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Arab Jazz
Kosher sushi, kebab stands, a secondhand bookstore, and a the 19th arrondissement in Paris has all the trappings of a cosmopolitan melting pot--a place where multiethnic citizens live, love, and worship alongside one another. But dark passions are brewing beneath the seemingly idyllic vision of peacefully coexisting ethnicities.
Ahmed Taroudant is an archetypal French Arab-non-observant, unable to reconcile his conflicting identities, and troubled by the past. A crime fiction connoisseur, Ahmed is engrossed in his latest book when he finds blood dripping from his upstairs neighbor's apartment. There, Laura Vignole is found brutally murdered, with a joint of pork placed near her body, prompting the obvious conclusion that the killer had religious motives. As the neighborhood erupts into speculation and gossip, Ahmed finds himself first among many suspects.
Detectives Rachel Kupferstein and Jean Hamelot attempt to untangle the complex web of events leading up to Laura's death, but truth is hard to come by, with each inhabitant--an Armenian anarchist, a Turkish kebab-shop owner, and a Hasidic Rastafarian--reluctant to reveal anything. Determined to clear his name, Ahmed joins the detectives as they investigate the connection between a disbanded hip-hop group and the fiery extremist preachers clamoring for attention in the streets. Meanwhile, an ecstasy variant called Godzwill is taking the district by storm.
In his debut novel, Karim Miské demonstrates a masterful control of setting, as he moves effortlessly between the sensual streets of Paris and the synagogues of New York to reveal the truth behind a horrifying crime.
Ahmed Taroudant is an archetypal French Arab-non-observant, unable to reconcile his conflicting identities, and troubled by the past. A crime fiction connoisseur, Ahmed is engrossed in his latest book when he finds blood dripping from his upstairs neighbor's apartment. There, Laura Vignole is found brutally murdered, with a joint of pork placed near her body, prompting the obvious conclusion that the killer had religious motives. As the neighborhood erupts into speculation and gossip, Ahmed finds himself first among many suspects.
Detectives Rachel Kupferstein and Jean Hamelot attempt to untangle the complex web of events leading up to Laura's death, but truth is hard to come by, with each inhabitant--an Armenian anarchist, a Turkish kebab-shop owner, and a Hasidic Rastafarian--reluctant to reveal anything. Determined to clear his name, Ahmed joins the detectives as they investigate the connection between a disbanded hip-hop group and the fiery extremist preachers clamoring for attention in the streets. Meanwhile, an ecstasy variant called Godzwill is taking the district by storm.
In his debut novel, Karim Miské demonstrates a masterful control of setting, as he moves effortlessly between the sensual streets of Paris and the synagogues of New York to reveal the truth behind a horrifying crime.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published March 15, 2012
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840 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 151 reviews
March 4, 2023
What an enjoyable read this was! Very interesting setting in one of the multiculti arrondissements of Paris. A neighborhood where you are curious about, but never visit. This neighborhood is boiling over with resentments, fanatical religious zeal of any sort of denomination and small and bigger criminals, which makes up for a rather toxic mix. At the same time, it is a relief to read that it is possible to keep yourself aside from all the turmoil if you go about your own business and not pay attention.
The story starts off immediately on page 1 when the body of a murdered Air France stewardess is found, a woman who was generally liked by all, including muslims, Hasidic Jews and non-believers. She lived above Ahmed, a reclusive guy with a sweet temper, whose apartment is so stacked up with detective novels that it is realistic to assume that he will not be able to walk around in a normal way in a year or two, the stacks being already three piles thick in width. Ahmed decides to shake off his lethargy, stop reading and try to find the murderer of his neighbor. He liked her and she was actually the only person whom he ever talked to. He becomes a very useful helper to the two police inspectors assigned to the case. The inspectors themselves have their own special little hang-ups and backgrounds and are very likeable characters. They follow the trail of former members of a hip-hop artists group, who turned religious purely out of love for provocation and who are following a self proclaimed converted psychotic nutcase, turned falafist preacher. It gets messy, especially when the trail also leads to Chasidic jews and vicious Jehova Witnesses. Sounds like a handfull of religious nuts? Well, it is!
I thought the book is very well written and very funny at times. I really enjoyed to read a novel situated in one of those notorious arrondissements of Paris. You always wonder how life feels there, doesn’t it. Well, now you can find out!
The story starts off immediately on page 1 when the body of a murdered Air France stewardess is found, a woman who was generally liked by all, including muslims, Hasidic Jews and non-believers. She lived above Ahmed, a reclusive guy with a sweet temper, whose apartment is so stacked up with detective novels that it is realistic to assume that he will not be able to walk around in a normal way in a year or two, the stacks being already three piles thick in width. Ahmed decides to shake off his lethargy, stop reading and try to find the murderer of his neighbor. He liked her and she was actually the only person whom he ever talked to. He becomes a very useful helper to the two police inspectors assigned to the case. The inspectors themselves have their own special little hang-ups and backgrounds and are very likeable characters. They follow the trail of former members of a hip-hop artists group, who turned religious purely out of love for provocation and who are following a self proclaimed converted psychotic nutcase, turned falafist preacher. It gets messy, especially when the trail also leads to Chasidic jews and vicious Jehova Witnesses. Sounds like a handfull of religious nuts? Well, it is!
I thought the book is very well written and very funny at times. I really enjoyed to read a novel situated in one of those notorious arrondissements of Paris. You always wonder how life feels there, doesn’t it. Well, now you can find out!
February 26, 2015
"Everything is a dangerous drug except reality, which is unendurable"
----Cyril Vernon Connolly, an English intellectual, literary critic and writer
Karim Miské, a French-Mauritanian writer and director of French documentary films, penned his debut novel, Arab Jazz, a crime thriller set across the 19th arrondissement of Paris and New York, centered around drug trafficking, Salafist Muslims, Jews and Jehovah's witnesses.
Synopsis:
Kosher sushi, kebabs, a second hand bookshop and a bar: the 19th arrondissement in Paris is a cosmopolitan neighborhood where multicultural citizens live, love and worship alongside one another. This peace is shattered when Ahmed Taroudant's melancholy daydreams are interrupted by the blood dripping from his upstairs neighbor's brutally mutilated corpse.
The violent murder of Laura Vignole, and the pork joint placed next to her, set imaginations ablaze across the neighborhood, and Ahmed finds himself the prime suspect. However detectives Rachel Kupferstein and Jean Hamelot are not short of leads. What is the connection between a disbanded hip-hop group and the fiery extremist preachers that jostle in the streets for attention? And what is the mysterious new pill that is taking the district by storm?
In this his debut novel, Karim Miské demonstrates a masterful control of setting, as he moves seamlessly between the sensual streets of Paris and the synagogues of New York to reveal the truth behind a horrifying crime.
Ahmed Taroudant, a psychotic, French Arab man living in an apartment in the 19th arrondissement of Paris, who loves to daydream and read crime thrillers to escape from the harsh present and haunting past demons. One fine afternoon, he finds his beautiful neighbor, Laura, an air-hostess, murdered and badly mutilated in her apartment right above his. And that is when he realizes that he too was in love with Laura. But it is clear that whoever murdered Laura, has planned it well to put the blame on Ahmed. But in the eyes of the detectives, Rachel Kupferstein and Jean Hamelot, Ahmed is just a pawn. More digging into Laura's past brings up the buried secrets about Jehovah's witnesses, a religious hip-hop band making songs about Muslim Salafism movement, a drug named Godzwill, an old barber shop and the head quarter in Brooklyn . But what is that to do with Laura? Is she the victim of some extremist religious group? Read the book, which is translated by Sam Gordon from French to English.
Sam Gordon did full justice to Karim Miské's engrossing thriller. The book started bit slow with Ahmed buys books from Paul- a bookseller by weighing them in tonnes. The story began with Ahmed's narration who from the very first page came across as a man who is mentally disrupted, who loved to live in his uninterrupted dream world. The author vividly painted the picture of Paris where Muslims lived along with the Jews. He detailed the picture so intricately that you can almost smell the delicious food across the kosher and kebab shops and you can almost take a walk on the footpath of the cosmopolitan neighborhood in Paris.
The prose is absolutely fantastic, yes sometimes it might be difficult to picture everything at a time from a hip-hop band preaching the Salafism, to the strict rules followed on being a Jehovah's witness to the making of a mysterious drug. The investigation is the best thing in the book with Jean and Rachel whose characters evolve as the story progresses. The characters are strongly built and are diverse. The author's writing is easy to understand and free-flowing enough to captivate our minds with the extreme religious disadvantages. The author even moves back and forth in time to reveal the mystery behind Laura's death from the head quarter of Jehovah's witness in New York to the current time with Ahmed, Rachel and Jean in Paris. But from the narrative, it sounded more like a literary fiction instead of a crime thriller. The mystery is not that well-captured, since the narratives turned out to be way too revealing. In short, a complicated novel that is easy to contemplate and easy to lose into. The name Arab Jazz is symbolized from James Ellroy's White Jazz novel and has nothing to do with jazz and we learn about it almost in the beginning when Rachel and Jean comes to investigate Laura's murder with Ahmed for the first time.
Verdict: Grab the book if you want to taste something different and twisted in the crime genre.
Courtesy: Thanks to the author's publicist from Quercus Publishing, for giving me an opportunity to read and review Miské's book.
----Cyril Vernon Connolly, an English intellectual, literary critic and writer
Karim Miské, a French-Mauritanian writer and director of French documentary films, penned his debut novel, Arab Jazz, a crime thriller set across the 19th arrondissement of Paris and New York, centered around drug trafficking, Salafist Muslims, Jews and Jehovah's witnesses.
