Ready to move past “Le Petit Prince,” but not ready for “Les Misérables” yet? Picking the right French language book can be a bit of a challenge, especially for intermediate French learners.
To make it easier, I’ve put together a list of 14 of the best French novels for intermediate learners. These books can improve your language skills while providing insights into French culture.
There are two main characters: a male human and a female ant. Their two worlds eventually collide—but you’ll have to read the series to find out how.
Since the first book’s release in 1991, it’s sold more than two million copies and has been translated into over 30 languages. The storyline is engaging with plenty of dialogue and the vocabulary is easy to understand, even for low-level intermediate learners.
This novel is for philosophy and art lovers. It includes two narrators: Renee, a middle-aged concierge in a Parisian building, and Paloma, a young girl who lives in one of the apartments in the building.
These two starkly different people share a similar problem—they’re both highly intelligent people who hide their gifts and passions to be accepted.
The story is told from both narrators’ perspectives, who don’t meet until an unexpected event brings them together. The book is known as one of the most prized French novels.
This short but riveting psychological thriller stars a recently divorced young mother and her struggle to start a new life in Paris with her newborn daughter.
What starts as a basic first-person narrative turns into a strange mystery as Viviane stabs her psychiatrist with a knife she received as a wedding present.
Though told entirely from Viviane’s perspective, the novel switches pronouns often. This makes it great for learning subject-verb agreement. It’s not a difficult read, but you have to pay close attention due to the pronoun shifts.
This book is part of author Fred Vargas’ Commissaire Adamsberg mystery series. It features a trident and a slew of killers who can’t recall their actions after losing consciousness the night of each crime.
Commissaire Adamsberg believes all these murders lead back to one person, who may have also been responsible for an accusation regarding his brother. To reconcile the problem, Adamsberg goes on the hunt for the man responsible.
Vargas won the Crime Writers’ Association Duncan Lawrie International Dagger for this haunting story. Her beautiful prose and expert storytelling make this a must-read French novel.
This novel from 1977 features a man named Robin who’s found himself in a world where cars have replaced any other form of transportation—and pedestrians only exist underground.
As more and more cars enter the traffic jam on Earth, Robin gets tired of living like this. He leaves his car to try and stop the Supreme Mind who controls the society and derail his Ultimate Plan.
Yanne’s writing is easy to follow and extremely engaging. Robin is a loveable character who’s trying to turn this out-of-control society back to normal, and it’s impossible not to want to figure out how the story ends.
This book from 1942 tells the story of Meursault, a detached and apathetic Algerian Frenchman, who becomes embroiled in a senseless murder on a beach.
Meursault’s emotional detachment and indifference to societal norms make him an outsider, and his trial becomes a commentary on the absurdity of human existence and the arbitrary nature of justice.
“L’étranger” remains aseminal work in existential literature, provoking deep reflections on the human condition and existence. It’s also quite an easy read, believe it or not.
Published in 1985, “L’Anglais” tells the story of a French-Canadian woman who falls in love with an Englishman during the turbulent times of the October Crisis in Quebec.
The novel explores themes of language, identity and the cultural divide between English-speaking and French-speaking Canadians in Montreal.
“L’Anglais” remains a notable work in Canadian literature, offering a poignant portrayal of love amidst sociopolitical upheaval and and the impact of historical events on personal lives.
You’re likely familiar with the Harry Potter series, even if you’ve never read the books. If you’re a fan, you’ll be delighted to know that you can read all seven books in French.
Reading the series in French is a great way to learn the intricacies of written conversation. Much of the dialogue focuses on school-age gossip and friendships, along with some magic and spells.
The reading level is a Folio Junior catégorie 6, aimed at French children between 9 and 13 years old. This allows learners to build vocabulary without getting lost, including terms specific to reading French fantasy novels.
Love it or hate it, the “Twilight” series rivals Harry Potter not only in terms of its dedicated and gigantic fan base but also in terms of being a story people know well.
