Monsieur Rene: A Novel [Hardcover]

Peter Ustinov (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1999

A novel of great wit, suspense, intrigue, and danger -- an original literary triumph.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Film director, Oscar-winning actor, fiction writer and playwright Ustinov delivers a lively tale of the misadventures of a Geneva retired concierge, Monsieur Ren?. As the president of the International Union of Concierges and Hall Porters, the idealistic widower decides that he and his comrades in hotel service, who in their duties find themselves privy to important and scandalous secrets, should pool their wealth of information and use it to fight evil-doers. Of the rather inept but colorful group he organizes, the most vivacious is housekeeper Agnes Schanderbach. Through Agnes, Ren? gets information about an illegal arms sale being perpetrated by a Mr. Ivanov from Kazakstan and the gay emir of Djabbadieh. But the police chief of Geneva, who has been investigating Agnes for years, thwarts the group's plans. During the Nazi occupation, Agnes's mother was expelled from Switzerland to Germany, but managed to leave Agnes behind. The three military men who handled Agnes's mother's deportation all later died mysteriously of arsenic poisoning, and now Agnes confesses to the murders. Meanwhile, Ren?'s nephew and his girlfriend purloin Ren?'s memoirs and sell them to an English tabloid. Ren? reluctantly makes a deal with the tabloid and a publisher, allowing an unscrupulous ghostwriter to add scandalous experiences to the manuscript. When the sensational book becomes a top seller with a movie tie-in, and Ren? gets unexpectedly rich, he hires detectives to establish Agnes's innocence. Multi-talented Ustinov's spirited farce is full of "pain sublimated into... irony" and possesses the wry charm of a relic from another age.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

M. Rene, a retired concierge living in Switzerland, is one of the most unusual spies one could ever meet. Dignified, discreet, and tastefully dressed, the 70-year-old man is the founder of a small circle of hotel staff who gather information about the doings of their wealthy, powerful guests. Waiting on tables, transporting luggage, and taking messages for politically powerful visitors gives Swiss hotel workers opportunities to sniff out conspiracies before they can be carried out. When the police break up Rene's band of unassuming revolutionaries, however, events conspire to place him and his beloved Agnes in the middle of a murder trial, with Agnes as prime suspect. Forced to rely on the information gathered by his network of friends and his own ability to sniff out the truth, Renemust uncover the evidence that will prove Agnes' innocence. With dry wit, Ustinov spins a delightful tale of romance and intrigue, well seasoned with the philosophical musings of a man who isn't quite certain whether his life is ending or beginning anew. Bonnie Johnston

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 312 pages
• Publisher: Prometheus Books (December 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1573927406
• ISBN-13: 978-1573927406
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,049,947 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Pleasant, Witty, Read, April 27, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Monsieur Rene: A Novel (Hardcover)

M. Rene is a very pleasant, worldly novel that has all of the charm that one would expect from Ustinov, but also some very real intelligence, obviously the product of a thoughtful life. The writing can be a bit meandering, but I'm more interested in characters than plots, so that was not fatal. The story of an old man having an awakening, having a rebirth of sorts, is a wonderful thing, showing the fact that our lives are always capable of being renewed in spirit. Ustinov also gave us a nice glimpse into Swiss society and into the world of those who work in fashionable hotels, which are doubtless more familiar to him than they are to the rest of us! Overall, I enjoyed the book, and would recommend it to those in search of a book with some brains and a sense of humor. Just don't look for a "thrilling, intricate, page-turner of a novel." It's more ruminating than that, and infinitely more satisfying.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An old man's darling, October 3, 2006

By 

Beverley Strong (Australia) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Monsieur Rene: A Novel (Hardcover)

For some reason I always find that books or movies made by exceptionally clever men like Peter Ustinov or Orson Welles to be just that touch TOO clever and that, somehow, they always miss the mark with me... perhaps my tastes are a bit too plebian to fully appreciate their work. Monsieur Rene is a recently retired hotel concierge who has worked at the top hotels around the world and is acquainted with the leading lights in politics, theatre etc. and knows all of their personal foibles. He had been in a loveless marriage for many years but is happier as a widower until he meets a woman who reignites feelings of passion and, after just one night of love making, opens him up to feelings that he has never before experienced. Rene and a couple of his friends dabble in police matters in an attempt by old men to fill their days with something other than the mundane, and bite off more than they could chew. It's all a bit bland and, unfortunately, I found it neither funny or particularly interesting, much as I have the deepest admitation for Peter Ustinov.