A bookshop, a conversation and the meaning of life
Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt discusses the commonality of human civilization and the anxieties of mankind with readers in Beijing, Yang Yang reports.
By Yang Yang | HK edition | Updated: 2026-04-25 10:36
Talking about his experience reading the first two Chinese translations of the books, popular podcast host Yang Dayi said he completed them in one sitting.
"It's a great novel and today, in 2026, it's truly an ambitious undertaking to write a book that speaks to all of human civilization," he said while talking to Schmitt at an event at Beijing's JIC Books shop.
Although humans live in different societies, speak different languages and have different religious beliefs, they have one thing in common: after living on the planet for a period of time, they will inevitably perish "like a precious flower" that can vanish at any moment, Schmitt says, and that is "what Noam perceives".
"My goal is to represent such commonalities of all humans as the fragility of life," he adds.
The series involves a lot of writing about history. To guarantee the accuracy of the historical information, Schmitt says that after completing each volume, he gives the book to two relevant history experts for review.
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