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The N'Gustro Affair
The debut novel of a pioneering author of French crime thrillers.
Mean, arrogant, naive, sadistic on occasion, the young Henri Butron records his life story on tape just before death catches up with him: a death passed off as a suicide by his killers, French secret service agents who need to hush up their role—and Butron’s—in the kidnapping, torture, and murder of a prominent opposition leader from a third-world African nation in the throes of a postcolonial civil war.
The N’Gustro Affair is a thinly veiled retelling of the 1965 abduction and killing of Mehdi Ben Barka, a radical opponent of King Hassan II of Morocco. But this is merely the backdrop to Jean-Patrick Manchette’s first-person portrait (with shades of Jim Thompson’s The Killer Inside Me) of a man who lacks the insight to see himself for what he is: a wannabe nihilist too weak to be even a full-bore fascist.
Mean, arrogant, naive, sadistic on occasion, the young Henri Butron records his life story on tape just before death catches up with him: a death passed off as a suicide by his killers, French secret service agents who need to hush up their role—and Butron’s—in the kidnapping, torture, and murder of a prominent opposition leader from a third-world African nation in the throes of a postcolonial civil war.
The N’Gustro Affair is a thinly veiled retelling of the 1965 abduction and killing of Mehdi Ben Barka, a radical opponent of King Hassan II of Morocco. But this is merely the backdrop to Jean-Patrick Manchette’s first-person portrait (with shades of Jim Thompson’s The Killer Inside Me) of a man who lacks the insight to see himself for what he is: a wannabe nihilist too weak to be even a full-bore fascist.
200 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1971
26 people are currently reading
587 people want to read
About the author
Jean-Patrick Manchette
66 books320 followersJean-Patrick Manchette was a French crime novelist credited with reinventing and reinvigorating the genre. He wrote ten short novels in the seventies and early eighties, and is widely recognized as the foremost French crime fiction author of the 1970s - 1980s . His stories are violent, existentialist explorations of the human condition and French society.
Manchette was politically to the left and his writing reflects this through his analysis of social positions and culture. His books are reminiscent of the nouvelle vague crime films of Jean-Pierre Melville, employing a similarly cool, existential style on a typically American genre (film noir for Melville and pulp novels for Manchette).
Three of his novels have been translated into English. Two were published by San Francisco publisher City Lights Books (3 To Kill [from the French "Le petit bleu de la côte ouest"] and The Prone Gunman [from the French "La Position du tireur couché"]). A third, Fatale, was released by New York Review Books Classics in 2011.
Manchette believed he had gone full circle with his last novel, which he conceived as a "closure" of his Noir fiction. In a 1988 letter to a journalist, Manchette said:
" After that, as I did not have to belong to any kind of literary school, I entered a very different work area. In seven years, I have not done anything good. I'm still working at it."
In 1989, finally having found new territory he wanted to explore, Manchette started writing a new novel, La Princesse du Sang" ("Blood Princess"), an international thriller, which was supposed to be the first book in a new cycle, a series of novels covering five decades from the post-war period to present times. He died from cancer before completing it.
Starting in 1996, a year after Manchette's death, several unpublished works were released, showing how very active he was during in the years preceding his death.
In 2009, Fantagraphics Books released an English-language version of French cartoonist Jacques Tardi's adaptation of Le petit bleu, under the new English title 'West Coast Blues.' Fantagraphics released a second Tardi adaptation, of "La Position du tireur couché" (under the title "Like a Sniper Lining Up His Shot" ) in the summer of 2011, and has scheduled a third one, of "Ô Dingos! Ô Châteaux!" (under the title "Run Like Crazy Run Like Hell") in summer 2014. Manchette himself was a fan of comics, and his praised translation of Alan Moore's Watchmen into French remains in print.
Manchette was politically to the left and his writing reflects this through his analysis of social positions and culture. His books are reminiscent of the nouvelle vague crime films of Jean-Pierre Melville, employing a similarly cool, existential style on a typically American genre (film noir for Melville and pulp novels for Manchette).
Three of his novels have been translated into English. Two were published by San Francisco publisher City Lights Books (3 To Kill [from the French "Le petit bleu de la côte ouest"] and The Prone Gunman [from the French "La Position du tireur couché"]). A third, Fatale, was released by New York Review Books Classics in 2011.
Manchette believed he had gone full circle with his last novel, which he conceived as a "closure" of his Noir fiction. In a 1988 letter to a journalist, Manchette said:
" After that, as I did not have to belong to any kind of literary school, I entered a very different work area. In seven years, I have not done anything good. I'm still working at it."
In 1989, finally having found new territory he wanted to explore, Manchette started writing a new novel, La Princesse du Sang" ("Blood Princess"), an international thriller, which was supposed to be the first book in a new cycle, a series of novels covering five decades from the post-war period to present times. He died from cancer before completing it.
