The fifth book by Jean-Jacques Sempé to be published in English by Phaidon, Monsieur Lambert is a gentle, sophisticated and unmistakably French illustrated story for adults. In this short graphic novel, Sempé shows us a glimpse of life in a small Parisian bistro. The restaurant and its regulars are vividly brought to life in a series of drawings which, together with the handwritten speech bubbles and laconic texts, display Sempé’s usual unerring eye and ear for the telling details of human behaviour.