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Escape
It's 1987. Two prisoners, both Italian, break out of prison in a rubbish lorry. One heads for Paris, the other to Milan. The first Carlo, is killed in a shoot-out during a bank robbery - under suspicious circumstances. Frightened by the manhunt launched by Interpol, the second prisoner, Filippo, returns to Paris where he becomes a security guard. He spends his nights writing the story of a Red Brigadier, as recounted to him in prison by Carlo.
176 pages, Paperback
First published April 18, 2013
3 people are currently reading
80 people want to read
About the author
Dominique Manotti
36 books33 followersDominique Manotti is a professor of 19th-century economic history in Paris. She is the author of several novels, including Rough Trade (French: Sombre Sentier), Dead Horsemeat (French: A nos chevaux!) and Lorraine Connection (2008 Duncan Lawrie International Dagger award).
Née à Paris en 1942, et j'y suis restée pendant tout ce temps.
1) Historienne de formation et de métier (des années d'enseignement de l'histoire économique comtemporaine en fac). L'Histoire comme méthode de pensée et de travail : Lectures, rencontres, réflexions. Puis choix d'un sujet d'étude, formulation d'hypothèses. Puis recherches, accumulation de faits, d'indices, de traces, critique des hypothèses de départ, imagination de ce qu'ont été la vie et la mort des hommes sur les traces desquels on travaille. Puis construction d’une machine rationnelle ramassant tous les éléments de connaissance accumulés et écriture. Une méthode parfaitement transposable à l'écriture de romans policiers ou noirs.
2) Militante, dès l’adolescence, d'abord à la fin de la guerre d'Algérie pour l'indépendance de l'Algérie, puis dans les années 60 et 70, dans différents mouvements et syndicats, dans une tonalité qu'on pourrait dire marxiste et syndicaliste révolutionnaire.
3) Romancière, sur le tard, et pas par vocation, plutôt par désespoir. L'arrivée de Mitterrand au pouvoir sonne, d'une certaine façon, comme le glas des espoirs de transformation radicale de la société. Alors, le roman noir apparaît comme la forme la plus appropriée pour raconter ce que fut l'expérience de ma génération, et ma pratique professionnelle d'historienne m'a semblé l'outil adéquat pour tenter l'expérience de l'écriture romanesque.
http://www.dominiquemanotti.com/2009/...
Née à Paris en 1942, et j'y suis restée pendant tout ce temps.
1) Historienne de formation et de métier (des années d'enseignement de l'histoire économique comtemporaine en fac). L'Histoire comme méthode de pensée et de travail : Lectures, rencontres, réflexions. Puis choix d'un sujet d'étude, formulation d'hypothèses. Puis recherches, accumulation de faits, d'indices, de traces, critique des hypothèses de départ, imagination de ce qu'ont été la vie et la mort des hommes sur les traces desquels on travaille. Puis construction d’une machine rationnelle ramassant tous les éléments de connaissance accumulés et écriture. Une méthode parfaitement transposable à l'écriture de romans policiers ou noirs.
2) Militante, dès l’adolescence, d'abord à la fin de la guerre d'Algérie pour l'indépendance de l'Algérie, puis dans les années 60 et 70, dans différents mouvements et syndicats, dans une tonalité qu'on pourrait dire marxiste et syndicaliste révolutionnaire.
3) Romancière, sur le tard, et pas par vocation, plutôt par désespoir. L'arrivée de Mitterrand au pouvoir sonne, d'une certaine façon, comme le glas des espoirs de transformation radicale de la société. Alors, le roman noir apparaît comme la forme la plus appropriée pour raconter ce que fut l'expérience de ma génération, et ma pratique professionnelle d'historienne m'a semblé l'outil adéquat pour tenter l'expérience de l'écriture romanesque.
http://www.dominiquemanotti.com/2009/...
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
November 16, 2016
Over the past few years, I've had the pleasure of reading four (4) of Dominique Manotti's novels. What makes them so compelling and hard-to-put-down is that she has an unerring knack for putting the reader in the heart of the action from the very beginning. With an economy of words, Manotti sketches out the salient features and mannerisms of the main characters, puts them into a challenging situation or two, and the reader is taken on a thrilling ride.
Here in "ESCAPE", the reader is put into the midst of a prison break involving 2 convicts from an Italian prison in February 1987. One of them - Carlo - is a long-time leftist revolutionary and member of the Red Brigades, which had posed a significant challenge to the Italian governments during the 1970s and early 1980s - and the other, Filippo Zuliani, is a thief and petty criminal from Rome in his early 20s. Both men had been cellmates and had become close friends over the 6 months they had been incarcerated together. Filippo marvelled over the stories Carlo shared with him about his life as a revolutionary which went back to the 1960s. Indeed, Filippo was so impressed by Carlo's stories that he developed from the older man a deep love and appreciation for words.
Anyway, a car was waiting a short distance from the prison. Two people - a man and a woman - quickly ushered Carlo and Filippo inside, driving them out into the countryside, where both men eventually went their own separate ways. (Carlo had suggested that should he need to get out of the country that he had a close friend in Paris --- Lisa Biaggi, a journalist, political exile, and Carlo's onetime girlfriend from Italy -- with whom he could make a contact and find assistance. So, he gave Filippo's Lisa's address and later called Lisa to apprise her of Filippo's situation.)
Filippo at first feels at a loss without Carlo as he makes his way from the mountains to Bologna, where he manages to obtain a newspaper and learned that something dreadful had happened to the older man. Eventually, Filippo makes his way out of Italy to Paris and ends up at Lisa's doorstep (she's hardly impressed with him and distrusts him; nevertheless, as a favor to Carlo, she refers him to her friend Cristina Pirozzi, a self-assured attractive doctor in her early 40s - a political exile like Lisa -- who rents out an adjacent apartment to Filippo and finds him a job at La Defense as a nighttime security guard).