Starting in 1996, a year after Manchette's death, several unpublished works were released, showing how very active he was during in the years preceding his death.
In 2009, Fantagraphics Books released an English-language version of French cartoonist Jacques Tardi's adaptation of Le petit bleu, under the new English title 'West Coast Blues.' Fantagraphics released a second Tardi adaptation, of "La Position du tireur couché" (under the title "Like a Sniper Lining Up His Shot" ) in the summer of 2011, and has scheduled a third one, of "Ô Dingos! Ô Châteaux!" (under the title "Run Like Crazy Run Like Hell") in summer 2014. Manchette himself was a fan of comics, and his praised translation of Alan Moore's Watchmen into French remains in print.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
August 21, 2021
Sara' anche il capolavoro d'esordio ma a me e' sembrato parecchio pretenzioso e arruffato. Sara' il famoso e tanto decantato ritmo jazz? O semplicemente uno sconclusionato ammiccamento al pubblico medio borghese dell'epoca? Altri libri successivi mi sono parsi nettamente migliori e piu' sinceri.
April 19, 2025
DNF at around the 65 page mark.
Love Manchette, but you can definitely tell this was his debut and it's not his finest by any means. I don't mind horrible characters as it's something you expect in a book like this, but the main character Butron is mean and naive as the blurb describes, but he's also juvenile and honestly boring as hell. There's nothing worse than a character that is trying to be something they are not and be completely boring at it. I know Manchette's writing got much better after this one, but I'm not going to waste my time with the rest of this.
NYRB, thank you for all of your translations of his works as I believe it's well worth your investment, but this is PURELY for the Manchette completist. Better on the bookshelf as a beautiful red spine sideview than actually read. (I know, that's 'mean' of me)
Love Manchette, but you can definitely tell this was his debut and it's not his finest by any means. I don't mind horrible characters as it's something you expect in a book like this, but the main character Butron is mean and naive as the blurb describes, but he's also juvenile and honestly boring as hell. There's nothing worse than a character that is trying to be something they are not and be completely boring at it. I know Manchette's writing got much better after this one, but I'm not going to waste my time with the rest of this.
NYRB, thank you for all of your translations of his works as I believe it's well worth your investment, but this is PURELY for the Manchette completist. Better on the bookshelf as a beautiful red spine sideview than actually read. (I know, that's 'mean' of me)
January 5, 2023
impressive for a short book to be such a slog
January 2, 2022
Not his best work. Maybe interesting in light of what would come later.
If you're new to Manchette, skip this one and read Nada, Fatale, The Mad and the Bad, or Three to Kill instead.
If you're new to Manchette, skip this one and read Nada, Fatale, The Mad and the Bad, or Three to Kill instead.
July 31, 2022
a breathtakingly misogynistic and colorfully racist narration—not just the sections dictated by lethal idiot & book protagonist henri butron, but also the sections that are ostensibly omniscient 3rd person, which was a bit unexplainable to me.
the writing is super entertaining because it presents a truly stupid and deranged POV (fun to read) and features caricatures instead of characters (easy to swallow), but i have no clue what the point of the story is. i appreciate it but can’t grasp it so… 3 stars!
the writing is super entertaining because it presents a truly stupid and deranged POV (fun to read) and features caricatures instead of characters (easy to swallow), but i have no clue what the point of the story is. i appreciate it but can’t grasp it so… 3 stars!
October 31, 2021
Manchette's first novel, and while it contains elements of his later work (e.g., politics and crime), this neo-noir is mostly the character study of a small-time hood caught up in international events. The "protagonist" is a sociopathic fascist, so pretty much the antithesis of the author. Based on real events from the mid-Sixties, the plot is enough to keep one reading, but not as rewarding as Manchette's later books. Uneven in places, but showing sparks of what was to come. So far eight of his eleven novels have been translated into English, with NYRB seemingly on a happy mission to translate all of them.
May 8, 2025
Για μια ακόμα φορά η μάταιη πλευρά της βίας, μιας βίας που δεν οδηγεί πουθενά και υπάρχει απλά για να υπάρχει παρόλο τον πολιτικό/κοινωνικό μανδύα της. Ο Μανσέτ γράφει ένα μικρό pulp nasty το οποίο αντί να μνημονεύεται δίπλα στα έργα του Ζεράρ ντε Βιλλιέ, απολαμβάνει την αποδοχή των θολοκουλτουριάρηδων χάρις το πολιτικό/ιδεολογικό υπόβαθρο που εδώ λειτουργεί σαν Κολυμβήθρα του Σιλωάμ. Δεν λέω ευχάριστο ανάγνωσμα, έστελνα και nasty αποσπάσματα σε φίλους αλλά αν δεν ήταν "Άγρα" όποιος το διάβαζε δεν θα του μιλούσε ούτε η μάνα του. Απαραίτητο για δηθενοτέτοιους που ανακαλύπτουν το trash όταν αυτό πλασάρεται ως cult (κάτι σαν τους θεατές του Ταραντίνο και τα μέλη "ομάδων κακού σινεμά" που αντέχουν τα βιντεάκια αλλά όχι όλη τη ταινία". Να το διαβάσετε; Φυσικά, ιδανικά κιόλας δυνατά σε καφέ.
