Reviews

Το τσούρμο by Jean-Claude Izzo

ztkrogman's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

sandrinepal's review against another edition

2.0

A part que j'apprends 2, 3 trucs sur Marseille et que, bon, c'est un polar, le mec (le narrateur? l'auteur??) il se prend sévèrement trop au sérieux. Variante alcoolo-philosophe.

octavia_cade's review against another edition

mysterious reflective medium-paced

4.0

The more I read of this series, the more I like it. It's partially that this second volume is more streamlined, in that it seems to have fewer moving parts and therefore flows a little more easily (at least it seems that way to me). Mostly, though, it's the clear and firm attachment to the city of Marseilles and the people who live in it. When I say "the people," I'm referring primarily to the immigrant communities that are Izzo's focus. His primary concern is how alienation and economic disadvantage contributes to criminal activity and religious fundamentalism, and his approach - through the protagonist Fabio Montale - is so humane, and so generally thoughtful and compassionate that the ongoing violence comes across as sad endurance more than anything else. And wasteful as well, as people are ground down due to circumstance, racism, and corruption directed at them both by their own communities and by the state.

And throughout this, there is Marseilles. A melting pot centuries in the making, trying to find its identity within an ever more connected Europe. The love and exhaustion that Izzo has for his city shines through, and it's just very appealing to read... both depressing and hopeful and incisive at once. I'm just very impressed by it. 

doobyus's review against another edition

4.0

Fabulous! Even better than the first... looking forward to Solea.

michael5000's review against another edition

2.0

Seemed a little too determined to be the French Raymond Chandler. Not that there's anything wrong with that I guess.

jeffkevlar's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

malvord27's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

richardhannay's review against another edition

3.0

A very good "noir". Good plot, fast paced. Excellent supporting cast and a very good detectived, marred only by the political obsessions of Izzo that do not fit well the character of Montale. At one time he condones the pederasty of someone "whose life were kids" because for Montale good intentions always trump consequences and the only real sin would be that of racism. But apart from that this is an excellent read and Fabio Montale could very well be some distant relative of Rebus.

erica_'s review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

spaceisavacuum's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I recall the class I took at uni, where I studied Phillip Marlowe, and Walter Mosley, and Dashiell Hammett. The same teacher in fact also taught a Mars lit class. And I reveled in these classes, I had impeccable grades. Thing is, though, noir is not my area of expertise. I had to read those books twice, just to pound out a decent essay. I read all three in a night, and the next, I wrote my essay. It was fun just to read them again, knowing the mystery already, because I could just discern the salient facts of the investigation.

Chourmo, like these others, was a dense reading matter, while being a concise 250 pages, it’s so full of detail and at such a painstaking fare, that I’d rather enjoy the atmosphere of this world of French and Mediterranean gangsters than attempt to unriddle the knot. I have a way easier time with Toronto based indie author, Desmond P. Ryan, who I should definitely look up and see if any new books were released.

Fabio Montale is a well connected old detective with a lot of enemies, very few friends, and a lot of dames. When the son of one of his dames, Guitou, son of Gélou, goes missing. He is reading a news column about a couple massacred in the Panier. Of course, he’s relishing the time with his pal Fonfon and his wife. Fabio enjoys fishing and fine cuisine, and the occasional aperitif and fag. Suddenly the tranquility is brought to a halt, and he finds himself snared in a crooked trafficking snafu where all of his best mates are dying around him, and being accused of gritty scandals that cost them their lives. Men are not to be trusted, only the closest dames that he loves can bring him to the conclusion he needs. So that he can get back to fishing!

“That’s how life is. Our paths crisscross. We make choices that lead us along roads different from the ones we’d hoped to take, depending on whether we turned right rather than left. Whether we said yes to one thing and not another.