Synopsis:
Kosher sushi, kebabs, a second hand bookshop and a bar: the 19th arrondissement in Paris is a cosmopolitan neighborhood where multicultural citizens live, love and worship alongside one another. This peace is shattered when Ahmed Taroudant's melancholy daydreams are interrupted by the blood dripping from his upstairs neighbor's brutally mutilated corpse.
The violent murder of Laura Vignole, and the pork joint placed next to her, set imaginations ablaze across the neighborhood, and Ahmed finds himself the prime suspect. However detectives Rachel Kupferstein and Jean Hamelot are not short of leads. What is the connection between a disbanded hip-hop group and the fiery extremist preachers that jostle in the streets for attention? And what is the mysterious new pill that is taking the district by storm?
In this his debut novel, Karim Miské demonstrates a masterful control of setting, as he moves seamlessly between the sensual streets of Paris and the synagogues of New York to reveal the truth behind a horrifying crime.
Ahmed Taroudant, a psychotic, French Arab man living in an apartment in the 19th arrondissement of Paris, who loves to daydream and read crime thrillers to escape from the harsh present and haunting past demons. One fine afternoon, he finds his beautiful neighbor, Laura, an air-hostess, murdered and badly mutilated in her apartment right above his. And that is when he realizes that he too was in love with Laura. But it is clear that whoever murdered Laura, has planned it well to put the blame on Ahmed. But in the eyes of the detectives, Rachel Kupferstein and Jean Hamelot, Ahmed is just a pawn. More digging into Laura's past brings up the buried secrets about Jehovah's witnesses, a religious hip-hop band making songs about Muslim Salafism movement, a drug named Godzwill, an old barber shop and the head quarter in Brooklyn . But what is that to do with Laura? Is she the victim of some extremist religious group? Read the book, which is translated by Sam Gordon from French to English.
Sam Gordon did full justice to Karim Miské's engrossing thriller. The book started bit slow with Ahmed buys books from Paul- a bookseller by weighing them in tonnes. The story began with Ahmed's narration who from the very first page came across as a man who is mentally disrupted, who loved to live in his uninterrupted dream world. The author vividly painted the picture of Paris where Muslims lived along with the Jews. He detailed the picture so intricately that you can almost smell the delicious food across the kosher and kebab shops and you can almost take a walk on the footpath of the cosmopolitan neighborhood in Paris.
The prose is absolutely fantastic, yes sometimes it might be difficult to picture everything at a time from a hip-hop band preaching the Salafism, to the strict rules followed on being a Jehovah's witness to the making of a mysterious drug. The investigation is the best thing in the book with Jean and Rachel whose characters evolve as the story progresses. The characters are strongly built and are diverse. The author's writing is easy to understand and free-flowing enough to captivate our minds with the extreme religious disadvantages. The author even moves back and forth in time to reveal the mystery behind Laura's death from the head quarter of Jehovah's witness in New York to the current time with Ahmed, Rachel and Jean in Paris. But from the narrative, it sounded more like a literary fiction instead of a crime thriller. The mystery is not that well-captured, since the narratives turned out to be way too revealing. In short, a complicated novel that is easy to contemplate and easy to lose into. The name Arab Jazz is symbolized from James Ellroy's White Jazz novel and has nothing to do with jazz and we learn about it almost in the beginning when Rachel and Jean comes to investigate Laura's murder with Ahmed for the first time.
Verdict: Grab the book if you want to taste something different and twisted in the crime genre.
Courtesy: Thanks to the author's publicist from Quercus Publishing, for giving me an opportunity to read and review Miské's book.
January 25, 2015
This award-winning debut novel was published in 2012, but poignantly echoes real life events in the Paris in which it is set, especially after the Charlie Hebdo murders. Indeed, the magazine even receives a brief mention in the novel, as does the controversial comedian Dieudonne.
This is not the Paris of romance and history, but is firmly rooted in current events and reality – to be precise, the 19th arrondissement in a multi-cultural neighbourhood. Laura Vignole is an air stewardess for Air France and her murdered body is discovered by her downstairs neighbour, Ahmed Taroudant. The savage attack, along with a slab of pork, left on her table with a knife stabbed through it, leaves Ahmed in an awkward situation. He had a key for Laura’s apartment as he watered her plants and it was well known that she was in love with him. As the main suspect, Ahmed decides he has to clear his name. This is easier said than done, as after a difficult childhood and a tragic event in his life, he has become a recluse –venturing from his apartment only to stock up on mystery books. However, his sudden awareness that he has something to fight for, gives him a reason to live again. Of course, Ahmed is not the only person investigating the murder. Detectives Rachel Kupferstein and Jean Hemelot are charged with finding Laura’s murder.
This is not your usual crime novel and falls somewhere between a mystery and literary fiction. It asks some serious questions – why do some young men become alienated in the society they are living in and it also examines extreme religion and fundamentalism. This novel does not just look at Islam in this role though - the victim, Laura, had friends who were both muslim and Jewish and was herself from a strict family of Jehovah Witnesses. Rachel and Jean investigate what role the brothers of her friends had in what happened and this novel will take us from radical Islam, fundamentalist Christianity and radical Judaism and from mosques in Paris to the headquarters of the Jehovah Witnesses in New York. With multi-cultural tension, drugs and corruption in the police force, this novel looks at the extremes of religion and how it affects society.
The characters are realistic, with Rachel Kupferstein and her partner Jean Hemelot, intelligent and caring, while the storyline has good pace. However, for me, the most interesting – and sympathetic – character was Ahmed. A sensitive and kind young man, his emerging from his book lined apartment onto the streets of Paris was brave indeed and you really want him to find a way to succeed and live again. Lastly, I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.
This is not the Paris of romance and history, but is firmly rooted in current events and reality – to be precise, the 19th arrondissement in a multi-cultural neighbourhood. Laura Vignole is an air stewardess for Air France and her murdered body is discovered by her downstairs neighbour, Ahmed Taroudant. The savage attack, along with a slab of pork, left on her table with a knife stabbed through it, leaves Ahmed in an awkward situation. He had a key for Laura’s apartment as he watered her plants and it was well known that she was in love with him. As the main suspect, Ahmed decides he has to clear his name. This is easier said than done, as after a difficult childhood and a tragic event in his life, he has become a recluse –venturing from his apartment only to stock up on mystery books. However, his sudden awareness that he has something to fight for, gives him a reason to live again. Of course, Ahmed is not the only person investigating the murder. Detectives Rachel Kupferstein and Jean Hemelot are charged with finding Laura’s murder.
This is not your usual crime novel and falls somewhere between a mystery and literary fiction. It asks some serious questions – why do some young men become alienated in the society they are living in and it also examines extreme religion and fundamentalism. This novel does not just look at Islam in this role though - the victim, Laura, had friends who were both muslim and Jewish and was herself from a strict family of Jehovah Witnesses. Rachel and Jean investigate what role the brothers of her friends had in what happened and this novel will take us from radical Islam, fundamentalist Christianity and radical Judaism and from mosques in Paris to the headquarters of the Jehovah Witnesses in New York. With multi-cultural tension, drugs and corruption in the police force, this novel looks at the extremes of religion and how it affects society.
The characters are realistic, with Rachel Kupferstein and her partner Jean Hemelot, intelligent and caring, while the storyline has good pace. However, for me, the most interesting – and sympathetic – character was Ahmed. A sensitive and kind young man, his emerging from his book lined apartment onto the streets of Paris was brave indeed and you really want him to find a way to succeed and live again. Lastly, I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.
June 19, 2019
Ενδιαφέρουσα περίπτωση το Arab Jazz. Ένα βραδυφλεγές (πολύ μ' αρέσει αυτή η λέξη) μυθιστόρημα με έντονο όμως χρωματισμό. Η δράση, πλην ελάχιστων εξαιρέσεων, απουσιάζει πλήρως, αντικαθίσταται όμως από τους πολύ καλοδουλεμένους χαρακτήρες.
Συν τοις άλλοις, είναι ένα μυθιστόρημα με έντονο κοινωνικό ενδιαφέρον, μπλέκοντας τον φονταμενταλισμό διαφόρων θρησκειών, και πώς αυτός είναι η λύση στην εκμετάλλευση πιστών, με το μίσος των γαλλικών προαστίων (πού 'σαι ρε Λεξ;) αλλά και με τον χρωματισμό και τα αρώματα που βρίσκονται διάσπαρτα στις πολυπολιτισμικές περιοχές.
Σίγουρα δεν είναι ένα βιβλίο για τους λάτρεις της δράσης και των γρήγορων αστυνομικών μυθιστορημάτων, αλλά οι λάτρεις του Attia, του Izzo, του Trevanian κλπ θα εκτιμήσουν σίγουρα δεόντως.
Συν τοις άλλοις, είναι ένα μυθιστόρημα με έντονο κοινωνικό ενδιαφέρον, μπλέκοντας τον φονταμενταλισμό διαφόρων θρησκειών, και πώς αυτός είναι η λύση στην εκμετάλλευση πιστών, με το μίσος των γαλλικών προαστίων (πού 'σαι ρε Λεξ;) αλλά και με τον χρωματισμό και τα αρώματα που βρίσκονται διάσπαρτα στις πολυπολιτισμικές περιοχές.
Σίγουρα δεν είναι ένα βιβλίο για τους λάτρεις της δράσης και των γρήγορων αστυνομικών μυθιστορημάτων, αλλά οι λάτρεις του Attia, του Izzo, του Trevanian κλπ θα εκτιμήσουν σίγουρα δεόντως.