April 5, 2024
Inspiré de l'affaire Ben Barka, Manchette fait l'anatomie social d'un cold case politique historique qui a bousculé les institutions politiques françaises des années 60.
February 15, 2025
My fifth Manchette, and this one’s the most grim. And the least good. My favorite parts were the few moments of comic relief offered by the poseur-Nihilist protagonist:
“When I went out I barely knew where I was going. I drank gallons of Guiness. I wandered through my neighborhood at night, pissing on statues, especially those of stone geezers with shitty little plaques: ART IS THE TRANSCRIPTION OF A SYMBOL INTO A DOCTRINE or some such sinister dictum” (120).
“And he was very good at clarifying the ideas that my script needed to champion. The idea, for instance, that the power of a free press trumped the power of money. Obviously a quite laughable notion, but people like it and it sells well, so I was perfectly happy to incorporate it” (141).
(I love that one).
“I have no particular affection for nature. I like landscapes only in movies, and I put up with lawns solely if drinks are being served on them” (146).
“When I went out I barely knew where I was going. I drank gallons of Guiness. I wandered through my neighborhood at night, pissing on statues, especially those of stone geezers with shitty little plaques: ART IS THE TRANSCRIPTION OF A SYMBOL INTO A DOCTRINE or some such sinister dictum” (120).
“And he was very good at clarifying the ideas that my script needed to champion. The idea, for instance, that the power of a free press trumped the power of money. Obviously a quite laughable notion, but people like it and it sells well, so I was perfectly happy to incorporate it” (141).
(I love that one).
“I have no particular affection for nature. I like landscapes only in movies, and I put up with lawns solely if drinks are being served on them” (146).
June 30, 2025
Have not enjoyed it honestly. The writing is powerful and interesting, still, the plot and the story are limited. The main character seems silly with no depth whatsoever. On top, the way women are presented and treated annoyed me, even if this could be attributed to fascists and extremists.
February 3, 2022
In 1965, the Moroccan opposition politician Mehdi Ben Barka disappears in Paris. His fate was never officially confirmed although the assumption had always been that he had been kidnapped and killed for his opposition to the regime in Morocco. Manchette picks that story as the base of his first novel and weaves a story of what might have happened (without mentioning the actual case).
But his story does not start with a kidnapping. It starts with everyone's reaction to the death of Henri Butron - a man who apparently was not exactly innocent. We get Henri's story from three different viewpoints - the people who knew him, a tape he recorded before his death in which he tells us his own story and the people who listened to his tape - the African mercenaries/politicians who are at the base of the story - even if it takes awhile for that to become clear.
Henri is a man without convictions but a man who is ready to adopt anyone's convictions if it will help him in finding something to do (or a girl to seduce). He shifts between the far left an the far right, he scandalizes everyone and he just lives his life - until he gets himself in the middle of a kidnapping and a cover-up organized by people supporting the regime in a third-world African nation (with a little bit of help from the French police). That's when he records his tape - and that's what we know must happen - because the novel starts with him being dead.
I've read one of Manchette's later novels ([The Prone Gunman]) and this one is less polished in some ways - it is a good first novel but it almost sounds too much in places - the later book had a better balance in some ways. But despite that, it is a clear picture of a country in turmoil, of a world where things are moving too fast and where money and self-interest (and sex) rule.
Using real-life events can backfire but it works here - Manchette finds a way to tell the story in a way that sounds as if it might have been while keeping it in his fictional world. It is noir - as is most of his work. And it is walking very close to crossing the line into offensive and gross - without ever really doing it.
Manchette's style will probably be too dark and too cynical and offensive for a lot of people. But that's where some of the power of the novel lays in. I still like it.
But his story does not start with a kidnapping. It starts with everyone's reaction to the death of Henri Butron - a man who apparently was not exactly innocent. We get Henri's story from three different viewpoints - the people who knew him, a tape he recorded before his death in which he tells us his own story and the people who listened to his tape - the African mercenaries/politicians who are at the base of the story - even if it takes awhile for that to become clear.
Henri is a man without convictions but a man who is ready to adopt anyone's convictions if it will help him in finding something to do (or a girl to seduce). He shifts between the far left an the far right, he scandalizes everyone and he just lives his life - until he gets himself in the middle of a kidnapping and a cover-up organized by people supporting the regime in a third-world African nation (with a little bit of help from the French police). That's when he records his tape - and that's what we know must happen - because the novel starts with him being dead.
