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La reine de la nuit_1_ere_ed - fermeture et bascule vers 9782743637996
La reine de la nuit relate, sur un mode picaresque, la mortelle randonnée d'une jeune Allemande devenue nazie à son corps défendant, qui se retrouve, d'aventures en tribulations, membre des S.A. Puis des S.S., avant de finir pendue pour crimes contre l'humanité. L'humour particulièrement noir de l'auteur est totalement ravageur, notamment dans les chapitres où figurent tous les ténors du Reich. D'autres passages se révèlent, eux, à la limite du supportable. Quoi qu'il en soit, un fabuleux roman. Jean-Pierre Deloux, Polar Un livre qui pourrait bien être en avance sur son temps et qui traite l'horreur des années de l'holocauste en thriller métaphysique, picaresque, psychologique qui, souvent, tourne au pur surréalisme. Maxim Jakubowski
250 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1977
83 people want to read
About the author
Marc Behm
20 books9 followersMarc Behm was an American novelist, actor and screenwriter, who lived as an expatriate in France.
Behm developed a fascination for French culture while serving in the US army during World War II; later, he appeared as an actor on several French television programmes, before moving there permanently.
Behm developed a fascination for French culture while serving in the US army during World War II; later, he appeared as an actor on several French television programmes, before moving there permanently.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 3, 2014
This was strange on multiple levels; I disagree with the generalized summary I ran across for this book which described the main character of Edmonde, perhaps not in glowing terms, but if I recollect, I think I actually saw a synonym for "bravery" and "lovable" used to describe her and I disagree with all of these.
Edmonde is a sociopath; she falls into the Nazi Party, not because she is a victim of circumstance, but because the party is convenient to her and her needs. If she can exploit the party to get the lifestyle she wants, she's quite happy with this arrangement and has utterly no moral compass when it comes to the value of life.
I rather enjoy the unconventional character, as a woman of this scope is rarely portrayed on the page, but if the reader doesn't grasp right away that she is the embodiment of Queen of The Night -- the character from Mozart's Die Zauberflote whose stunning aria encourages murder, famously known as "Der Hoelle Rache" -- than you won't understand this character is intended to be despicable. Anyone thinking this character should be celebrated for literally killing people as they inconvenience her, raping other women, and turning in Jews when it suits her agenda (as she does when she catches one of her lovers in bed with another man) might want to retain some modicum of distance and objectivity when reading this book and rethink their choices. I do not believe this character is designed to be liked and is purposely crafted in this manner, to be a criticism of sociopath like Edmonde who expressly profit off another's pain; but that's speculation on my part. I imagine many would find this book offensive, but that's not the whole story. Everyone's mileage will vary.
I find Edmonde's lurch from one sexual conquest to the next, from one killing to the next, horrifying in its mindlessness. But I believe that's the point -- and the ending certainly suggests a karmic outcome for those crimes, which further suggests, IMHO, that the author designed her to be this way. In that lense, it's a portrait of a sociopath in sociopathic times and given more depth when we understand the references to Mozart's Die Zauberflote. We're just in for the ride to witness evil. In some cases, it is Edmonde's apathy as she watches, in the particular haunting passages of the book, the Nazi soldiers force a crew of prisoners to build a road over the dead bodies of their fellows, simply to keep them busy and give them something to do. Edmonde does not seem in the least bothered by the genocide going on around her, but nor does she seem moved to be a model soldier, either, constantly stealing and sabotaging other SS.
However, I wonder if the book is not necessarily Edmonde's story, so much as it is the story of the age, of that particular time period. Was everyone involved just another version of Edmonde, ceaselessly wandering from sexual affair to murder to sex again, with no particular thought of the future or its consequences? If this is the case, than this book provides an explanation of evil -- and that is not to be confused with an excuse; there is no excuse, but there is consequence, and that is made clear by the book's end.
This is definitely not a mainstream book. Don't go there if you prefer the popular fiction section, as this is off the beaten track.
Edmonde is a sociopath; she falls into the Nazi Party, not because she is a victim of circumstance, but because the party is convenient to her and her needs. If she can exploit the party to get the lifestyle she wants, she's quite happy with this arrangement and has utterly no moral compass when it comes to the value of life.
I rather enjoy the unconventional character, as a woman of this scope is rarely portrayed on the page, but if the reader doesn't grasp right away that she is the embodiment of Queen of The Night -- the character from Mozart's Die Zauberflote whose stunning aria encourages murder, famously known as "Der Hoelle Rache" -- than you won't understand this character is intended to be despicable. Anyone thinking this character should be celebrated for literally killing people as they inconvenience her, raping other women, and turning in Jews when it suits her agenda (as she does when she catches one of her lovers in bed with another man) might want to retain some modicum of distance and objectivity when reading this book and rethink their choices. I do not believe this character is designed to be liked and is purposely crafted in this manner, to be a criticism of sociopath like Edmonde who expressly profit off another's pain; but that's speculation on my part. I imagine many would find this book offensive, but that's not the whole story. Everyone's mileage will vary.
