“Evocative . . . A paean to the life, cities and food of the Mediterranean . . . His essays . . . reveal a man of deep feeling and humanity” (The Guardian). A short sublime book on the three things dearest to Jean-Claude Izzo’s heart: his native Marseilles, the sea in all its splendor, and Mediterranean noir―the literary genre his books helped to found. This collection of writings shows Izzo, author of the acclaimed Marseilles trilogy, at his most contemplative and insightful. His native city, with its food, its flavors, its passionate inhabitants, and its long, long history of commerce and conviviality, constitute the lifeblood that runs through all of Izzo’s work. Reminiscent of Henry Miller’s The Colossus of Maroussi and the lyrical essays of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and Albert Camus, as uplifting and touching as Daniel Klein’s Travels with Epicurus, this slender volume will appeal equally to gourmets who delight in the strong flavors of Mediterranean cuisine, to those travelling on the Riviera (or arm-chair travelers who wish they could), and, naturally, to aficionados of noir fiction. Praise for Jean-Claude Izzo “Mr. Izzo was a marvelous food writer . . . His books are filled with winning descriptions of Provencal meals run through with the flavors of north Africa, Italy, Greece.”―The New York Times “Just as Raymond Chandler and James Ellroy made Los Angeles their very own, so Mr. Izzo has made Marseilles so much more than just another geographical setting.”―The Economist “In Izzo’s books . . . Marseilles is a ‘ville selon nos coeur,’ a city in tune with our heart . . . A cosmopolitan, maritime city, greedy, sensual and warm.”―Slow Food

Garlic, Mint, & Sweet Basil: Essays on Marseilles, Mediterranean Cuisine, and Noir Fiction

Comics & Graphic Novels

IZZO, JEAN-CLAUDE

Graphic Novels

Europa Editions

In Jean-Claude Izzo's "Mediterranean noir" mysteries, the city of Marseilles is explosive, breathtakingly beautiful, and deadly. This first book in the Marseilles trilogy introduces readers to Fabio Montale, a disenchanted cop who turns his back on a police force marred by corruption and racism and, in the name of friendship, takes the fight against the mafia into his own hands. Ugo, Manu, and Fabio grew up together on the mean streets of Marseilles where friendship means everything. They promised to stay true to one another and swore that nothing would break their bond. But people and circumstances change. Ugo and Manu have been drawn into the criminal underworld of Europe's toughest, most violent and vibrant city. When Manu is murdered and Ugo returns from abroad to avenge his friend's death, only to be killed himself, it is left to the third in this trio, Detective Fabio Montale, to ensure justice is done. Despite warnings from both his colleagues in law enforcement and his acquaintances in the underworld, Montale cannot forget the promise he once made Manu and Ugo. He's going to find their killer no matter the consequences. Fabio Montale is the perfect protagonist in for a fabled city of melancholy beauty.

Total Chaos: Marseilles Trilogy, Book One (Marseilles Trilogy, 1)

Literature & Fiction

World Literature

Book Two in the Marseilles Trilogy This second novel in Izzo's acclaimed Marseilles trilogy is a touching tribute to the author's beloved city, in all its color and complexity. Fabio Montale is an unwitting hero in this city of melancholy beauty. Fabio Montale has left a police force marred by corruption, xenophobia and greed. But getting out is not going to be so easy. When his cousin's son goes missing, Montale is dragged back onto the mean streets of a violent, crime-infested Marseilles. To discover the truth about the boy's disappearance, he infiltrates a dangerous underworld of mobsters, religious fanatics, crooked cops and ordinary people driven to extremes by desperation.

Chourmo: Marseilles Trilogy, Book Two (Marseilles Trilogy, 2)

The final book in the Marseilles trilogy, following Chourmo, from “a talented writer who draws from the deep, dark well of noir (The Washington Post). Ex-cop, loner, Fabio Montale returns in this stunning conclusion to Jean-Claude Izzo’s Marseilles trilogy. Italian Mafiosi are hunting journalist-activist Babette Bellini, and the body count is growing as they close in on their prey. In desperation, Bellini seeks help from her former lover, Montale. Before he has time to shake off his most recent hangover, Montale is receiving sinister phone calls from men with Italian accents who want him to find Bellini for them. Like a woman he can’t leave, like strong liquor he can’t refuse, Marseilles lures Montale back into its violent embrace. Solea is Izzo’s heartfelt cry against the criminal forces corrupting his beloved city. It is his farewell to Marseilles and to its ideal protagonist, Fabio Montale. It concludes an unforgettable trilogy that epitomizes the aspirations and ideals of the Mediterranean noir movement. Praise for Izzo’s Marseilles Trilogy “One of the masterpieces of modern noir.”―The Washington Post “Izzo’s ability to describe Marseilles and to make his readers feel the multiracial reality of that city so directly and authentically is fascinating.”―Andrea Camilleri, New York Times–bestselling author of the Inspector Montalbano series “Sensationally readable . . . Full of fascinating characters.”―Chicago Tribune “Terrific.”―The New York Times “Like the best noir writers―and make no mistake, he is among the best―Izzo not only has a keen eye for detail . . . but also digs deep into what makes men weep.”―Time Out New York

Solea: Marseilles Trilogy, Book Three (Marseilles Trilogy, 3)

Literary

Ugo, Manu, and Fabio grew up together on the mean streets of Marseilles, where friendship and loyalty mean everything. As adults, Ugo and Manu are drawn into the city’s criminal underworld, and when both men are murdered it is left to Detective Fabio Montale to avenge their deaths. A disenchanted cop with an inimitable talent for living, Montale turns his back on a police force marred by corruption and racism and, in the name of friendship, takes the fight against the mafia into his own hands.

