Hortense is Abducted [Paperback]

Jacques Roubaud (Author), Dominic Di Bernardi (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 2000

-- First paperback edition.
-- In this madcap metafictional mystery a 22-year-old philosophy student (Hortense) is kidnapped and a dog is murdered -- the imaginary country of Poldevia is somehow involved. Arranged in the form of a sestina (replete with authorial asides and plenty of puns, jokes and wordplay), this is the second installment in Roubaud's popular and widely acclaimed "Hortense" series.
-- A professor of mathematics at the University of Paris X Nanterre and a long time member of Oulipo, the Workshop for Potential Literature, Jacques Roubaud is the author of several novels and works of poetry.
-- First published in the U.S. by Dalkey Archive (1989).

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Roubaud followed up his initial Hortense release with this farce (published here in 1989) in which the police try to foil the plot to kidnap the title character. LJ's reviewer commented that "those who decide to read this book on a bus or train should be forewarned: uncontrollable bursts of laughter will seize you at any time" (LJ 6/15/89).
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"A witty and sexy page-turner." -- Michale Dirda, Washington Post

"Clever. . . . There's plenty of fun to go around, and it is a pleasure to be led by Mr. Roubaud." -- Colin Walters, Washington Times

"Impishly fantastic." -- The Atlantic

"Quirky, mischievous, off-the-wall. . . . Roubaud is not your ordinary writer. And that's his extraordinary attraction." -- Columbus Dispatch

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 229 pages
• Publisher: Dalkey Archive Press (November 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1564782565
• ISBN-13: 978-1564782564
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,723,726 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars How to visit Paris and a new kind of litterature, August 23, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Hortense Is Abducted (Hardcover)

The story? It doesn't really matter. Yes, it's a kind of detective book. With a real french inspector. There's a murder (someone killed a dog). There's a beautiful heroin (with no description, but only imagination). But what you have to savour, are words. Words and atmosphere. As a French person, I really rediscover the place i leave in (it takes place in the Marais). And the characters are so true! If you want to appreciate the parisian cafe atmosphere, some of our every day dysfunctionnement (how to get a book in a library), and so many thing. The way the book is written is amazing. I really wonder how it had been translate, because there are so many subtleties... It's a great book, written by a french contemporary writer, member of the OuLiPo group (with Queneau, Perec, Fournel...)and is representative of this trend.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars i love jacques roubaud, April 24, 2002

By 

mary melgaard (boonton, nj usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hortense is Abducted (Paperback)

i received "Some Thing Black" by Roubaud for my birthday a couple of years ago from my best friend who decided that this book of poems looked like something i would like because of the minimalist cover design...needless to say, i loved it and decided to buy more by jacques roubaud...i started with this book "Hortense Is Abducted" and found it to be a drastic emotional change from "Some Thing Black." Both books are so well done. "Something..." is distinctly sad and enables the reader to explore through Roubaud's words how the death of one whom one is so close to can disrupt our sense of the world. "Hortense.."; however, is extremely witty. While reading it, I begin to laugh randomly, causing alarm to my mom who wonders what I am doing in my room that is so ridiculous. Roubaud certainly has a style all of his own; he treats the reader as a personal aquintance and makes comments on the side that are truly entertaining. I do not believe I have ever been more entertained by an author, nor have i ever felt as close to one after finishing his book. I believe if I were walking down the street and ran into Roubaud that it would feel like running into a good friend who i share many inside jokes with. His ability to make the reader feel this way is a major accomplishment that i have never witnessed any other author be able to do. I think, because of his writing, I have fallen for Jacques Roubaud.