A single volume that gathers together three of the most remarkable novels from Jean Echenoz, the �most distinctive French voice of his generation" (The Washington Post), Three by Echenoz demonstrates the award-winning author's extraordinary versatility and elegant yet playful style at its finest. �A parodic thriller sparkling with wit" (L'Humanit�), Big Blondes probes our universal obsession with fame as a television documentary producer tries to track down a renowned singer who has mysteriously disappeared. A darkly ...
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A single volume that gathers together three of the most remarkable novels from Jean Echenoz, the �most distinctive French voice of his generation" (The Washington Post), Three by Echenoz demonstrates the award-winning author's extraordinary versatility and elegant yet playful style at its finest. �A parodic thriller sparkling with wit" (L'Humanit�), Big Blondes probes our universal obsession with fame as a television documentary producer tries to track down a renowned singer who has mysteriously disappeared. A darkly comedic, noir-style tour de force, it finally answers the age-old question: do blondes have more fun? �Fluid, never forced�like a garment that fits beautifully even inside-out" (Elle), Piano brings Dante's Inferno to contemporary Paris, following Max Delmarc, a concert pianist suffering from paralyzing stage fright and alchoholism, as he meets his untimely death and descends through purgatory�part luxury hotel, part minimum-security prison�into a modern vision of hell. Running is �a small wonder of writing and humanity" (L'Express)�a portrait of the legendary Czech athlete Emil Z�topek, who became a national hero, winning three gold medals at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics even as he was compelled to face the unyielding realities of life under an authoritarian regime.
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Jean Echenoz's novel "Piano" interested me because of my passion for the instrument which I have played as an amateur for much of my life. Echenoz (b. 1947) has received the prestigious Prix Goncourt among other literary awards. Eleven of his novels have been translated into English. Echenoz writes in a playful, surrealistic, existential style. This collection of three short novels was my first experience with his work.
"Piano" tells the story of a French pianist, Marc Delmarc, age 50. Delmarc plays beautifully, but is tormented by stage fright and alcoholism. While he loves his instrument and music, his career and life seem to mean little to him. He is also lonely with no sexual relationship with a woman. He lives with his sister, dreams of a woman, Rose, he loved many years earlier, and fantasizes about a married woman whom he often sees walking her dog. When Max is murdered by street hoodlums, he goes to a purgatory for a week and then is returned to an urban life as a bartender in Paris. One of the characters he meets in the purgatory is an attendant, Peggy Lee, who reminds him of -- and may be -- the American singer of popular song and jazz. Peggy Lee's song "Is that All There Is?" seemed to me to capture the spirit of this book as it tells the story of a lost, lonely soul, in this life and in the afterlife. The novel offers an intimate look at Paris. I enjoyed the musical references to works I love, including Schumann's "Scenes from Childhood", the Schubert Impromptu in E-flat major, and Chopin's piano concerto no. 2.
The even shorter novel "Running" is based upon the life of the Czech runner Emil Zatopek (1922 -- 2000) who won three gold medals at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helskini. In 2013, "Runners World" magazine named Zatopek the "greatest runner of all time". Echenoz's novel offers a compelling portrait of Zatopek's life and places it within historical context. It begins with WW II and the German occupation of Czechoslovakia, and covers Zatopek's running and political and personal affairs through the subsequent communist regime. The story is absorbing and poignantly and well told.
The longest work in this collection "Big Blondes" is less successful. It shares some of the themes of lost, fultile lives with "Piano" and some of the characters have the same names. It is a satire on fame, sexuality and the entertainment businsess, filled with murder, travel, and intrigue. Parts of the book are reminiscent of noir, which has a large following in France. This story did not stay with me.
This book will appeal to readers wanting to explore contemporary French literature and with an interest in an existential approach to life.
