Anna Gavalda

Author profile

born

in Boulogne-Billancourt, France

December 09, 1970

gender

female

genre

Literature & Fiction

About this author

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Anna Gavalda is a French teacher and award-winning novelist.

Referred to by Voici magazine as "a distant descendant of Dorothy Parker", Anna Gavalda was born in an upper-class suburb of Paris. While working as French teacher in high school, a collection of her short stories was first published in 1999 under the title "Je voudrais que quelqu'un m'attende quelque part" that met with both critical acclaim and commercial success, selling more than three-quarters of a million copies in her native France and winning the 2000 "Grand Prix RTL-Lire." The book was translated into numerous languages including in English and sold in twenty-seven countries. It was published to acclaim in North America in 2003 as "I Wish Someone Were Waiting for Me Somewh...more Anna Gavalda is a French teacher and award-winning novelist.

Referred to by Voici magazine as "a distant descendant of Dorothy Parker", Anna Gavalda was born in an upper-class suburb of Paris. While working as French teacher in high school, a collection of her short stories was first published in 1999 under the title "Je voudrais que quelqu'un m'attende quelque part" that met with both critical acclaim and commercial success, selling more than three-quarters of a million copies in her native France and winning the 2000 "Grand Prix RTL-Lire." The book was translated into numerous languages including in English and sold in twenty-seven countries. It was published to acclaim in North America in 2003 as "I Wish Someone Were Waiting for Me Somewhere." The book received much praise and is a library and school selection worldwide in several languages.

Gavalda's first novel, Je l'aimais (Someone I Loved) was published in France in February 2002 and later that year in English. Inspired by the failure of her own marriage, it too was a major literary success and a bestseller and was followed by the short (96 pages) juvenile novel 35 kilos d'espoir (95 Pounds of Hope) that she said she wrote "to pay tribute to those of my students who were dunces in school but otherwise fantastic people".

In 2004, her third novel, "Ensemble c'est tout," focused on the lives of four people living in an apartment house: a struggling young artist who works as an office cleaner at night, a young aristocrat misfit, a cook, and an elderly grandmother. The 600-page book is a bestseller in France and has been translated into English as Hunting and Gathering.

As of 2007, her three books have sold more than 3 million copies in France. Ensemble c'est tout was made into a successful movie in 2007 by Claude Berri, with Audrey Tautou and Guillaume Canet. The adaptation of her first novel, Je l'aimais, with Daniel Auteuil and Marie-Josée Croze, was filmed in 2009 by Zabou Breitman.

Divorced, and the mother of two, Gavalda lives in the city of Melun, Seine-et-Marne, about 50 km southeast of Paris. In addition to writing novels, she also contributes to Elle magazine.(less)

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Anna Gavalda's Books

Average rating: 3.78 · 13,132 ratings · 1,308 reviews · 11 distinct works · Similar authors

	Hunting and Gathering by Anna Gavalda, Alison Anderson (Translator) 4.1 of 5 stars 4.10 avg rating — 5,614 ratings — published 2004 — 70 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	I Wish Someone Were Waiting for Me Somewhere by Anna Gavalda, Karen L. Marker (Translator) 3.61 of 5 stars 3.61 avg rating — 3,046 ratings — published 1999 — 43 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Someone I Loved by Anna Gavalda, Catherine Evans (Translator) 3.5 of 5 stars 3.50 avg rating — 1,912 ratings — published 2002 — 57 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	L'Echappée belle 3.38 of 5 stars 3.38 avg rating — 1,092 ratings — published 2001 — 40 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	La consolante 3.4 of 5 stars 3.40 avg rating — 839 ratings — published 2008 — 36 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	95 Pounds of Hope by Anna Gavalda, Gill Rosner (Translator) 3.76 of 5 stars 3.76 avg rating — 578 ratings — published 2002 — 16 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Juntos, nada más 3.9 of 5 stars 3.90 avg rating — 30 ratings — published 2005 — 2 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Anna Gavalda Coffret 3 volumes 4.33 of 5 stars 4.33 avg rating — 15 ratings	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Ceux qui savent comprendront 4.14 of 5 stars 4.14 avg rating — 7 ratings — published 2000	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	معا by Anna Gavalda, حسين عمر (ترجمة) 3.29 of 5 stars 3.29 avg rating — 7 ratings — published 2012	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Quotes by Anna Gavalda

“...But friends, those I wanted to please? There are so few, so few... and you're one of them. You... because you have such a gift for life. You grab hold of it with both hands. You move, you dance, you know how to make the rain and the sunshine in a home. You have this incredible gift for making people around you happy. You're so at ease, so at ease on this little planet...”
― Anna Gavalda

tags: anna-gavalda, beautiful, love, someone-i-loved

30 people liked it

“How could you let yourself be sidetracked while I was waiting for your breath on my back?”
― Anna Gavalda, I Wish Someone Were Waiting for Me Somewhere

18 people liked it

“-Tu crois que c'est comme tes mines de crayon ? Tu crois que ça s'use quand on s'en sert ?
- De quoi ?
-Les sentiments.”
― Anna Gavalda, Hunting and Gathering

15 people liked it

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Polls

What should be our group read for September/October?

Winter's Tales by Karen Blixen

5 votes, 55.6%

The Ravishing of Lol Stein by Marguerite Duras

2 votes, 22.2%

The Death of the Heart by Elizabeth Bowen

1 vote, 11.1%

Hunting and Gathering by Anna Gavalda

1 vote, 11.1%

I, Claudius by Robert Graves

0 votes, 0.0%

9 total votes

10 comments

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SciFi and Fantasy...: Best sf and fantasy book of the year	64	170	Dec 21, 2009 09:15pm
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