Review: Gemma's Dilemma?
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 20, 2014
People Like Us by Deng Zichao is a refreshingly exhilarating tour de force that is highly reminiscent of post-WWII literature celebrating the French joie de vivre. You can see how contagious this is: two French colloquialisms in one sentence. The novella conjures up images of Henry Miller and Franz Kafka as we follow the unsavory Nicolas Kesthelyi through a police gauntlet as he finds himself suspected of the murder of Mike Freeman. Nicolas is an antique dealer whose partner in crime, Estrade, has improved his own station in life from a London crook to a Breton landowner. Together they plan to rob a convent for a priceless masterpiece, yet their greed causes them to go out once too often with tragic consequences. Inspector Daphne Chantelouve is hot on their trail, and we follow Nicolas through the country homes of Northern France as they try to double-talk their way out of the clutches of justice.The European ambiance is what makes this novella work, despite the fact it is written in the form of a memoir from Nicolas to Daphne. Yet even that technique reminds us of postmodernist literature as Nicolas confesses his crimes and flaunts his superiority in a first-person narrative. Estrade’s skills as a gourmandizer and host enhances the atmosphere as Nicolas contrives alibi after alibi, throwing his closest friends and police officials off-track with glib aplomb. Only the emergence of Alexis Anguillara, a Barcelonian ad executive who resembles Estrade, gives Nicolas a novel means of escape. Nicolas sets out to prove his partner (and himself by association) innocent in a lest-ditch effort to throw Daphne off the trail. Will this scheme help Nicolas elude justice and outwit the tenacious Inspector?Pick up a copy of People Like Us by Deng Zichao. You will greatly enjoy the journey.