Sunday, September 20, 2015

Série Noire or The dark soul of French literature

We are back and we will be happy to see you 
on Wednesday 10/7 at 6pm 
at our usual spot - The Cornelia Street Cafe in New York




This first evening of the Fall will be devoted 
to the French detective stories 
that we call "polars" or "romans noirs".

We selected three of them 
among the huge number 
French detective stories writers published.


We will start by a master piece :  Ô Dinguos, Ô chateaux 
by Jean-Patrick Manchette (1942-1995) 
for which he won an award in 1973. 



The book has been lately translated into English by David Nicholson-Smith 
who won the French-American Foundation Translation Prize for Fiction.
The novel was released in English under the title The Mad and the Bad. It is a violent road movie in France in which a young woman, Julie, who just got out of a psychiatric hospital tries to escape and protect the child she is supposed to look after from a young hired killer, Thompson is supposed to kill them. 

This is the cover of Jean Tardi's graphic novel adapted from The Mad and the Bad




We will go on with a novel written by Karim Miské - Arab Jazz
which takes place in one of the multicultural district of Paris 
where Ahmed Taroudant gets involved 
in an investigation about the terrifying murder of Laura Vignole, 
his top floor neighbor. 



Published in 2012, the novel won two awards 
in France and has just been translated into English.


Last but not least, Emmanuelle Ertel's NYU students
 will read the translation they just finished 
of a short story by Emmanuel Grand - Pavillon rouge à La Baule - 
which was published this summer 
by "Le Monde", The French New York Times, 
in its short detective stories collection - "Les petits polars". 



In a sea resort called La Baule, 
a woman during her morning run 
found a body of a drowned man 
who was probably helped to die.


We hope you come and join us for a thrilling French thrillers night



Jean-Patrick Manchette



Karim Miské                       


Emmanuel Grand