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Thierry Jonquet

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Mygale (City Lights Noir) Paperback – January 1, 2003

by Thierry Jonquet (Author), Donald Nicholson-Smith (Translator)

4.5 39 ratings

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This unsettling novel inspired Pedro Almodovar's acclaimed film "The Skin I Live In."

* * *

Mygale [MIG-uh-lee] n.: a genus of large tropical spiders . . .

A highly successful plastic surgeon pursues and captures the man who raped his daughter. He is determined to exact an atrocious vengeance, and an ambiguous, even sadomasochistic relationship develops between self-appointed executioner and victim.

Swift and spare, suspenseful and thought-provoking, Mygale puts the gothic spirit back in the noir canon while introducing unique twists on notions of desire, identity, loss and restitution.

Thierry Jonquet (1954 - 2009) is an exponent of the hardboiled style of French noir that is inflected by post–May 1968 politics and social critique. His crime novels and children's books have garnered many literary prizes.

Print length

120 pages
Language

English
Publisher

City Lights Publishers
Publication date

January 1, 2003
Dimensions

5 x 0.3 x 7.3 inches
ISBN-10

087286409X
ISBN-13

978-0872864092
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Thierry Jonquet
141
Paperback
20 offers from $5.31
Jean-Patrick Manchette
137
Paperback
34 offers from $7.03

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Great art in nightmarish darkness."—Michel Lebrun

"'Ingenious,' 'elegant,' 'sinister' &nash; these are also adjectives that approximate, but fall short of, the narrative power of Mygale. Much like Poe's 'tales of terror,' Mygale is a story that invites both respect and repulsion."—Washington Post Book World

"More Jim Thompson than Raymond Chandler, Jonquet's prose is rough hewn, the panache is all in Mygale's bizarre setup, gruesome scenarios and gender bending ending."—St. Petersberg Times

"Watch your skin crawl with this slim French tickler . . ."—East Bay Express

"[T]his short novel embraces sexual horror with relish; it feels at times like being pulled on a leash through a Bosch painting with the Marquis de Sade leering from the wings."—Maxim Jakubowski, The Guardian

"Mygale . . . is, appropriately enough, a spider web of a book, the different threads spun out until it all comes together in its very neat design. Jonquet serves up some extremely unlikely coincidences to get it to all fit together, but most of what he dishes up is so bizarre that one can almost overlook that. Especially in how he builds it up, Jonquet keeps the reader guessing just enough. And, in any case, it's a quick ride. Jonquet spins out several threads separately, jumping from one to the other until they finally all come together."—Complete Review

About the Author

Thierry Jonquet (b. 1954, Paris ) Jonquet is an exponent of the hardboiled style of French noir that is inflected by post-May 1968 politics and social critique. His main source of inspiration is the daily newspaper, a trove of anecdotal evidence of, in his words, "the barbarity of the world we live in." But his writing is not so much politically engage as cathartic. Jonquets crime novels and children's books have garnered many literary prizes.

Translator bio:

Donald Nicholson-Smith has translated many works of fiction and nonfiction from the French, including The Society of the Spectacle by Guy Debord, The Production of Space by Henri Lefebvre, The Revolution of Everyday Life by Raoul Vaneigem, and Three to Kill by Jean-Patrick Manchette.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ City Lights Publishers (January 1, 2003)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 120 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 087286409X
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0872864092
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 4.5 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5 x 0.3 x 7.3 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #414,674 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,992 in Hard-Boiled Mystery
- #22,135 in Literary Fiction (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.5 39 ratings

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4.5 out of 5

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Revenge. Sweet Revenge.

Reviewed in the United States on January 7, 2008

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Near the beginning of MYGALE, we realize that Richard Lafargue, a prominent plastic surgeon, although he treats his woman Eve pleasantly in the presence of others, indeed hates her guts with a searing intensity. As for Eve, although she is locked up at night in her bedroom, we cannot help but wonder why she does not run away or tell someone of her confinement and brutalization when she is around others. After all, it is not like Lafargue is hiding her. He takes her to local parties and such. And, a couple of times a month, he takes her to a Paris apartment where she is used sexually by paying customers, while Lafargue watches with pleasure through a one-way mirror and laughs at Eve's humiliation.

