Burning Paris

by Nicholas Blincoe

In this brilliantly inventive, absorbing novel, Nicholas Blincoe evokes the realities of civil war through the connected lives of James Beddoes, a 21st-century journalist in Paris and Bethlehem, and Paul-Antoine Brunel, a marine lieutenant caught up in the 1870 Siege of Paris. As both men struggle to make sense of their particular conflicts, passion becomes more urgent and love - between friends and comrades as well as lovers - more precious.

342 pages, Paperback

First published December 10, 2004

About the author

Blincoe was born in Rochdale, Lancashire in 1965. After briefly studying art at Middlesex Polytechnic he attended the University of Warwick where he studied Philosophy, gaining a PhD in 1993. The thesis was entitled Depression and Economics. The thesis explored the relationship between political sciences and economic theories, with particular reference to the philosophy of Jacques Derrida.

Blincoe released a Hip-Hop record on Manchester's Factory Records in 1987 and his subsequent relationship with Factory records and the nightclub The Haçienda informed his early work.

In 1995, Blincoe married the Bethlehem Palestinian film-maker Leila Sansour, director of the documentary Jeremy Hardy vs The Israeli Army (2003).

Blincoe has written for British radio and television, including episodes of the BBC TV series Waking The Dead and Channel 4's Goldplated. As a critic and reviewer he has worked for the Modern Review, under the editorship of Toby Young and Julie Burchill. He was a columnist for the London Daily Telegraph until September 2006, writing the weekly 'Marginalia' column.

He is the author of six novels, Acid Casuals (1995), Jello Salad (1997), Manchester Slingback (1998), The Dope Priest (1999), White Mice (2002), Burning Paris (2004). He was a founding member of the New Puritans literary movement and co-edited (with Matt Thorne) the anthology 'All Hail The New Puritans' (2000) which included contributions from Alex Garland, Toby Litt, Geoff Dyer, Daren King, Simon Lewis, and Scarlett Thomas.

Blincoe won the Crime Writer's Association Silver Dagger for his novel Manchester Slingback in 1998. His early novels were crime thrillers set in or around his native Lancashire and the clubs of Manchester.

Some of his more recent novels reflect his life split between homes in London and Bethlehem. He is also a co-editor of a book on the International Solidarity Movement Peace Under Fire: Israel/Palestine and the International Solidarity Movement (2003) with Josie Sandercock, Radhika Sainath, Marissa Mcloughlin, Hussein Khalili, Huwaida Arraf and Ghassan Andoni.

Reviews

[Abi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hum. It was OK. I've studied the Paris Commune of 1871 and I know what an exciting, dark and passionate story this could have been, but somehow Blincoe just never really made it come alive. I also think that if I had not studied the Paris Commune I might well have been lost at times - Blincoe's depiction of what was actually going on was sketchy. I appreciate that perhaps he was trying to show the confusion of the time but, apart from a sense that there might not be enough milk and it's a bit cold, I would not understand at all from this novel why the Commune sparked. The narrative appears detached from the subject. The Debacle by Zola, which is admittedly not one of his best, does a much better job of capturing the tensions and the fervour, the swooping despair and euphoria. Blincoe's narrative, in comparison, to me felt detached and superficial. Or maybe I've been conditioned to interpret the Commune in a 'Zolaesque' way and it really was quite a sterile process. Only a few of the Communards appear, it is uncertain why they are fighting, what the Prussians are doing, what the Versaillais are doing... actually the more I think about what he left out the more inadequate I believe this novel is. I know you can't include everything, but Blincoe is so sparing with what he tells you about the actual events of the siege and Commune as to be obscure.
As far as the actual writing goes, the prose was a little... flat. I can't think of another way to put it - it was perfectly competent but wholly underwhelming. The novel was caught awkwardly between trying to be a war story and a love story, and didn't really manage to be either with any success. I did not engage with the characters on a very deep level, and I was not moved. I was not frightened, excited, saddened, amused, curious, or anything (apart from the elephant killing scene - that was the best bit in the whole thing). I am forced to conclude that Blincoe's writing simply does not connect with me.
I think I see what he was trying to do with the split narrative thing, and the comments he was trying to make about interpreting and imagining history, and he definitely wasn't completely unsuccessful. There are some little flourishes of detail that are really quite clever (the connections between the characters in the past and the present strands) and I get the sense that Blincoe is somewhat under-achieving with this novel. It feels like Burning Paris had a lot of potential, but sorry, could do better.

[Cathy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read "The Dope Priest" and found it so-so, mildly amusing. If I had realised that "Burning Paris" was written by the same author, I probably would not have bought it.

This book did nothing for me. I found the style boring, the historical background of the siege on Paris sketchy and unclear and the whole episode in Palestine does not tie in with the rest of the book at all and feels as if it was stuck on as an afterthought.

As to the romance - someone give this man a good tear jerker, so he understands what romance is supposed to be like. His characters had about as much romantic feeling in them as a piece of wood.

[Les · Rating 3 out of 5]

One one level I was disappointed with this book. As a piece of story-telling based on two parallel love affairs one hundred years or so apart, it compares unfavourably with Danny Scheinmmann's "Random Acts of Heroic Love" in my view in spite of, or perhaps because of, its greater literary pretension. However, once the earlier narrative finally grinds to the Paris Commune period, and the latter to the Ramallah and Bethlehem sieges, it's hard not to be gripped by the unfolding events.

[Martinxo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yeah, I liked it. Useful insight into the Paris Commune...

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Was ok but v weak in places. No likeable characters. Ending was awful.