Muriel Barbery was born in 1969 in Casablanca, Morocco. She attended the École Normale Supérieure and holds an agrégation in philosophy. She was the recipient of a residency at the Villa Kujoyama, and lived in Kyoto, Japan, for two years in 2008 and 2009. After a stopover in Amsterdam, she now resides in the French countryside, in Touraine. She is the author of six novels, including Gourmet Rhapsody and The Elegance of the Hedgehog (translated into more than forty countries and sold over 10 million copies worldwide), and most recently, A single Rose and An hour of Fervour, which reflect her love for Japan.
Photo: © Boyan Topaloff