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Published Dec 2010
517 pages
Genre: Thrillers
Publication Information
Francis Servain Mirkovic, a French-born Croat who has been working for the French Intelligence Services for fifteen years, is traveling by train from Milan to Rome. He's carrying a briefcase whose contents he's selling to a representative from the Vatican; the briefcase contains a wealth of information about the violent history of the Zone—the lands of the Mediterranean basin, Spain, Algeria, Lebanon, Italy, that have become Mirkovic's specialty.
Over the course of a single night, Mirkovic visits the sites of these tragedies in his memory and recalls the damage that his own participation in that violence - as a soldier fighting for Croatia during the Balkan Wars - has wreaked in his own life. Mirkovic hopes that this night will be his last in the Zone, that this journey will expiate his sins, and that he can disappear with Sashka, the only woman he hasn't abandoned, forever ...
"Starred Review. Homeric in its scope and grandeur, remarkable in its detail, Énard's American debut is a screaming take on history, war, and violence." - Publishers Weekly
"Enard's novel is a stylistic triumph and an artistic achievement, comparable in ambition and scope to Roberto Bolano's 2666. Accessibility is a different matter; only the most intrepid readers are advised to embark on this journey." - Library Journal
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First published in French in 2008 by publisher Actes Sud. French newspaper Le Monde's review of the book comments on its notable structure - 24 chapters each consisting of a single, very lengthy, sentence. Translated by Charlotte Mandell.
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