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Review
There is not a superfluous word or overdone effect... one of the last cool, compact and shockingly original crime novels --New York Times Book Review
Review
"'There's not a superfluous word or overdone effect... one of the last cool, compact and shockingly original crime novels' New York Times Book Review 'Writing with economy, deadpan irony, and an eye for the devastating detail, Manchette spins pulp fiction into literature' Kirkus Reviews 'I'll blather on about mysteries being the urban crime fiction if you put up with it, but eventually, like any good hunting dog, I'll come to the point. These days, the game in the bush tends to be Jean-Patrick Manchette, whose work finally is becoming available to English-language readers' James Sallis"
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It was winter, and it was dark. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
It was winter, and it was dark. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
French crime writer Manchette's final novel was published in 1981 and now finally appears in English over twenty years later. Unmistakably influenced by Jean-Pierre Melville's brilliant 1967 film "Le Samourai", the story is about Martin, a professional hit man who wants to quit the business and return home to claim his childhood love. However, the mysterious government agency who hires him wants him to do just one last job... Of course this is an old story, and naturally Martin finds it's not so easy to just walk away. Having come from a miserable small town upbringing, he's proven himself in the big bad world and just wants to retire to a quiet beach somewhere with his old girlfriend. But this is the noir world of shattered illusions—as one character puts it, "You're dreaming, there are no more desert islands!" It doesn't take too much reading between the lines to uncover Manchette's larger political metaphor in the story of a kid who hires himself out to do someone else's killing for ten years only to find it's tainted him forever. The book is brutally dark, but if you like the whole nihilist crime thing, it's worth the two hours it takes to read. The lean story unfolds in rapid, flat prose without an ounce of sentimentality and it's not hard to see why Manchette quit writing after this. If your world view is that bleak, there's not a whole lot else to say, is there?
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
If, like me, you have read practically every detective novel published in English, it's a wonderful moment to discover a translated author from elsewhere who you can delve into. Manchette was a very influential French crime novelist, and having read this book I could see his influence upon Fred Vargas, one of my favourites.
Don't expect a conventional detective story read, though: Prone Gunman follows a single hitman figure, so it's more like John Le Carre than Agatha Christie - and has a similarly odd moral stance, too. But the book's curious atmosphere has stayed with me, and the story is beautifully and economically drawn. A terrific book, i thought.
Don't expect a conventional detective story read, though: Prone Gunman follows a single hitman figure, so it's more like John Le Carre than Agatha Christie - and has a similarly odd moral stance, too. But the book's curious atmosphere has stayed with me, and the story is beautifully and economically drawn. A terrific book, i thought.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is the first book I have read in 2 years and I have to say Ill be reading more of Jean Patrick Manchette. The book is easy to follow and moves at an acceptable pace, there's not much in the way of in-depth characters and as you would expect with a book of 155 pages there just isn't the room. The best thing about this book is it's easy to pick up where you left of and get back into the role of the hit man. All hale the Prone Gunman.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
The Prone Gunman - a masterpiece
I have come late to Patrick Manchette through losing a clipped review of this title, finding it and using Amazon to get it to me fast. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Jonathan
Gripping and dark
Quite easily read in one sitting of a couple of hours this little story will grip your attention from start to finish. Read more
Published on 8 Jun 2008 by Barton Keyes
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