The Thumbnail Book Reviews
by John Q McDonald --- 12 May 2013
by Delacorta
This short novel is a light-hearted but hard-edged trip through the seedy underside of Parisian life and the business side of operatic music. It seems pertinent to point out that the book was later made into a stylish movie in 1981, which has since gained cult status and remains a favorite of this reader. As the movie was so widely known (perhaps not so much any more?), the novel is perhaps a bit of a curiosity as one of the few works of its author, Delacorta (nom de plume of Swiss author Daniel Odier), to have been translated into English. The movie diverged from the book in the protagonists it focused upon, as well as in its more romantic storytelling. Here, characters we would like to like are a little bit less clear in their motivations and the lengths to which they're willing to go to make their break or protect their stake. We meet young Alba, a precociously lovely teenaged girl, sort of a Lolita to Serge Gorodish, a 40-ish petty criminal with a taste for classical music. This unlikely pair of grifters move into Paris at the opening of the book. That their affair remains unconsummated gratefully keeps the book from being just that much more seedy. Meanwhile, Jules, a motorcycle messenger and big fan of Opera music, is on his way to see the famous and brilliant singer Cynthia Hawkins in a recital. Hawkins has never recorded her music. Jules, however, makes a high-quality bootleg tape of her singing. When a cassette tape outlining all the underhanded activities of big-time gangster Saporta comes to light and somehow becomes confused with Jules's tape of Cynthia Hawkins, a tangle of chase and deal-making ensues. Jules crosses paths with Alba in a record store, and he makes a connection with Serge, who offers to broker a high-paying deal for the Hawkins recording. Meanwhile, Saporta knows the messenger has the incriminating tape (though Jules does not). He ruthlessly pursues Jules. So do a pair of Japanese record producers, as well as a few corrupt as well as non-corrupt cops. Serge, sort of an anti-hero in the movie, brokers a deal that includes a murder, and Jules is surprisingly open to selling the tape of his singing idol. We might be able to expect this to work out fine in the end. It is a bit of a jumble, sort of a pulp fiction. But it is fairly entertaining, and interesting to keep the movie Diva in mind while reading it. Along the way, we can anticipate at least three more novels in which Alba and Serge have further adventures. We leave Jules in a state of grace. Worth a look.