Wu Hong, deputy editor-in-chief of Shanghai Translation Publishing House, said that Modiano enjoys a great reputation in the French literature world.

"But his works were not among the hot publications, and we are now negotiating copyright with him," Wu said.

"Modiano is highly recognized in the literature circle," Ba Ye, a Chinese literary critic, told Chinanews.com, "He is probably at the same level with Milan Kundera. His works mainly talk about the Second World War and have a good combination of vanguard and historical sense, the two aspects of thought and art. In this way, Modiano is unique."

"Modiano is one of the best contemporary writers in France and one main feature of his works is memory. It represents a process for a generation of people to seek one self. His works also have a unique fable style", said Yu Zhongxian, professor in French literature at Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, in an interview with culture.ifeng.com.

The late famous Chinese writer Wang Xiaobo also admired Modiano much, considering him as one of the greatest contemporary novelists in the world.

In his article The Art of Fiction, Wang wrote that "The contemporary novelists who have made the greatest achievements are Italo Calvino, Marguerite Yourcenar, Gunter Wilhelm Grass, Patrick Modiano, and Marguerite Duras."