I've read one of Manchette's later novels ([The Prone Gunman]) and this one is less polished in some ways - it is a good first novel but it almost sounds too much in places - the later book had a better balance in some ways. But despite that, it is a clear picture of a country in turmoil, of a world where things are moving too fast and where money and self-interest (and sex) rule.
Using real-life events can backfire but it works here - Manchette finds a way to tell the story in a way that sounds as if it might have been while keeping it in his fictional world. It is noir - as is most of his work. And it is walking very close to crossing the line into offensive and gross - without ever really doing it.
Manchette's style will probably be too dark and too cynical and offensive for a lot of people. But that's where some of the power of the novel lays in. I still like it.
Read
March 20, 2022A morally reprehensible Frenchman plays a minor role in the morally reprehensible politics of a morally reprehensible world. Manchette applies his noir sensibilities to the spy novel with predictably excellent effect.
May 1, 2023
All over the place, absurd, highly provocative, setting the stage for his later masterpieces, written at the age of 29, based on real events, experimenting with style and cinematic sequences.
January 29, 2025
Στιγμήν τινα, ἐκδόται τινες, ἀντελήφθησαν νόστιμόν τινα (συγγραφέα προφανῶς) καί τοῦ ἐξέδωσαν ἕνα χιτάκι (του).
[ὁ συγγραφεύς ἐξ ἑσπερίας]
Ἐν συνεχείᾳ ἐκδίδουν καί ἄλλα του.
Καί ὅταν στερεύουν τά ἄλλα του, ἐπειδή (ἡ φάσις) ἀντέχει μία βόλτα (ὄχι τσάρκα, βόλτα περί μπόσικα ἐννοοῦμε) ἀκόμα γιά τό ξύγκι της μυιγός, ἀρχίζουν καί ψάχνουν (οἱ ἐκδόται) γιά κάποια (τοῦ νοστίμου +γραφέως) πρώιμα, συμμετοχάς, ἀνέκδοτα, ἀποκεκηρυγμένα &τλ &τλ.
Κάτι τέτοιο συνέβη μέ τό βιβλίο πού θά ἀπασχολήσει τήν κάτωθι ὑπερμαγάτη ἀνάλυση.
Ἡ «ἄγρα» τόν ἐκδίδει ἐδῶ καί τριάντα ξερωγώ ἔτη, ἀλλά τό (ἐντελῶς) πρῶτο του τό ἐξέδωσε πρό δύο μηνῶν.
Εὔλογα θά σκεφθεῖ τις πώς τό ἐν λόγῳ ἔργο (ἕνεκα πρῶτο καί ὡς ἐκ τούτου πρωτόλειον, μέ χωρίς ἐντελῶς ἀνεπτυγμένο τό τάλαντο τοῦ συγγραφέως – μᾶλλον) θά ὑπολείπηται τσαγανοῦ καί γούστου.
Ἀλλά τό L'Affaire N'Gustro τοῦ Jean Patrick Manchette δέν ὑστερεῖ καθόλου ἀπό τά ἐπίλοιπά του.
Φυσάει καί αὐτό.
Ἦτάν εὐχάριστη ἔκπληξη αὐτό τό ἔργο τοῦ 1971 γιά τό ὁποῖο προλόγῳ ἀναφέρεται ὅτι εἶχε ψιλοσοκάρει, πρωτοεμφανισθέν. Εἴμαστε (εἴσαστε/εἶναι) συνηθισμένοι πιά· θέλω νά πῶ, ὅτι ἔχομε (πλήν ἔτου 2025) διαβάσει (καί μᾶς ἤρεσαν) πάμπολλα προιόντα ἐμέτου καί τῆς πιό παρακμιασμένης συγγραφικῆς ὠχρᾶς σπειροχαίτης. Συνεπῶς σαφῶς καί δέν σοκαριστήκαμε ἐν ὦ καίτοι συνηθισμένοι σέ λίγο πιό χάρντκορ νοβέλλες, δέν φάνηκε καθόλου πάσσέ ἡ ἐν λόγῳ.
Διότι τό L'Affaire N'Gustro διαθέτει:
Διαλόγους εὐστόχους μή ἐχόντων κάτι περιττό, μέ μυρωδιά καπνοῦ, πεινώσης ἀνάσας, ἐντερικῶν ἀερίων – λές καί εἶσαι ἐσύ ἀκριβῶς στήν (μανσέτειον) σκήνή ὅπου παίζουν ξύλο καί μέ τά γκάνια οἱ κακοί.