It is now March 1988. Filippo has been shaken by his experiences of the past year and reflects a lot on what Carlo had told him about himself and his revolutionary activities. He spends many lonely hours amid the tedium of his job thinking about the spellbinding stories Carlo had told him in prison. Eventually, Filippo is compelled to write about an incident loosely based on his escape from prison and on Carlo's stories. In the process, he pens a novel and slides its contents in an envelope under Cristina's door. A day later, she comes across Filippo's novel, reads it, is much impressed by it, and invites him to the neighborhood cafe --- Cafe Pouchkine --- for drinks. Cristina arranges to have Filippo's novel sent to a top publisher she knows, and secures him a contract.
Filippo's novel proves to be unexpected best-seller, earning high critical praise and for Filippo a new sense of self. But Filippo's newfound fame as a writer turns out to be a mixed blessing as the Italian government is uncomfortable with the dizzying success of a novel that bears a striking similarity to a attempted bank robbery in Milan from the previous year that led to the death of 2 carabinieri, a security guard, and someone close to Lisa Biaggi. Filippo's status in France is called into question by Rome, while Paris mulls over Rome's objection to Filippo's protected status in France.
As stated in the back cover of "ESCAPE", "Filippo [after being carefully coached by his publishers] steadfastly refuses to admit that the book is anything other than fiction, but the public don't believe him. Nor do the police." The pressure continues to build and build until... Well, you'll have to read this novel to find out what ensues. I assure the reader of this review that he/she won't be disappointed.
Here in "ESCAPE", the reader is put into the midst of a prison break involving 2 convicts from an Italian prison in February 1987. One of them - Carlo - is a long-time leftist revolutionary and member of the Red Brigades, which had posed a significant challenge to the Italian governments during the 1970s and early 1980s - and the other, Filippo Zuliani, is a thief and petty criminal from Rome in his early 20s. Both men had been cellmates and had become close friends over the 6 months they had been incarcerated together. Filippo marvelled over the stories Carlo shared with him about his life as a revolutionary which went back to the 1960s. Indeed, Filippo was so impressed by Carlo's stories that he developed from the older man a deep love and appreciation for words.
Anyway, a car was waiting a short distance from the prison. Two people - a man and a woman - quickly ushered Carlo and Filippo inside, driving them out into the countryside, where both men eventually went their own separate ways. (Carlo had suggested that should he need to get out of the country that he had a close friend in Paris --- Lisa Biaggi, a journalist, political exile, and Carlo's onetime girlfriend from Italy -- with whom he could make a contact and find assistance. So, he gave Filippo's Lisa's address and later called Lisa to apprise her of Filippo's situation.)
Filippo at first feels at a loss without Carlo as he makes his way from the mountains to Bologna, where he manages to obtain a newspaper and learned that something dreadful had happened to the older man. Eventually, Filippo makes his way out of Italy to Paris and ends up at Lisa's doorstep (she's hardly impressed with him and distrusts him; nevertheless, as a favor to Carlo, she refers him to her friend Cristina Pirozzi, a self-assured attractive doctor in her early 40s - a political exile like Lisa -- who rents out an adjacent apartment to Filippo and finds him a job at La Defense as a nighttime security guard).
It is now March 1988. Filippo has been shaken by his experiences of the past year and reflects a lot on what Carlo had told him about himself and his revolutionary activities. He spends many lonely hours amid the tedium of his job thinking about the spellbinding stories Carlo had told him in prison. Eventually, Filippo is compelled to write about an incident loosely based on his escape from prison and on Carlo's stories. In the process, he pens a novel and slides its contents in an envelope under Cristina's door. A day later, she comes across Filippo's novel, reads it, is much impressed by it, and invites him to the neighborhood cafe --- Cafe Pouchkine --- for drinks. Cristina arranges to have Filippo's novel sent to a top publisher she knows, and secures him a contract.
Filippo's novel proves to be unexpected best-seller, earning high critical praise and for Filippo a new sense of self. But Filippo's newfound fame as a writer turns out to be a mixed blessing as the Italian government is uncomfortable with the dizzying success of a novel that bears a striking similarity to a attempted bank robbery in Milan from the previous year that led to the death of 2 carabinieri, a security guard, and someone close to Lisa Biaggi. Filippo's status in France is called into question by Rome, while Paris mulls over Rome's objection to Filippo's protected status in France.
As stated in the back cover of "ESCAPE", "Filippo [after being carefully coached by his publishers] steadfastly refuses to admit that the book is anything other than fiction, but the public don't believe him. Nor do the police." The pressure continues to build and build until... Well, you'll have to read this novel to find out what ensues. I assure the reader of this review that he/she won't be disappointed.
December 26, 2014
I've done a long write-up of this at my online reading journal's crime page so if you're interested in plot, etc., click on through.
Otherwise, I'll just say that it's a super novel -- and while it's not what I would ordinary call crime fiction per se, it falls into the category of books that confront a country's issues head on via the medium of crime writing. Nowadays, with so many competing "truth" narratives not only vying for public acceptance but standing in opposition to each other, this book is also timely, and should make its readers come away wondering about his or her own country's power to rewrite certain segments of its history.
In the little bio blurb at the front of this novel it says that Dominique Manotti's
"gritty Euro noir novels tell the story of France's modern social evolution, for better and worse..."
and here, in Escape, the author looks back to Italy's "Years of Lead," and to a contemporary (late 1980s) community of political refugees, now emigres in France, and one woman in particular who is prompted by the publication of a novel to seek out and salvage the truth of the past. There are really two major points in this novel: truth and perception, both sides of the same coin, if you just think about this for a moment. It is an excellent book, one that will keep you fascinated as you work your way through the maze of different realities within.