February 8, 2015
Sometimes, when reviewing books regularly there is an almost fixed template in your mind to construct your thoughts and feelings about a book. You provide an overview of the waxing and waning of a plot, the strength of the characterisation, the use of location and so on to formulate your critique. However, occasionally you are confronted with a book where you cannot resort to this more simplistic template, and even begin to question your own ability to find the words to describe your reading experience of the book in question. This is the dilemma I faced with Arab Jazz. So I will bumble on in my own sweet way- bear with me reader…
I read this book a few weeks ago immediately in the aftermath of the horrific events in Paris which stunned and shocked us all. Perhaps reading this book at such an apposite time provided me with a more visceral reaction to the book, but in hindsight, the strong messages that Miske conveys throughout the book regarding religious tolerance and intolerance are entirely in tune with the contemporary social tensions raised by religious difference. Casting its light on three secular groups, comprising of Muslims, Jews and Jehovah’s Witnesses, Miske provides a balanced and objective study of all three, impartially conveying to the reader the best and worst aspects of all and the protagonists linked to each. Instead, he succinctly reveals the human failings and frailties of each, the black shadow of fundamentalism, and the propensity for greed and violence no matter what faith or race defines you. The melting pot of characters, and the differing natures of their personal interactions form the very heart of this novel, across faiths, class, occupations and even continents (as the action pivots out to America) , thus transcending this book above any conventional tag of a ‘crime novel’, and leading us to the beating heart of a multicultural, multi-faith contemporary European city. In some ways this feels like a love letter to Miske’s adopted city, powerfully illustrating the frustrations inherent in modern society, but by the same token, replete with a sense of the author’s love for this complicated and multi-faceted city. It works beautifully when combined with the socio-political issues of the book, and our own newly formed perceptions of Parisian society.
The central crime of the novel is the hook to add all of Miske’s weightier issues on to, and works well with this in mind. With his two disparate police protagonists- both strong and engaging characters- the plot unfolds at a good pace, slowly inveigling the separate groups of characters that Miske introduces us to, with their singular ways of life and beliefs. The opening murder also gives the author the added scope to introduce a most tentative and heartfelt, albeit slightly stumbling, love affairs that I have ever read, that carries all the simplistic honesty of those great love affairs from classic fiction, and adds a residual warmth to the more weighty issues that Miske addresses.
This is an intelligent, multi-layered and objective novel, that will make you think and increase your awareness of the differences that lay at the heart of any modern society. Aside from a few less fluid passages- perhaps slightly lost in translation- the book consistently flows in pace and plot. You will feel emotionally invested in the character’s lives, and most importantly of all feel that you have read a book that deserves to be read. And if this one doesn’t feature in my books of the year, I will eat my own foot. Possibly.
I read this book a few weeks ago immediately in the aftermath of the horrific events in Paris which stunned and shocked us all. Perhaps reading this book at such an apposite time provided me with a more visceral reaction to the book, but in hindsight, the strong messages that Miske conveys throughout the book regarding religious tolerance and intolerance are entirely in tune with the contemporary social tensions raised by religious difference. Casting its light on three secular groups, comprising of Muslims, Jews and Jehovah’s Witnesses, Miske provides a balanced and objective study of all three, impartially conveying to the reader the best and worst aspects of all and the protagonists linked to each. Instead, he succinctly reveals the human failings and frailties of each, the black shadow of fundamentalism, and the propensity for greed and violence no matter what faith or race defines you. The melting pot of characters, and the differing natures of their personal interactions form the very heart of this novel, across faiths, class, occupations and even continents (as the action pivots out to America) , thus transcending this book above any conventional tag of a ‘crime novel’, and leading us to the beating heart of a multicultural, multi-faith contemporary European city. In some ways this feels like a love letter to Miske’s adopted city, powerfully illustrating the frustrations inherent in modern society, but by the same token, replete with a sense of the author’s love for this complicated and multi-faceted city. It works beautifully when combined with the socio-political issues of the book, and our own newly formed perceptions of Parisian society.
The central crime of the novel is the hook to add all of Miske’s weightier issues on to, and works well with this in mind. With his two disparate police protagonists- both strong and engaging characters- the plot unfolds at a good pace, slowly inveigling the separate groups of characters that Miske introduces us to, with their singular ways of life and beliefs. The opening murder also gives the author the added scope to introduce a most tentative and heartfelt, albeit slightly stumbling, love affairs that I have ever read, that carries all the simplistic honesty of those great love affairs from classic fiction, and adds a residual warmth to the more weighty issues that Miske addresses.
This is an intelligent, multi-layered and objective novel, that will make you think and increase your awareness of the differences that lay at the heart of any modern society. Aside from a few less fluid passages- perhaps slightly lost in translation- the book consistently flows in pace and plot. You will feel emotionally invested in the character’s lives, and most importantly of all feel that you have read a book that deserves to be read. And if this one doesn’t feature in my books of the year, I will eat my own foot. Possibly.
January 6, 2020
A literary mystery/police procedural set in a multicultural quarter of Paris.
The novel won a French literature price in 2012 and I enjoyed it.
Therefore recommended in spite of several weaknesses.
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Ein literarischer Krimi aus dem Pariser Migrantenmilieu.
Das Buch ist für mich schwierig zu bewerten.
Es hat mir gefallen, aber ich habe auch Schwächen gefunden, die je nach Leser unterschiedlich gewichtet würden.
Aber erst mal zum Inhalt:
Unser Protagonist Ahmed, ein junger, depressiv erkrankter Arbeitsloser mit nordafrikanischen Wurzeln lebt von Sozialhilfe in einer kleinen Wohnung in einem nicht besonders guten Viertel in Paris, das vorwiegend von Muslimen und Juden bewohnt ist. Ahmed ist ein exzessiver Leser von Kriminalromanen, die er ihn großer Menge in seiner kleinen Wohnung aufbewahrt.
Ahmeds emotionale Lähmung ist vor ein paar Jahren nach einem traumatischen Erlebnis eingetreten und seither hat er sich nahezu komplett von der Welt zurückgezogen.
Allein zu seiner Nachbarin Laura, einer Flugbegleiterin, für die er in ihrer Abwesenheit die Blumen gießt, und seinem antiquarischen Buchhändler unterhält er so etwas Ähnliches wie eine soziale Beziehung.
Dieses Setup und die Beschreibung von Ahmeds Kampf gegen seine inneren Dämonen, gepaart mit der oftmals sehr schönen Sprache, hätte meines Erachtens schon genügt, um ein wirklich lesenswertes Buch zu schaffen.
Aber es sollte anders kommen: Ahmeds Nachbarin wird ermodet und die Schuldigen haben offenbar Ahmed als Sündenbock auserkoren. Deshalb ist Ahmed gezwungen, sich aus seiner Erstarrung zu lösen und die beiden ermittelnden Kriminalbeamten (die ungewöhnlich und ganz offensichtlich gute Menschen sind) bei der Verbrecherjagd zu unterstützen, um nicht selbst zum Opferlamm zu werden.
Ich will jetzt gar nicht weiter auf den Fortgang des Kriminalfalls eingehen, um nicht zu spoilern, sondern nur noch die Themenschwerpunkte der Geschichte erwähnen: religiöser Fundamentalismus verschiedenster Couleur, Geisteskrankheiten, Korruption und die ewige Gier nach Geld.
Ich fand die Geschichte spannend mit vielen unerwarteten Wendungen. Mir hat auch die Sprache gut gefallen und ich habe das Buch gern gelesen.
Ich möchte jedoch nicht versäumen, auch die Punkte zu erwähnen, die mir negativ aufgefallen sind:
Der Roman hat 2012 einen französischen Krimipreis gewonnen, was ich nicht ganz nachvollziehen kann, weil ich die Sprache zwar immer wieder literarisch ansprechend fand, aber eben zu selten.
Das Buch hat sich nach und nach immer mehr auf den Krimiaspekt der Geschichte konzentriert.
Dabei wirkten die handelnden Person oftmals sehr stereotyp.
Was mich auch gestört hat war, dass die Guten blütenrein und die Bösen durch und durch schlecht waren. Auch die Personen, die offensichtlich zum Bösen verführt worden waren, waren so gezeichnet, dass man als Leser keine Empathie mehr für sie empfinden konnte.
Der Plot war zwar spannend, aber doch immer wieder nicht mal annähernd glaubwürdig.
Meine letzten Sätze hören sich jetzt zwar vernichtend an, aber trotzdem fand ich das Buch in der Gesamtschau durchaus lesenswert.
Aus meiner Sicht 3,5 Sterne, die ich auf 4 aufrunde.
The novel won a French literature price in 2012 and I enjoyed it.
Therefore recommended in spite of several weaknesses.
----------------------------------------------
Ein literarischer Krimi aus dem Pariser Migrantenmilieu.
Das Buch ist für mich schwierig zu bewerten.
Es hat mir gefallen, aber ich habe auch Schwächen gefunden, die je nach Leser unterschiedlich gewichtet würden.
Aber erst mal zum Inhalt:
Unser Protagonist Ahmed, ein junger, depressiv erkrankter Arbeitsloser mit nordafrikanischen Wurzeln lebt von Sozialhilfe in einer kleinen Wohnung in einem nicht besonders guten Viertel in Paris, das vorwiegend von Muslimen und Juden bewohnt ist. Ahmed ist ein exzessiver Leser von Kriminalromanen, die er ihn großer Menge in seiner kleinen Wohnung aufbewahrt.
Ahmeds emotionale Lähmung ist vor ein paar Jahren nach einem traumatischen Erlebnis eingetreten und seither hat er sich nahezu komplett von der Welt zurückgezogen.
Allein zu seiner Nachbarin Laura, einer Flugbegleiterin, für die er in ihrer Abwesenheit die Blumen gießt, und seinem antiquarischen Buchhändler unterhält er so etwas Ähnliches wie eine soziale Beziehung.
Dieses Setup und die Beschreibung von Ahmeds Kampf gegen seine inneren Dämonen, gepaart mit der oftmals sehr schönen Sprache, hätte meines Erachtens schon genügt, um ein wirklich lesenswertes Buch zu schaffen.