Δομή μέ ἡμιαυτόνομα μέρη πού ἀκόμα κι ἄν ἄρχιζες νά βαριόσανε στό τρέχον, ἡ ἐναλλαγή θά σέ τσακμάκωνε.
ἱστορικό ὑπόβαθρο ἀληθέστατο καί ἄκρως ἐνδιαφέρον.
ἰανική ταυτότητα – πότε πολιτικό δοκίμιο, πότε λάβ στόρυ.
Βυζαροῦδες.
Ἀκροαριστερό συγγραφέα νά μετέρχηται ἀκροδεξιοῦ λεξιλογίου.
Τί ἄλλη παρέα θέλετε γιά ἕνα ἀπόγευμα; Ἀνάγνωσμα πέρί στηλίτευσις τῆς πατριαρχίας μάζύ με αἴτημα ἀλλαγῆς σχετικῶν γλωσσικῶν ὅρων ὅπως «πατρίς»; Δώδεκα εὐρώ δώσατε κύριος, μήπως θέ’ νά σέ βγάλουμε μέζέ καί νά κυττάξωμε τά λάδια στήν μηχανή;
[ὁ συγγραφεύς ἐξ ἑσπερίας]
Ἐν συνεχείᾳ ἐκδίδουν καί ἄλλα του.
Καί ὅταν στερεύουν τά ἄλλα του, ἐπειδή (ἡ φάσις) ἀντέχει μία βόλτα (ὄχι τσάρκα, βόλτα περί μπόσικα ἐννοοῦμε) ἀκόμα γιά τό ξύγκι της μυιγός, ἀρχίζουν καί ψάχνουν (οἱ ἐκδόται) γιά κάποια (τοῦ νοστίμου +γραφέως) πρώιμα, συμμετοχάς, ἀνέκδοτα, ἀποκεκηρυγμένα &τλ &τλ.
Κάτι τέτοιο συνέβη μέ τό βιβλίο πού θά ἀπασχολήσει τήν κάτωθι ὑπερμαγάτη ἀνάλυση.
Ἡ «ἄγρα» τόν ἐκδίδει ἐδῶ καί τριάντα ξερωγώ ἔτη, ἀλλά τό (ἐντελῶς) πρῶτο του τό ἐξέδωσε πρό δύο μηνῶν.
Εὔλογα θά σκεφθεῖ τις πώς τό ἐν λόγῳ ἔργο (ἕνεκα πρῶτο καί ὡς ἐκ τούτου πρωτόλειον, μέ χωρίς ἐντελῶς ἀνεπτυγμένο τό τάλαντο τοῦ συγγραφέως – μᾶλλον) θά ὑπολείπηται τσαγανοῦ καί γούστου.
Ἀλλά τό L'Affaire N'Gustro τοῦ Jean Patrick Manchette δέν ὑστερεῖ καθόλου ἀπό τά ἐπίλοιπά του.
Φυσάει καί αὐτό.
Ἦτάν εὐχάριστη ἔκπληξη αὐτό τό ἔργο τοῦ 1971 γιά τό ὁποῖο προλόγῳ ἀναφέρεται ὅτι εἶχε ψιλοσοκάρει, πρωτοεμφανισθέν. Εἴμαστε (εἴσαστε/εἶναι) συνηθισμένοι πιά· θέλω νά πῶ, ὅτι ἔχομε (πλήν ἔτου 2025) διαβάσει (καί μᾶς ἤρεσαν) πάμπολλα προιόντα ἐμέτου καί τῆς πιό παρακμιασμένης συγγραφικῆς ὠχρᾶς σπειροχαίτης. Συνεπῶς σαφῶς καί δέν σοκαριστήκαμε ἐν ὦ καίτοι συνηθισμένοι σέ λίγο πιό χάρντκορ νοβέλλες, δέν φάνηκε καθόλου πάσσέ ἡ ἐν λόγῳ.
Διότι τό L'Affaire N'Gustro διαθέτει:
Διαλόγους εὐστόχους μή ἐχόντων κάτι περιττό, μέ μυρωδιά καπνοῦ, πεινώσης ἀνάσας, ἐντερικῶν ἀερίων – λές καί εἶσαι ἐσύ ἀκριβῶς στήν (μανσέτειον) σκήνή ὅπου παίζουν ξύλο καί μέ τά γκάνια οἱ κακοί.
Δομή μέ ἡμιαυτόνομα μέρη πού ἀκόμα κι ἄν ἄρχιζες νά βαριόσανε στό τρέχον, ἡ ἐναλλαγή θά σέ τσακμάκωνε.
ἱστορικό ὑπόβαθρο ἀληθέστατο καί ἄκρως ἐνδιαφέρον.
ἰανική ταυτότητα – πότε πολιτικό δοκίμιο, πότε λάβ στόρυ.
Βυζαροῦδες.
