Though based in New York, NYRB is also distributed in the UK, where its eclectic and erudite catalogue continues to resonate with British readers. Whether revisiting neglected novels or offering fresh takes on canonical texts, NYRB blends scholarly rigour with editorial flair across borders.
French literature holds a prominent place in the NYRB Classics series. From new translations of Balzac and Simone Weil to rediscovered gems by Jean Giono and Emmanuel Bove, the collection introduces Anglophone readers to the richness and variety of the French literary tradition. These carefully curated editions reflect NYRB’s commitment to excellence in publishing and its enduring belief in the power of literature to cross borders – a vision shared by the Institut français du Royaume-Uni.
Classics
Command Performance
by Jean Echenoz, translated from the French by Mark Polizzotti
Part of the May 2025 selection of the NYRB Classics Book Club
In Command Performance, Jean Echenoz delivers a sharp, deadpan send-up of noir fiction, following disgraced flight attendant-turned-bumbling detective Gérard Fulmard as he spirals into political intrigue, reluctant assassination, and absurd chaos—complete with falling debris, faked deaths, and narrative curveballs—showcasing the wit, irony, and genre-bending style that define one of France’s most distinctive literary voices.
The Human Comedy
by Honoré de Balzac, edited and with an introduction by Peter Brooks, a new translation from the French by Linda Asher, Carol Cosman, and Jordan Stump
This volume gathers nine tales from Balzac’s The Human Comedy, a sweeping portrait of 19th-century society teeming with lovers, misers, artists, and scoundrels. These vivid stories of passion, madness, and intrigue showcase Balzac’s narrative force and enduring influence, capturing what Proust called the “mysterious circulation of blood and desire.”
Comics
Social Fiction
by Chantal Montellier, translated from the French by Geoffrey Brock
Darkly funny and chillingly prescient, Chantal Montellier’s Wonder City, Shelter, and 1996—collected in English for the first time—offer razor-sharp dystopian tales of surveillance, state control, and post-apocalyptic survival, revealing her brilliance as both a comics artist and science fiction writer with a fierce eye on the dangers of authoritarianism.
Poets
The Drunken Boat
by Arthur Rimbaud, translated from the French by Mark Polizzotti
Rebellious, visionary, and radically modern, Arthur Rimbaud reshaped poetry before the age of twenty, leaving behind works that inspired everyone from surrealists to punk icons. This bilingual edition features bold new translations of his major poems and letters, including Illuminations and A Season in Hell, capturing his fierce rhythms and uncompromising spirit.