Aber es sollte anders kommen: Ahmeds Nachbarin wird ermodet und die Schuldigen haben offenbar Ahmed als Sündenbock auserkoren. Deshalb ist Ahmed gezwungen, sich aus seiner Erstarrung zu lösen und die beiden ermittelnden Kriminalbeamten (die ungewöhnlich und ganz offensichtlich gute Menschen sind) bei der Verbrecherjagd zu unterstützen, um nicht selbst zum Opferlamm zu werden.
Ich will jetzt gar nicht weiter auf den Fortgang des Kriminalfalls eingehen, um nicht zu spoilern, sondern nur noch die Themenschwerpunkte der Geschichte erwähnen: religiöser Fundamentalismus verschiedenster Couleur, Geisteskrankheiten, Korruption und die ewige Gier nach Geld.
Ich fand die Geschichte spannend mit vielen unerwarteten Wendungen. Mir hat auch die Sprache gut gefallen und ich habe das Buch gern gelesen.
Ich möchte jedoch nicht versäumen, auch die Punkte zu erwähnen, die mir negativ aufgefallen sind:
Der Roman hat 2012 einen französischen Krimipreis gewonnen, was ich nicht ganz nachvollziehen kann, weil ich die Sprache zwar immer wieder literarisch ansprechend fand, aber eben zu selten.
Das Buch hat sich nach und nach immer mehr auf den Krimiaspekt der Geschichte konzentriert.
Dabei wirkten die handelnden Person oftmals sehr stereotyp.
Was mich auch gestört hat war, dass die Guten blütenrein und die Bösen durch und durch schlecht waren. Auch die Personen, die offensichtlich zum Bösen verführt worden waren, waren so gezeichnet, dass man als Leser keine Empathie mehr für sie empfinden konnte.
Der Plot war zwar spannend, aber doch immer wieder nicht mal annähernd glaubwürdig.
Meine letzten Sätze hören sich jetzt zwar vernichtend an, aber trotzdem fand ich das Buch in der Gesamtschau durchaus lesenswert.
Aus meiner Sicht 3,5 Sterne, die ich auf 4 aufrunde.
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August 23, 2018Ένα αστυνομικό που διαδραματίζεται στο σύγχρονο Παρίσι και εμπλέκει τις διάφορες θρησκευτικές μειονότητες της πολυπολιτισμικής πρωτεύουσας.
Αν και δεν του φαίνεται είναι πυκνογραμμένο και θέλει συγκέντρωση από τον αναγνώστη. Στα πρώτα κεφάλαια φοβήθηκα ότι θα εκφυλιστεί και θα χαθεί μέσα στις υπαρξιακές ανησυχίες των χαρακτήρων του αλλά βαθμιαία αυτό περιορίζεται και η γραφή αποκτά έναν κανονικό ρυθμό. Γνωρίζω, βέβαια, ότι πολλοί αρέσκονται σε ατέρμονες υπαρξιακούς εσωτερικούς μονολόγους και σε βιβλία που είναι περισσότερο αδόκιμα φιλοσοφικά δοκίμια (αυτοεπιβεβαιώνοντας την ανωτερότητά τους έναντι των υπολοίπων από εμάς, των απλών αναγνωστών) αλλά παρά την αρχή αυτό το βιβλίο δεν είναι τέτοιο.
Στην αρχή οι επιμέρους χαρακτήρες και τα γεγονότα μοιάζουν λίγο ασύνδετα αλλά από τη μέση και μετά που ο αναγνώστης έχει αρκετά στοιχεία για να συνθέσει τη γενικότερη εικόνα, όλα αρχίζουν και αποκτούν νόημα και το βιβλίο γίνεται πολύ ενδιαφέρον.
Η πλοκή δεν έχει ιδιαίτερη πολυπλοκότητα αλλά το βιβλίο βασίζεται στην σταδιακή αποκάλυψη του όλου σκηνικού σαν ένα παζλ που τα κομμάτια μπαίνουν στη θέση τους με έναν απολαυστικό τρόπο θα τολμούσα να πω.
Σίγουρα όχι καθαρόαιμο αστυνομικό αλλά ένα σύγχρονο νουάρ όπως άλλωστε διαφημίζεται.
Ένα μικρό σημείο που με ενόχλησε ήταν οι μη αριθμημένες σημειώσεις μετάφρασης στο τέλος του βιβλίου.
Αν και δεν του φαίνεται είναι πυκνογραμμένο και θέλει συγκέντρωση από τον αναγνώστη. Στα πρώτα κεφάλαια φοβήθηκα ότι θα εκφυλιστεί και θα χαθεί μέσα στις υπαρξιακές ανησυχίες των χαρακτήρων του αλλά βαθμιαία αυτό περιορίζεται και η γραφή αποκτά έναν κανονικό ρυθμό. Γνωρίζω, βέβαια, ότι πολλοί αρέσκονται σε ατέρμονες υπαρξιακούς εσωτερικούς μονολόγους και σε βιβλία που είναι περισσότερο αδόκιμα φιλοσοφικά δοκίμια (αυτοεπιβεβαιώνοντας την ανωτερότητά τους έναντι των υπολοίπων από εμάς, των απλών αναγνωστών) αλλά παρά την αρχή αυτό το βιβλίο δεν είναι τέτοιο.
Στην αρχή οι επιμέρους χαρακτήρες και τα γεγονότα μοιάζουν λίγο ασύνδετα αλλά από τη μέση και μετά που ο αναγνώστης έχει αρκετά στοιχεία για να συνθέσει τη γενικότερη εικόνα, όλα αρχίζουν και αποκτούν νόημα και το βιβλίο γίνεται πολύ ενδιαφέρον.
Η πλοκή δεν έχει ιδιαίτερη πολυπλοκότητα αλλά το βιβλίο βασίζεται στην σταδιακή αποκάλυψη του όλου σκηνικού σαν ένα παζλ που τα κομμάτια μπαίνουν στη θέση τους με έναν απολαυστικό τρόπο θα τολμούσα να πω.
Σίγουρα όχι καθαρόαιμο αστυνομικό αλλά ένα σύγχρονο νουάρ όπως άλλωστε διαφημίζεται.
Ένα μικρό σημείο που με ενόχλησε ήταν οι μη αριθμημένες σημειώσεις μετάφρασης στο τέλος του βιβλίου.
November 28, 2017
I am not sure I want literary ambition when I read a crime novel. I want a good story, interesting situations, an intriguing atmosphere and consistent characters – I don’t expect complex characters, just characters that are consistent and hold some sort of symbolic force. Arab Jazz seems to have been well liked in France and Sam Gordon’s English translation got praise...at least there was a positive review in The Guardian. But I didn’t really like it. In a way the story was ambitious, centred on a series of characters, police detectives, suspects, the culprits, it shifts through time, but I found it all a bit unfocussed. There is a murder and a detective narrative: there are the two central police detectives and Ahmed, a neighbour of the murder victim – but the other plot strands fill us in about what happened and the sense of mystery is destroyed: of course, there is no rule saying the novel has to have a central mystery, but I am not sure what Arab Jazz is doing. No, that’s not true: it is fairly obvious that Karim Miské is exploring a number of themes, notably religious extremism. But I find it very heavy handed: there is an easy secular perspective, the religious extremists being depicted as inadequate and dangerous misfits, their extremism being a form of compensation for their failures – but I found it all a bit easy and a little smug, the author presuming the reader will share his secular perspectives. (But a difference between French and British culture is shown by the novel’s depiction of the Jehovah Witnesses as a controlling and frightening cult, while in Britain the stereotype will more likely be that are strangely zealous, but largely harmless bores who try and lock us into religious conversation.) Arguably the police detectives and Ahmed are also misfits – but they are positive because they are secular misfits. And then there is a plot about drug smuggling and distribution...those behind it are either rejecting a religious background or still bound by one: there should be lots of interesting things here as parallels between the religious and the secular, the lawful and the unlawful are made, but the novel has no real way of dealing with them...other than implying a sort of religion is an opium analogy. And then there are themes around sex and violence, but I am not sure they do anything other than adding a bit of dubious titillation. If my description seems confused I think that is because I found the book very confused: it strived to deal with Big Themes, but it did so in crude ways. I know crime novels are often congratulated for dealing with Big Themes, but, for me, it feels as though the Big Themes are bolted to the generic conventions in a haphazard way. The review I read compared Arab Jazz to the film Pulp Fiction and there is a certain knowing self-referential aspect to the book in the constant nods to other crime novels and crime writers, but, whatever my doubts about Pulp Fiction, it has a certain playful wit about it, which was lacking in Arab Jazz.
August 26, 2018
Υπήρχε κάποτε (δεν ξέρω αν παίζεται ακόμα) μία εκπομπή στο national geographic ο "Υπόκοσμος των πόλεων". Διαβάζοντας αυτό το βιβλίο σου δίνεται η αίσθηση πως όλη η πόλη είναι ένας υπόκοσμος! Ο Μισκέ ως κινηματογραφιστής μας δίνει ένα μυθιστόρημα προσχέδιο σεναρίου, που πιστεύω πως ήδη θα είχε μεταφέρει σε ταινία αν δεν τον είχαν προλάβει τα γεγονότα του Νοεμβρίου 2015 στο Παρίσι. Κάποιοι χαρακτήρισαν προφητικό το συγκεκριμένο βιβλίο, αλλά κατά τη γνώμη μου ο Μισκέ ήταν απλά ένας καλός παρατηρητής των όσων συνέβαιναν στη Γαλλία. Αξιόλογο πόνημα και αρκετά ευανάγνωστη γραφή. Συμφωνώ με όσους αναφέρουν πως η συνεχής αναφορά προϊόντων κουράζει λίγο, αλλά και πάλι νομίζω το κάνει καθαρά για να μας δώσει την ακριβή εικόνα της σκηνής, γιατί ο άνθρωπος πρώτα σκηνοθετούσε και μετά έγραφε.