Otherwise, I'll just say that it's a super novel -- and while it's not what I would ordinary call crime fiction per se, it falls into the category of books that confront a country's issues head on via the medium of crime writing. Nowadays, with so many competing "truth" narratives not only vying for public acceptance but standing in opposition to each other, this book is also timely, and should make its readers come away wondering about his or her own country's power to rewrite certain segments of its history.
In the little bio blurb at the front of this novel it says that Dominique Manotti's
"gritty Euro noir novels tell the story of France's modern social evolution, for better and worse..."
and here, in Escape, the author looks back to Italy's "Years of Lead," and to a contemporary (late 1980s) community of political refugees, now emigres in France, and one woman in particular who is prompted by the publication of a novel to seek out and salvage the truth of the past. There are really two major points in this novel: truth and perception, both sides of the same coin, if you just think about this for a moment. It is an excellent book, one that will keep you fascinated as you work your way through the maze of different realities within.
July 6, 2014
Escape – Short and Stunning
Escape by Dominique Manotti may be only 161 pages long, but this is a short and very punchy thriller. Manotti is like a sniper where no words are wasted but are aimed like bullets at their target hitting every time. Once you have read this Escape it is easy to see why this one the International Dagger Award and will want people to read and enjoy it.
Manotti is able to use her experience of being a left wing activist in Paris in the 60s to bear with her knowledge along with an encyclopaedic knowledge of the left wing movements on mainland Europe and their various activities. To many this would be a complex history mixed in to a thriller to hard for most but seamless for Manotti. Her knowledge brings a gritty realism to the story.
It is 1987 and two prisoners escape from an Italian prison in a rubbish truck and are able to avoid detection and escape to the hills. One of the prisoners is former Red Brigades commander Carlo Fedeli and his cell mate Felippo Zuliani a thief. Carlo gives his cell mate an address of his former girlfriend and colleague Lisa in Paris if things go wrong.
While on the run Filippo learns of the tragic death of Carlo and he also gets mentioned in the newspaper report, and he makes his way to Paris. Lisa treats him with suspicion but used her contacts in the Italian community to find somewhere for Filippo to live and hopeful work too.
Filippo is found a night watchman’s position and all he really has to do at night is write and live in his thoughts. Through his night time writing he passes to his landlady Cristina who in turns pass Filippo’s manuscript to a publishing house. In turn his book is published and is a critical success, which in turn brings him to the attention of the Italian refugees in Paris who are in fear and to the Italian secret service across the border.
Filippo loves the attention while Lisa is investigating the death of Carlo and his suspicious death. Little does Filippo know how much every move he makes is being watched and how much his life is in real danger. While we learn of the lengths that the right wing politicos and secret services in Italy will go to protect their position.
This is a totally absorbing gob smacking thriller that poses questions and you are still unsure of the answers at the end. The reader is drawn in to a compelling read and when you reach the climax you are will want more, but Manotti ends the story while on top. There are no long drawn out scenes no wasted words every word counts, the prose is razor sharp, the imagery evocative. Escape is short, stunning and brilliant.
Escape by Dominique Manotti may be only 161 pages long, but this is a short and very punchy thriller. Manotti is like a sniper where no words are wasted but are aimed like bullets at their target hitting every time. Once you have read this Escape it is easy to see why this one the International Dagger Award and will want people to read and enjoy it.
Manotti is able to use her experience of being a left wing activist in Paris in the 60s to bear with her knowledge along with an encyclopaedic knowledge of the left wing movements on mainland Europe and their various activities. To many this would be a complex history mixed in to a thriller to hard for most but seamless for Manotti. Her knowledge brings a gritty realism to the story.
It is 1987 and two prisoners escape from an Italian prison in a rubbish truck and are able to avoid detection and escape to the hills. One of the prisoners is former Red Brigades commander Carlo Fedeli and his cell mate Felippo Zuliani a thief. Carlo gives his cell mate an address of his former girlfriend and colleague Lisa in Paris if things go wrong.
While on the run Filippo learns of the tragic death of Carlo and he also gets mentioned in the newspaper report, and he makes his way to Paris. Lisa treats him with suspicion but used her contacts in the Italian community to find somewhere for Filippo to live and hopeful work too.
Filippo is found a night watchman’s position and all he really has to do at night is write and live in his thoughts. Through his night time writing he passes to his landlady Cristina who in turns pass Filippo’s manuscript to a publishing house. In turn his book is published and is a critical success, which in turn brings him to the attention of the Italian refugees in Paris who are in fear and to the Italian secret service across the border.
Filippo loves the attention while Lisa is investigating the death of Carlo and his suspicious death. Little does Filippo know how much every move he makes is being watched and how much his life is in real danger. While we learn of the lengths that the right wing politicos and secret services in Italy will go to protect their position.
This is a totally absorbing gob smacking thriller that poses questions and you are still unsure of the answers at the end. The reader is drawn in to a compelling read and when you reach the climax you are will want more, but Manotti ends the story while on top. There are no long drawn out scenes no wasted words every word counts, the prose is razor sharp, the imagery evocative. Escape is short, stunning and brilliant.
April 15, 2017
Πολιτικό κ νεο-νουάρ , υπερβολικώς ρομαντίζον, δεν καταφέρνει να αποδώσει ικανοποιητικά σε κανένα από τα δύο επίπεδα. Η ιταλική αριστερά των 70s δεν μπορεί επουδενί να αποδοθεί με croissant και γαλλική finezza
January 9, 2019
Manotti'nin romanı, her ne kadar polisiye kategorisinde değerlendirilse de çok boyutlu bir kitap. öncelikle Kurşuni Yıllar olarak adlandırılan ve Kızıl Tugaylar örgütünün silahlı eylemleri ile sarsılan 70'li yıllarda örgütün militanlarından biri olan Carlo ile birlikte cezaevinden kaçan adi mahkumun şaşırtıcı, farklı, erkek dostluğu ile şekillenen bir ilişki var kitapta. Yanıltıcı olmasın gay bir ilişki değil şaşırtıcı bir bağlılık, dostluk, hayranlık ile kurulu bir ilişki bu.
