Double Jeopardy [Paperback]

Jean Echenoz (Author), Mark Polizzotti (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 28, 1994

"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.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The latest novel by Echenoz, who won France's Medici Prize for Cherokee , justifies the cliched description "a roller-coaster ride," not just because of its wild velocity but also because it concentrates on the ride itself rather than on getting anywhere. Jean-Francois ("Jeff") Pons and Charles Pontiac were once in love with Nicole Fischer. When she preferred a third man to either of them, Jeff went to Malaysia to manage a rubber plantation, while Charles became a protean Parisian vagrant. Thirty years later, Jeff needs weapons for a particularily frivolous labor dispute he has fomented. Returning to Paris, he enlists the aid not only of Nicole and Charles, but also of his nephew Paul and Paul's buddy, Bob, who occasionally smuggle small arms. To complete the generational parallel, both Paul and Bob are interested in Nicole's daughter Justine. Further confusing the plot are a Russian manservant, a used appliance/small weapons importer, Malay insurgents, mutinous sailors and an appealingly inept crew of Belgian toughs. Those willing to suspend demands for narrative cohesion will savor Echenoz's easy command of comedy based on rhythm, juxtaposition and, most of all, upending the reader's literary assumptions.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

In this fast-moving tale, reminiscent of a detective novel, Echenoz crosses the boundaries of time and space as he introduces us to Charles and Jeff, who were in love with Nicole 30 years ago; Paul, Jeff's nephew, who falls for Justine, Nicole's daughter by a dead pilot; and Bob, Paul's friend. Bob and Paul unwittingly duplicate Charles and Jeff's past pursuit of Nicole, as they both try to win the love of her daughter. In the background, and setting the pace for the story, is the subplot of an arms-smuggling campaign to Malaysia, where Jeff manages a rubber plantation. The off-beat characters are delightful and well drawn, and their curious relationships will keep the reader entertained until the last page. The author is the winner of the Medici Prize for Cherokee (Godine, 1987) and the European Literature Prize for his best-selling Lac. -- Peggie Partello, Keene State Coll., N.H.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 233 pages
• Publisher: Bison Books (September 28, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0803267258
• ISBN-13: 978-0803267251
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,130,288 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Too Much Irony, May 5, 2003

By 

A. Ross (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Double Jeopardy (Paperback)

Echenoz is a big cheese in French lit, and having kind of enjoyed his 1983 Prix Médicis-winning book Cherokee, I thought I'd check out this 1987 novel of his. The thing I didn't like about Cherokee was its huge cast of characters, and again, there are a lot of people to keep track of and quite a lot happens, but none of it seems to be of any consequence. Kind of a style over substance problem. The plot can barely be summarized, but basically it revolves around gunrunning. Parisians Paul and Bob sell guns illegally and are interested in Justine. Jeff (aka Jean-Francois, AKA Pons, AKA Duke) and Charles need guns to stir up a little trouble in Malaysia so that Jeff can be a plantation manager/feudal lord without any interference from the pesky owners. They both used to be interested in Justine's mother, Nicole, and Charles is also Paul's uncle. Finally, there are some Belgian gangsters, Plankaert, Toon, and Van Os, who are mad that Paul and Bob won't sell them guns and thus kidnap Justine. (If you intend to read the book, do yourself a favor and print this out, 'cause trying to keep it straight as you're reading ain't easy.)

What sounds simple and straightforward above, really isn't in Echenoz's fractured style. He playfully hops, skips, and jumps, all over the place, and while it's not an experimental work, it's a far cry from traditional narrative structure. It's more about the rhythm of the story and the irony and comedy derived from his telling a series of melodramatic events in a exceedingly deadpan way. There's the kidnapping or two, a mutiny, bank robbery, worker uprising, lost loves, unrequited longing, long-lost relations, and all manner of melodrama. Some scenes are quite wonderful and witty, however, the story is never really taken seriously by the author, and thus the book is kind of a big piece of steaming irony. (It's not without reason that there's an academic work in French titled, "Irony in the Works of Echenoz"). It gets pretty tiresome after the first quarter of the book, and I don't think I'll be bothering to seek out any more of his stuff, although the Prix Goncourt-winning I'm Gone is supposed to be quite good.