The Hanged Man of Conakry - by Jean-Christophe Rufin (Paperback)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

Something has got Aurel Timescu's attention: an unsolved and apparently unsolvable crime. A vacationer has been found hanged. And it is a crime that will go unpunished if Aurel isn't ready for the fight of his life.

Aurel Timescu's French is tinged with a Romanian accent, he has the disheveled air of a character from between the wars, and a past as a performer in piano bars. Nobody can quite understand how he got to be Consul. Now, he's taken a position in French Guinea--what a place for a man who says he can't stand the heat! He passes his time perspiring, drinking gallons of Tokay, and composing librettos.

Until, that is, a vacationer is found hanging from the mast of a sailboat. How did he end up dead, on a mast, on Aurel Timescu's watch? Had his personal life been hanging by a thread? Was he hanging around waiting for love to be reciprocated? Had he been hanging out with the wrong crowd? Had he hung his hat on the peg of some quixotic dream?

Prize-winning and best-selling author, and a former diplomat, Jean-Christophe Rufin brings Aurel to vivid life in this entertaining and gripping story.

Review Quotes

Praise for The Hanged Man of Conakry

★ "Rufin offers razor-sharp insights into cultural clashes in the former French colony as economical prose drives the intricate plot to a powerful ending. Readers will be reminded of Georges Simenon, only better."--Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

"Rufin, a prizewinning novelist, appears to draw on his own diplomatic past in depicting the dislocation and isolation Aurel feels being posted to Guinea, so far away from home. The translation by Alison Anderson captures the diplomat's quirky character and gallant affect, as well as a welcome sense of surprise--especially when pianos are involved."--The New York Times

"Jean-Christophe Rufin surpasses himself by giving, via a thousand psychological details, body and soul to this unbelievably moving character."--L'Écho Républicain

"Humor without borders...The unmistakable backdrop to this tasty comedy of manners is the inglorious history of French diplomacy in Africa."--Paris Match

"What an irresistible antihero this Aurel Timescu is! It's impossible not to fall in love with him to the point of regretting having to leave him."----Le Figaro Littéraire

"Jean Christophe Rufin's diplomatic thriller dives into the twists and turns of African politics."--L'Obs