Total Chaos (Marseilles Trilogy)

World Noir

Second in the renowned Marseilles trilogy following Total Chaos, “one of the masterpieces of modern noir” (Michael Dirda, The Washington Post). This second novel in Izzo’s acclaimed Marseilles trilogy is a touching tribute to the author’s beloved city, in all its color and complexity. Fabio Montale is an unwitting hero in this city of melancholy beauty. Montale has left a police force marred by corruption, xenophobia, and greed. But getting out is not going to be so easy. When his cousin’s son goes missing, Montale is dragged back onto the mean streets of a violent, crime-infested Marseilles. To discover the truth about the boy’s disappearance, he infiltrates a dangerous underworld of mobsters, religious fanatics, crooked cops, and ordinary people driven to extremes by desperation. “Noir at its finest.”―The Times Literary Supplement “Izzo, who died in 2000, is more than adept at noir conventions―gritty light, sudden switches of scene, the pervasive rot of cynicism, which sullies even the best intentions. But what makes his work haunting is his extraordinary ability to convey the tastes and smells of Marseilles, and the way memory and obligation dog every step his hero takes.”―The New Yorker “Like the best American practitioners in the genre, Izzo refrains from any sugarcoating of the city he depicts or the broken and imperfect men and women who people it.”―Publishers Weekly “This hard-hitting series captures all the world-weariness of the contemporary European crime novel, but Izzo mixes it with a hero who is as virile as he is burned out.”―Booklist

Chourmo (Marseilles Trilogy)

About the Author\nJean-Claude Izzo was born in Marseilles, France in 1945. Best known for the Marseilles trilogy (Total Chaos, Chourmo, Solea), Izzo is also the author of The Lost Sailors, A Sun for the Dying, and one collection of short stories, Living Tires. Izzo is widely credited with being the founder of the modern Mediterranean noir novel. He died in 2000 at the age of fifty-five.\nFor Europa Editions, Howard Curtis has translated five novels by Jean-Claude Izzo, including all three books in his Marseilles trilogy, as well as works by Francisco Coloane, Luis Sepúlveda, Caryl Férey, Daniel Arsand, Santiago Gamboa, and Carole Martinez.\n“Evocative . . . A paean to the life, cities and food of the Mediterranean . . . His essays . . . reveal a man of deep feeling and humanity” (The Guardian).\nA short sublime book on the three things dearest to Jean-Claude Izzo’s heart: his native Marseilles, the sea in all its splendor, and Mediterranean noir―the literary genre his books helped to found. This collection of writings shows Izzo, author of the acclaimed Marseilles trilogy, at his most contemplative and insightful. His native city, with its food, its flavors, its passionate inhabitants, and its long, long history of commerce and conviviality, constitute the lifeblood that runs through all of Izzo’s work. 
Reminiscent of Henry Miller’s The Colossus of Maroussi and the lyrical essays of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and Albert Camus, as uplifting and touching as Daniel Klein’s Travels with Epicurus, this slender volume will appeal equally to gourmets who delight in the strong flavors of Mediterranean cuisine, to those travelling on the Riviera (or arm-chair travelers who wish they could), and, naturally, to aficionados of noir fiction. 
Praise for Jean-Claude Izzo\n“Mr. Izzo was a marvelous food writer . . . His books are filled with winning descriptions of Provencal meals run through with the flavors of north Africa, Italy, Greece.”―The New York Times\n“Just as Raymond Chandler and James Ellroy made Los Angeles their very own, so Mr. Izzo has made Marseilles so much more than just another geographical setting.”―The Economist\n“In Izzo’s books . . . Marseilles is a ‘ville selon nos coeur,’ a city in tune with our heart . . . A cosmopolitan, maritime city, greedy, sensual and warm.”―Slow Food

Garlic, Mint, & Sweet Basil

Biographies & Memoirs

Professionals & Academics

Europa Compass

Chourmo

“Izzo digs deep into what makes men weep.” 
―Time Out New York\nThe third and final installment in the remarkable Marseilles Trilogy (Total Chaos, Chourmo), Solea continues Jean-Claude Izzo’s distinctive brand of vibrant crime writing, skillfully evoking a time and place that has captured the hearts and imaginations of readers the world over. Marseilles’ simmering issues of race, politics, organized crime and big business come to a rolling boil. Ex-cop, loner, would-be bon vivant, Fabio Montale is back and his heartfelt cry against the criminal forces devastating his beloved Marseilles provides the touching conclusion to a trilogy that epitomizes the aspirations and ideals of the Mediterranean noir movement.

Solea (Marseilles Trilogy, 3)

Genre Fiction

The latest fast-paced Izzo thriller features Inspector Fabio Montale, the Marseilles flick fond of pretty women, good food and drink - and solo fishing trips. What will his catch be this time?

One Helluva Mess (Eurocrime)

Arcadia Books Ltd

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