Paradises Lost

The first volume of what promises to be a singular literary adventure: to recount the whole of human history in the form of a single, long novel.  

Noam is a young man when the Flood wreaks havoc on the world, destroying the peaceful lakeside village he called home, and turning his life upside down. Destined to live forever as an immortal, Noam travels through the centuries in search of the meaning of life, and the events which shaped who we have become today.   

Paradises Lost is the first installment of Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt’s monumental project of recounting the history of humanity, the fruits of more than thirty years of research. The first in a series, and in the form of a stylish novel that blends the narrative nonfiction of Yuval Noah Harari with the adventure novels of Alexandre Dumas. Schmitt combines his scientific, religious and philosophical research to propel readers from one world to another, and from pre-history to today.

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). In 2001, he was awarded the French Academy’s Grand Prix du Théâtre. Schmitt divides his time between Paris, France, and Belgium. 

Steven Rendall has translated more than fifty books from French and German. He is professor emeritus of Romance Languages at the University of Oregon and editor emeritus of Comparative Literature. He currently lives in France. 

Addie Leak is a co-translator of Hisham Bustani's Waking Up to My City (Arab Institute for Research and Publishing, 2023) and Mostafa Nissabouri’s For an Ineffable Metrics of the Desert (Otis Books, 2018), and her translations from French and Arabic have appeared in multiple digital and print venues, most recently The Common and The Georgia Review. She is currently based in Portland, Oregon.