Bir soygun sırasında yaşamını kaybeden Carlo'yu ve aralarındaki ilişkiyi hayatta tutabilmek için yazılan bir roman...
Roman kurgusunun içiçe geçişi... Gerçeklik ile doğru olanın sınırlarının içiçe geçmesi...
Gerçeklik nedir? Kağıda dökülen, anlatılan mı, yoksa yaşananlar mı gerçektir? Güzel bir kitap, sağlam bir kurgu. Üstelik arka planı ilgi çekici bir roman.
Bir soygun sırasında yaşamını kaybeden Carlo'yu ve aralarındaki ilişkiyi hayatta tutabilmek için yazılan bir roman...
Roman kurgusunun içiçe geçişi... Gerçeklik ile doğru olanın sınırlarının içiçe geçmesi...
Gerçeklik nedir? Kağıda dökülen, anlatılan mı, yoksa yaşananlar mı gerçektir? Güzel bir kitap, sağlam bir kurgu. Üstelik arka planı ilgi çekici bir roman.
July 4, 2014
A political thriller rather than a straightforward crime novel, but also an interesting debate about the way we remember real events, about reality and fiction. One of the most exciting and fast-moving opening scenes I've experienced in a long, long time.
April 1, 2020
Hic tahmin etmezdim, bir polisiye kitabini bir gunde bititebilecegimi.. Kacininmaz bir surpriz !.. Kitaplar iyi birer dost ... Iyi ki varlar..
November 19, 2014
Thriller set in Milan and Paris (Brigate Rosse)
Escape chronicles events that happen around the Red Brigades in Italy in the late 1980s. Dominique Manotti was a left wing political activist in France in the 1960s, and is now an academic and author. She clearly knows her subject matter very well – and her descriptions of the Red Brigades and their interaction with the Italian establishment read with great authenticity.
The story starts when Carlo and Filippo break out of a prison in Italy. Carlo is a senior figure in the Red Brigades and Filippo is a small time Roman crook. The escape was meant to be just for Carlo, but Filippo was in the ‘right place at the right time’ – and tagged along. He was dumped shortly after the escape by Carlo and made his way to Milan and then, after he read that Carlo had been killed in a failed bank heist, moved on to Paris to the safety of an address that Carlo had given him should he ever be in danger. The address is inhabited by Lisa, Carlo’s girlfriend and an Italian and long term exile in Paris.
Lisa arranges for Filippo to rent a room from Christina, a friend of hers. Filippo settles in well and secures a job as a night watchman. He begins to fantasise and write about his own role in the prison escape – building himself up to be Carlo’s equal in both the planning and execution. Christina introduces him to a publisher who likes his book and launches it as a novel ‘based on’ the escape – with all else being fictitious. Not many, either in Paris or back in Milan, believe the story to be a fictitious one and – in all honesty – Filippo does little to disillusion them. He settles very easily into the role of celebrity (and at times even we doubt what his real role in the escape actually was…).
While all this is going on, Lisa has been trying to investigate Carlo’s death – she is very suspicious that he may have been set up by the establishment to die in the failed raid. And then a surprise witness (who has a past) identifies Filippo as having been at the scene of the heist. Which is not, and cannot be, true. What is happening?
Dominique Manotti, as I said at the beginning, has a very good understanding of how the Red Brigades operated and how they were misrepresented by the Italian establishment with, it is alleged, the Italian secret service having carried out several of the atrocities attributed to the Brigades. It was a time of great intrigue when black was argued to be white – and nothing was quite as it seemed. This feeling is very well captured in the book.
Escape is a fascinating thriller based on ‘fact’. It leaves one truly enthralled by the narrative, but also intrigued by the background and just how much of it really could be true. I would suspect quite a lot.
Dominique Manotti won the International Dagger Award for Escape, and it is recognition that is well deserved. And finally, you might remember our ‘translation‘ blog of a couple of weeks ago, a word of praise for the two translators – Amanda Hopkinson and Ros Schwartz. They have done an excellent job.
Our full review appears on our blog: http://www.tripfiction.com/thriller-s...
Escape chronicles events that happen around the Red Brigades in Italy in the late 1980s. Dominique Manotti was a left wing political activist in France in the 1960s, and is now an academic and author. She clearly knows her subject matter very well – and her descriptions of the Red Brigades and their interaction with the Italian establishment read with great authenticity.
The story starts when Carlo and Filippo break out of a prison in Italy. Carlo is a senior figure in the Red Brigades and Filippo is a small time Roman crook. The escape was meant to be just for Carlo, but Filippo was in the ‘right place at the right time’ – and tagged along. He was dumped shortly after the escape by Carlo and made his way to Milan and then, after he read that Carlo had been killed in a failed bank heist, moved on to Paris to the safety of an address that Carlo had given him should he ever be in danger. The address is inhabited by Lisa, Carlo’s girlfriend and an Italian and long term exile in Paris.
Lisa arranges for Filippo to rent a room from Christina, a friend of hers. Filippo settles in well and secures a job as a night watchman. He begins to fantasise and write about his own role in the prison escape – building himself up to be Carlo’s equal in both the planning and execution. Christina introduces him to a publisher who likes his book and launches it as a novel ‘based on’ the escape – with all else being fictitious. Not many, either in Paris or back in Milan, believe the story to be a fictitious one and – in all honesty – Filippo does little to disillusion them. He settles very easily into the role of celebrity (and at times even we doubt what his real role in the escape actually was…).
While all this is going on, Lisa has been trying to investigate Carlo’s death – she is very suspicious that he may have been set up by the establishment to die in the failed raid. And then a surprise witness (who has a past) identifies Filippo as having been at the scene of the heist. Which is not, and cannot be, true. What is happening?
