Petronille — Amelie Nothomb

Employing wry humor and a deceptively simple style, Amlie Nothomb, the author of over twenty-three bestselling novels (over exactly twenty-three years!) writes about twin abiding passions: one for champagne, and the other for a riotous friendship between her protagonist and Ptronille Fanto, a woman who refuses to drink alone. This is a funny, moving, exotic novel about travel, France, Champagne, and, above all, about women's friendship. The on-again/off-again friendship between Petronille and the main character in the book, a writer by the name of Amlie Nothomb, gives the story it verve and the novel its heart. This is literary Thelma & Louise, with a little bit of French panache and a whole lot of champagne thrown into the mix. Amlie Nothomb is one of Europe's most successful and talked about authors. Hygiene and the Assassin, her first published novel, was published when she was only twenty-five and since then she has become a cult figure, occupying a unique position in the world of French and European fiction. Delightful and witty, Ptronille is further proof of Nothomb's versatility and brilliance.