Originally published in 1983, Cherokee won the Prix Médicis and established Jean Echenoz as one of Europe's most brilliant young writers. As the reviewer for the Chicago Tribune noted, "Its erstwhile hero is George Chave, maybe a detective, maybe an underworld figure. With him the reader embarks on a breakneck but loving tour of Paris, punctuated by auto chases, mystery ladies, sleazy bars, and innumerable metro stops. Along the way, the detective-reader alternately follows the trail of a rare talking parrot, an eccentric runaway wife, an elusive missing heir, and a weird religious cult." The novel is "a wonderfully funny piece of controlled, chaotic madness," said the Irish Times.

Cherokee

Literature & Fiction

Echenoz, Jean

Contemporary

London: Faber & Faber 1988

Originally published in 1983, Cherokee won the Prix Médicis and established Jean Echenoz as one of Europe's most brilliant young writers. As the reviewer for the Chicago Tribune noted, "Its erstwhile hero is George Chave, maybe a detective, maybe an underworld figure. With him the reader embarks on a breakneck but loving tour of Paris, punctuated by auto chases, mystery ladies, sleazy bars, and innumerable metro stops. Along the way, the detective-reader alternately follows the trail of a rare talking parrot, an eccentric runaway wife, an elusive missing heir, and a weird religious cult." The novel is "a wonderfully funny piece of controlled, chaotic madness," said the Irish Times.

Bison Books

Double Jeopardy

"Double Jeopardy recounts the twin stories spanning two generations of two pairs of male buddies. . . . Transglobal gunrunning, insurrection in a Malaysian rubber plantation, storm-tossed stowaways, mutiny at high sea, armed bank robberies, cannibalism under the streets of Paris and, of course, the infinite complications of unrequited love—all drive the reader from page to page. Yet it is Echenoz's voice, the most distinctive French voice of his generation, that holds us under its spell with its legerdemain of witty turns of phrase, inspired metaphors, fresh pop culture allusions, and the wackiest cast of characters this side of a David Lynch movie."—Washington Post Book World.

Double Jeopardy: A Novel

Here, translated into English for the first time, is one of the most inventive, talented, and enjoyable voices of modern France. Said by Le Monde to be "gifted with a wild, unprecedented imagination," Jean Echenoz won the prestigious Medicis Prize for this startling original novel. Cherokee recounts the adventures of one George Chave, the proverbial innocent who, in his pursuit of love and the mysterious Jenny Weltmann, manages to run afoul of the police, an uncannily large thug, a very deadly con artist (who happens to be George's cousin), two inept private eyes (who happen to be George's colleagues), a cult that worships the Sister-in-Law, and a remarkable knowledgeable (and loquacious) parrot. Written with freshness and verve, and displaying a Flaubertian talent for detail, atmosphere, and language, Cherokee is a humorous and savvy mix of Raymond Queneau, new-wave cinema, traditional roman noir, vintage Buster Keaton, and the rhythms of Charlie Parker (the book's title, in fact, comes from the well-known jazz tune). The author's comic gift pervades this fantastic tale: zany descriptions, burlesque coincidences, and wacky anecdotes make the novel a constant challenge and delight. At the same time, Cherokee is a beautifully crafted work of fiction that calls up every trick played by the detective genre, and it is maintaining the balance between these different levels that the book's real achievement lies. In the words of the Times Literary Supplement, "rarely has the difficult craft of story-telling been as well mastered as here."

David R. Godine, Publisher

In a typical conflation of mystery, comedy, and the remarkable, fortune-teller Bouc Bel-Air tells Paul J., "Everything will come in twos, always more or less in twos." Little does Paul realize that he and his friend will be caught in a wild adventure of gun running, robbery, and insurrection, taking them to distant Malaysia aboard the mutinous Boustrophedon in which characters, events, and plot lines double each other like so many mirrors. A thrilling adventure la Conrad, a sly black comedy, and a finely crafted work of literature.

Literary

With his trademark comically wry phrasing and a sure eye for quirky detail, Echenoz has produced his oddest and most enjoyable novel to date. Chopin's Move interweaves the fates of Chopin, entomologist and recalcitrant secret agent; Oswald, a young foreign-affairs employee who vanishes en route to his new home; Suzy, who gets enmeshed in a tangle of deceit and counterdeceit; the mysterious Colonel Seck, whose motivations are never quite what they seem; and a typically Echenozian supporting cast of neurotic bodyguards, disquieting functionaries, and crafty double agents. As the plot thickens, the characters become embroiled in layer upon layer of deception and double-dealing, leading them further into a world in which nothing can be taken at face value and in which "reality" hinges on apparently harmless coincidence.

Chopin's Move (French Literature)

Dalkey Archive Press

Big Blondes (New Press International Fiction)

Renowned singer Gloire Stella has mysteriously disappeared. When a television producer tries to track her down, Gloire goes on the run. From the cliffs of Brittany to the back alleys of Bombay, Big Blondes is a riotous, nonstop adventure for anyone who has ever wondered whether blondes really do have more fun.

Humor & Entertainment

Polizzotti, Mark

Humor

The New Press

A sophisticated Parisian art dealer abandons his family to join a treasure hunting expedition to the Arctic, only to find himself caught up in a bizarre theft linked to corruption in the international art market. Winner of the 1999 Prix Goncourt.

I'm Gone: A Novel

New Pr

Max Delmarc, age fifty, is a famous concert pianist with two problems: the first is a paralyzing stage fright for which the second, alcohol, is the only treatment. In this unparalleled comedy from the Prix Goncourt–winning French novelist Jean Echenoz, we journey with Max, from the trials of his everyday life, through his untimely death, and on into the afterlife.
After a brief stay in purgatory—part luxury hotel, part minimum security prison, under the supervision of deceased celebrities—Max is cast into an alarmingly familiar partition of hell, “the urban zone,” a dark and cloudy city much like his native Paris on an eternally bad day. Unable to play his beloved piano or stomach his needed drink, Max engages in a hapless struggle to piece his former life back together while searching in vain for the woman he once loved.
An acclaimed bestseller with 50,000 copies sold in France, Piano is a sly, sardonic evocation of Dante and Sartre for the present day, the playful, daring masterpiece of a novelist at the top of his form.

Piano: A Novel

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Echenoz, Jean. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Echenoz, Jean

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Echenoz, Jean. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Cherokee

Cherokee

Double Jeopardy: A Novel

Cherokee

Double Jeopardy

Chopin's Move (French Literature)

Big Blondes (New Press International Fiction)

I'm Gone: A Novel

I'm Gone: A Novel

Piano: A Novel