhoeven. As a curiosity, just as Lemaitre became a fiction writer in adulthood, he married at the age of 50 and had his first child at the age of 60.
On the other hand, Among his nonfiction prose are Techniques to know how to learn (1986) and Passionate Dictionary of the Crime Novel (2020), so the reader can get an idea of how comfortable the author is with this genre. His latest work The Grand World, is scheduled for this 2022.
Finally, See you up there It was adapted in 2017 to the big screen by Albert Dupontel. three days and a life was made into a film in 2019 and Inhuman resources we can find it in miniseries format.