What is the secret of the success of Guillaume Musso's books?
Author of the article: Tatiana Zhakova
Journalist, linguist, teacher of storytelling with 10 years of experience
In 2015 she created and promoted her project about Nizhny Novgorod, nnstories.ru, after which she created a course called "Storytelling: How to Tell Your Story" based on it. Over 4,000 students have taken the course.
A linguist by education, she quickly masters new areas. Now she is actively studying screenwriting and storytelling in movies/serials, and writes about it in her project's blog.
A linguist by education, she quickly masters new areas. Now she is actively studying screenwriting and storytelling in movies/serials, and writes about it in her project's blog.
Lately, I often want to read something light, unstressful, so that the letters take you into the abyss of an imaginary world, and you completely disconnect from reality.
I use Guillaume Musso's books for this purpose. I've already read 7 of his books, and I've downloaded all of them. So when I want to spend time "together with the characters", I open his new book.
I use Guillaume Musso's books for this purpose. I've already read 7 of his books, and I've downloaded all of them. So when I want to spend time "together with the characters", I open his new book.
These are the ones I've already read:
"Save Me" - about an actress and a doctor who meet to change her fate
"Tomorrow" - about two people who correspond from the same computer a year apart.
"Apartment in Paris" - about a man and a woman who move into the same house and both become fascinated with investigating the life of the artist in whose house they find themselves
"The Call of the Angel" - about how two people accidentally exchange phone numbers at the airport and then find themselves embroiled in the same investigation
"Paper Girl" - about a writer's creative crisis, to which the heroine of his novels comes
"Brooklyn Girl" - the mysterious disappearance of the protagonist's girlfriend and single father reveals a lot of secrets from her past
"Central Park" - two people wake up in the middle of New York City, handcuffed and in full confidence that last night they were in other parts of the globe
"Tomorrow" - about two people who correspond from the same computer a year apart.
"Apartment in Paris" - about a man and a woman who move into the same house and both become fascinated with investigating the life of the artist in whose house they find themselves
"The Call of the Angel" - about how two people accidentally exchange phone numbers at the airport and then find themselves embroiled in the same investigation
"Paper Girl" - about a writer's creative crisis, to which the heroine of his novels comes
"Brooklyn Girl" - the mysterious disappearance of the protagonist's girlfriend and single father reveals a lot of secrets from her past
"Central Park" - two people wake up in the middle of New York City, handcuffed and in full confidence that last night they were in other parts of the globe
As we can see, a great many leitmotifs recur in Guillaume Musso's novels:
investigations, disappearances
police work
New York and Paris
kidnapped children
police work
New York and Paris
kidnapped children
dying/sick girls with their secrets, sometimes loser girls
a lot of pregnancy and children as the meaning of life
Magic and higher powers
a lot of pregnancy and children as the meaning of life
Magic and higher powers
past heroes in disadvantaged neighborhoods
airports and airplanes
and, of course, a lot of love that pierces once and for all
airports and airplanes
and, of course, a lot of love that pierces once and for all
By the way, Guillaume Musso - one of the most popular authors of our time, his books sell huge copies in different countries and are bestsellers.
So what is the secret of these women's novels?
- First of all, in their simplicity. You don't have to strain your brain and analyze a lot when you read his books. The action is very dynamic, the events develop at an excellent speed, so that you easily immerse yourself in the fictional world of the characters. A great option for reading after work or before bedtime.
- Secondly, many of the stories resemble each other. After reading seven, I can no longer remember where and what the names of the characters are, and I may even get confused as to which one kidnapped a boy and which one kidnapped a girl. But by doing so, a kind of continuous narrative is created. When you open the book, you know for sure that you're going to meet decent characters who will predictably be looking for someone. But that's what you want, that's what you expect from Guillaume Mussaud!
- Third, the puzzle effect. He puts everything together so nicely and understandably that at the end there is this "guessing" moment, when everything is really clear and logical. And this is very pleasant, because at the end of a riddle you always want to get the answer.
- And fourth, magic! We all want to immerse ourselves in unusual events sometimes and believe that magic is a little bit real! And Mussaud has a bit of magic in almost every book.
Do you read Guillaume Musso? What books have you read from this author, what are your favorites?