The mystery slowly unfolds in this intriguing tale of revenge. Lafargue has shackled Eve on to him in a rather unique manner. Although the plot device starts to become apparent about halfway through the book, the originality of it nonetheless allows MYGALE to maintain the steam through to the end. Despite her hatred of Lafargue and her humiliation at his hands, Eve cannot go back to the life she once knew.

Along the way we meet Alex, a thug on the run after killing a cop. His story becomes interwoven with that of Eve, Lafargue, and Lafargue's daughter, who is confined to a mental institution. The loose ends come together tightly as we learn the full truth of what has happened.

I picked up MYGALE as it is published by the same noir division of City Lights Books that published a couple of excellent thrillers by Jean-Patrick Manchette. MYGALE lacks the action of Manchette's books and is more subtle and psychological in nature. But the books share the same terse prose and, although it takes a different approach to noir, MYGALE is, like Manchette's books, worth the time.

Also read:
The Prone Gunman (City Lights Noir) , Jean-Patrick Manchette
Three To Kill , Jean-Patrick Manchette

10 people found this helpful

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Dannis the Mannis

Read it

Reviewed in the United States on September 24, 2013

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Likely, you've seen "the Skin I Live In" before checking this out. If you have, I still have to recommend this, even though roughly 90% of the story will be spoiled for you. But then, people read the same book over and over again for a reason.

Is it better than the film? In many ways, yes. I think Pedro Almodovar had the right idea to make his thriller more of a companion than an adaptation, and so you'll encounter few characters who weren't in the film, but they will have (for the most part) completely different pasts and relationships with the other characters.

What I really liked was the portions where the narrative from Eve's perspective. You would think it would spoil some of the story that way, but it shows her progress into stockholm syndrome. The end was somewhat anti-climatic, but also ironic and beautiful.

It's so short though, but you really can't fault it there. It has the ability to never end, so that it was snipped down to less than 200 pages is commendable.

2 people found this helpful

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This story will have an impact on you.

Reviewed in the United States on September 20, 2013

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Mygale is the story of an esteemed plastic surgeon, Dr. Richard Lafargue, who tracks down and imprisons the young man (Vincent) who raped his daughter. The hostage does not divulge he and a friend, named Alex, molested the physician's daughter.
Four years later, with Vincent still missing, in a strange twist of fate, Alex robs a bank and kills a police officer. With his face caught on tape, police distribute Alex's picture throughout France. To escape, Alex will require a new identity.
While in hiding, Alex watches a television documentary on plastic surgery, performed by Dr. Lafargue. He decides to stalk the physician.
After gathering information on the doctor's home, clinics, and mental institution that houses his daughter, Alex breaks into the physician's home and kidnaps his female companion, Eve. Alex imprisons Eve in a cellar and threatens her with bodily harm unless Dr. Lafargue performs plastic surgery on him.
Without giving the story away, this is a dreadful tale of the doctor's rage, hatred, and disturbing retribution that ripens into affection for his prisoner.
Thierry Jonquet's story, which is one-hundred and twenty-nine pages, will grip and surprise you. I found the story agonizing, but very well written.

3 people found this helpful

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slowroll323

An Excellent Read

Reviewed in the United States on July 31, 2013

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I bought this book because it is the basis for Pedro Almodovar's movie, "The Skin I Live In," which I found fascinating. The book is well written and like Almodovar's movies, it has multiple layers. Best of all, it gave me insights into the movie and and allowed me to understand and appreciate more the screen version of this powerful and compelling book.

2 people found this helpful

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S. Ward

One person found this helpful

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Opinionated

Noir for Sure!

Reviewed in the United States on January 1, 2015

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Concise and well written.