Cauchemar dans la rue

by Derek Raymond, Robin Cook, David Sala

Pas facile d'être flic à Paris. Encore moins lorsqu'on refuse de fermer les yeux devant les dérives de ses collègues. Kléber en fait l'amère expérience au quotidien. Une nuit maudite, il prend la défense d'un ami et descend trois truands. Mauvais réflexe, mauvais choix : le lendemain, sa voiture explose. Mais si la bombe lui était destinée, ce n'est pas lui qui se trouvait au volant. C'était sa femme, Elenya. Que reste-t-il alors, hormis la vengeance, à un homme à qui l'on ravit la seule chose qui pouvait encore le préserver de la chute ? Une tragique histoire d'errance commence, violente et désespérée. Le fantôme enveloppant d'Elenya s'immisce dans le réel de Kléber, tandis que se profile le rendez-vous avec la mort...

Genres: Crime, Noir

100 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1988

About the author

Aka Robin Cook.

Pen name for Robert William Arthur Cook. Born into privilege, Raymond attended Eton before completing his National Service. Raymond moved to France in the 50's before eventually returning to London in the 60's. His first book, 'Crust on its Uppers,' released in 1962 under his real name, was well-received but brought few sales. Moving through Italy he abandoned writing before returning to London. In 1984 he released the first of the Factory Series, 'He Died With His Eyes Open' under the name Derek Raymond. Following 'The Devil's Home On Leave' and 'How The Dead Live' he released his major work 'I Was Dora Suarez' in 1990. His memoirs were released as 'The Hidden Files'.

Reviews

[Jan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm a fan of Derek Raymond's Factory series, and my husband bought me Nightmare on the Street because I'm a completist. Posthumously published, this forgotten typescript reads like a skeleton of ideas waiting for the flesh of narrative flow to be added. I skim-read huge chunks of text where lots of words were saying nothing much. I'd hazard a guess that only a fifth of the book is actually story with a plot.

On the whole, it's a mixture of polemic and dialectics - almost like reading the ravings of a madman having a conversation with himself. It made me think of Wilde or Coward in tone on a couple of occasions.

It's more a ghost story than a crime novel. Crimes happen, but they're not that significant to the story. Only one crime matters, and it leaves the main character haunted and raving with madness.

There are echoes of scenes in the Factory novels - a chippy detective at odds with the system who believes himself to be morally superior and is fond of punching higher ranking officers finds himself suspended. A couple of the ideas in this typescript were certainly used in the final Factory book, which makes me wonder whether Raymond abandoned the typescript for a reason.

There's a line on page 171 that sums up the tone of the book: "He thought he had probably never grown up much after sixteen." The florid, over emotional outbursts about love and justice are quite juvenile in tone, especially the daydreaming about Madonna-Slut stereotypical women.

In all, I think it would have been better to leave this 2/5s work unpublished. If you're a Factory series aficionado, give it a miss. You'll be disappointed.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't really explain why I am giving this such a high rating – there were times when it was repetitive, it's very wordy, with lots of long sentences of exposition, and very, very negative – and yet it created a mood so effectively that I felt drawn into the book, like I was also trapped in the underbelly of Paris and the ex-policeman's deteriorating life. At first I didn't like the author's style, but as the book went on it drew me in and the author did an amazing job of capturing the despair of the main character in the setting. It's not the best book I ever read – and I'm not sure if I want to read more books like this – but it definitely made an emotional impact.

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three stars is generous, but it's a must for fans of Raymond's Factory series. Kleber is a lot like the Nameless Detective in those books, but Nightmare barely holds together. It's full of lovey-dovey gibberish and adolescent pondering about the meaning of life. It does, however, subvert the doomed cop/redemption story, so it's not a complete loss. Still, if you haven't read the Factory books, don't bother with this one.

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting gothic sort of ultra-noir crime novel, but just plain depressing. Gorgeous at points, but not all that convincing. Beautiful but haphazard. More like a one-star plot execution, but two extra stars for the completely amazing tone, atmosphere and style. The guy's an incredible writer, I'm just not sure this was a novel.

[Greg D'Avis · Rating 3 out of 5]

The "Factory" novels are among my favorites -- this, unfortunately, is a good short novel with a whole lot of repetitive padding. After the first few chapters it settles into a pattern -- Kleber gets drunk, Kleber mourns, Kleber busts up a bar, before it gets to the inevitable end. There are signs of the things that made the "Factory" novels so great -- they just aren't consistently there.

[Antonio Vena · Rating 4 out of 5]

caruccio.

[Guy Salvidge · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately there isn't much good to say about this one. Unpublished in English at the time of the author's death, it's an extremely thinly-plotted crime novel set in Paris. Basically, there's this guy Kleber who is reminiscent of Raymond's other protagonists in that he's an abrasive know it all with a heart of gold. There only thing he likes is his wife Elenya, but then she gets blown up. Before that he kills three guys to help his criminal chum (Kleber's a cop but about to be fired for misconduct) and eventually another villain puts him out of his misery. Some poignant ruminations about death in here, but overall this is a bad misfire.

[Hex75 · Rating 3 out of 5]

non il miglior derek raymond, ma pur sempre un derek raymond, cioè un libro migliore della maggior parte in circolazione. purtroppo però troppo luoghi comuni del "poliziotto duro ma onesto che vive in strada e odia i colleghi" nella prima parte rendono noiosetta la lettura: ed è un peccato, perchè poi diventa un viaggio nella disperazione, senza salvezza e lieto fine, e quello è un territorio dove raymond è scrittore di razza superiore.

[T.O. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very smoothly read, but too many conversations with the deceased which in my opinion made the book a bit unrealistic. Regardless, it was hard to put the book down. Since this is my first try at Derek Raymond, I will try his Factory series soon.

[J2e · Rating 1 out of 5]

Crap.