Mathias Énard

The narrator of Rue des Voleurs, Lakhdar, is a young Moroccan, disowned by his parents and trying to make his own way in the world, who finds himself on the fringes of the Arab Spring and the anti-austerity protests of the Spanish Indignados Movement. By accident of what he could buy cheaply in Tangier, he has acquired a passion for old French Polars, by preference Série noire titles by Manchette or Izzo. But he's also taught himself to appreciate Classical Arabic prose and poetry. In an show more ideal world, he would become one of the author's students when he gets to Barcelona; as it is, with capitalism apparently crumbling around him and Islam going mad, he finds himself living as an illegal migrant in the aptly-named Carrer Robadors, between drug-dealers and prostitutes.

Énard has fun with a complicated web of allusions to French, Spanish and American crime-stories, Ibn Battuta, Casanova, the Koran, the poems of Nizar Qabbani, the novels of Mohamed Choukri, and a great deal more — the Algeciras section seems to have some strong Joseph Conrad vibes, for instance. Énard may have a rather dark vision of the world we are living in, and it's clear from the start that it's going to end in disaster of some sort, but Lakhdar's ironic detective-story voice is always a joy to listen to, so it can't really be called a depressing book. Highly recommended. show less

Enard's prose is gorgeous, and this blended novel moves fluidly between the story of an anonymous few and a larger, sprawling story of a family broken, remade, and broken again. War haunts both narratives, anonymous in one and multiple in the other, putting a hyper-focus on how war troubles and unmakes identity as well as connection. And yet, though the themes are visibly careful and the author's artistry cannot be denied, it's the individuals in the anonymous sections that, for me, fill the show more work with emotion as sort of tortured everymen.

Readers be warned, some of the territory here is difficult to read, even aside from the wars. If there are content warnings you normally look out for, look up the warnings for this work.

For my part, I fell in love with Enard's prose and the radiating truth of his characters here, and I cannot wait to read more of his work.

Absolutely recommended. show less

Para leer este libro hay que tener estómago. Es una lectura muy dura, no por como está escrita, sino por lo que cuenta. Es la historia, narrada en primera persona, de un francotirador, del que no se dice el nombre en ningún momento, que lucha en una guerra civil, no se dice tampoco cuál. "Lo más importante es el aliento", dice. Sólo busca el tiro certero, a mujeres, niños,..., no importa. El francotirador se pasa mucho tiempo vigilando al bando contrario, al otro lado de la ciudad, a show more través de su mira; o de escaramuzas con su grupo por la montaña para recuperar pueblos invadidos. Sólo tiene dos amigos, su fusil y Zak. De noche vuelve a su casa, donde le espera sólo su madre, que no puede valerse por sí misma. Se ha vuelto loca. Es entonces cuando contrata a una joven, una niña de 15 años para que la cuide mientras está defendiendo el territorio. El tiro y esta niña, serás sus obsesiones.

No sé qué opinar de este libro. Está muy bien escrito, con frases certeras. Pero lo que cuenta es tan horrible... Te cala hasta los huesos y te deja una sensación de asco, no sólo por el tirador sino por la humanidad en general, que tardas en olvidar. Son cosas que querríamos no saber, para tener a salvo nuestra cordura, pero que están a la orden del día. Y eso es lo más espantoso. show less

Appropriately so, I am virtually speechless. "Zone" is a masterful work but that hardly touches on its power. The sadness, ugliness and cruelty of the last half of the 20th century is laid bare in personal terms. The reader's only way to avoid facing these horrors is to stop reading. However, the reader also realizes that to stop reading is to consciously deny the painful reality of history. We realize it is not "them" but "us".

In addition to the above, Enard also creates a literary wonder. show more The prose is both touching and powerful. The work puts the events in a long-term historical perspective without being pedantic or tedious.

The very real danger for me and likely others, is to lose hope. We don't see a path forward. This microcosm is the story of our species writ small. I won't say you should read "Zone"; you must read "Zone". show less