Bella is a teenager who moves in with her father and discovers that the boy she likes is a vampire who has lived for hundreds of years. Stephenie Meyer’s writing is simpler than J.K. Rowling’s, making it great for learners.
The action is easy to follow, the prose is conversation-heavy and the writing exposes readers to a variety of idiomatic expressions, especially relating to love and heartbreak.
“Da Vinci Code” follows cryptologist Robert Langdon through a Paris filled with secret societies, police chases and codes on a quest to the Holy Grail before it’s stolen by bad guys.
Though the specifics of this novel may make the vocabulary a bit of a challenge for intermediate readers, the overall plot is easy to follow and the sentences are fairly short.
The story is gripping and, even the second time around, readers may still pick up things they missed the first time in the multiple layers Dan Brown includes in this novel.
“Max” is a young adult novel about a boy who’s chosen by the Nazis to be their poster child of sorts. We follow him from his birth in 1936 until the end of the Second World War.
It’s a sad and terrifying tale of growing up in Nazi Germany. This novel uses a fair amount of wartime vocabulary and allows learners to learn slang and words specific to this historical period.
Though it’s almost 500 pages long, it makes for a great first foray into intermediate French young adult literature.
“Kamouraska” is one of the most advanced books on this list, but fans ofpsychological thrillers and experimental novels will love it. The story is full of suspense and intrigue (and is based on a real murder).
At times, it’s written in the informal stream of consciousness of its main character Elisabeth, a French Canadian woman living in Québec who kills her husband to be with her American lover.
The narrator shifts between the first and third person. There are a lot of passages focusing on Elisabeth’s personal reflection, mulling over events and plans, and there’s quite a bit of French Canadian slang.
Novels can be a great way to improve your French reading skills, but sometimes the commitment is too much. Why not try something shorter instead?
“Tout est fatal” is the translated version of Stephen King’s famous “Everything’s Eventual.” It’s a collection of 14 short stories, a few of which have been turned into movies (such as “1408”).
If you’re already familiar with the plots, this is an excellent way to enjoy Stephen King’s signature scare power while learning French.
This is a collection of contemporary French short stories edited by Richard Coward. The stories cover a range of themes and styles, providing readers with a diverse linguistic and cultural experience.
It’s great for French learners because it presents each story in both French and English, allowing readers to compare and contrast the two languages.
The collection includes many of my favorite short stories all in one book, written by authors from Quebec and France. It’s a useful tool for those looking to enhance their language skills in an immersive and enjoyable way.
How to Approach Intermediate French Novels
As you read a book in French, you should have a pen or pencil handy to mark unfamiliar words and phrases. If you’re engrossed in a story, just mark it and come back to it later. Keep a dictionary or app on hand to look up the words.
Collins French Dictionary is known for being clear and precise. If you come across an unfamiliar phrase, WordReference is a useful tool for finding the English equivalent.
The best resource, of course, is a native speaker. Consider making a list of words and phrases you’d like explained and bringing them to your language partner—you can even read the same novel together if there’s a French and English version.
To expand your vocabulary and improve your French comprehension, you can pair your French reading practice with an immersive language learning program like FluentU.
FluentU takes authentic videos—like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks—and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.
You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download the iOS app or Android app.
There’s so much you can learn from these books, but the best part of reading is connecting with the story and its characters. And once you’ve tackled these titles, many more exciting French novels are waiting for you.
If you like learning French on your own time and from the comfort of your smart device, then I'd be remiss to not tell you about FluentU.
FluentU has a wide variety of great content, like interviews, documentary excerpts and web series, as you can see here:
FluentU brings native French videos with reach. With interactive captions, you can tap on any word to see an image, definition and useful examples.
For example, if you tap on the word "crois," you'll see this:
Practice and reinforce all the vocabulary you've learned in a given video with learn mode. Swipe left or right to see more examples for the word you’re learning, and play the mini-games found in our dynamic flashcards, like "fill in the blank."
All throughout, FluentU tracks the vocabulary that you’re learning and uses this information to give you a totally personalized experience. It gives you extra practice with difficult words—and reminds you when it’s time to review what you’ve learned.