Ἀκροαριστερό συγγραφέα νά μετέρχηται ἀκροδεξιοῦ λεξιλογίου.
Τί ἄλλη παρέα θέλετε γιά ἕνα ἀπόγευμα; Ἀνάγνωσμα πέρί στηλίτευσις τῆς πατριαρχίας μάζύ με αἴτημα ἀλλαγῆς σχετικῶν γλωσσικῶν ὅρων ὅπως «πατρίς»; Δώδεκα εὐρώ δώσατε κύριος, μήπως θέ’ νά σέ βγάλουμε μέζέ καί νά κυττάξωμε τά λάδια στήν μηχανή;
July 7, 2022
Manchette was held up as the progenitor of true "noir" fiction in France, the hard-boiled cousin to classic Hammett and Chandler. If so, this oddball book, his first, must be an anomaly. Based upon an actual political murder and plot involving African diplomats and a large cast of funky Frenchies, the eponymous affair isn't much of a mystery, since most of the book is narrated by a participant in a clever device -- like Fred MacMurray in the movie version of James M. Cain's Double Indemnity, one a key character tells his story into a tape recorder, which unspools as the villain is listening to it. The rest of the action is in the third-person. Young layabout Henri Butron records his life story on tape just before death catches up with him: a death passed off as a suicide by his killers, French secret service agents who need to hush up their role--and Butron's--in the kidnapping, torture, and murder of a prominent opposition leader from a third-world African nation in the throes of a postcolonial civil war.The best part of the story is Butron's description of his milieu, his girls, his pals, his view of life, which is cynical, venal, and obsessed with money and sex. He's no Phillip Marlowe.
October 19, 2021
I expected a LOT more from this, especially in light of Manchette's other works. This is the story of Henri Butron's life and how he got tied up in the N'Gustro Affair, the analogue to the real-life kidnapping (and presumable murder) of Medhi Ben Barka of Morocco by the French police in the 1960s.
On the face of it we have an interesting plot device (a tape-recorded self-confession being listened to by those involved in the kidnapping). Not only that, but an interesting premise in that Butron is a little on the stupid side, simply going along to get along and not letting anything like a belief get in the way of his goals, which also he has none. We switch back and forth between Butron's narration and sequences of the two killers. Usually a setup like this would let Manchette's masterful plotting abilities and his fantastic skill at written action sequences do the rest. However, that never happens. The kidnappers are flat and boring, Butron, while kinda funny sometimes, is also flat. The narrative is plodding, the action not good.
There are a great many Manchette books worth the time--Nada, Three to Kill, and Fatale come to mind. But this one is not
On the face of it we have an interesting plot device (a tape-recorded self-confession being listened to by those involved in the kidnapping). Not only that, but an interesting premise in that Butron is a little on the stupid side, simply going along to get along and not letting anything like a belief get in the way of his goals, which also he has none. We switch back and forth between Butron's narration and sequences of the two killers. Usually a setup like this would let Manchette's masterful plotting abilities and his fantastic skill at written action sequences do the rest. However, that never happens. The kidnappers are flat and boring, Butron, while kinda funny sometimes, is also flat. The narrative is plodding, the action not good.
There are a great many Manchette books worth the time--Nada, Three to Kill, and Fatale come to mind. But this one is not
December 23, 2024
Άλλο ένα από τα μέχρι πρότινος αμετάφραστα βιβλία του Ζαν-Πατρίκ Μανσέτ, επιτέλους στα ελληνικά. Έστω και με ένα βιβλίο κάθε Δεκέμβριο, οι εκδόσεις Άγρα κάνουν το καθήκον τους απέναντι στους φανατικούς οπαδούς του συγκεκριμένου συγγραφέα. Το "Η υπόθεση Ν' Γκούστρο" είναι το πρώτο βιβλίο του Μανσέτ, δηλαδή με αυτό ξεκίνησε την καριέρα του στον χώρο των νουάρ, οπότε μιλάμε για ένα πρωτόλειο έργο με όλα τα μειονεκτήματα και τα πλεονεκτήματα που μπορεί να έχει ένα τέτοιο έργο ενός κατά τ' άλλα εξαιρετικού συγγραφέα: Του λείπει η συνοχή, η πλοκή είναι κάπως αλλού γι' αλλού σε ορισμένα σημεία, οι χαρακτήρες είναι μάλλον επίπεδοι (και όλοι τους σκέτα καθάρματα) και θα έλεγα ο ορισμός της καρικατούρας (πιθανότατα εκούσια επιλογή του συγγραφέα), από την άλλη όμως η γραφή τα σπάει, διαθέτει νεύρο, είναι κοφτή και κοφτερή, με το γνωστό ανελέητο και κυνικό χιούμορ που τόσο λατρεύουμε εμείς οι οπαδοί του Μανσέτ. Ναι, εντέλει μου άρεσε το βιβλίο, πέρασα καλά διαβάζοντάς το, είδα σε αυτό τη μετέπειτα εξέλιξη του αγαπητού Ζαν-Πατρίκ, αλλά σε καμία περίπτωση δεν το προτείνω για πρώτη επαφή. Πρέπει να διαβαστεί, αλλά αφού πρώτα διαβαστούν δυο-τρία από τα καλά του βιβλία. (7.5/10)
December 20, 2024
Manchette's debut novel is a retelling of the Ben Barka affair from the posthumous tapes of a nihilist, racist, narcissistic filmmaker named Henri Butron who adopts the masks of fascism and communism through his brief life seemingly for no reason beyond personal gain (usually money, violence, and chasing tail).
