Praise for The Most Beautiful Book in the World -Melancholy but edifying orator, light yet profound raconteur a la Denis Diderot, Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt squeezes goodness from sorrow, places language, the word, on an altar, and derives from reality books that sell millions of copies.---Il Giornale (Italy) -The Most Beautiful Book in the World is as affecting as it is intelligent...Eight stories, parables on the idea of a future, filled with redeeming optimism. Truth and beauty are here brought together with all the visual beauty and power of a major literary work.---Lire Magazine (France) -A born story-teller with a talent for telling ostensibly simple tales, each suggestive of a philosophy of life, Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt [in The Most Beautiful Book in the World] takes the lid off the lives of eight women in eight contrasting portraits, each time with thought-provoking piquancy and suspense, that lead to an arresting and delightful end.---La Libre Belgique (Belgium)

Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt is one of Europe's most popular and acclaimed authors and playwrights. His many novels and story collections include The Most Beautiful Book in the World (Europa, 2009), Oscar and the Lady in Pink, and Monsieur Ibrahim and the Flowers of the Koran. A keen music lover, Schmitt has also translated into French The Marriage of Figaro and Don Giovanni from the original Italian. In 2001, he was awarded the French Academy's Grand Prix du Theatre. Schmitt divides his time between Paris and Brussels.