LONGLISTED: The Entente Littéraire Prize 2026

A Publishers Weekly Most Anticipated Book

Valérie Perrin’s first new novel since her breakout bestseller Fresh Water for Flowers

"Valérie Perrin is a prodigious storyteller."—Elle  

"Perrin’s most ambitious, most intimate, most liberating, most important book yet."—Le Parisien

Tata begins with a mystery—Agnès is asked to identify the body of her beloved aunt Colette—who, as far as she knows, died three years earlier.

From this phone call, Valérie Perrin crafts a compelling blend of family saga and literary suspense. As Agnès searches for the truth, long-buried secrets and hidden lives come to light, revealing an unforgettable cast of characters and the extraordinary story of the woman she thought she knew.

At the heart of the novel is Colette—Agnès’s beloved aunt—whose decision to fake her own death sets in motion a richly layered tale of resilience, identity, and reinvention. Told with warmth, humour, and emotional depth, Tata is a captivating story about the mysteries that shape a life and the courage that is required of women who choose to forge one's own path.

WHAT EARLY READERS ARE SAYING

"A cocktail of emotions."

"Magnificent."

"Impossible to put down!"

"A novel you devour and simply cannot close until you've reached the last page."

"Exceptional."

"After reading such a novel, I could stop reading altogether."