The Monuments of Paris

About this book

“Violaine Huisman explores and contests the myths surrounding the great men of her family, using fiction where the official archives fall silent. The Monuments of Paris is a moving elegy for her accomplished, mercurial, outrageous father—and a beautiful act of disobedience.” —Ben Lerner, author of Transcription and The Topeka School “In Violaine Huisman's captivating novel, the real monuments of Paris are not its buildings, but its people—a grand, multigenerational family saga, blending the history of France with intimate personal narratives.” —Anne Berest, author of The Postcard Named a Most Anticipated Book of 2026 by Literary Hub A remarkable novel drawn from life about a Frenchwoman’s efforts to come to terms with the legacy of her father and grandfather, powerful forces who left a mark on their country’s culture but whose incorrigible womanizing also left a complex mark on their wives and children Violaine Huisman grew up in Paris with her beautiful, bipolar mother —the subject of