Ever since her debut novel Buvard (Le Rouergue) Julia Kerninon has been fascinated by secondary characters, the ones that lived their lives in the shadow of someone’s else radiance.
Buvard immersed us in the codependent toxic relationship between Caroline Spacek–a literary diva living in seclusion–and Lou, a young fan of her work who meets his idol during a rare interview.
‘Ma Dévotion‘ (le Rouergue), her third novel, tells the romantic and destructive story of Helen’s veneration for Frank, an adoration that has left her bitter and spent.
Julia Kerninon propells her readers into a kaleidoscopic shift of emotions, so much so that the deeper we get into her narratives, the less we seem to know about her characters. A rare and impressive talent!

In an interview with the Canadian newspaper Le Devoir, Julia confided that she has always been most passionate about “knowing what a writer is–how you become one, and more importantly, how you remain one.”
As such, it won’t come as a surprise that her third book, Une activité respectable (Le Rouergue)–published just as she turned 30–is a memoir in which she dissects her calling and trade with great freedom and honesty.

Julia Kerninon also wrote a thesis on The Paris Review (which will be published in the winter of 2019 with PUF).

When we asked her to recommend six books to our readers, she very graciously accepted. Please enjoy her list!