October 31, 2018
Arab Jazz is a delight. A woman is murdered and her spaced out downstairs neighbour is the prime suspect. Which is essentially the starting premise of many if not most crime novels.
With Karin Miske the novel swings into less trodden ground with fresh characters, genuinely funny moments, a giant love note to Paris - the grotty bits, and a plot that’s not half bad. Much like Fred Vargas without the tweeness.
Early on in the book one of the characters visit to ikea is described as “A war of movements and positions that Jean enetered, the stray comments overheard loaded with pent-up resentment, more than one of which was enough to poison his superficially tough soul.” Somehow that just tickled me pink with happiness knowing I was in for a treat. Fun it was.
With Karin Miske the novel swings into less trodden ground with fresh characters, genuinely funny moments, a giant love note to Paris - the grotty bits, and a plot that’s not half bad. Much like Fred Vargas without the tweeness.
Early on in the book one of the characters visit to ikea is described as “A war of movements and positions that Jean enetered, the stray comments overheard loaded with pent-up resentment, more than one of which was enough to poison his superficially tough soul.” Somehow that just tickled me pink with happiness knowing I was in for a treat. Fun it was.
April 25, 2019
Περίεργη ιστορία το Arab Jazz... Το ξεκίνησα προ διμήνου, όμως ήταν κάπως αργό και σχετικά φλύαρο, οπότε το άφησα στην άκρη για να διαβάσω άλλα βιβλία που κυλούσαν πιο γρήγορα. Είπα να του ξαναδώσω μια ευκαιρία, όμως, μην τυχόν και έφταιγε κάτι άλλο που το παράτησα εξαρχής.
Η αλήθεια είναι πως όχι, όλα όσα είπα παραπάνω ισχύουν. Πολυπρόσωπο και με λιγότερη δράση απ' όσο άφηνε να εννοηθεί, whodunnit έξω από την ευρύτερη έννοια. Αρκετά δύσκολο να το παρακολουθήσεις άμα δεν είσαι σε φάση για κάτι απαιτητικό.
Όμως, φίλε, ήταν καλό.
"Πολύχρωμο" είναι ο κατάλληλος χαρακτηρισμός. Νουάρ-μαύρο- και γεμάτο πινελιές από φαγητά και μουσικές, δρόμους και αρώματα, φυλές και θρησκείες. Και όλα αυτά σε μια ατμόσφαιρα μεσογειακού αστυνομικού, λίγο μακριά από το νεοπολάρ του Manchette ή του Fajardie και πιο κοντά στον Izzo ή τον Attia.
Μπορεί να μην είναι μια casual ανάγνωση ή ένα απόλυτα άρτιο έργο, όμως έχει κάποια θετικά στοιχεία να το διέπουν και να σε κάνουν να το θυμάσαι.
Η αλήθεια είναι πως όχι, όλα όσα είπα παραπάνω ισχύουν. Πολυπρόσωπο και με λιγότερη δράση απ' όσο άφηνε να εννοηθεί, whodunnit έξω από την ευρύτερη έννοια. Αρκετά δύσκολο να το παρακολουθήσεις άμα δεν είσαι σε φάση για κάτι απαιτητικό.
Όμως, φίλε, ήταν καλό.
"Πολύχρωμο" είναι ο κατάλληλος χαρακτηρισμός. Νουάρ-μαύρο- και γεμάτο πινελιές από φαγητά και μουσικές, δρόμους και αρώματα, φυλές και θρησκείες. Και όλα αυτά σε μια ατμόσφαιρα μεσογειακού αστυνομικού, λίγο μακριά από το νεοπολάρ του Manchette ή του Fajardie και πιο κοντά στον Izzo ή τον Attia.
Μπορεί να μην είναι μια casual ανάγνωση ή ένα απόλυτα άρτιο έργο, όμως έχει κάποια θετικά στοιχεία να το διέπουν και να σε κάνουν να το θυμάσαι.
August 4, 2015
After the Charlie Hebdo massacre, Karim Miské was praised for his prescience in portraying the dysfunctional immigrant youth of the 19th arrondissement in Paris who are prey to the kind of fundamentalist extremism of those responsible for the attack. In a January 2015 interview in The Independent, Miské comes across as a thoughtful and insightful man, “Arab Jazz” has won prizes as a “literary” detective thriller, and perhaps it is meant to be a parody of a corrupt, greedy society with distorted values, but I was very disappointed by this novel.
Ahmed, an immigrant from North Africa, is addicted to violent thrillers as what seems like a counterproductive way of escaping from his traumatic past. As he sits reading on his balcony, drops of blood falling from above alert him to the brutal murder of his neighbour Laura who has shown him friendship. An air hostess who has severed links with her extremist Jehovah’s witness parents, Laura has been the subject of what looks like a ritual killing involving pork for which Ahmed fears he will be framed. The ensuing revelation of the facts is due not to the investigative powers of the two young detectives who although described as intellectuals display absolutely no evidence of this, but rather to the author’s tendency to indulge in lengthy, indigestible information dumps instead of making the effort to “show” us any development of plot, character or motive.
With its clunky, often implausible plot, two-dimensional characters, its crude stereotypes, relying far too much on psychotics, psychopathic policemen, and power-hungry, manipulative, hypocritical religious maniacs, its hammy violence alternating with corny sentimentality, and its amoral tastelessness and simplistic thinking without a trace of subtlety, “Arab Jazz” is like a garish strip cartoon. This impression is heightened by Miské’s habit of lapsing into capital letters at dramatic moments:
“LE CRIME
LEUR CRIME”
Or “DERNIER VOYAGE” for someone about to be bumped off.
I read to the end to improve my French – if this can be said of extending my vocabulary for sex, drugs and mild pornography – and to take part in a book group discussion, which could at least consider the book in the context of the current state of French urban society.
Ahmed, an immigrant from North Africa, is addicted to violent thrillers as what seems like a counterproductive way of escaping from his traumatic past. As he sits reading on his balcony, drops of blood falling from above alert him to the brutal murder of his neighbour Laura who has shown him friendship. An air hostess who has severed links with her extremist Jehovah’s witness parents, Laura has been the subject of what looks like a ritual killing involving pork for which Ahmed fears he will be framed. The ensuing revelation of the facts is due not to the investigative powers of the two young detectives who although described as intellectuals display absolutely no evidence of this, but rather to the author’s tendency to indulge in lengthy, indigestible information dumps instead of making the effort to “show” us any development of plot, character or motive.
With its clunky, often implausible plot, two-dimensional characters, its crude stereotypes, relying far too much on psychotics, psychopathic policemen, and power-hungry, manipulative, hypocritical religious maniacs, its hammy violence alternating with corny sentimentality, and its amoral tastelessness and simplistic thinking without a trace of subtlety, “Arab Jazz” is like a garish strip cartoon. This impression is heightened by Miské’s habit of lapsing into capital letters at dramatic moments:
“LE CRIME
LEUR CRIME”
Or “DERNIER VOYAGE” for someone about to be bumped off.
I read to the end to improve my French – if this can be said of extending my vocabulary for sex, drugs and mild pornography – and to take part in a book group discussion, which could at least consider the book in the context of the current state of French urban society.
February 11, 2016
ωραίο νουάρ (καινούργια σε αυτό το είδος ) αλλά λίγο το έχασα με τα ονόματα. απολαυστική ιστορία και συμπαθέστατος ο Αχμεντ!
April 23, 2025
Kruitvat
Ahmed leeft tussen de boeken. Hij koopt ze per kilo bij lokale boekenboer Paul en stapelt ze langs de muren van zijn appartement. Een schild van fictie om zich te beschermen tegen de werkelijkheid. Wanneer Ahmed ongewild verstrikt raakt in een moordzaak -zijn bovenbuurvrouw werd op gruwelijke wijze vermoord- zou zich een surreële roman kunnen ontspinnen die afdaalt in de krochten van de verbeelding van een eenzame man. Maar niets is minder waar. Karim Miskés debuut is vooral een politiethriller zoals te verwachten en te voorzien was.
Het Parijs dat Miské als achtergrond voor zijn verhaal gebruikt, is een drukke, onveilige stad waar drugs en misdaad regeren en waar aanhangers van uiteenlopende religies erg dicht bij elkaar leven. Salafisten, chassidische joden, Jehova’s getuigen… Parijs is een kruitvat. En met plezier steekt de schrijver het vuur aan de lont. Tientallen messteken in de vagina. In de traditie van Simenon, Quai des Orfèvres en La Haine worden we meegesleurd in een bikkelharde en grauwe grootstad. Een hard-boiled multiculturele literaire thriller. Un polar, quoi!
Geen wonder dat Miské er vaart wilde inhouden. Je hoort er de beats en de stadgeluiden bij als je leest. De schrijfstijl beperkt zich met momenten zelfs tot een flitsend staccato.
Badkamer, tanden, wc, plassen, wastafel, handen. Slechts een paar stappen tot het bed. Broek opvouwen, onderbroek bij de vuile was, bh uiteindelijk ook maar, samen met het witte Yves Saint Laurent-hemd, een mannenhemd, de oorlogsbuit van een onenightstand.
In andere passages is de vertelstem dan weer een stuk poëtischer en neemt de auteur de tijd om de stad of de gemoedstoestand van zijn personages te schilderen. Personages die allemaal op de een of andere manier in hun hoofd gevangen zitten en in hun eigen wereldje leven. De eenzaamheid van de grootstad.
