Noir: A Novel [Paperback]

Olivier Pauvert (Author), Adriana Hunter (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2008

France, in the future. A man finds himself wandering the streets of Paris, haunted by a vision of an unknown woman's bloody corpse. He is tormented by her grisly death—and by the terrifying thought, Could I be her murderer? Horror-struck and dazed, he makes his way home, where his wife recoils from him and his friends deride him, hostile and pitiless. Perhaps most shocking of all: when he looks in the mirror, he sees nothing. What follows is a dystopian story of electrifying suspense as the hero chases after the truth—the truth of who he is, of what he has done, and of what has happened to the world around him. Meanwhile, the secret police are after him, and he finds unlikely refuge with the Noir, a secret and highly elusive group wanted by the French National Party. In the spirit of Orwell’s prophetic 1984, Noir brings a fascist France to life in this thriller about politics and morality.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this atmospheric quest through a nightmarish, right-wing–ruled France, an unnamed man discovers he's lost 12 years of his life and is wanted for a brutal murder. The National Party controls daily life, and the Ministry of Racial Differences doesn't allow nonwhites out during the day. Slowly the man learns that he's now a Spirit, casting no reflection, able to kill by allowing people to see into his eyes, with the authorities constantly on his trail. This scenario allows Pauvert to describe much of his country, from Nice to Paris, from the seaside into the Alps, as well as sing the praises of stolen motorcycles. Winner of the Prix Carrefour for Best First Novel, this episodic, poetic book takes an introspective look at identity and dim shadow worlds, where the Fugitive-like figure has the presence of mind to understand that he's a ghost in a world of zombies. Those expecting a traditional thriller with narrative drive will be disappointed. (Dec.)
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From Booklist

A man stumbles upon a horrific murder and is arrested for it. The police van crashes and he dies. He returns to Earth as an “In-Between,” occupying another man’s body, to solve the crime. Twelve years have passed. His daughter has died, and his wife is with another man. Worse, France is under the control of the far-right National Party. Whites rule, blond is in fashion, and nonwhites suffer brutal restrictions. Children are strangely absent from the streets. The man’s violent journey takes him across France, into the past, and deep into himself—and, ultimately, to the heart of an almost unimaginably sinister conspiracy. Pauvert explores responsibility for and responses to totalitarianism while keeping the reader in breathless suspense. Making comparisons to this highly original novel seems unfair, but readers may recall such diverse works as Huxley’s Brave New World, Camus’ The Stranger, Godard’s film Alphaville, P. D. James’ Children of Men, and much of J. G. Ballard’s oeuvre. A powerful and promising debut, marred only by Pauvert’s tendency to explain what he’s quite capably shown. --Keir Graff

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Counterpoint (December 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1582434476
• ISBN-13: 978-1582434476
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,602,456 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 1984ish, and that's ok, January 12, 2009

By 

Jordan Cook (Ames, Iowa) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Noir: A Novel (Paperback)

This is a great novel that could be made into a great film. Pauvert has woven a terrific story that never seems to fully emerge from the dark. The broader picture has been cleared, but ultimate percipience remains in shadow.

France has devolved into a totalitarian state that suppresses racial minorities and rules the white majority with a quick iron fist; who is behind this and what is the goal? The book reveals little, as those in control might not even know. Bits and pieces of the main characters life come to light; what and who he has become after he is charged with murder reveals disturbing aspects of the new France and about his existence. Traveling from south France to Paris to Bordeaux, the story unfolds revealing a future France, similar to the present but, stagnant, controlling, secretive, dark.

I enjoyed how Pauvert moves the book across all of France, creating great depth and breadth (I followed the travels using Google Earth, from city to city). I also enjoyed Pauvert's obvious love of motorcycles, which allows the main character moments of freedom and simply joy, in stark contrast to his actuality. The reader is left with a greater understanding of what has taken place and how France (and perhaps the whole rest of the world) has come to it's new form. But, like "1984" and "Brave New World" (or the film Brazil), don't expect redemption and a happy ending for the protagonist...the world has changed.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars grim dark near futuristic thriller, December 6, 2008

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Noir: A Novel (Paperback)

In 2019 France, he is arrested when he is found by the body of a murder victim. The transport crashes leaving him dazed and frightened to wander the streets of Paris wondering who he is and did he do what the only seeming memory he has. Could he be a murderer as his only vision is that of a brutalized woman's corpse?

He manages to get home, but his wife fears him and worse when he looks in a mirror he fails to recognize the image looking back. No one seems to want to help him; in fact they prefer to turn him over to the cops. The secret police of the ruling French National party search for him even as he learns he has a dark power to stare into someone's eyes until they die. African immigrants take him to the outlawed Noir who help him obtain the truth behind the woman's murder and give him a reason to live: kill the leader of the French National Party.

This grim dark near futuristic thriller modernizes melds and extrapolates 1984 with THE STRANGER into a dystopian 2019. The nameless lead character struggles for understanding in a society totally owned by the party through the use of electronic gizmos and drug control of its citizens. Readers who appreciate a foreboding gloomy suspense saga will appreciate the cat and mouse French morality tale in which fascism rules.

Harriet Klausner

1 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Even skimming it was dull, January 25, 2010

By 

Gabriel - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Noir: A Novel (Paperback)

I gave this book a chance...I got an email from Amazon about the best thrillers/mystery books and this was on there. The premise seemed interesting enough, but this book was a total bore. Maybe it's just me, but it seemed that for all it's schizophrenic scene changing, murders in grisly detail (or totally skimmed over in a few instances), this book was uninteresting. I get it, it's French, so I expected it to be weird, it's been compared to The Stranger, so I shouldn't have expected it to really redeem itself... but can't I have some expectations for a good novel?

I guess the fact that the book is thoroughly French explains a lot of it's failings (in my opinion).

As for the ending...well...you won't finish this with a sense of conclusion or optimism. This is much more of a "huh?" finish than anything. Unless you love Albert Camus, or your novels dark, disturbing, depressing and dull, I would skip this one. It may have won an award in France for best first novel, but given that the author is a pharmacist, the book is about as gripping as his profession.