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Clémence Michallon

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Clémence Michallon

Goodreads Author


Born
near Paris, France
Website

Genre

Member Since
April 2015


Clémence Michallon is the author of The Quiet Tenant, a USA Today and international bestseller and nominee for the Dashiell Hammett Prize and Our Last Resort, which was a national bestseller. Her work has been optioned for TV and translated into more than thirty languages.

She is also a freelance journalist whose work has appeared in The New York Times Book Review, Time Magazine, The Independent, and more.

Clémence was born and raised near Paris, has lived in New York since 2014, and became a US citizen in 2022. She can be found on Instagram at clemencemichallon and at clemencemichallon.substack.com.

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Popular Answered Questions

Clémence Michallon I spent April 2020 living in a house upstate with my husband’s family. I was grateful to be there, but I was also struck by the disruption we were exp…moreI spent April 2020 living in a house upstate with my husband’s family. I was grateful to be there, but I was also struck by the disruption we were experiencing. After years of having our routines dictated by the rhythm of our respective commutes and jobs, we were suddenly spending a lot of time together, without reprieve. I found this fascinating. I mean, we know what our loved ones do for a living, but how much do we really know about their day-to-day activities?

This got me thinking about how our routines can be disrupted, and what the implications of those disruptions might be. Say, for example, someone had a dark secret they had been able to keep from their family because they were never in close proximity during the day. And then, suddenly, they were no longer apart (early 2020 in a nutshell!). This had the makings of a novel.

I began to play with a few scenarios in my head, eventually landing on a serial killer who keeps someone captive, unbeknownst to his family, thanks to the setup of his property. But then he must move, and as a result, his captive inches closer, becoming somewhat adjacent to his life and family. To me, there was something irresistible about this narrative of worlds colliding. (less)
Clémence Michallon It is a rare and joyful event when I do get inspired. Most days, I sit down and write because I have to finish a first draft to get to the part I enjo…moreIt is a rare and joyful event when I do get inspired. Most days, I sit down and write because I have to finish a first draft to get to the part I enjoy the most: revisions.

Having said that, I'm trying to be better at noticing what makes me feel creative. Letting my mind wander while listening to music, often while walking my dog, is a big one.

I also make use of the Notes app. When inspiration does happen, it's not so much that it drives me to sit down and write on my laptop right away, but I do get ideas for lines of dialogue, or little bits of insight into a character's mindset and motivations. I write those down as fast as possible.(less)
Average rating: 3.77 · 175,022 ratings · 20,954 reviews · 7 distinct works • Similar authors
The Quiet Tenant

3.81 avg rating — 159,974 ratings — published 2023 — 7 editions
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Our Last Resort

3.38 avg rating — 15,009 ratings — published 2025 — 25 editions
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La dernière fois que j'ai c...

3.89 avg rating — 38 ratings — 2 editions
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The Quiet Tenant

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Such Good Actors: A Novel

0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — 2 editions
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Such Good Actors: A Novel

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Such Good Actors: A Novel

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Clémence’s Recent Updates

Clémence Michallon rated a book it was amazing
Summer Sisters by Judy Blume
Summer Sisters
by Judy Blume (Goodreads Author)
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A perfect summer book, a perfect Judy Blume book, a perfect novel, a perfect reading experience.
Clémence Michallon rated a book it was amazing
The Artist and the Feast by Lucy   Steeds
The Artist and the Feast
by Lucy Steeds (Goodreads Author)
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I bought this one on a trip to London one December and saved it for a few months because I had the feeling it would be the perfect summer read and I WAS RIGHT. Although, it will be beautiful regardless of the season during which you read it so I thin ...more
Clémence Michallon rated a book it was amazing
Joyride by Susan Orlean
Joyride: A Memoir
by Susan Orlean (Goodreads Author)
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Now only was this fantastically written and always interesting, but it also brought me much comfort, in a way, to hear that even for someone who seems like they've got it all figured out, who's had as much success as anyone could reasonably hope to h ...more
Clémence Michallon rated a book it was amazing
Hot Air by Marcy Dermansky
Hot Air
by Marcy Dermansky (Goodreads Author)
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Funny, brilliant, surprising, and wholly unique. Now I want to read all of Marcy's books. ...more
Clémence Michallon rated a book it was amazing
Maggie; or, A Man and a Woman Walk Into a Bar by Katie Yee
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I listened to Katie Yee saying on Poured Over (the B&N podcast) that it was important to her that the main character in this book retain her dignity, and you can totally feel that on the page. This was so smart and written with a lot of empathy (and ...more
Clémence Michallon rated a book it was amazing
The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai
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The author spent twenty years writing this book and you can feel all the care, all the creativity, all the genius, all the knowledge that went into it. It demands and amply deserves your attention. Man, I loved the time I spent in it.
Clémence Michallon rated a book it was amazing
We Don't Talk About Carol by Kristen L. Berry
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I loved this book. The characters felt so real to me. The mystery was so well-done and the whole story felt meaningful.
Clémence Michallon rated a book it was amazing
We Don't Talk About Carol by Kristen L. Berry
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I loved this book. The characters felt so real to me. The mystery was so well-done and the whole story felt meaningful.
Clémence Michallon rated a book it was amazing
The Death Row Club by V.A. Vazquez
The Death Row Club
by V.A. Vazquez (Goodreads Author)
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Addictive, smart, and at times terrifying—in the very best way. It's the kind of book that takes a terrific concept and executes it flawlessly. I couldn't, wouldn't put it down. V.A. Vazquez is definitely one to watch. ...more
Clémence Michallon rated a book it was amazing
Baryshnikov From Russia To the West 1ST Edition by Gennady Smakov
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This book is out of print and it SHOULD NOT BE! Still, one of the best books I've thrifted on the internet. ...more
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Quotes by Clémence Michallon  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“You don’t forget your first. You never forget the boy who taught you how to survive as a stranger in your own body.”
― Clémence Michallon, The Quiet Tenant

“It’s embedded in you, once you’ve been a girl. You pass them on the street. You hear their laughs. You feel their pain. You want to lift them into your arms and carry them over to the end point, sparing their feet from the thorns that drew blood from your own. Every girl in the world is a little bit me, and every girl in the world is a little bit mine.”
― Clémence Michallon, The Quiet Tenant

“...when a lot of sad stuff happens in a pretty short time, you reach a point where you can’t cry anymore.”
― Clémence Michallon, The Quiet Tenant

Polls

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I need your help deciding the next books we should read for Night Shift Reads group read and chat. Pick the book you would most like to read and the 3 books with the most votes will be the October, November, and December Night Shift Reads books. If you haven't joined in yet, think about trying it out.

 
  10 votes 37.0%

 
  5 votes 18.5%

 
  4 votes 14.8%

 
  3 votes 11.1%

 
  2 votes 7.4%

 
  1 vote 3.7%

 
  1 vote 3.7%

 
  1 vote 3.7%

 
  0 votes 0.0%

 
  0 votes 0.0%

27 total votes
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