Het eindresultaat is geen bom van een roman. De taal zwalpt en zoekt en in de tweede helft komen er sprongen in de tijd en in de ruimte die de snelheid uit de vertelling halen. Voeg daar dan nog de goedkope intertekstualiteit aan toe (verwijzingen naar 1984, American Psycho, De Goddelijke Komedie, Star Wars) en het vuur wordt uit de lont gehaald.
Ahmed leeft tussen de boeken. Hij koopt ze per kilo bij lokale boekenboer Paul en stapelt ze langs de muren van zijn appartement. Een schild van fictie om zich te beschermen tegen de werkelijkheid. Wanneer Ahmed ongewild verstrikt raakt in een moordzaak -zijn bovenbuurvrouw werd op gruwelijke wijze vermoord- zou zich een surreële roman kunnen ontspinnen die afdaalt in de krochten van de verbeelding van een eenzame man. Maar niets is minder waar. Karim Miskés debuut is vooral een politiethriller zoals te verwachten en te voorzien was.
Het Parijs dat Miské als achtergrond voor zijn verhaal gebruikt, is een drukke, onveilige stad waar drugs en misdaad regeren en waar aanhangers van uiteenlopende religies erg dicht bij elkaar leven. Salafisten, chassidische joden, Jehova’s getuigen… Parijs is een kruitvat. En met plezier steekt de schrijver het vuur aan de lont. Tientallen messteken in de vagina. In de traditie van Simenon, Quai des Orfèvres en La Haine worden we meegesleurd in een bikkelharde en grauwe grootstad. Een hard-boiled multiculturele literaire thriller. Un polar, quoi!
Geen wonder dat Miské er vaart wilde inhouden. Je hoort er de beats en de stadgeluiden bij als je leest. De schrijfstijl beperkt zich met momenten zelfs tot een flitsend staccato.
Badkamer, tanden, wc, plassen, wastafel, handen. Slechts een paar stappen tot het bed. Broek opvouwen, onderbroek bij de vuile was, bh uiteindelijk ook maar, samen met het witte Yves Saint Laurent-hemd, een mannenhemd, de oorlogsbuit van een onenightstand.
In andere passages is de vertelstem dan weer een stuk poëtischer en neemt de auteur de tijd om de stad of de gemoedstoestand van zijn personages te schilderen. Personages die allemaal op de een of andere manier in hun hoofd gevangen zitten en in hun eigen wereldje leven. De eenzaamheid van de grootstad.
Het eindresultaat is geen bom van een roman. De taal zwalpt en zoekt en in de tweede helft komen er sprongen in de tijd en in de ruimte die de snelheid uit de vertelling halen. Voeg daar dan nog de goedkope intertekstualiteit aan toe (verwijzingen naar 1984, American Psycho, De Goddelijke Komedie, Star Wars) en het vuur wordt uit de lont gehaald.
May 14, 2019
Ένα νουάρ αστυνομικό που δεν με ενθουσίασε για την πλοκή του, αλλά σκιαγραφεί όμορφα το πολιτισμικό και θρησκευτικό μωσαϊκό του Παρισιού και κατακρίνει τον θρησκευτικό φανατισμό από όπου και αν προέρχεται.
raincheck
August 1, 2023sorry i tried so hard lol but maybe one day
August 18, 2014
Το διάβασα στη Θάσο και ειμαι πολύ χαρούμενος γι'αυτο.Ωραια αστυνομική ιστορία αν και δεν εχει την κλασική δομή των περισσότερων αστυνομικών βιβλίων.Δηλαδη γίνεται έγκλημα,ο αστυνομικός ψάχνει και κάπως στο τέλος βρίσκει ή όχι.Εδώ από την αρχή ο Μισκε μας λέει τι γίνεται ξέρουμε τον κακό τρόπος του λέγειν.Παιζει περισσότερο με την ψυχοσύνθεση των ηρώων,μας δίνει στο πιάτο τη ζωή στα προάστια του Παρισιού και όλο το κλίμα ενώ δε σε τρομάζει σε κρατά σε εγρήγορση.Ωραιο πράμα η ανάγνωση.
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September 20, 2025z tego byłby dobry film
March 12, 2016
That France is a melting pot of races and religions, and that under this cauldron fire has risen to the point of causing a violent boil is demonstrated by recent story of Charlie Hebdo, but it is also shown by this original novel that stirs liberally in this cauldron to serve a strange but fun story, hilarious in fact, despite being a quite bloody noir, and with characters that would seem incredible if we do not see similar in the news.
The victim, the young hostess whose murder sparks the story, is the daughter of a fundamentalist Jehovah's Witness, and the figures that move around the survey can be divided into three families: other fundamentalists, demented and dangerous pieces for the real criminals at work; offenders equally distributed under the guise of wolves or lambs; and the moderates, who will lead the investigation to its solution, because the moderates in today society seem to have lost, but they are the only ones who have sufficient mental clarity to bring the boat in the port of civil society.
Novel full of ideas and questions, and possible answers, which I read with great pleasure, because, as it should be, in the end love is shyly peeping.
Thank Quercus Books and Netgalley for giving me a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
Che la Francia sia un calderone di razze e religioni, e che sotto questo calderone il fuoco si sia alzato al punto da provocare una violenta ebollizione lo dimostrano le recenti vicende di Charlie Hebdo, ma lo dimostra anche questo originale romanzo che in questo calderone rimesta a piene mani per servire una storia strana ma divertente, anzi, esilarante nonostante sia un noir abbastanza sanguinolento, e con personaggi che parrebbero incredibili se non ce ne mettessero davanti di simili i telegiornali.
La vittima, la giovane hostess il cui omicidio dà inizio alla storia, è la figlia di un Testimone di Geova fondamentalista, e le figure che si muovono intorno all'indagine possono essere divise in tre famiglie: altri fondamentalisti, dementi e pericolose pedine dei veri delinquenti all'opera; i delinquenti equamente distribuiti sotto le apparenze di lupi o di agnelli; e i moderati, che porteranno l'indagine alla sua soluzione, perché i moderati nella società di oggi sembrano dover perdere, ma sono gli unici che hanno sufficiente lucidità mentale per ricondurre in porto la barca della civile convivenza.
Romanzo pieno di spunti e di domande, e di possibili risposte, che si legge con vero piacere, anche perché, come è giusto che sia, alla fine l'amore fa timidamente capolino.
Ringrazio Quercus Books e Netgalley per avermi concesso una copia gratuita in cambio di una recensione onesta.
The victim, the young hostess whose murder sparks the story, is the daughter of a fundamentalist Jehovah's Witness, and the figures that move around the survey can be divided into three families: other fundamentalists, demented and dangerous pieces for the real criminals at work; offenders equally distributed under the guise of wolves or lambs; and the moderates, who will lead the investigation to its solution, because the moderates in today society seem to have lost, but they are the only ones who have sufficient mental clarity to bring the boat in the port of civil society.
Novel full of ideas and questions, and possible answers, which I read with great pleasure, because, as it should be, in the end love is shyly peeping.
Thank Quercus Books and Netgalley for giving me a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
Che la Francia sia un calderone di razze e religioni, e che sotto questo calderone il fuoco si sia alzato al punto da provocare una violenta ebollizione lo dimostrano le recenti vicende di Charlie Hebdo, ma lo dimostra anche questo originale romanzo che in questo calderone rimesta a piene mani per servire una storia strana ma divertente, anzi, esilarante nonostante sia un noir abbastanza sanguinolento, e con personaggi che parrebbero incredibili se non ce ne mettessero davanti di simili i telegiornali.
La vittima, la giovane hostess il cui omicidio dà inizio alla storia, è la figlia di un Testimone di Geova fondamentalista, e le figure che si muovono intorno all'indagine possono essere divise in tre famiglie: altri fondamentalisti, dementi e pericolose pedine dei veri delinquenti all'opera; i delinquenti equamente distribuiti sotto le apparenze di lupi o di agnelli; e i moderati, che porteranno l'indagine alla sua soluzione, perché i moderati nella società di oggi sembrano dover perdere, ma sono gli unici che hanno sufficiente lucidità mentale per ricondurre in porto la barca della civile convivenza.
Romanzo pieno di spunti e di domande, e di possibili risposte, che si legge con vero piacere, anche perché, come è giusto che sia, alla fine l'amore fa timidamente capolino.
Ringrazio Quercus Books e Netgalley per avermi concesso una copia gratuita in cambio di una recensione onesta.
December 20, 2015
Karim Miské's debut novel is timely and has all the ingredients for a great crime novel. It's set in contemporary Paris, involves radicalised muslim youth and acts of terror, and it touches on drug dealing, mental illness and police corruption. Sadly, this is a disappointing read.
The novel starts out well enough, with a depressed and isolated young man, Ahmed, discovering the murdered body of his upstairs neighbour, a young woman who had once been a Jehovah Witness. The crime scene is set up in order to implicate Ahmed but the two police officers assigned to the case immediately sense he's innocent. Soon, the police officers realise the crime points at local young men with extremist views.
This promising set up is unfortunately torn apart by a sudden influx of all sorts of characters living in the neighbourhood -- from the victim's girlfriends to a dodgy barber -- who take away the focus of the story and any suspense surrounding the investigation. The narrative, intriguing to start with, gets bloated by all these characters - most who are just there as misplaced red herrings.
Another problem with the novel is that Miské uses the third person omniscient point of view, giving us a look into the minds of all characters, including the murderer, and unfortunately diffuses all tension in the story. By the end, you couldn't care less who killed who, who survived, who went on a date with you. There are no surprises. You are left with the feeling that with a little more effort Miské could have turned this into a cracking read.
