Maylis de Kerangal's new book, Canoas, is a collection of short stories and a short novel. All the stories have the same protagonist in common: the human voice.

The French author has become one of the most interesting names in European literature. 'The novel is the highest level literary terrain for me, although it is in a process of losing its centrality,' she says. 'I have always been interested in the appearance of our ability to speak in prehistory,' she adds.