I find Edmonde's lurch from one sexual conquest to the next, from one killing to the next, horrifying in its mindlessness. But I believe that's the point -- and the ending certainly suggests a karmic outcome for those crimes, which further suggests, IMHO, that the author designed her to be this way. In that lense, it's a portrait of a sociopath in sociopathic times and given more depth when we understand the references to Mozart's Die Zauberflote. We're just in for the ride to witness evil. In some cases, it is Edmonde's apathy as she watches, in the particular haunting passages of the book, the Nazi soldiers force a crew of prisoners to build a road over the dead bodies of their fellows, simply to keep them busy and give them something to do. Edmonde does not seem in the least bothered by the genocide going on around her, but nor does she seem moved to be a model soldier, either, constantly stealing and sabotaging other SS.
However, I wonder if the book is not necessarily Edmonde's story, so much as it is the story of the age, of that particular time period. Was everyone involved just another version of Edmonde, ceaselessly wandering from sexual affair to murder to sex again, with no particular thought of the future or its consequences? If this is the case, than this book provides an explanation of evil -- and that is not to be confused with an excuse; there is no excuse, but there is consequence, and that is made clear by the book's end.
This is definitely not a mainstream book. Don't go there if you prefer the popular fiction section, as this is off the beaten track.
May 16, 2024
Queen of the Night is an odd, very obscure book. It's best described as Ilsa, She-Wolf of the SS, with quirky humor and references to Shakespeare and opera. And lesbian sex. Lots of gratuitous lesbian sex. Our 'heroine', Edmonde Kerrl, starts off as a minor official in the Nazi Party, and rises through the ranks of the SS. She's something of a nazi Forrest Gump, meeting or interacting with pretty much every important person in Nazi Germany. Rather than a nazi zealot, Edmonde is a sociopath who seemingly hates everyone and everything, and feels no remorse at all when she kills people.
The horrors of the Eastern Front and the concentration camps are used merely as a backdrop for Edmonde's sexual adventures. She has a revolving door of disposable love interests, most of whom she kills later. I understand we're not necessarily supposed to like Edmonde. That being said, she's still an abhorrent character to follow, even if for a brief 200 pages. In addition to being a sociopath with no redeeming qualities, she's also incredibly whiny and thinks her father's ghost follows her everywhere. Edmonde is a static character and doesn't change at all. Sex and death seem to be the only things she cares about. What's the point of a protagonist who doesn't change or learn anything?
I'm really not sure what Behm was trying to accomplish here. He's trying to satirize the murderous excess of Nazi Germany but it just doesn't work. I don't know why he tried doing this by writing an annoying main character and inserting lots of pointless sex scenes. The end result feels like pornography peppered with historical window dressing.
The horrors of the Eastern Front and the concentration camps are used merely as a backdrop for Edmonde's sexual adventures. She has a revolving door of disposable love interests, most of whom she kills later. I understand we're not necessarily supposed to like Edmonde. That being said, she's still an abhorrent character to follow, even if for a brief 200 pages. In addition to being a sociopath with no redeeming qualities, she's also incredibly whiny and thinks her father's ghost follows her everywhere. Edmonde is a static character and doesn't change at all. Sex and death seem to be the only things she cares about. What's the point of a protagonist who doesn't change or learn anything?
I'm really not sure what Behm was trying to accomplish here. He's trying to satirize the murderous excess of Nazi Germany but it just doesn't work. I don't know why he tried doing this by writing an annoying main character and inserting lots of pointless sex scenes. The end result feels like pornography peppered with historical window dressing.
July 13, 2019
An early satire of Nazi Germany that fictionalizes the sex lives of its bureaucratic elite to point out the hypocrisy of the regime's homophobia. Very occasionally Behm is successful in doing so, but his excessive use of graphic violence to shock and stun comes across as exploitative and gratuitous, not subversive. Despite a promising premise, 'Queen of the Night' offers nothing meaningful to the conversation on the persecution of queer communities in fascist Europe.
October 20, 2025
Une lecture loufoque, et déroutante. Ovni littéraire. Incongruité. En quelques mots clés : nazisme, homosexualité, aventure rocambolesque.
March 22, 2012
Poilant de bout en bout on y suit une héroïne répondant au doux nom de Edmonde, embarqué bien malgré elle du coté des SS dans la seconde guerre mondiale. Mais ces nazis là sont une bande de partouzeurs lubriques mais totalement impuissants, homosexuels à peine refoulés, lâches et plus ridicules les uns que les autres. Redécouvrir ce sombre moment de l'histoire dans une version romancée totalement absurde est assez surprenant au premier abord mais je vous promet que le plaisir de rire avec honte aux aventures d'Edmonde vous empéchera de poser le bouquin une fois commencé.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews