French Literature Recommendations for Each Zodiac Sign

I recall I had so much fun compiling lists Japanese Literature Recommendations for Each Zodiac Sign 🇯🇵 and Italian Literature Recommendations for Each Zodiac Sign 🇮🇹, that I have decided to do another version, recommending French books 🇫🇷 this time (not least because this FIFA World Cup, I am, as usual, supporting the French team).

ARIES (March 21 – April 19)

The Horseman on the Roof by Jean Giono

Jean Giono (1895-1970) was a famous French author who is probably best known for his short story The Man Who Planted Trees. His adventurous novel The Horseman on the Roof would appeal to the fiery temperament of Aries who will enjoy the book’s excitement and intrigue. The story concerns nobleman Angelo who returns to his homeland after years of absence. He finds the land in the grip of a cholera epidemic.

TAURUS (April 20 – May 20)

Gourmet Rhapsody by Muriel Barbery

Sensuous, comfort-loving Tauras will find a lot to love in this novel from best-selling author Muriel Barbery (The Elegance of the Hedgehog). The novel’s extravagant narrator, Pierre Arthens, is a world-renowned food critic who is now on his deathbed and looks back on his life full of culinary adventures. As he imparts his lifetime wisdom, he is also dying, both figuratively and literary, for that one final taste.

GEMINI (May 21 – June 20)

The Anomaly by Hervé Le Tellier 

Being the twins of the zodiac, Gemini knows something about splitting personalities and “doubling”, and, therefore, this cerebral book will be right up their street. It is intelligent and witty (like Gemini are), telling of the flight Air France 006 that gains an identical double after navigating through a storm. The two aircrafts are indistinguishable from each other, and people inside the aircrafts are also “duplicated”. This is one thought-provoking sci-fi thriller, and is also the winner of the prestigious Prix Goncourt.

CANCER (June 21 – July 22)

The Lover by Marguerite Duras

Known for their emotional nature, as well as empathetic and introspective sides, Cancers will be at home with this autobiographical novel by Duras that is about the relationship between a teenage girl and a wealthy Chinese-Vietnamese man in French Indochina. The novel explores underprivileged childhood, memories, and the elusive nature of love.

LEO (July 23 – August 22)

The Black Tulip by Alexander Dumas

Inspired by Stendhal and set against the backdrop of Dutch “tulipomania”, this novel is a sprawling epic about politics and love set in 1672. The hero is obsessive horticulturist Cornelius van Baërle, who is dedicated to producing a rare, elusive black tulip, as he also faces much injustice throughout the story. Leos have confident, dominant, magnetic, charismatic personalities. They are natural leaders who would never settle for anything less than ideal. The Black Tulip is just the classic about devotion and self-sacrifice to meet their high standards.

VIRGO (August 23 – September 22)

Old Goriot by Honoré de Balzac

This novel centres on Eugène de Rastignac, a young man who starts climbing the social ladder of Paris, and crosses paths with one impoverished, selfless father of two daughters – Old Goriot. “From richly-decorated Parisian drawing-rooms to the bedlam that reigns in a poverty-stricken lodging house, the result of this crossing of the paths is a thrilling head-to-head collision of reality and illusion, youth and old age, ruthless selfishness and selfless devotion, all happening at the very heart of turbulent and exploitative Paris of 1819.” Virgos, being always so perfectionistic, yet also devotional and practical, will appreciate the book’s deep character studies and the dissection of Parisian aristocracy.

LIBRA (September 23 – October 22)

Pot Luck (Pot-bouille) by Émile Zola

The story here centres on Octave Mouret (before the events in The Ladies’ Paradise), who moves into a Parisian apartment building, and becomes an actor in the tapestry of life filled with depravity, corruption and greed. Libra is a partnership-focused sign who loves weighing each side in a conflict to come out with a fair resolution. As this story is best understood from multiple perspectives, Libra will delight in the social intrigue and commentary that Zola has on offer.

SCORPIO (October 23 – November 21)

She Who Was No More by Boileau-Narcejac

Scorpios are attracted to darkness and mystery, so Boileau-Narcejac’s thriller She Who Was No More will be perfect for them, satisfying their soul’s longing for everything unexplained. The intelligent plot with a twist tells of a husband and his mistress who conspire to murder his wife to collect insurance money. However, things take a bewildering turn when the wife’s body disappears. The book was later adapted into a great film by Henri-Georges Clouzot – Les Diaboliques (1955).

SAGITTARIUS (November 22 – December 21)

The Roots of Heaven by Romain Gary

Set in Africa just after the World War II, The Roots of Heaven is about idealistic man Morel and his crusade to ban the slaughter of elephants around Chad. He gathers around his cause the most unlikely followers, including Minna, a German refugee, and Forsythe, an American dishonourably discharged from the army. Sagittarius is the zodiac’s natural explorer who loves books with adventurous characters, and self-discovery journeys that venture into faraway lands and explore unique ways of looking at life. Thus, Gary’s book can become their favourite. This is yet another winner of the Prix Goncourt.

CAPRICORN (December 22 – January 19)

L’Eau des collines (The Water of the Hills) by Marcel Pagnol

Disciplined, responsible, practical and ambitious Capricorn is likely to find this story about a hunchbacked former clerk who comes to rural France and tries his best to make a living there very interesting and inspiring. The man, Jean de Florette, inherited a property in one small village and moved in there with his family to make it habitable, only to discover the lack of water supply, as well as other obstacles put in his way by scheming neighbours. Capricorn signifies persistence, and long-term planning, and, thus, may find the story invigorating. I also highly recommend the film based on this book – Jean de Florette (1986) with Yves Montand and Gerard Depardieu.

AQUARIUS (January 20 – February 18)

Fresh Water for Flowers by Valérie Perrin

This French bestseller will instantly appeal to Aquarius who would connect with its main protagonist, independent woman Viollete, a caretaker at a cemetery in a small French town. Violette has a tragic past, that is slowly being revealed to us as one day a local police chief comes to the cemetery desiring to scatter the ashes of his mother on the grave of an unrelated person. Idealistic Aquarius, who loves stories about outsiders and who always wants to see the world “fixed”, will be much interested in this non-linear, meditative and philosophical story.

PISCES (February 19 – March 20)

The Man Who Walked Through Walls by Marcel Aymé

Pisces are the most imaginative and dreamy of all the zodiac signs, and will love this short story collection full of magical realism and absurdities. The main story concerns a man who discovers that he has the ability to pass through walls, and, of course, uses it to his advantage in all sorts of situations, including burglary.