The France Culture Student Novel Prize: the 5 novels in the running

• Jakuta Alikavazovic, Never Ever – Gallimard Publishing

The narrator's mother has disappeared. This woman, an acclaimed poet in her own country, had already experienced a decline in popularity after moving to France: little by little, her writing had abandoned her. The disappearance now presents itself to her daughter, who has become a mother herself, as a key to solving the "enigma that is a person." Following her instinct—or is it rather a gift?—she collects the symptoms of a repressed story, until she unearths its beating heart.

"This book had the effect of a mirage on me, like a real magic trick, thanks to its enigmatic, mysterious, extremely literary, and poetic language." Marie Richeux, producer of the Book Club on France Culture.

Listen (again) to Jakuta Alikavazovic on Marie Richeux's Book Club

• Thibault Daelman, L’Entroubli – Editions du Tripode

In a working-class neighborhood of Paris, a devoted mother, sometimes overwhelmed and excessive, tries to raise five boys despite adversity and an alcoholic father. One of them, echoing the dramas and joys that have punctuated his childhood, feels compelled to write. As if real life were there, in words and a crazy memory.

In a book that is disconcerting in that it shifts the genre of autobiographical narrative with its overflowing lyricism, Thibault Daelman recounts his childhood in a working-class environment and his love of language and writing. It is the story of a young man who tries to escape the difficulties of his environment through writing, but which goes far beyond the categories of coming-of-age stories and class defection, because its author manages to articulate a unique experience." Lucile Commeaux, producer of the program "Le regard culturel" on France Culture.

Listen (again) to Lucile Commeaux's column "Le Regard culturel" (The Cultural Perspective).

• Grégory Le Floch, Peau d’ourse (Bearskin) – Editions du Seuil

Mont Perdu has dreams that are not those of her village in the Pyrenees, still grappling with archaic traditions. The teenager, who is overweight, lesbian, and a victim of bullying, finds refuge in the mountains, the only ones who speak to her and understand her. And little by little, Mont Perdu will transform herself into a bear.

"This book is the literary sensation of the season! A blend of the ultra-contemporary and the marvelous. [...] As you will have understood, this novel is about love, folklore, and symbiosis with the living world. But above all, Nina is someone who is trying to find her place. And I'm sure that will resonate with you." Henri Le Blanc, cultural program coordinator for the channel.

• Séphora Pondi, Avale – Grasset Publishing

Tom is a pharmacy student who, since childhood, has been the target of bullying, rejection, and frustration, turning him into a lost and erotomaniac man, grappling with strange desires of devouring. Lame, a young black actress on the rise, undergoes hypnosis sessions to treat the eczema that plagues her. One is a monster in the making; the other is an aspiring actress who realizes that her body, which she wants to offer up and see vibrate in contact with the world, is slipping away from her and putting her in danger. The two trajectories will juxtapose until they collide.

"Once you open this book, you won't be able to put it down because the suspense is so intense." Arnaud Laporte, Producer of the TV show "Comme un samedi."

Listen (again) to Séphora Pondi in Comme un samedi by Arnaud Laporte

• Laura Vazquez, Les Forces – Éditions du Sous-sol

This is the story of a girl who disagrees with the social order. Are our faces images, storefronts? Has our attention become property, like land? Has something broken inside us? From childhood to writing, via a mysterious bar, an abandoned house, a building filled with sects, or the top of a mountain, the narrator takes us on an odyssey dotted with Homeric mirrors and songs of bards that show us the book being made.

"It's a book that has a powerful effect, and I'm talking about physical effects when you read it. It's funny and moving; you become attached to the narrator as much as you hate her. It's a coming-of-age novel in the classic sense of the term: it's about a child moving into adulthood with all the discoveries that can be made at that age. Except that it's written in a unique and unprecedented language. You want to speak this language; there's a lot of orality. You can hear all the percussion of her sentences as a poet." Marie Sorbier, Producer of the program "Le Point culture."

Listen (again) to Laura Vazquez in The Book Club.