Dominique Manotti, as I said at the beginning, has a very good understanding of how the Red Brigades operated and how they were misrepresented by the Italian establishment with, it is alleged, the Italian secret service having carried out several of the atrocities attributed to the Brigades. It was a time of great intrigue when black was argued to be white – and nothing was quite as it seemed. This feeling is very well captured in the book.
Escape is a fascinating thriller based on ‘fact’. It leaves one truly enthralled by the narrative, but also intrigued by the background and just how much of it really could be true. I would suspect quite a lot.
Dominique Manotti won the International Dagger Award for Escape, and it is recognition that is well deserved. And finally, you might remember our ‘translation‘ blog of a couple of weeks ago, a word of praise for the two translators – Amanda Hopkinson and Ros Schwartz. They have done an excellent job.
Our full review appears on our blog: http://www.tripfiction.com/thriller-s...
March 14, 2015
Η Ντομινίκ Μανοτί είναι καθηγήτρια σύγχρονης οικονομικής ιστορίας σε πανεπιστήμιο του Παρισιού και αρκετά γνωστή συγγραφέας αστυνομικών μυθιστορημάτων στην Γαλλία. Όλα της τα βιβλία έχουν έντονη πολιτική χροιά και πολλά από αυτά έχουν μεταφραστεί στ'αγγλικά και έχουν κερδίσει διάφορα βραβεία. Στην Ελλάδα κυκλοφόρησε το 2012 από τις εκδόσεις Πόλις το βιβλίο Εντιμότατη εταιρεία που έγραψε σε συνεργασία με τον DOA και πέρυσι το Η απόδραση που μόλις τελείωσα. Και τα δυο αυτά βιβλία τα βρήκα στο Μοναστηράκι σε πολύ χαμηλή τιμή και επέλεξα να ξεκινήσω με το δεύτερο που είναι και πιο μικρό σε μέγεθος.
Η ιστορία διαδραματίζεται το 1987 και αρχίζει με μια απόδραση από τις φυλακές της Ρώμης, αυτής του Κάρλο, ιστορικού στελέχους των Ερυθρών Ταξιαρχών, και του Φιλίππο, ενός μικροκακοποιού. Παρά τις φιλικές σχέσεις και τις συζητήσεις που είχαν μέσα στην φυλακή για αρκετό καιρό, οι δρόμοι τους θα χωρίσουν. Λίγο καιρό μετά ο Φιλίππο μαθαίνει ότι ο Κάρλο σκοτώθηκε σε μια αποτυχημένη ληστεία τράπεζας στο Μιλάνο και τότε ο Φιλίππο θα καταφύγει στην Γαλλία και θα γνωριστεί με μια πρώην συντρόφισσα του Κάρλο, θα πιάσει δουλειά νυχτοφύλακα και εκεί, στις βραδινές ώρες βαρεμάρας, θ'αρχίσει να γράφει ένα μυθιστόρημα, που θα περιέχει τα αληθινά περιστατικά της απόδρασης αλλά και διάφορα φανταστικά, όπως την υποτιθέμενη συμμετοχή του στην αποτυχημένη ληστεία που κατέληξε σε λουτρό αίματος με νεκρούς αστυνομικούς. Το βιβλίο θα εκδοθεί στην Γαλλία και θα έχει μεγάλη επιτυχία, όμως τότε κάποιοι παρακρατικοί μηχανισμοί θα κινηθούν για να διαφυλάξουν τα μυστικά τους...
Αυτά εν ολίγοις. Με το βιβλίο αυτό έμαθα κάποια ενδιαφέροντα πράγματα για τις πολιτικές αναταραχές στην Ιταλία, τότε με τις Ερυθρές Ταξιαρχίες, το ακροδεξιό παρακράτος, τις συνωμοσίες των μυστικών υπηρεσιών, τις διάφορες τρομοκρατικές επιθέσεις και πάει λέγοντας. Βέβαια μην περιμένετε σελίδες γεμάτες με τέτοια γεγονότα, έτσι ώστε να βγάλετε άκρη χωρίς να διαβάσετε ιστορικά βιβλία, απλώς γίνονται αρκετές αναφορές ώστε να προχωρήσει η πλοκή που βασίζεται στην παράνοια εκείνης της πολιτικής περιόδου. Εδώ που τα λέμε πρόκειται περισσότερο για πολιτικό θρίλερ παρά για αστυνομικό, όμως η ατμόσφαιρα είναι σίγουρα νουάρ, σκοτεινή και κλειστοφοβική, αν το σκεφτεί κανείς, συμπεριλαμβάνοντας το μάλλον απαισιόδοξο αν και ρεαλιστικό τέλος. Η γραφή είναι καλή και το στιλ αφήγησης αρκετά ξεχωριστό. Οι χαρακτήρες δίχως ιδιαίτερο βάθος, πάντως μπορεί κανείς να κατανοήσει τις κινήσεις τους και να τους καταλάβει.
Γενικά ένα πολύ καλό πολιτικό θρίλερ με νουάρ ατμόσφαιρα που σε λίγες σελίδες καταφέρνει να χωρέσει πολιτική, μυστήριο, δράση και βέβαια να θίξει σημαντικά ζητήματα γύρω από τον κρατικό μηχανισμό, τις διάφορες οργανώσεις, τους πολιτικούς αντιφρονούντες και πάει λέγοντας. Μην περιμένετε όμως ένα αμιγώς αστυνομικό μυθιστόρημα.
