The latest intellectual maverick to win the 2010 Prix Goncourt du Premier Roman, Laurent Binet certainly isn’t shy, especially when it comes to his literary tastes. A single paragraph in his debut — a postmodern take on Heinrich Himmler’s righthand man Reinhard Heydrich — reveals his position on Camus, Desnos, Flaubert, Hasek, Kafka, Marquez, Rimbaud and Hemingway among others. Jonathan Littell’s The Kindly Ones is summarily dismissed as ‘Houellebecq does Nazism’. Binet’s next book, an account of Francois Hollande’s presidential campaign, is unlikely to be quite as provocative. He lets us know what’s on his book shelf.
He tweets @laurentbinetH
1) What are you reading at the moment?
Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart
2) As a child, what did you read under the covers?
The wonderful sex scene in Eye of the Needle by Ken Follet.
3) Has a book ever made you cry, and if so which one?
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in