This fictional tribute to Lana Del Rey promises to plunge readers into her artistic universe and it delivers on that. While the singer of “Venice Bitch” and “Brooklyn Baby” may seem quintessentially American, Charrel conjures up a hazy technicolor world that is all Lana’s, weaving her lyrics into the text and dramatizing a pivotal meeting with older and more established singer Joan Baez. French fanfiction about Lana Del Rey is a surprising pitch but you don’t need to be a fan to enjoy this. The singers are almost ciphers here for a story about artistry, womanhood, love and Americana. They exist in a fantastical world that is both evoked by the songs from which Charrel draws inspiration, and also entirely her own dreamlike creation.

La Fille De Lake Placid by Marie Charrel, éditions Les Peregrines

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Miriam Gordis

Miriam Gordis is a bookseller and English language buyer at Albertine. She previously worked in book publishing, most recently as a literary scout. She has served as a reader for the Whiting Award for Nonfiction and the New York Public Library Young Lions Fiction Award. Originally from California, she has worked as a legal translator in Paris and as a copyeditor in Moscow. She is a lover of non-fiction, visual art, pilates, and sunshine.

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