HomeGroupsTalkMoreZeitgeist
Search Site
This site uses cookies to deliver our services, improve performance, for analytics, and (if not signed in) for advertising. By using LibraryThing you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your use of the site and services is subject to these policies and terms.

Results from Google Books

Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.

Loading...

Chopin's Move (1989)

by Jean Echenoz

Other authors: See the other authors section.

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
1403193,539 (3.45)25
With his trademark comically wry phrasing and a sure eye for quirky detail, Echenoz has produced his oddest and most enjoyable novel to date. Chopin's Move interweaves the fates of Chopin, entomologist and recalcitrant secret agent; Oswald, a young foreign-affairs employee who vanishes en route to his new home; Suzy, who gets enmeshed in a tangle of deceit and counterdeceit; the mysterious Colonel Seck, whose motivations are never quite what they seem; and a typically Echenozian supporting cast of neurotic bodyguards, disquieting functionaries, and crafty double agents. As the plot thickens, the characters become embroiled in layer upon layer of deception and double-dealing, leading them further into a world in which nothing can be taken at face value and in which "reality" hinges on apparently harmless coincidence.… (more)
  1. 00
    The Mystery of the Sardine by Stefan Themerson (bluepiano)
    bluepiano: Both are takes on the thriller. Echenoz' antagonists are spies and Themerson's terrorists. Neither story is taut, neither has heroic characters nor ones who are preternaturally clever, neither is in the least bit tidy. Both are well-written and amusing.
None
Loading...

Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book.

No current Talk conversations about this book.

» See also 25 mentions

Spanish (1)  French (1)  English (1)  All languages (3)
This thriller is a sort of logically psychedelic cross between David Lynch and Ian Fleming. Written by a contemporary, multiple award-winning French author, it is a wry satirical commentary of sorts on the thriller/espionage genre of novel. The book is far too taut for my tastes and the author's storyline is either fantastical and hard-to-believe or a deeply wrought nudge at the breadth of current intrigue storylines.

The protagonist, Chopin, is an entymologist/scientist/academic and an erstwhile part-time spy. His niche is using insects as eavesdropping devices or 'bugs as bugs'. This vignette smacks of Thomas Pynchon and is a welcome respite from the farcical but attractive spy storyline. The author plays with the edge of humor and faux-realism. For example, a sentence on evading surveillance: "To get there, he had to apply the classic procedure for discouraging tails, and it was once more and forever the same rigamarole: you hop from one taxi into the Metro entrance, then from another taxi into another Metro, and you jump into the train at the last instant, and you jump off the train just before the doors close, and you cross and recross the building with double exits, then another building, and you hop yet another taxi that drops you fifty yards from the hidden backstreet, which you reach in a sweat, out of breath and certain that this whole business is utterly pointless.

The author is a hit and miss around the other characters, mostly hits : enigmatic and practical Colonel Seck, supporting spies Dr. Belsunce and Mousezy-Eon, and the villain bodyguards. Overall, the read is perhaps too subtle and the crafting of metaphor and wordsmithing too complex for the subject matter, which the author shows a facility for keeping pace and reader interest. A worthy break from the chain of trite predictable spy stories or a complementary filler in a portfolio of an incredibly talented writer, perhaps genius author. However, make this dessert, not your main meal. ( )
  shawnd | Jul 5, 2008 |
no reviews | add a review

» Add other authors (2 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Echenoz, Jeanprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Boot, TruusTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Polizzotti, MarkTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Veth, Mirjam deTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed

Belongs to Publisher Series

Harvill (257)
You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.
For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.
Canonical title
Original title
Alternative titles
Original publication date
People/Characters
Important places
Important events
Related movies
Epigraph
Dedication
First words
Quotations
Last words
Disambiguation notice
Publisher's editors
Blurbers
Original language
Canonical DDC/MDS
Canonical LCC

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English

None

With his trademark comically wry phrasing and a sure eye for quirky detail, Echenoz has produced his oddest and most enjoyable novel to date. Chopin's Move interweaves the fates of Chopin, entomologist and recalcitrant secret agent; Oswald, a young foreign-affairs employee who vanishes en route to his new home; Suzy, who gets enmeshed in a tangle of deceit and counterdeceit; the mysterious Colonel Seck, whose motivations are never quite what they seem; and a typically Echenozian supporting cast of neurotic bodyguards, disquieting functionaries, and crafty double agents. As the plot thickens, the characters become embroiled in layer upon layer of deception and double-dealing, leading them further into a world in which nothing can be taken at face value and in which "reality" hinges on apparently harmless coincidence.

No library descriptions found.

Book description
Haiku summary

Current Discussions

None

Popular covers

Quick Links

Rating

Average: (3.45)
0.5
1
1.5
2 2
2.5 3
3 6
3.5 6
4 10
4.5 1
5 1

Is this you?

Become a LibraryThing Author.

 

About | Contact | Privacy/Terms | Help/FAQs | Blog | Store | APIs | TinyCat | Legacy Libraries | Early Reviewers | Common Knowledge | 202,659,161 books! | Top bar: Always visible