Η ιστορία διαδραματίζεται το 1987 και αρχίζει με μια απόδραση από τις φυλακές της Ρώμης, αυτής του Κάρλο, ιστορικού στελέχους των Ερυθρών Ταξιαρχών, και του Φιλίππο, ενός μικροκακοποιού. Παρά τις φιλικές σχέσεις και τις συζητήσεις που είχαν μέσα στην φυλακή για αρκετό καιρό, οι δρόμοι τους θα χωρίσουν. Λίγο καιρό μετά ο Φιλίππο μαθαίνει ότι ο Κάρλο σκοτώθηκε σε μια αποτυχημένη ληστεία τράπεζας στο Μιλάνο και τότε ο Φιλίππο θα καταφύγει στην Γαλλία και θα γνωριστεί με μια πρώην συντρόφισσα του Κάρλο, θα πιάσει δουλειά νυχτοφύλακα και εκεί, στις βραδινές ώρες βαρεμάρας, θ'αρχίσει να γράφει ένα μυθιστόρημα, που θα περιέχει τα αληθινά περιστατικά της απόδρασης αλλά και διάφορα φανταστικά, όπως την υποτιθέμενη συμμετοχή του στην αποτυχημένη ληστεία που κατέληξε σε λουτρό αίματος με νεκρούς αστυνομικούς. Το βιβλίο θα εκδοθεί στην Γαλλία και θα έχει μεγάλη επιτυχία, όμως τότε κάποιοι παρακρατικοί μηχανισμοί θα κινηθούν για να διαφυλάξουν τα μυστικά τους...
Αυτά εν ολίγοις. Με το βιβλίο αυτό έμαθα κάποια ενδιαφέροντα πράγματα για τις πολιτικές αναταραχές στην Ιταλία, τότε με τις Ερυθρές Ταξιαρχίες, το ακροδεξιό παρακράτος, τις συνωμοσίες των μυστικών υπηρεσιών, τις διάφορες τρομοκρατικές επιθέσεις και πάει λέγοντας. Βέβαια μην περιμένετε σελίδες γεμάτες με τέτοια γεγονότα, έτσι ώστε να βγάλετε άκρη χωρίς να διαβάσετε ιστορικά βιβλία, απλώς γίνονται αρκετές αναφορές ώστε να προχωρήσει η πλοκή που βασίζεται στην παράνοια εκείνης της πολιτικής περιόδου. Εδώ που τα λέμε πρόκειται περισσότερο για πολιτικό θρίλερ παρά για αστυνομικό, όμως η ατμόσφαιρα είναι σίγουρα νουάρ, σκοτεινή και κλειστοφοβική, αν το σκεφτεί κανείς, συμπεριλαμβάνοντας το μάλλον απαισιόδοξο αν και ρεαλιστικό τέλος. Η γραφή είναι καλή και το στιλ αφήγησης αρκετά ξεχωριστό. Οι χαρακτήρες δίχως ιδιαίτερο βάθος, πάντως μπορεί κανείς να κατανοήσει τις κινήσεις τους και να τους καταλάβει.
Γενικά ένα πολύ καλό πολιτικό θρίλερ με νουάρ ατμόσφαιρα που σε λίγες σελίδες καταφέρνει να χωρέσει πολιτική, μυστήριο, δράση και βέβαια να θίξει σημαντικά ζητήματα γύρω από τον κρατικό μηχανισμό, τις διάφορες οργανώσεις, τους πολιτικούς αντιφρονούντες και πάει λέγοντας. Μην περιμένετε όμως ένα αμιγώς αστυνομικό μυθιστόρημα.
July 1, 2014
Escape, by Dominique Manotti, is a short novel that manages to pack in as much action and character development as a work of twice the length. It tells the tale of a small time criminal who escapes from prison in the company of a political freedom fighter. The sparse language and fast moving plot require attention, although the book is not a difficult read, and I found myself having to put it down from time to time to digest what had just happened. As in life, the narration of the tale is not always clear cut, memory being as much influenced by audience and current circumstance as on what happened in the past. The reader is left to ponder which, if any, version of the ‘escape’ is actually true.
The book is a translation of the French novel, L’Evasion, but this never detracts from the flow or pace. The detail of the politics can be hard to follow at times for those who are unfamiliar with Italy and France in the 1970′s and 80′s, but the camaraderie and self righteousness felt by those fighting for a cause can be universally recognised.
I found few of the characters likeable, but could empathise with their reasoning and aspirations in light of events described. As the layers of the freedom fighter’s character were revealed, his love life and relationships with those he met in prison, his subsequent, apparently contradictory, actions became more believable. It was interesting to consider him through the eyes of those who had known him at different points in his life.
The ease with which the small time crook had his book published seemed a little unreal, but as this was pivotal to the plot I can understand why the author did not wish to waste too many words on the process. Throughout the book few words are wasted, it is tightly written and riveting.
I particularly liked the way the author developed the character of this young man, a fabulous example of smoke and mirrors. In learning quickly from his publisher and effectively reinventing himself through his writing, he could have been in any one of the versions of the ‘escape’ described. Was he weak, naive, a quick learner or a clever actor?
The denouement was not a surprise, it is hard to see how else the book could have ended and it was certainly well written. We are told in the Afterward that the author herself turned from political activism to writing novels ‘par désespoir’. Perhaps, just as those in her story wondered at how much truth there was in fiction, we could be asking that question of her.
My copy of this book was provided, gratis, by the publisher, Arcadia Books.
The book is a translation of the French novel, L’Evasion, but this never detracts from the flow or pace. The detail of the politics can be hard to follow at times for those who are unfamiliar with Italy and France in the 1970′s and 80′s, but the camaraderie and self righteousness felt by those fighting for a cause can be universally recognised.
I found few of the characters likeable, but could empathise with their reasoning and aspirations in light of events described. As the layers of the freedom fighter’s character were revealed, his love life and relationships with those he met in prison, his subsequent, apparently contradictory, actions became more believable. It was interesting to consider him through the eyes of those who had known him at different points in his life.
