Reviews
"For Manchette and the generation of writers who followed him, the crime novel is no mere entertainment, but a means to strip bare the failures of society, ripping through veils of appearance, deceit, and manipulation to the greed and violence that are the society's true engines."-- Boston Globe "There's not a superfluous word or overdone effect . . . one of the last cool, compact and shockingly original crime novels Manchette left as his legacy to modern noir fiction."-- New York Times Book Review "This is lean, mean noir fiction that cleverly sends up the tough guy genre while incarnating it perfectly."-- Detroit Free Press "Jean-Patrick Manchette's terse prose moves like the swift, almost automatic methods and mannerisms of his protagonist."-- The Wall Street Journal "Terse behaviorist prose . . . drives the narrative relentlessly and even gleefully forward. . . . For the first time, readers can experience in English translation the masterful thriller considered Manchette's finest, proof positive that the French knew what they were talking about when they labeled this sort of novel 'noir'."-- Publishers Weekly "Manchette is a master of both economy and irony. Brutal and bracing: Terrier's tale fascinates even as it chills."-- Kirkus Reviews, For the first time readers can experience in English translation the masterful thriller considered Manchette's finest, proof positive that the French knew what they were talking about when they labeled this sort of novel 'noir'., Jean-Patrick Manchette, the French novelist who died in 1995, is no stereotypical thriller writer. His world is external, all action and scheduling, like some off-kilter 'Mission: Impossible' episode. English-language fans of thrillers should be grateful to have more of him., In France, which long ago embraced American crime fiction, thrillers are referred to 'polars.' And in France the godfather and wizard of polars is Jean-Patrick Manchette.... For Manchette and his generation of writers who followed him, the crime novel is no mere entertainment, but a means to strip bare the failures of society, ripping through veils of appearance, deceit, and manipulation to the greed and violence that are the society's true engines., For the first time, readers can experience in English translation the masterful thriller considered Manchette's finest, proof positive that the French knew what they were talking about when they labeled this sort of novel 'noir'., "This is lean, mean noir fiction that cleverly sends up the tough guy genre while incarnating it perfectly."-- Detroit Free Press "Jean-Patrick Manchette's terse prose moves like the swift, almost automatic methods and mannerisms of his protagonist."-- The Wall Street Journal "Terse behaviorist prose . . . drives the narrative relentlessly and even gleefully forward. . . . For the first time, readers can experience in English translation the masterful thriller considered Manchette's finest, proof positive that the French knew what they were talking about when they labeled this sort of novel 'noir'."-- Publishers Weekly "Manchette is a master of both economy and irony. Brutal and bracing: Terrier's tale fascinates even as it chills."-- Kirkus Reviews, Manchette describes his characters with the same wealth of external detail, icily delivered, that he uses for apartment decor or a hi-fi system., This is lean, mean noir fiction that cleverly sends up the tough guy genre while incarnating it perfectly., There's not a superfluous word or overdone effect in The Prone Gunman, one of the last cool, compact and shockingly original crime novels Manchette left as his legacy to modern noir fiction., This superbly muscular translation of the late French mystery writer Jean-Patrick Manchette's most celebrated work, The Prone Gunman, is the third volume issued [by] City Lights Noir. The series may prove to be the most needed contribution to contemporary fiction by any publisher in a good long while., "This is lean, mean noir fiction that cleverly sends up the tough guy genre while incarnating it perfectly."--Detroit Free Press "Jean-Patrick Manchette's terse prose moves like the swift, almost automatic methods and mannerisms of his protagonist."--The Wall Street Journal "Terse behaviorist prose . . . drives the narrative relentlessly and even gleefully forward. . . . For the first time, readers can experience in English translation the masterful thriller considered Manchette's finest, proof positive that the French knew what they were talking about when they labeled this sort of novel 'noir'."--Publishers Weekly "Manchette is a master of both economy and irony. Brutal and bracing: Terrier's tale fascinates even as it chills."--Kirkus Reviews