I love Manchette, and this is an early road map of his key interests and themes but it lacks the snap and crunch of his later works. Butron goes from a fascinating Celine/Jim Thompson-type narrator to a bit of a bore by the novel's end. It also has some of Manchette's most questionable content I have read thus far-- Butron is virulently racist so I understand his portion containing such content, but the African colonel/leaders (written in third person omniscience, listening to Butron's tapes) have some very uhhhh let's say dubious descriptions to some of their features. It is still a solid and often very engaging work (Gary Indiana's NYRB introduction is fantastic) but Manchette would mature quickly as a writer in a very short time. A document more than a tour-de-force.
I love Manchette, and this is an early road map of his key interests and themes but it lacks the snap and crunch of his later works. Butron goes from a fascinating Celine/Jim Thompson-type narrator to a bit of a bore by the novel's end. It also has some of Manchette's most questionable content I have read thus far-- Butron is virulently racist so I understand his portion containing such content, but the African colonel/leaders (written in third person omniscience, listening to Butron's tapes) have some very uhhhh let's say dubious descriptions to some of their features. It is still a solid and often very engaging work (Gary Indiana's NYRB introduction is fantastic) but Manchette would mature quickly as a writer in a very short time. A document more than a tour-de-force.
October 17, 2021
No heroes in this unsavory tale of violence, greed and stupidity. Our weaselly protagonist, Butron, reminded me a bit of the lead character in A Clockwork Orange. Senseless depravity partaken in for fun. It was pretty thrilling and at times darkly humorous thanks to the masterful language and descriptive powers of Manchette. Apparently based on a true story of the violent death of an African nation's opposition leader in the 60's, helped along by a hapless libertine acting in what he thought was self-interest but tragically lacking any clear headedness in sensing the dangerous games being played by more powerful elements. His inflated sense of being a badass in his own right is proven to be utterly ridiculous. Butron's constantly shifting allegiances, adopted one day easily discarded the next, all just an excuse to practice the art of mayhem leading to his brief turn as a bit player in global politics. Fast paced and quite entertaining.
October 14, 2025
Σφιχτό νουάρ αστυνομικό, που περιγράφει μια πραγματική ιστορία (την απαγωγή και δολοφονία ενός Μαροκινού πολιτικού στα 60s),
μέσα από την (σε μεγάλο βαθμό προϊόν μυθοπλασίας εν προκειμένω) ιστορία ενός μάλλον ασήμαντου πρωταγωνιστή: ενός παραβατικού Γάλλου, (κατά φαντασία) κινηματογραφιστή,
που χρησιμοποιείται τελικά ως δόλωμα για το Μαροκινό.Τα κεφάλαια εναλάσσονται, μεταξύ πρωτοπρόσπωης αφήγησης του Γάλλου σε παρελθοντικό χρόνο, και τριτοπρόσωπης σε πολύ αργό παρόν,
όπου οι δύο παραστρατιωτικοί αφρικάνοι συζητούν , και ουσιαστικά δίνουν στον αναγνώστη το ιστορικό πλαίσιο.
Άγριο και χωρίς κανένα ενδιαφέρον για την πολιτική ορθότητα, όπως και ο ήρωας του, με κράτησε ως το τέλος.
Καλό εύρημα η εναλλαγή των κεφαλαίων, η νωχελική σκηνή στο κρυσφήγετο του Ούφιτσι από τη μία κοιμίζει αλλά από την άλλη έχει μια συνεχή υποβόσκουσα ένταση, ενώ αμέσως μετά τα κεφάλαια του Μπυτρόν είναι φρενήρη και χαοτικά, σε πολλά σημεία και δύσκολα πιστευτά, αν θέλει κανείς να είναι αυστηρός.