The ease with which the small time crook had his book published seemed a little unreal, but as this was pivotal to the plot I can understand why the author did not wish to waste too many words on the process. Throughout the book few words are wasted, it is tightly written and riveting.
I particularly liked the way the author developed the character of this young man, a fabulous example of smoke and mirrors. In learning quickly from his publisher and effectively reinventing himself through his writing, he could have been in any one of the versions of the ‘escape’ described. Was he weak, naive, a quick learner or a clever actor?
The denouement was not a surprise, it is hard to see how else the book could have ended and it was certainly well written. We are told in the Afterward that the author herself turned from political activism to writing novels ‘par désespoir’. Perhaps, just as those in her story wondered at how much truth there was in fiction, we could be asking that question of her.
My copy of this book was provided, gratis, by the publisher, Arcadia Books.
June 9, 2020
Kisa ama cok etkileyici. Kelime anlami ile bir polisiye degil ama hapishaneden kacis, basarisiz bir soygun, sonrasindaki gelismeleri inceleyen ve suclulari ortaya cikaran "gercek ve algi" uzerine cok basarili bir roman.
Fransiz kadin yazar Manotti tarihci olmanin avantaji ile cok detayli bir donem romani yazmis. Fransa'da politik multeci olarak yasayan solcu Italyanlar arasinda geciyor.
Fransiz kadin yazar Manotti tarihci olmanin avantaji ile cok detayli bir donem romani yazmis. Fransa'da politik multeci olarak yasayan solcu Italyanlar arasinda geciyor.
September 9, 2018
İletişim Yayınlarının siyasi polisiyelerini okuduktan sonra alternatif kitaplar ararken rast gelmiş ve hemen okumak istedim. Editoryal açıdan çok özensiz ve savruk bir çeviriyle karşılaştım. Belki bu nedenle beklediğim tadı alamadım. Evet kitap siyasi ama bence polisiye değil.
August 11, 2022
As good as ever.
A complex and weirdly romantic political thriller subtended by Manotti's hallmark attention to the homoerotic, to a sensuous yet scary violence, written in her staccato fast forward prose. Translation BRILLIANT.
A complex and weirdly romantic political thriller subtended by Manotti's hallmark attention to the homoerotic, to a sensuous yet scary violence, written in her staccato fast forward prose. Translation BRILLIANT.
March 18, 2021
Didn't actually finish it (Goodreads should have a 'gave up' option) but I don't know why. Not bad but I couldn't get into it.
September 8, 2016
Escape is my first encounter with Dominique Manotti – a French crime novelist and specialist in the economic history of the 19th Century – and it’s a very enjoyable one indeed.
The novel opens in 1987 with the escape of Filippo and Carlo from an Italian prison. For the past six months, Filippo, a simple petty criminal from Rome, has been sharing a cell with Carlo, a former leading figure in the left-wing Red Brigades movement. During this time young Filippo has been in thrall to Carlo, mesmerised by his charismatic cellmate’s story of activism and violence against the authorities.
Carlo has engineered his escape via the prison’s waste-disposal chute, and Filippo, who happens to be in the right place at the right time, dives into the rubbish skip to join his cellmate as he makes his exit. Carlo’s associates are waiting for him on the other side, but no one wants Filippo tagging along for the ride. As a result, Carlo sends Filippo on his way with some sage advice, words that continue to flit through Filippo’s mind during the days and months to come:
‘We part company here.’ He places a canvas bag at Filippo’s feet. ‘I’ve put everything I could find in the cars in there for you. Clothes, two sandwiches, and some money.’ Carlo pauses, Filippo says nothing. ‘My escape will be in the news, I think. And they’ll be looking for you, because you broke out with me. You’ll have to keep a low profile for a while, until things settle down.’ A pause. Filippo still saying nothing. ‘Do you understand what I’m telling you?’
A nod. Filippo continues to gaze at the mountains.
‘If things get too tough here in Italy, go over to France. Here on this envelope, I’ve written the address of Lisa Biaggi, in Paris. Go there and say I sent you, tell her what happened. She’ll help you.’ Filippo takes the envelope without looking at Carlo and slips it in the bag. Carlo stands up.
‘Goodbye, Filippo. Take care of yourself.’
And he leaves, walking fast and without turning round. (pg. 5, Arcadia Books)
Carlo’s swift departure leaves Filippo feeling bereft and abandoned. He decides to head north across the mountain paths and two or three weeks later, he hits Bologna. On his arrival in the city, Filippo buys a newspaper and reads of Carlo’s death during an attempted bank raid in Milan. Moreover, two of Carlo’s accomplices were observed fleeing the scene leaving a member of the carabinieri and a security guard for dead. Filippo quickly realises he’s almost certainly a prime suspect for the crime, and skips to Paris in search of Lisa.
You can read the rest of my review here:
https://jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2014...
The novel opens in 1987 with the escape of Filippo and Carlo from an Italian prison. For the past six months, Filippo, a simple petty criminal from Rome, has been sharing a cell with Carlo, a former leading figure in the left-wing Red Brigades movement. During this time young Filippo has been in thrall to Carlo, mesmerised by his charismatic cellmate’s story of activism and violence against the authorities.
Carlo has engineered his escape via the prison’s waste-disposal chute, and Filippo, who happens to be in the right place at the right time, dives into the rubbish skip to join his cellmate as he makes his exit. Carlo’s associates are waiting for him on the other side, but no one wants Filippo tagging along for the ride. As a result, Carlo sends Filippo on his way with some sage advice, words that continue to flit through Filippo’s mind during the days and months to come:
‘We part company here.’ He places a canvas bag at Filippo’s feet. ‘I’ve put everything I could find in the cars in there for you. Clothes, two sandwiches, and some money.’ Carlo pauses, Filippo says nothing. ‘My escape will be in the news, I think. And they’ll be looking for you, because you broke out with me. You’ll have to keep a low profile for a while, until things settle down.’ A pause. Filippo still saying nothing. ‘Do you understand what I’m telling you?’