The novel starts out well enough, with a depressed and isolated young man, Ahmed, discovering the murdered body of his upstairs neighbour, a young woman who had once been a Jehovah Witness. The crime scene is set up in order to implicate Ahmed but the two police officers assigned to the case immediately sense he's innocent. Soon, the police officers realise the crime points at local young men with extremist views.
This promising set up is unfortunately torn apart by a sudden influx of all sorts of characters living in the neighbourhood -- from the victim's girlfriends to a dodgy barber -- who take away the focus of the story and any suspense surrounding the investigation. The narrative, intriguing to start with, gets bloated by all these characters - most who are just there as misplaced red herrings.
Another problem with the novel is that Miské uses the third person omniscient point of view, giving us a look into the minds of all characters, including the murderer, and unfortunately diffuses all tension in the story. By the end, you couldn't care less who killed who, who survived, who went on a date with you. There are no surprises. You are left with the feeling that with a little more effort Miské could have turned this into a cracking read.
December 8, 2019
Anti-religious drivel combined with excessive foul language, sexual fantasising and filth - not for me. Abandoned at 44% - just at the point where the author gives us some profound insights into the toilet habits of our main character...
"Afterwards, he hoses down the inside of the toilet bowl with his urine to dislodge any skid marks."
Almost poetry, isn't it? I wonder how the great authors of the past ever managed to tell a story without letting us know about these crucial (despite being entirely irrelevant) details.
"Afterwards, he hoses down the inside of the toilet bowl with his urine to dislodge any skid marks."
Almost poetry, isn't it? I wonder how the great authors of the past ever managed to tell a story without letting us know about these crucial (despite being entirely irrelevant) details.
June 5, 2014
Σύγχρονο, γρήγορο, ατμοσφαιρικό!!
August 31, 2023
Jeżeli szukacie inteligentnej treści w lekkiej formie, to ta pozycja idealnie łączy te dwie cechy. Niemałym zaskoczeniem było dla mnie, że to debiut, bo w ogóle nie czuć naturszczyka. Co zaś da się mocno odczuć, to fakt, że autor bardzo dobrze czuje się w kryminale – sam tytuł to ukłon w stronę White Jazz James’a Ellroy’a, zamiłowanie do bohaterek fatalnych zdradza zafascynowanie pisarstwem Dashiella Hammetta, a zakończenie bez happy endu (polegające na zidentyfikowaniu zła, co jednak nie kończy się jego całkowitym wyplenieniem) przypomina rozwiązania fabularne, jakie w swej twórczości z lubością serwował Raymond Chandler. Prawdziwy miłośnik gatunku z pewnością znajdzie w kryminale Karima Miské jeszcze więcej tego rodzaju tropów. Sam pomysł na intrygę kryminalną, koncentrującą się wokół fundamentalizmu religijnego i problemów, z jakimi musi mierzyć się Francja multi – kulti, bardzo przypadł mi do gustu, bo w warstwie tekstualnej widać, że autor wie, o czym pisze. Przed schwytaniem za pióro i przeobrażeniem się w twórcę kryminałów, Miské był dziennikarzem zawodowo zajmującym się monoteistycznymi religijnymi ortodoksjami i podoba mi się to, że od Arab Jazz nie wali mędrkującym dziadersem. Zresztą biorąc na warsztat antagonizmy wyznaniowe, francuski prozaik uczciwie rozdziela ciosy.
Warstwa warsztatowa jest bez większych zarzutów. Powieść zachowuje właściwe tempo, a poszczególne wątki zazębiają się ze sobą mniej więcej w połowie, kiedy to intryga kryminalna zaczyna si�� klarować. Autor umiejętnie rozrzuca powieściową akcję między obu brzegami Atlantyku, gdyż Francuz nie byłby Francuzem, gdyby korzeni wszelkiego zła nie umieścił w kraju symbolizującym dla każdego rasowego żabojada Wielką Nierządnicę Babilonu, czyli USA. Tak, te same Stany Zjednoczone, którym naród francuski sprezentował Statuę Wolności. Mimo tego rozrzutu Karim Miské panuje nad wielowątkowością, umiejętnie dozując szczegóły, które późnej pozwalają związać je w jedną całość.
Na minus tego kryminału zaliczyłbym zbyt szczegółową prezentację świata. O ile w wypadku ofiary i głównego podejrzanego ten zabieg znajduje pełne uzasadnienie, o tyle w wypadku prowadzących śledztwo gliniarzy poznawanie ich przeszłości i rodzinnych skomplikowanych historii już niekoniecznie. Na swoje nieszczęście autor wplótł w swój kryminał również wątek miłosno – romansowy, który nie dość że całkowicie zbędny, to jeszcze fatalny w wykonaniu.
Debiut Francuza (obsypany nagrodami!) obiecywał dobrą zabawę i tej obietnicy nie złamał. Bawiłem się przednio i nie żałuję czasu spędzonego nad lekturą, pokazującą nieco inne paryskie oblicza od tych, do których nawykliśmy z seriali i folderów reklamowych biur podróży. Jeżeli ktoś zdecyduje się na przeczytanie książki w oryginale, uspokajam – próg wejścia nie szybuje w kosmos. Jednym słowem: props!
Warstwa warsztatowa jest bez większych zarzutów. Powieść zachowuje właściwe tempo, a poszczególne wątki zazębiają się ze sobą mniej więcej w połowie, kiedy to intryga kryminalna zaczyna si�� klarować. Autor umiejętnie rozrzuca powieściową akcję między obu brzegami Atlantyku, gdyż Francuz nie byłby Francuzem, gdyby korzeni wszelkiego zła nie umieścił w kraju symbolizującym dla każdego rasowego żabojada Wielką Nierządnicę Babilonu, czyli USA. Tak, te same Stany Zjednoczone, którym naród francuski sprezentował Statuę Wolności. Mimo tego rozrzutu Karim Miské panuje nad wielowątkowością, umiejętnie dozując szczegóły, które późnej pozwalają związać je w jedną całość.
Na minus tego kryminału zaliczyłbym zbyt szczegółową prezentację świata. O ile w wypadku ofiary i głównego podejrzanego ten zabieg znajduje pełne uzasadnienie, o tyle w wypadku prowadzących śledztwo gliniarzy poznawanie ich przeszłości i rodzinnych skomplikowanych historii już niekoniecznie. Na swoje nieszczęście autor wplótł w swój kryminał również wątek miłosno – romansowy, który nie dość że całkowicie zbędny, to jeszcze fatalny w wykonaniu.
Debiut Francuza (obsypany nagrodami!) obiecywał dobrą zabawę i tej obietnicy nie złamał. Bawiłem się przednio i nie żałuję czasu spędzonego nad lekturą, pokazującą nieco inne paryskie oblicza od tych, do których nawykliśmy z seriali i folderów reklamowych biur podróży. Jeżeli ktoś zdecyduje się na przeczytanie książki w oryginale, uspokajam – próg wejścia nie szybuje w kosmos. Jednym słowem: props!
August 2, 2024
Spodziewałam się czegoś innego i miałam duże oczekiwania ze względu na wydawnictwo, ALE okazała się bardzo przyjemnym kryminałem. Najbardziej przypomina mi budową książki sandry brown, tylko głębsza i szersza
November 9, 2022
1.5/5 rounded up. It sucked
August 20, 2018
Αντίθετα με τη γνώμη των πολλών και τις δάφνες που έδρεψε το βιβλίο, εμένα με κούρασε.
Το θέμα του ήταν πολύ ενδιαφέρον. Ο τόπος του υπέροχος : το σύγχρονο Παρίσι. Και με μια δυνατή αρχή.
Ο Αχμέντ, με ρίζες από τη Βόρεια Αφρική, ζει στο 19ο διαμέρισμα και προσπαθεί να αναρρώσει από βαθιά κατάθλιψη. Διαβάζει μανιωδώς αστυνομικά βιβλία, αδιαφορώντας ουσιαστικά για τον περίγυρο του και πρακτικά, τα νήματα που τον συνδέουν με τον εξωτερικό κόσμο είναι το βιβλιοπωλείο για την προμήθεια των αστυνομικών, το παντοπωλείο για τις προμήθειες φαγητού και ο κρίνος του μπαλκονιού του που δίνει μια αίσθηση ομορφιάς στη ζωή του.
Όταν ανακαλύπτει το πτώμα της γειτόνισσας του αφυπνίζεται σταδιακά και επανέρχεται στην πραγματικότητα. Οι 2 αστυνομικοί που τον ανασύρουν, μαζί με τα γεγονότα που ξεκινούν να ερευνούν, αποτελούν κομμάτια ενός πολυπολιτισμικού παζλ που έχει να κάνει με το μειονοτικό Παρίσι, μακριά από την Όπερα, τις Γκαλερί Λαφαγιέτ και τη Λεωφόρο των Ηλισίων Πεδίων.
Ο συγγραφέας περιγράφει το κομμάτι του Παρισιού που ζει και αναπνέει μακριά από τη λάμψη, με τα μεγάλα του προβλήματα και τη νεολαία που ψάχνει να βρει το δρόμο της. Θίγονται πολλά θέματα τα οποία έχουν να κάνουν κυρίως με το θρησκευτικό φανατισμό και όσα αυτός συνεπάγεται. Παράλληλα η διαφθορά, τα ναρκωτικά, η ψυχολογική αστάθεια, η κοινωνική καταπίεση και τα στερεότυπα κάνουν την εμφάνιση τους στις σελίδες και ο αναγνώστης σαν και μένα, αισθάνεται να λυγίζει από πολλά μαζεμένα σοβαρά θέματα που πρέπει κάπως να μαζευτούν. Κάπου έχασα τη μπάλα από τα πολλά ονόματα, τις εθνικότητες, τις θρησκείες και τις συνήθειες της κάθε μίας, που για να σας πω την αλήθεια, ούτε και με ενδιέφεραν καθόλου στις λεπτομέρειες τους. Σε πολλά σημεία βαρέθηκα αφόρητα με την πλοκή ή την απόπειρα πλοκής και αμφισβήτησα κάποια σημεία της.
