is the second book by Jean Echenoz that I have read, the first being the 1999 novel I'm Gone: A Novel
which won the Prix Goncourt the most prestigious literary award in France.The best way I can think to describe this book is to posit that it would be the spy/intrigue novel Le Carre would've written if he were born 20 yrs later as a contemplative cafe'd Frenchman. The core of the story is about a half baked insurrection at a Malaysian rubber plantation, spearheaded by an Ex-Pat frenchman, a self titled 'Duke', and two native brothers, and of course the Duke and the brothers have different priorities. During this Echenoz gives us several other stories that all coincide and eventually intersect, a la "Pulp Fiction", one being an Odyssean chronicle of a homeless wanderer through France going underground to meet 'cannibals' and on a long ocean journey to battle. As I write this thinking back it almost seems an intentional tribute to Homer, making me want to revisit it already.
Surely more meandering than casual readers would be familiar with, Echenoz writes in what I'd describe as a 'French' style, looking out at the world with patience almost as if sitting at an outside cafe sipping coffee and eating a croissant. Obviously I'm romanticizing, but in my defense, when speaking of Echenoz, it is so easy to romanticize because of the ease with which he weaves poetry into his prose, describing what many of us would see as wonder-less and mundane he injects with beauty and symmetry.
So, find a copy, pick it up, take your time with it, and enjoy.
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