La Grande Librairie this week gathers writers to explore the role of language and storytelling in times of global uncertainty. Authors such as Giuliano da Empoli, Olivier Rolin, Claude Guibal, Delphine Horvilleur, and Olivier Grondeau will discuss themes like war, violence, surveillance, and captivity. Patrick Modiano, a Nobel Prize winner in literature, will take part in a special "Droit dans les yeux" segment, while the show will visit Lyon to reunite with Maria Pourchet around the works of Romain Gary. Giuliano da Empoli's new novel, Le Fondateur (Gallimard), is a fictional exploration of a surveillance society and the influence of digital leaders on the emergence of a new global order. The book examines the connection between new technologies and the military industry, posing the question of who truly benefits from war. Olivier Rolin's La guerre éternelle (Gallimard) blends essay and travel journal styles, drawing comparisons between the ancient destruction of Troy as described in Homer's The Iliad and modern conflicts such as those in Sarajevo, Mariupol, Kabul, Gaza, and Srebrenica. The city of Troy becomes a symbol of violence and dehumanization, prompting reflection on how war transforms those who live through it. Claude Guibal, a journalist with over thirty years of experience covering conflicts in regions such as Bosnia, the Congo, Central Africa, and the Middle East, reflects on war in her book Ce que la guerre fait aux hommes (Albin Michel). She shares the suffering she has witnessed and her own feelings of helplessness, raising the question of how to tell the story of war in the face of global collapse. Delphine Horvilleur's Sermons sous les décombres (Olivier Nora Éditions) continues this theme, revisiting her past speeches and engaging in self-reflection after the trauma of the massacres of October 7, 2023. The book explores what this event prevented her from seeing or saying, including the suffering of Palestinians, and examines the impact of chaos on language. Olivier Grondeau recounts his first months of captivity in Iran in Joseph dans la nuit (L'Iconoclaste). The narrative delves into the emotional and psychological challenges of fear and confinement, as well as the ways in which imagination and poetry can help one survive. Patrick Modiano will also take part in the special "Droit dans les yeux" segment, marking the release of his 46th novel, L'Éléphant (Gallimard). The show will also feature independent bookstores, with a stop in Lyon at La Virevolte, where Olivier Paulais has opened his shop. A segment will be dedicated to a bookstore in need of support. Maria Pourchet will share her passion for Romain Gary with Merlin Vermeren, a finalist of the seventh season of the Si on lisait à voix haute contest. This segment coincides with the reissue of Les Racines du ciel by Gallimard.