Τέλος πάντων, βιβλίο ήταν και πέρασε...
Το θέμα του ήταν πολύ ενδιαφέρον. Ο τόπος του υπέροχος : το σύγχρονο Παρίσι. Και με μια δυνατή αρχή.
Ο Αχμέντ, με ρίζες από τη Βόρεια Αφρική, ζει στο 19ο διαμέρισμα και προσπαθεί να αναρρώσει από βαθιά κατάθλιψη. Διαβάζει μανιωδώς αστυνομικά βιβλία, αδιαφορώντας ουσιαστικά για τον περίγυρο του και πρακτικά, τα νήματα που τον συνδέουν με τον εξωτερικό κόσμο είναι το βιβλιοπωλείο για την προμήθεια των αστυνομικών, το παντοπωλείο για τις προμήθειες φαγητού και ο κρίνος του μπαλκονιού του που δίνει μια αίσθηση ομορφιάς στη ζωή του.
Όταν ανακαλύπτει το πτώμα της γειτόνισσας του αφυπνίζεται σταδιακά και επανέρχεται στην πραγματικότητα. Οι 2 αστυνομικοί που τον ανασύρουν, μαζί με τα γεγονότα που ξεκινούν να ερευνούν, αποτελούν κομμάτια ενός πολυπολιτισμικού παζλ που έχει να κάνει με το μειονοτικό Παρίσι, μακριά από την Όπερα, τις Γκαλερί Λαφαγιέτ και τη Λεωφόρο των Ηλισίων Πεδίων.
Ο συγγραφέας περιγράφει το κομμάτι του Παρισιού που ζει και αναπνέει μακριά από τη λάμψη, με τα μεγάλα του προβλήματα και τη νεολαία που ψάχνει να βρει το δρόμο της. Θίγονται πολλά θέματα τα οποία έχουν να κάνουν κυρίως με το θρησκευτικό φανατισμό και όσα αυτός συνεπάγεται. Παράλληλα η διαφθορά, τα ναρκωτικά, η ψυχολογική αστάθεια, η κοινωνική καταπίεση και τα στερεότυπα κάνουν την εμφάνιση τους στις σελίδες και ο αναγνώστης σαν και μένα, αισθάνεται να λυγίζει από πολλά μαζεμένα σοβαρά θέματα που πρέπει κάπως να μαζευτούν. Κάπου έχασα τη μπάλα από τα πολλά ονόματα, τις εθνικότητες, τις θρησκείες και τις συνήθειες της κάθε μίας, που για να σας πω την αλήθεια, ούτε και με ενδιέφεραν καθόλου στις λεπτομέρειες τους. Σε πολλά σημεία βαρέθηκα αφόρητα με την πλοκή ή την απόπειρα πλοκής και αμφισβήτησα κάποια σημεία της.
Τέλος πάντων, βιβλίο ήταν και πέρασε...
March 9, 2016
Two police detectives investigate an apparent hate crime in a rundown Paris neighborhood filled with restless young men and women, all potential prey to the users and abusers who lure them in with holy words and pretty blue pills called Godzwill.
The prose whirls and rambles and deftly captures the life of the damaged young Parisian Muslim who is suspected of murdering the young woman he might have loved, if only. Huddled in his book cave, Ahmed ventures out only to replenish his supply of the pulp thrillers he buys by the kilo (literally): "Connelly, Cornwell, Coben. . . . He gets his fix from the second-hand bookshop on rue Petit, a tiny store from a different age that has miraculously survived between the Lubavitch school complex, the Salafist prayer room and the evangelical church."
Meanwhile, a half-world away, a broken young woman defies her Jehovah’s Witness upbringing and sneaks away to celebrate her twenty-eighth birthday with a Hasidic Jew in a Bob Marley t-shirt.
Arab Jazz, from the massive Watchtower Headquarters at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge to a neighborhood in Paris where everyone is just “trying to create some breathing space between their money difficulties and the oppressive religious leaders,” is both sprawling in scope and precise in attention to detail. Brilliantly translated from the original French bestseller, Arab Jazz is a world away.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The prose whirls and rambles and deftly captures the life of the damaged young Parisian Muslim who is suspected of murdering the young woman he might have loved, if only. Huddled in his book cave, Ahmed ventures out only to replenish his supply of the pulp thrillers he buys by the kilo (literally): "Connelly, Cornwell, Coben. . . . He gets his fix from the second-hand bookshop on rue Petit, a tiny store from a different age that has miraculously survived between the Lubavitch school complex, the Salafist prayer room and the evangelical church."
Meanwhile, a half-world away, a broken young woman defies her Jehovah’s Witness upbringing and sneaks away to celebrate her twenty-eighth birthday with a Hasidic Jew in a Bob Marley t-shirt.
Arab Jazz, from the massive Watchtower Headquarters at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge to a neighborhood in Paris where everyone is just “trying to create some breathing space between their money difficulties and the oppressive religious leaders,” is both sprawling in scope and precise in attention to detail. Brilliantly translated from the original French bestseller, Arab Jazz is a world away.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
January 23, 2018
I found this quite a muddled book - it wants to be pulp fiction, it wants to explore religious fundamentalism in Paris, and it wants to be literature, all at once. In the end religions of all description get very much short-changed, which is ok as far as it goes, and often insightful, but still fairly one-sided. I was also thrown by the fact that so many of the backstories revolved around stints in mental institutions - there is an odd undercurrent of both blaming the victims and blaming their oppressors. It's an ambitious novel, and I think Miské took so much on here that in the end the police procedural structure couldn't carry the weight, so some of the plot developments are purely functional, and some of the characters' dialogue of self-analysis far to freighted with meaning. All that said, if it shines a light on some little-understood dynamics in Parisian society in a controversial way, perhaps that's no bad thing.
February 3, 2015
You don't read this book for the plot - you figure out pretty quickly what is going on and there aren't that many twists to subvert expectations. But it's got a great sense of atmosphere and some memorable characters (especially the shy, introverted, depressed Ahmed). And it asks important questions about youth and minority culture in France today.
May 31, 2025
Un roman noir qui se lit facilement mais que j'ai trouvé un peu fatiguant : toutes les (jeunes) filles / femmes sont des bombes (l'auteur est sympa, il va jusqu'à 35a). Le personnage principal (très beau aussi) sort de sa torpeur dépressive grâce au meurtre de sa voisine du dessus dont il se rend compte qu'il était amoureux : c'est vraiment un trope hyper basique et -à mes yeux de lectrice- ennuyeux.
J'aurais de loin préféré un roman qui aurait pris le personnage assassiné (Laura, une hôtesse de l'air dont on saura très peu de choses : jolie, solitaire, a trois amies, gentille, ex-témoin de Jéhovah) comme centre. Comment aurait-elle pris la décision de quitter sa famille et sa religion ? Pourquoi a-t-elle toujours rêvé d'être hôtesse de l'air (ok, y a le côté liberté-voyage qui parle tout de suite mais : pourquoi pas pilote de ligne ou reporteuse ou guide touristique ?) ? Que trouve-t-elle bien à son apathique voisin du dessous (le fait qu'il ne présente aucune menace ?).
Bien sûr, Laura est tuée de manière bien crade.
Il y a une sorte de nymphomane meurtrière dans le lot.
Cela étant, on a aussi les rêveries érotiques d'une belle flic juive (je veux dire par là : les personnages féminins ne sont pas seulement décrits de manière lascive comme de jolis objets, elles sont aussi présentées comme des sujets désirants).
Le côté noir : ne m'a pas semblé très fouillé. C'est le 19e arrondissement de Paris : je ne me le suis pas figurée plus que ça. On nous raconte l'histoire tragique du perso principal, une scène traumatisante dont il a été témoin... ben, on aurait pu les enlever, le roman aurait été plus court mais aurait tenu. On aurait pu enlever plein de trucs.
Quelques commentaires politiques qui du coup participent à rendre le livre daté (qui se souvient de Sarkozy et de son désir de ficher des enfants de maternelle déviants ? Moi oui).
J'aurais de loin préféré un roman qui aurait pris le personnage assassiné (Laura, une hôtesse de l'air dont on saura très peu de choses : jolie, solitaire, a trois amies, gentille, ex-témoin de Jéhovah) comme centre. Comment aurait-elle pris la décision de quitter sa famille et sa religion ? Pourquoi a-t-elle toujours rêvé d'être hôtesse de l'air (ok, y a le côté liberté-voyage qui parle tout de suite mais : pourquoi pas pilote de ligne ou reporteuse ou guide touristique ?) ? Que trouve-t-elle bien à son apathique voisin du dessous (le fait qu'il ne présente aucune menace ?).
Bien sûr, Laura est tuée de manière bien crade.
Il y a une sorte de nymphomane meurtrière dans le lot.
Cela étant, on a aussi les rêveries érotiques d'une belle flic juive (je veux dire par là : les personnages féminins ne sont pas seulement décrits de manière lascive comme de jolis objets, elles sont aussi présentées comme des sujets désirants).
Le côté noir : ne m'a pas semblé très fouillé. C'est le 19e arrondissement de Paris : je ne me le suis pas figurée plus que ça. On nous raconte l'histoire tragique du perso principal, une scène traumatisante dont il a été témoin... ben, on aurait pu les enlever, le roman aurait été plus court mais aurait tenu. On aurait pu enlever plein de trucs.
Quelques commentaires politiques qui du coup participent à rendre le livre daté (qui se souvient de Sarkozy et de son désir de ficher des enfants de maternelle déviants ? Moi oui).
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