Free

About the Book

bbfebook Deep in the recesses of a mansion in an exclusive neighborhood of Paris, a family's patriarch withdraws to a tiny hideout during the Nazi occupation. Although he survives, his descendants are changed forever by the secret that the family harbored during those years--fearful, reluctant to leave the house alone, yet brimming with creativity and genius. Meet "the Bolts." The Safe House is the prize-winning memoir by French writer Christophe Boltanski about his famous family's Paris mansion and the eccentric clan that it sheltered from the 1930s onward.

About the Author

bbfpitonChristophe Boltanski is a French journalist, writer and chronicler, laureate of the prix Femina 2015 for his novel La Cache. After he completed his studies in 1987 at the Centre de formation des journalistes, Christophe Boltanski worked for the Le Progrès Egyptien (within the framework of his national service then for the daily Libération from 1989 to 2007 ; after being a war correspondent during the Gulf war, he was the correspondent of this newspaper in Jerusalem (1995–2000) and then in London (2000–2004). Since 2007 he has been working for the weekly Le Nouvel Observateur, while collaborating on the website Rue 89.

In 2000 he was awarded the Prix Bayeux-Calvados des correspondants de guerre for a report on a mine in Congo, in the Nord-Kivu region: "Les Mineurs de l'enfer".

About the Moderator

holger_spamann
Côme de La Bouillerie is currently teaching French and is involved in developing curriculum for courses on French media in the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures at Harvard University. He studied French literature and Classics at l’Ecole Normale Supérieure de Paris, and interned at Le Monde newspaper. In 2016-2017, he worked for the CAPS (Center for Analysis, Planning and Strategy) at the French ministry of Foreign Affairs.



About the Boston Book Festival

Since 2009, the Boston Book Festival celebrates the power of words to stimulate, agitate, unite, delight, and inspire by holding year-round events culminating in an annual, free festival that promotes a culture of reading and ideas and enhances the vibrancy of Boston.


About the Cultural Services at the French Embassy

The Cultural Services of the French Embassy in the U.S. provide a platform for exchange and innovation between French and American artists, intellectuals, educators, students, the tech community, and the general public. Based in New York City, Washington D.C., and eight other cities across the US, the Cultural Services develop the cultural economy by focusing on six principal fields of action: the arts, literature, cinema, the digital sphere, French language and higher education.



Photo © Julien Falsimagne

Sponsors

This event is co-presented with the Boston Book Festival and the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in the U.S. and made possible thanks in part to the Mosaïque Cultural Fund.

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Upcoming Events

Tuesday, March 28, 2023 6:30 PM To 8:00 PM

March is the month of la Francophonie, but not only. It is also Women History month. The French Library is honoring both celebrations by offering an event with women speakers only, highlighting Lebanese culture and Francophonie.

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Lecture

Musiciennes de légende by Marina Chiche

Author talk and book signing

Friday, April 7, 2023 6:30 PM To 8:00 PM

The French Library is pleased to welcome award-winning French violinist and author Marina Chiche. Marina will tell us more about her work on making classical music accessible to the widest audience possible and highlighting exceptional women performers forgotten by history because of their gender.

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Discussion Group

March Alors... Conversation Club

In-person, Indoor Event in French

Wednesday, March 29, 2023 6:30 PM To 7:30 PM

Seeking opportunities to speak French? Join us for our popular members-only conversation gathering.

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