This metafictional quest in search of an unjustly forgotten African author explores literary history and the impact of colonialism

This quietly gripping French novel follows a young widow through Heian Japan over 1,000 years ago

The bestseller lists are full of conflicts past and present. Is it any surprise in a country still traumatised by terrorist attacks?

As a surveyor of east-west relations, the French novelist was drawn to the idea of a Renaissance artist taking an Islamic sabbatical - but the result is fiddly and unpersuasive

She seemed like the perfect nanny… A stylishly written French thriller probes at fault lines of gender, race and class to devastating effect

Karine Tuil’s promising tale of identity theft is let down by racial and sexual stereotyping

Atiq Rahimi explores the plight of Afghan women in this beautiful, thoughtful novella, writes Olivia Laing