YEREVAN, JUNE 26, ARMENPRESS. "The Little Prince" by French author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry tops this week's "Bestseller Books List" introduced by "Armenpress" News Agency. The novella is both the most read and most translated book in the French language, and was voted the best book of the 20th century in France. The book was translated into more than 250 languages and dialects, as well as Braille.

Saint-Exupéry, a laureate of several of France's highest literary awards and a reserve military pilot at the start of the Second World War, wrote and illustrated the manuscript while exiled in the United States after the Fall of France. He had travelled there on a personal mission to persuade its government to quickly enter the war against Nazi Germany. In the midst of personal upheavals and failing health he produced almost half of the writings he would be remembered for, including a tender tale of loneliness, friendship, love and loss, in the form of a young prince fallen to Earth.

The second book of Hakob Soghomonyan's trilogy dedicated to the Genocide of Armenians "The Circumcised" occupies the second position.

Vahram Martirosyan’s novel “Love in Moscow” is in the third place this week. Surprising though it may sound, there are no romance novels in the Armenian prose or they are so rare that it is hard to remember one at once. Vahram Martirosyan’s new novel is a love story. The heroes of the book fall in love and are happy together as though they were in a shell of weightlessness until the reality cracks it and creeps into. The editor is Arqmenik Nikoghosyan. The book was published by “Antares”     

Famous politician Vahan Hovhannisyan wrote his work “Mandilion” in the genre of historical intellectual detective. The book is in the 4th place this week. Vahan Hovhannisyan received a special prize for this book in the “Bestseller of the Year” ceremony.  

"The Name of the Rose" by Italian author Umberto Eco occupies the 4th place of this week's "Bestseller Books List" introduced by "Armenpress" News Agency. A spectacular best seller and now a classic, The Name of the Rose catapulted Umberto Eco, an Italian professor of semiotics turned novelist, to international prominence. An erudite murder mystery set in a fourteenth-century monastery, it is not only a gripping story but also a brilliant exploration of medieval philosophy, history, theology, and logic.

In 1327, Brother William of Baskerville is sent to investigate a wealthy Italian abbey whose monks are suspected of heresy. When his mission is overshadowed by seven bizarre deaths patterned on the book of Revelation, Brother William turns detective, following the trail of a conspiracy that brings him face-to-face with the abbey’s labyrinthine secrets, the subversive effects of laughter, and the medieval Inquisition. Caught in a power struggle between the emperor he serves and the pope who rules the Church, Brother William comes to see that what is at stake is larger than any mere political dispute–that his investigation is being blocked by those who fear imagination, curiosity, and the power of ideas. The Name of the Rose offers the reader not only an ingeniously constructed mystery—complete with secret symbols and coded manuscripts—but also an unparalleled portrait of the medieval world on the brink of profound transformation.

“The Book of Lamentations'' by St. Gregory of Narek published by “MHM” and “Zangak” publishing houses occupies the 5th position of the list. The mystical poem "Book of Lamentations" has been translated into many languages and has played a significant role in the development of the Armenian literary language. In 95 grace-filled prayers St. Gregory draws on the exquisite potential of the Classical Armenian language to translate the pure sighs of the broken and contrite heart into an offering of words pleasing to God. The result is an edifice of faith for the ages, unique in Christian literature for its rich imagery, its subtle theology, its Biblical erudition, and the sincere immediacy of its communication with God. This masterpiece by St. Gregory of Narek has always been included in our bestseller books list. 

"Love in the Time of Cholera" again by Márquez occupies the second position. In their youth, Florentino Ariza and Fermina Daza fall passionately in love. When Fermina eventually chooses to marry a wealthy, well-born doctor, Florentino is devastated, but he is a romantic. As he rises in his business career he whiles away the years in 622 affairs--yet he reserves his heart for Fermina. Her husband dies at last, and Florentino purposefully attends the funeral. Fifty years, nine months, and four days after he first declared his love for Fermina, he will do so again.

“Mother” by Henri Verneuil occupies the 9th place. Henri Verneuil was born on October 15, 1920 in Rodosto, Turkey as Achod Malakian. He was a director and writer, known for The Sicilian Clan (1969), The Night Caller (1975) and I as in Icarus (1979). He died on January 11, 2002 in Bagnolet, Seine-Saint-Denis, France. It was at the tender age of 4 that Achod Malakian arrived with his family in Marseille, joining thousands of Armenians in fleeing the Turkish government's massacres of their people. As Henri Verneuil, at the end of his life, he devoted his two final full-length features to this part of his childhood and heritage.

"The Alchemist" novel by contemporary Brazilian author Paulo Coelho appeared in the sixth position of the "Bestseller Books List". This book has been translated into 67 languages and according to AFP, it has sold more than 30 million copies in 56 different languages, becoming one of the best-selling books in history and winning the Guinness World Record for most translated book by a living author. An allegorical novel, The Alchemist follows a young Andalusian shepherd named Santiago in his journey to Egypt, after having a recurring dream of finding treasure there. The Alchemist follows the journey of an Andalusian shepherd boy named Santiago. Santiago, believing a recurring dream to be prophetic, decides to travel to a Romani in a nearby town to discover its meaning. A gypsy woman tells him that there is a treasure in the Pyramids in Egypt.

Presented by Roza Grigoryan