YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 18, ARMENPRESS.  “The Little Prince” by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry occupies the first position of the list. 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.

“The Book of Lamentations'' by St. Gregory of Narek published by “MHM” and “Zangak” publishing houses occupies the second 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.

“The Art of Dedication or Dithyramb to a Rose” written by Edgar Harutyunyan occupies the third position in the list. 

"Steppenwolf" novel by German-Swiss author Hermann Hesse is the fourth in our list. Originally published in Germany in 1927, it was first translated into English in 1929. Combining autobiographical and psychoanalytic elements, the novel was named after the lonesome wolf of the steppes. The story in large part reflects a profound crisis in Hesse's spiritual world during the 1920s while memorably portraying the protagonist's split between his humanity and his wolf-like aggression and homelessness. Hesse would later assert that the book was largely misunderstood.

“Mother” (Mayrig) by Henri Verneuil occupies the fifth place. Verneuil was born Ashot Malakian to Armenian parents in Rodosto. He was a French-Armenian playwright and filmmaker, who made a successful career in France. He was nominated for Oscar and Palme d'Or awards, and won Locarno International Film Festival, Edgar Allan Poe Awards, French Legion of Honor, Golden Globe Award, French National Academy of Cinema and Honorary Cesar awards. In 1924, when Ashot was a little child his family fled to Marseille in France, to escape persecution after the Armenian Genocide. He later recounted his childhood experience in the novel “Mayrig”, which he dedicated to his mother and made into a 1991 film with the same name, which was followed by a sequel, 588 Rue Paradis, the following year. Verneuil has filmed almost all the great figures of French cinema, with the exception of Bourvil, as even Louis de Funes has a small role in one of his films.

"Love in the Time of Cholera" written by Colombian author Gabriel García Márquez the sixth 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.

The famous late Armenian politician Vahan Hovhannisyan wrote his work “Mandylion” in the genre of historical intellectual detective. The book is in the 7th place this week. Vahan Hovhannisyan received a special prize for this book in the “Bestseller of the Year” ceremony.

"One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Columbian author Gabriel García Márquez occupies the eighth place. One Hundred Years of Solitude tells the multi-generational story of the Buendía family, whose patriarch, José Arcadio Buendía, founds the town of Macondo, the metaphoric Colombia.

Vahram Martirosyan’s “Love in Moscow” occupies the 9th place. 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 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”.

"1984" by George Orwell closes the Bestseller Books List introduced by "Armenpress" News Agency. While 1984 has come and gone, Orwell's narrative is more timely that ever. 1984 presents a "negative utopia", that is at once a startling and haunting vision of the world — so powerful that it's completely convincing from start to finish. No one can deny the power of this novel, its hold on the imaginations of entire generations of readers, or the resiliency of its admonitions — a legacy that seems to grow, not lessen, with the passage of time.

To complete the bestseller list, the following bookshops have participated in the survey: “New Book” (093-60-40-64), “Noah’s Ark” (56-81-84), “Armenian Book” (54-07-06), “Edit Print” (57-70-09), “Bookinist” (53-74-13), “Antares” (091-90-01-23)  and “Zangak” (23-25-28).