Low Heights: Shocking, hilarious and poignant noir

Low Heights: Shocking, hilarious and poignant noir
Author: Pascal Garnier
Publisher: Gallic Books
Total Pages: 158
Release: 2017-08-14
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1910477443

In Low Heights, from the 'slyly funny' [Sunday Times] Pascal Garnier, a grumpy retiree has his world turned upside down when a man claiming to be his son turns up on his doorstep. 'Another classy and clever little drama' The Bookbag At least vultures have the decency to wait until their prey's dead before picking it apart ... After losing his wife and suffering a stroke, cantankerous retiree Edouard Lavenant has moved from Lyon to a village in the mountains with his put-upon nurse, Therese. One day, a man comes to the door claiming to be Edouard's long-lost son. Edouard's temper seems to be softening, but it isn't long before the local vultures are circling overhead ...

C'est la Vie: Shocking, hilarious and poignant noir

C'est la Vie: Shocking, hilarious and poignant noir
Author: Pascal Garnier
Publisher: Gallic Books
Total Pages: 77
Release: 2019-09-03
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1910477826

A writer finds fame and misfortune after winning a big literary prize and embarking on a roadtrip with his son in this novel by the 'slyly funny' [Sunday Times] Pascal Garnier. 'A jeu d'esprit of hard-boiled symbolism' Wall Street Journal Writer Jeff Colombier is not accustomed to success. Twice divorced with a grown-up son he barely sees, he drinks too much and his books don’t sell. Then he wins a big literary prize and his life changes for ever. Overwhelmed by his newfound wealth and happiness, he feels the need to escape and recapture his lost youth, taking his son, Damien, with him. And if shady lawyers and mysterious girls lead them down dangerous paths . . . well, c'est la vie.

A Long Way Off: Shocking, hilarious and poignant noir

A Long Way Off: Shocking, hilarious and poignant noir
Author: Pascal Garnier
Publisher: Gallic Books
Total Pages: 63
Release: 2020-03-24
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1910477710

A Long Way Off is a shocking noir about an impromptu road trip where a father discovers he doesn't know his daughter at all, from the 'slyly funny' [Sunday Times] Pascal Garnier. 'Plays out like an existential fever dream' Wall Street Journal Marc dreams of going somewhere far, far away – but he’ll start by taking his cat and his grown-up daughter, Anne, to an out-of-season resort on the Channel. Reluctant to go home, the curious threesome head south for Agen, whose main claim to fame is its prunes. As their impromptu road trip takes ever stranger turns, the trail of destruction – and mysterious disappearances – mounts up in their wake. Shocking, hilarious and poignant, the final dose of French noir from Pascal Garnier, published shortly before his death, is the author on top form.

A Long Way Off

A Long Way Off
Author: Pascal Garnier
Publisher: Gallic Books
Total Pages: 112
Release: 2020-03-24
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9781910477779

'Masterly'John Banville 'Wonderful . . . properly noir'Ian Rankin Marc dreams of going somewhere far, far away - but he'll start by taking his cat and his grown-up daughter, Anne, to an out-of-season resort on the Channel. Reluctant to go home, the curious threesome head south for Agen, whose main claim to fame is its prunes. As their impromptu road trip takes ever stranger turns, the trail of destruction - and mysterious disappearances - mounts up in their wake. Shocking, hilarious and poignant, the final dose of French noir from Pascal Garnier, published shortly before his death, is the author on top form.

I Am Not Sidney Poitier

I Am Not Sidney Poitier
Author: Percival Everett
Publisher: Graywolf Press
Total Pages: 275
Release: 2011-08-02
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1555970192

I Am Not Sidney Poitier is an irresistible comic novel from the master storyteller Percival Everett, and an irreverent take on race, class, and identity in America I was, in life, to be a gambler, a risk-taker, a swashbuckler, a knight. I accepted, then and there, my place in the world. I was a fighter of windmills. I was a chaser of whales. I was Not Sidney Poitier. Not Sidney Poitier is an amiable young man in an absurd country. The sudden death of his mother orphans him at age eleven, leaving him with an unfortunate name, an uncanny resemblance to the famous actor, and, perhaps more fortunate, a staggering number of shares in the Turner Broadcasting Corporation. Percival Everett's hilarious new novel follows Not Sidney's tumultuous life, as the social hierarchy scrambles to balance his skin color with his fabulous wealth. Maturing under the less-than watchful eye of his adopted foster father, Ted Turner, Not gets arrested in rural Georgia for driving while black, sparks a dinnertable explosion at the home of his manipulative girlfriend, and sleuths a murder case in Smut Eye, Alabama, all while navigating the recurrent communication problem: "What's your name?" a kid would ask. "Not Sidney," I would say. "Okay, then what is it?"

