Bristol

In this seriocomic noir by a “master magician of the contemporary French novel” (The Washington Post), a low-grade film director is embroiled in troubles involving a rampaging elephant, an African militia, and the mystery of a naked man falling from a window to his death.

A naked man plummets from a sixth-story window, nearly flattening Robert Bristol. But Bristol, semi-famous director of B-grade adventure flicks, hardly notices: he’s thinking about his next film. Armed with a ragtag crew, a narcissistic star, and a limited budget, he heads to Africa to shoot some key scenes, where he winds up dealing with a local band of vigilantes and its opportunistic commander, a rampaging elephant, and extras who constantly threaten to go on strike. To make matters worse, once back in Paris he finds himself implicated in the falling man’s death, which the police are now viewing as a homicide—and that’s only the beginning of his troubles.

With Bristol, Jean Echenoz, “the most distinctive voice of his generation and the master magician of the contemporary French novel” (The Washington Post), delivers a seriocomic noir packed with wry humor and exhilarating twists and turns, a “funny, elegant, and cinematographic fantasy” (Sud Ouest) by a consummate writer at the top of his game.