27 Beats per Minute cover art

27 Beats per Minute

Meditations on Life, Literature and Paris

Pre-order free with Premium Plus
1 credit a month to buy any audiobook in our entire collection.
Access to thousands of additional audiobooks and Originals from the Plus Catalogue.
Member-only deals & discounts.
Auto-renews at $16.45/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

27 Beats per Minute

By: Henk Pröpper, Emma Rault - translator
Pre-order free with Premium Plus

$16.45 per month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Pre-order for $37.98

Pre-order for $37.98

Confirm Pre-order
Pay using voucher balance (if applicable) then card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions Of Use and Privacy Notice and authorise Audible to charge your designated credit card or another available credit card on file.
Cancel

About this listen

'A very special book that I enjoyed enormously' Cees Nooteboom

A dazzling ode to life, literature and Paris, the French capital that even in emptiness and desolation will always be magnificent.

Soon after Henk Pröpper moves from Amsterdam to Paris, both the world and his heart almost come to a full stop. He undergoes major surgery and awakes in an empty city in lockdown. Paris is transformed into an abandoned stage. To quicken his recovery, Pröpper begins walking. He combs his immediate surroundings, he hunts for the past, discovering countless commemorative plaques and monuments that honour well- and lesser-known Parisians and keep their histories alive. Pröpper also reflects on his own life and the literature that has shaped him. In this way, he walks in the footsteps of literary heroes such as Victor Hugo, of Balzac and of Camus.

'One of the most moving and most invigorating autobiographies ever written. This is a finely polished gem worthy of admiration' Knack

'A concise masterpiece that summarises a life in the time of the pandemic in the personal, euphoric and precarious shades of one year. Without one's realising, it covers just about everything: thoughts, emotions, literature, films, loves, feelings, memories, annoyances and doubts' Vrij Nederland

'Philosophical, reflective, and with the pleasantly slow heartbeat of a writer who carries the reader through the city, European literature and history' het Parool

Translated by Emma Rault.
Epilogue translated by Sherry Macdonald.©2025 Henk Pröpper (P)2025 Headline Publishing Group Limited
Authors Contagious Diseases

What listeners say about 27 Beats per Minute

Average Customer Ratings

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.