Death by Sunshine

Death by Sunshine
Author: Allison Burnett
Publisher:
Total Pages: 262
Release: 2012
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9781937746001

"Like Truman Capote, Allison Burnett knows how to pull up a chair and whisper a juicy story into his lucky reader's ear. Death By Sunshine is a quickly-paced tale inhabited by fascinating and funny creatures." - Nell Scovell, Vanity Fair "In this age when the genuine comic novel seems to be an extinct species, Allison Burnett gives us reason to rejoice. Death By Sunshine is a return trip to the world of B.K. Troop, one of the most appealing characters ever put on a page." - Charles Busch, author of The Tale of the Allergist's Wife and Die, Mommie, Die! "Death by Sunshine is classic Burnett: hilarious, gut-wrenching, and entirely entertaining. He takes us on a journey across the country into the darkest recesses of the human psyche - with a few detours into the excesses of the human flesh along the way. A terrific read!" - Claire LaZebnik, author of Epic Fail and Families and Other Non-Returnable Gifts "B.K. Troop is that rarest find: an unexpected and entirely engaging new character." - Seduced by a Literary Original by Robin Russin, Los Angeles Times B.K. Troop is an aging, erudite, chemically imbalanced, gay, alcoholic novelist living in Manhattan. His life is turned upside down when he is invited to Los Angeles to adapt one of his novels into a screenplay. Soon after his arrival, B.K. is thrust into the heart of a mystery that only he can solve. With the help of his trusty Mexican chauffeur, B.K. penetrates the lower depths of Hollywood with hilarious and surprisingly poignant results.

Hope Vol. 2

Hope Vol. 2
Author: Guy Adams
Publisher: 2000 AD
Total Pages: 64
Release: 2020-08-18
Genre: Comics & Graphic Novels
ISBN: 9781781087718

The second volume of the dazzling 2000 AD debut – mixing Hollywood noir and occult magic! In an alternate post-war 1940s Los Angeles, where dark magic is a fact of life, Mallory Hope is a private detective haunted by his past…and by the occult forces he uses.

Finch

Finch
Author: Jeff VanderMeer
Publisher: Underland Press
Total Pages: 352
Release: 2009
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0980226015

In a world where mysterious underground dwellers rule the state of Ambergris and control its residents with addictive drugs, internment camps and random acts of terror, John Finch and his partner, Wyte, must solve a double murder for their oppressive masters, all while trying to make contact with the scattered rebel resistance.

Inherent Vice

Inherent Vice
Author: Thomas Pynchon
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 385
Release: 2012-06-13
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1101594675

"The funniest book Pynchon has written." — Rolling Stone "Entertainment of a high order." - Time Part noir, part psychedelic romp, all Thomas Pynchon—private eye Doc Sportello surfaces, occasionally, out of a marijuana haze to watch the end of an era. In this lively yarn, Thomas Pynchon, working in an unaccustomed genre that is at once exciting and accessible, provides a classic illustration of the principle that if you can remember the sixties, you weren't there. It's been a while since Doc Sportello has seen his ex- girlfriend. Suddenly she shows up with a story about a plot to kidnap a billionaire land developer whom she just happens to be in love with. It's the tail end of the psychedelic sixties in L.A., and Doc knows that "love" is another of those words going around at the moment, like "trip" or "groovy," except that this one usually leads to trouble. Undeniably one of the most influential writers at work today, Pynchon has penned another unforgettable book.

Titan's Day

Titan's Day
Author: Dan Stout
Publisher: Astra Publishing House
Total Pages: 371
Release: 2020-04-07
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0756414911

The second book in the acclaimed Carter Archives noir fantasy series returns to the gritty town of Titanshade, where danger lurks around every corner. The city of Titanshade pulses with nervous energy. The discovery of new riches beneath its snowfields has given residents hope for prosperity, but it also means the arrival of federal troops, along with assurances that they are only there to "stabilize the situation". Newcomers flood the streets, dreaming of finding their fortunes, while in the backrooms and beer halls of the city, a populist resistance gains support, its leaders' true motives hidden behind nativist slogans. And in an alley, a gruesome discovery: the mutilated body of a young woman, a recent immigrant so little-regarded that not even her lovers bothered to learn her name. But in death, she's found a champion. Detective Carter single-mindedly pursues the killer as he navigates political pressures and resists becoming a pawn in the struggles tipping the city toward anarchy. But when more innocent lives are lost and time runs short, he's forced to decide if justice is worth sparking all-out war in the streets during the biggest celebration of the year: Titan's Day.