Special Envoy: A Spy Novel
(Adobe EPUB eBook, Kindle Book, OverDrive Read)
"Special Envoy is an exceedingly French spy thriller."
—New York Times Book Review
A dazzling satirical spy novel, part La Femme Nikita, part Pink Panther and part Le Carré—from one of the world's preeminent authors
Jean Echenoz's sly and playful novels have won critical and popular acclaim in France, where he has won the Prix Goncourt, as well as in the United States, where he has been profiled by the New Yorker and called the"most distinctive voice of his generation" by the Washington Post. With his wonderfully droll and intriguing new work, Special Envoy, Echenoz turns his hand to the espionage novel. When published in France, it stormed the bestseller lists.
Special Envoy begins with an old general in France's intelligence agency asking his trusted lieutenant Paul Objat for ideas about a person he wants for a particular job: someone to aid the destabilization of Kim Jong-un's regime in North Korea. Objat has someone in mind: Constance, an attractive, restless, bored woman in a failing marriage to a washed-up pop musician. Soon after, she is abducted by Objat's cronies and spirited away into the lower depths of France's intelligence bureaucracy where she is trained for her mission.
What follows is a bizarre tale of kidnappings, murders and mutilations, bad pop songs and great sex, populated by a cast of oddballs and losers. Set in Paris, rural central France, and Pyongyang, Special Envoy is joyously strange and unpredictable, full of twists and ironic digressions—and, in the words of L'Express, "a pure gem, a delight."
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Jean Echenoz. (2017). Special Envoy: A Spy Novel. The New Press.
Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide)Jean Echenoz. 2017. Special Envoy: A Spy Novel. The New Press.
Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide)Jean Echenoz, Special Envoy: A Spy Novel. The New Press, 2017.
MLA Citation (style guide)Jean Echenoz. Special Envoy: A Spy Novel. The New Press, 2017.
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- Longlisted for the 2019 International Dublin Literary Award
"Special Envoy is an exceedingly French spy thriller."
—New York Times Book Review
A dazzling satirical spy novel, part La Femme Nikita, part Pink Panther and part Le Carré—from one of the world's preeminent authors
Jean Echenoz's sly and playful novels have won critical and popular acclaim in France, where he has won the Prix Goncourt, as well as in the United States, where he has been profiled by the New Yorker and called the"most distinctive voice of his generation" by the Washington Post. With his wonderfully droll and intriguing new work, Special Envoy, Echenoz turns his hand to the espionage novel. When published in France, it stormed the bestseller lists.
Special Envoy begins with an old general in France's intelligence agency asking his trusted lieutenant Paul Objat for ideas about a person he wants for a particular job: someone to aid the destabilization of Kim Jong-un's regime in North Korea. Objat has someone in mind: Constance, an attractive, restless, bored woman in a failing marriage to a washed-up pop musician. Soon after, she is abducted by Objat's cronies and spirited away into the lower depths of France's intelligence bureaucracy where she is trained for her mission.
What follows is a bizarre tale of kidnappings, murders and mutilations, bad pop songs and great sex, populated by a cast of oddballs and losers. Set in Paris, rural central France, and Pyongyang, Special Envoy is joyously strange and unpredictable, full of twists and ironic digressions—and, in the words of L'Express, "a pure gem, a delight."
- reviews
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- source: New York Times Book Review
- content: "Special Envoy is an exceedingly French spy thriller. Is Echenoz making deep points about the omnipotence of the French spy services and the ennui of the average Parisen? Or is he just amusing himself, and us? Only he can be sure."
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- source: Bookriot
- content: "Satirical and sly, this latest book by Echenoz is worth a read."
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- source: Booklist
- content: "This remarkable work should continue Echenoz's literary prize–winning streak. . . . [Special Envoy] belongs in the hands of literary-fiction readers who enjoy a crime element in the story."
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- source: Kirkus Reviews
- content: "A shaggy tale that blends spy-novel pastiche with today's headlines. Fans of Echenoz will recognize his signature playfulness and affection for the offbeat caper."
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September 4, 2017
At the start of this mildly amusing send-up from Echenoz (I’m Gone), an aging general in France’s intelligence service, for reasons never explained, moves forward with a plan to destabilize North Korea. His first step is to order the kidnapping of Constance, a bored Parisian housewife married to Lou Tausk, an over-the-hill pop musician. Lou had one huge hit in his career, and it happened to be sung by Constance, whose voice has always entranced North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. After being held outside Paris for a few months, Constance is sent to Pyongyang as a sort of cultural ambassador, yet her strategy for weakening Kim’s rule is unclear, and the resolution of her mission is unlikely to satisfy fans of traditional spy thrillers. This is as much a portrait of a marriage that has run its course—Constance seems totally comfortable in her captivity, and Lou goes on with his life as if nothing has happened—as it is a parody. Those fond of the droll humor of the author’s other novels will best appreciate this attempt to play around with the machinery of the genre.
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September 1, 2017
A shaggy tale that blends spy-novel pastiche with today's headlines.A certain Arkansas-bred Hollywood player ought to be sending a thank-you note to Echenoz (I'm Gone, 2014, etc.) right about now; the French novelist mentions him a couple of times in connection with his antiheroic hero Paul Objat, whose half-grin is "a little bit like the actor Billy Bob Thornton's smile." Besides having that going for him, Objat is pretty good at kung fu, fighting off ninjas with aplomb, and "overpowering the black overalls while ignoring their raucous insults." We meet Objat in the presence of a French general who wouldn't be out of place in Day of the Jackal--on the side of the bad guys, probably--and who has hatched a cherchez la femme plot that quickly spirals out of control: "I want a woman," he declares. Objat obliges by stealing one for him. The woman he delivers is nubile, tactile, and even ductile ("I don't know that adjective," Objat protests). It turns out that she is also resourceful and smarter than her captors, which comes in handy when the novel changes settings from Paris and then the rural Massif Central and wanders over to Pyongyang, North Korea, and a wacky plot to hustle one of the Kim regime's generals across the border and into the happy world of capitalism. Nothing quite works the way it's supposed to; think Casino Royale by way of Diva and maybe with a little Georges Perec thrown in as leavening. Amid the globe-hopping and bed-hopping, Echenoz serves up a nice postmodern sendup of world events, and though he seems a little too pleased at his cleverness and constant fourth-wall-breaking ("It's been a long time since we saw General Bourgeaud, hasn't it?"), the yarn is a pleasing enough confection, if a little soufflelike. Fans of Echenoz will recognize his signature playfulness and affection for the offbeat caper--in this case, one that won't please the brass in Pyongyang.COPYRIGHT(2017) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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"Special Envoy is an exceedingly French spy thriller."
—New York Times Book Review
A dazzling satirical spy novel, part La Femme Nikita, part Pink Panther and part Le Carré—from one of the world's preeminent authors
Jean Echenoz's sly and playful novels have won critical and popular acclaim in France, where he has won the Prix Goncourt, as well as in the United States, where he has been profiled by the New Yorker and called the"most distinctive voice of his generation" by the Washington Post. With his wonderfully droll and intriguing new work, Special Envoy, Echenoz turns his hand to the espionage novel. When published in France, it stormed the bestseller lists.
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