The Address Book

The Address Book is a bold and intimate exploration of identity, privacy, and the stories we tell about others. When artist Sophie Calle finds a lost address book on a Paris street, she chooses to call the people listed inside. Through their memories and impressions, she constructs a portrait of a man she has never met.

Each conversation adds a new layer, revealing fragments of his personality, relationships, and daily life. But what emerges is not a complete picture. It is a collage of perspectives shaped by affection, distance, and memory. As Calle documents this unfolding project, questions of ethics and intrusion begin to surface.

Told in brief, reflective entries, the book reads like both a mystery and a meditation. It invites the reader to consider what it means to observe, to interpret, and to create a narrative from what others leave behind.

The Address Book is a fascinating work of art and literature that turns a simple act of curiosity into a provocative investigation of intimacy, storytelling, and the boundaries between public and private life.