Le pas du renard by Claude Izner (review)

Reviews 211 commerces—Félix Potin (24) et Inno (115) ont été emportés avec leur jeunesse. Seule la musique poursuit son parcours, imperturbable et imperméable aux jours qui passent. Triste et douloureux, ce roman touchera le cœur des plus sensibles. Auburn University (AL) Samia I. Spencer Izner, Claude. Le pas du renard. Paris: 10/18, 2016. ISBN 978-2-264-06377-9. Pp. 335. 17 a. The very gifted sisters—Laurence and Liliane—are happily at it again. After the twelve volumes of the Victor Legris turn-of-the-century bookstore owner/crime solver series, a new hero appears: young Jeremy Nelson, displaced American pianist, with a passion for jazz, seeking his origins in Paris,“aux années folles,”also called“the roaring twenties.” In our era, where easy and fast reign supreme, Claude Izner does not disappoint. In this painstakingly researched novel, with in-depth attention to detail, language, argot, music, literature, cinema, and more, readers immediately find themselves immersed in the Paris of the 1920s, and delighted to be part of the plot. Just learning why policemen were nicknamed“poulets”is enlightening.Also, the reference to some of the characters from the Legris novels is a pleasant surprise. After securing the job of pianist at the Mi-Ka-Do Club, Jeremy turns toward finding his father, whom his Russian, French-speaking mother Doucia has indicated that Paris was his last known address. Jeremy unwittingly becomes entangled in a plot to kill the employees of said establishment. Could one of these be the actual assassin? When Jeremy is attacked, solving the interrelationship of the cases becomes imperative.With a myriad of characters, a burned building, a cinema in its place, where does the truth lie? Izner provides the reader with every taste, scent, color, sound, and fabric of post-World War I Paris, focusing on the scene of the cabaret and Belleville. Jeremy has no idea where to find the culpable party:“Mais pourquoi éliminer trois anciens locataires d’un immeuble jadis ravagé par les flammes? Et lui? Quelle raison avait-on de le persécuter? Avait-il atterri au Mi-Ka-Do par un malencontreux concours de circonstances ou l’avait-on intentionnellement aimanté vers un traquenard?” (256). Although Jeremy makes his way through the multi-murder crime, we know he will need to complete his own odyssey. Izner projects two more installments with Jeremy, his friends Sammy, and Jacob (a new love perhaps), Camille, and a renewal with characters of the past via Victor Legris and a trip to London. This reader cannot wait for the next volume, with its aphorisms such as “le silence est un pote qui ne vous trahit jamais,” (324) or “qui accroît ses connaissances accroît ses peines: heureux les ignorants!”(325). Izner creates a narrative into which the reader plunges wholeheartedly and avidly. The evildoers are often punished, and good triumphs. Antagonists and protagonists are plentiful, reflecting the moment, location, and precarious natures of their lives, all with a rich vocabulary and structure to support them. Le pas du renard is a great read. Alliance Française de Santa Rosa (CA) Davida Brautman Khadra, Yasmina. La dernière nuit du Raïs. Paris: Julliard, 2015. ISBN 978-2-26002418 -7. Pp. 216. 18 a. Voici l’histoire d’un des plus grands mégalomanes du vingtième siècle,un dictateur malade, assoiffé de pouvoir absolu: Mouammar Kadhafi. Le 19 octobre 2011, sous les bombardements aériens de l’Otan, Syrte se retrouve plongée dans une guerre civile entre des rebelles infiltrés par des groupes islamistes et d’obscures milices rivales. La dernière nuit du Raïs procède par des retours en arrière dans la vie du Frère Guide. Pour mieux nous en décrire sa chute jusqu’au bout d’une nuit vertigineuse, Khadra s’est mis dans la peau du tyran:“J’étais la légende faite homme. Les idoles et les poètes me mangeaient dans la main. Aujourd’hui je n’ai à léguer à mes héritiers que ce livre qui me relate les dernières heures de ma fabuleuse existence” (quatrième de couverture). Ces flashbacks...