In our journey through the CFA we arrived this week to letter “i”. Although my objective this year was to bring to your attention crime fiction writers in Spanish, I beg your indulgence to bend my self-imposed rules.
This time my “i” is for Izzo. And Izzo once described himself in these terms:
“By birth, I am a pure Marsellais. That’s to say I’m half Italian and half Spanish, with a touch of Arab blood.”
Jean-Claude Izzo was born in Marseilles, France, in 1945. He achieved astounding success with his Marseilles Trilogy (Total Chaos, Chourmo, Solea). In addition to the books in this trilogy, his two novels (The Lost Sailors, and A Sun for the Dying) and one collection of short stories (Vivre fatigue) also enjoy great success with both critics and the public. Izzo died in 2000 at the age of fifty-five.
- The author’s official Web site (in French)
- Izzo at Wikipedia.
- The Guardian: Jean-Claude Izzo. Catching the Mediterranean tragedy in tales of old Marseille
- Josh Reviews the Marseilles Trilogy by Jean-Claude Izzo
I have not read his books yet but I hope I’ll get the time to fill this gap and I look forward to visit Marseille joined by Izzo soon, stay tuned.
The Crime Fiction Alphabet 2012 is a Community Meme hosted by Kerrie at Mysteries in Paradise. By Friday of each week participants try to write a blog post about crime fiction related to the letter of the week. Click HERE to visit the contribution of other fellow bloggers.
A Crime is Afoot 
Another new to me author. Will check him out!
Here is my CFA: I post
Thanks for your visit Gautami
Thanks for reminding me of this author, Jose Ignacio. I have noted his trilogy before but have never quite managed to make the time to read it…..maybe one day 😉 Look forward to your review(s) if you get there before I do.
Thanks Maxine, I’ve been looking for his books, and finally I found that an independent publisher in Spain have Total Kheops at an acceptable price.
José Ignacio – An excellent choice for I. I had this trilogy on my “radar screen” for a while but somehow it slipped off. So I am very grateful to you for reminding me of it. And I don’t mind at all if you bend the rules a bit. 😉
You are always very kind Margot. 🙂
New author to me! I like his description of himself. Thanks for sharing.
You are welcome Valli
I read Total Chaos. I thought it was very good, but it was such a downer to read, I wasn’t sure I wanted to go forward with the series. On the other hand, I liked getting a picture of the diversity of the population in Marseilles and the racial tensions. Maybe I could take the 2nd and 3rd ones if I put some time between each one.
I’m glad you find Total Chaos good, Tracy. Thanks for stepping by.