A nod. Filippo continues to gaze at the mountains.
‘If things get too tough here in Italy, go over to France. Here on this envelope, I’ve written the address of Lisa Biaggi, in Paris. Go there and say I sent you, tell her what happened. She’ll help you.’ Filippo takes the envelope without looking at Carlo and slips it in the bag. Carlo stands up.
‘Goodbye, Filippo. Take care of yourself.’
And he leaves, walking fast and without turning round. (pg. 5, Arcadia Books)
Carlo’s swift departure leaves Filippo feeling bereft and abandoned. He decides to head north across the mountain paths and two or three weeks later, he hits Bologna. On his arrival in the city, Filippo buys a newspaper and reads of Carlo’s death during an attempted bank raid in Milan. Moreover, two of Carlo’s accomplices were observed fleeing the scene leaving a member of the carabinieri and a security guard for dead. Filippo quickly realises he’s almost certainly a prime suspect for the crime, and skips to Paris in search of Lisa.
You can read the rest of my review here:
https://jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2014...
February 9, 2015
I have long been interested in the political history in Italy in the seventies and eighties, the so-called ‘years of lead’, when left wing paramilitary groups and right wing extremists in the military and police were locked in a shadowy, violent conflict. Dominique Manotti’s Escape is set in the late eighties and deals with the aftermath of that conflict. Filippo is a common street hood that shares a prison cell with Carlos, a charismatic former Red Brigade member. On a whim, Filippo joins a successful escape attempt by Carlo. Carlo gives his former cellmate money and instructions to seek assistance from his ex-girlfriend, Lisa, now in exile in Paris. Carlos is subsequently killed in a bank heist. Lisa becomes obsessed with investigating Carlos’s death, which she believes was set up by right wing elements of the Italian state, keen to eliminate former Red Brigade members. Meanwhile, Filippo has relocated to France and written a novel based on his relationship with Carlos, which also inserts himself into the failed heist story. The book becomes the toast of the Paris literary establishment. It also arouses Lisa’s suspicions and, more dangerously, attracts the attention of certain senior members of the Italian state.
Good political crime fiction is hard to pull off, but Manotti strikes just the right balance. There’s political intrigue as well as some fantastic detail about the ‘years of lead’ and the strange emotional and political no man’s land inhabited by exiles like Lisa. Terrific stuff.
Good political crime fiction is hard to pull off, but Manotti strikes just the right balance. There’s political intrigue as well as some fantastic detail about the ‘years of lead’ and the strange emotional and political no man’s land inhabited by exiles like Lisa. Terrific stuff.
November 11, 2015
Yesterday Manotti's most recently translated novel arrived in the mail. Eagerly, I read it in a couple sittings and am sad to say Escape was not very interesting. The pace is off entirely, the political history behind its plot points is convoluted and not particularly engaging (in this respect it reminded me of the background of Massimo Carlotto's "Alligator" novels). Her protagonist, a small-time criminal who (improbably) becomes a celebrated Parisian writer for his first fiction, is a delightful confection – but he's overshadowed by political machinations, as is the confused, confounded reader.
Don't mistake me: Manotti is a terrific writer. I consider Rough Trade one of the very best examples of Euro Crime, as good as and even edgier than the first books by Fred Vargas. But, for me, this book was a dud. Other Goodreads reviewers tell a different story; maybe they read her better. I wouldn't want to discourage fans of crime fiction from discovering her work.
Don't mistake me: Manotti is a terrific writer. I consider Rough Trade one of the very best examples of Euro Crime, as good as and even edgier than the first books by Fred Vargas. But, for me, this book was a dud. Other Goodreads reviewers tell a different story; maybe they read her better. I wouldn't want to discourage fans of crime fiction from discovering her work.
January 9, 2015
If I had an hesitation before putting this on my 'to be read' list it would have been that I feared it's over-political tones. That is after all the theme of the novel, the Red Brigade in 1970s Italy. However these would have been unfounded. This is a very different short novel that will interest the majority of readers.
Felippo escapes from prison. Exactly how he escapes is subject to debate, but he relocates to Paris and then, as a young and relatively uneducated Italian, he writes the story and becomes famous. Alongside this are the actions of the Red Brigade at that time, and of exiled Italian refugees in Paris.
It is short, at most times page-turning, and builds to a fine climax.
Felippo escapes from prison. Exactly how he escapes is subject to debate, but he relocates to Paris and then, as a young and relatively uneducated Italian, he writes the story and becomes famous. Alongside this are the actions of the Red Brigade at that time, and of exiled Italian refugees in Paris.
It is short, at most times page-turning, and builds to a fine climax.
July 13, 2014
Escape.
A political thriller set in the 1980s in Italy and France.
I didn't understand most of the politics but I did enjoy the story set around them.
I quite liked Filippo , indeed had some sympathy in the beginning. But when he started to write his second novel my opinion altered. My favourite character was Lisa who was dedicated to her cause and also to finding out the truth about her former lover's murder.
Many thanks to Arcadia Books for sending me a copy of this novel.
A political thriller set in the 1980s in Italy and France.
I didn't understand most of the politics but I did enjoy the story set around them.
I quite liked Filippo , indeed had some sympathy in the beginning. But when he started to write his second novel my opinion altered. My favourite character was Lisa who was dedicated to her cause and also to finding out the truth about her former lover's murder.
Many thanks to Arcadia Books for sending me a copy of this novel.
December 20, 2014
I did not like this book at all.The MC were despicable, the plot boring.I am sure going to forget this (fortunatively short) story.
May 9, 2024
Πολύ καλό, στο τέλος όμως αφήνει ένα κενό, σαν να έγιναν όλα βιαστικά
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