Memoirs of a Book Thief

Paris in the 1950s: the reign of Sartre and existentialism. Daniel Brodin—bibliophile, book thief, self-proclaimed poet—enters the heated atmosphere of the Cafe Serbier, home of the Parisian literati. A poetry night is taking place and, when one luminary suggests giving the floor to an unknown, Daniel impulsively puts himself forward. Under pressure, he recites not one of his own surrealist poems but an obscure piece of Italian verse he’s certain no one will know. It’s plagiarism—but it’s a...