μέσα από την (σε μεγάλο βαθμό προϊόν μυθοπλασίας εν προκειμένω) ιστορία ενός μάλλον ασήμαντου πρωταγωνιστή: ενός παραβατικού Γάλλου, (κατά φαντασία) κινηματογραφιστή,
που χρησιμοποιείται τελικά ως δόλωμα για το Μαροκινό.Τα κεφάλαια εναλάσσονται, μεταξύ πρωτοπρόσπωης αφήγησης του Γάλλου σε παρελθοντικό χρόνο, και τριτοπρόσωπης σε πολύ αργό παρόν,
όπου οι δύο παραστρατιωτικοί αφρικάνοι συζητούν , και ουσιαστικά δίνουν στον αναγνώστη το ιστορικό πλαίσιο.
Άγριο και χωρίς κανένα ενδιαφέρον για την πολιτική ορθότητα, όπως και ο ήρωας του, με κράτησε ως το τέλος.
Καλό εύρημα η εναλλαγή των κεφαλαίων, η νωχελική σκηνή στο κρυσφήγετο του Ούφιτσι από τη μία κοιμίζει αλλά από την άλλη έχει μια συνεχή υποβόσκουσα ένταση, ενώ αμέσως μετά τα κεφάλαια του Μπυτρόν είναι φρενήρη και χαοτικά, σε πολλά σημεία και δύσκολα πιστευτά, αν θέλει κανείς να είναι αυστηρός.
June 16, 2022
there's no question that manchette is a writer of remarkable ability. i didn't know that this was his first novel, which surprises me because it's so magnificent in structure and scope. he has a real talent for being wordy when he needs to be without being purple or verbose, but in this book particularly he goes a bit too far with the economy and his constructions sometimes suffer as a result. still, there's a lot of really great stuff in here. the narrator's nihilistic tone is a bit grating at times though and if i hadn't read his later books i'm sure i'd hate manchette the man by the time i finished this one. i think i still prefer his more sentimental stories (especially nada and the prone gunman), but this definitely lands in the upper half of his work.
November 2, 2023
Nasty as hell. I do like borrowing the frame device from Double Indemnity; you can see some of the obsession he has with workmanlike details (names of guns and cars), but it hasn't fully emerged yet. The man has his fascinations. The formal structure is more interesting, switching between past and present, including journalistic summaries of some of the narrator's exploits, etc. That reliance on formal experiment might indicate that he's not as 'mature' here as he gets in later, better books like Mad and the Bad and Nada. Still, I liked this one more than Fatale and 3 To Kill
October 19, 2022
There's a lot that can be done with combining the fall of colonialism with the fear of socialism and the world of political crime that combination spawned. It's a damn shame Manchette decided to model his main character after the one in the movie Breathless , an insufferable asshole who is only funny sometimes entirely on accident.
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September 10, 2023twisting between the rambling confessions of a wayward a-politico (henri butron), and the macabre idling of a political torturer/killer (Marshal George Clemenceau Oufiri) you are met with so much despicable evil. being carried on as plainly as day. the slow accumulation of death by apathy. or the clean efficiency of para-political systems manipulating emotional pawns.
April 30, 2025
Pretty rough main character, gnarly story and a really fast read. Pro tip- read the introduction first! I usually don’t read the intro to books until after I finish so they don’t spoil anything. The book is loosely based on a true story and the intro goes over that. Had I read it first it would have made the book easier to follow.
June 30, 2025
Some tolerance is required for the grossly outdated "bad guys" who narrate the story. The backstory of these fictionalized disturbing true events makes the book worth reading. It dares me to find more information about the disappearance of Medhi Ben Barka and the political and criminal elements involved.
November 22, 2025
Το συγκεκριμένο βιβλίο είναι από αυτά που χαρακτηρίζω λίγο παράξενα. Η ιστορία του Ανρί Μπυτρον η οποία είναι πολύ ενδιαφέρουσα αλλά διανθιζεται με πολλά πολιτικά σχόλια και άλλες ιστορίες που δεν βγάζουν και πολύ νόημα. Η γλώσσα που χρησιμοποιεί ο συγγραφέας είναι πολύ πιο ωμή και σκληρή. Κατά τα άλλα με μπέρδεψε αρκετά και δεν έβγαλα και πολύ νόημα.
October 24, 2021
Manchette's first and perhaps nastiest work. One of the great portraits of a self-aggrandizing rightwing thug, not as capable, smart, or as irresistible as he thinks he is, and tolerated only as long as he plays some small part in a larger scheme that he neither understands nor cares much about.
January 25, 2022
Odd little novel - as per Manchette - and very original. The idea of the dual voices (Butron's taped confession, intercut with the assorted agents and African bad boys) is interesting. And Butron's a fine portrait of an amoral quasi-fascist thug. Genre-busting, for sure.
June 28, 2022
I’m gradually accepting that all the good Machettes were translated early. Interesting ideas and perspectives behind this but the characters are all paper-thin and the dialogue painful. Stick with the books about hitmen.
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