We Three - (French Literature) by Jean Echenoz (Paperback)

About the Book

"Louis Meyer is an overworked aerospace engineer looking forward to a week-long vacation on the Mediterranean. DeMilo is an astronaut and self-proclaimed ladies' man whose behavior borders on the obsessive and voyeuristic. When a series of coincidences and disasters--including a devastating earthquake in Marseilles--brings them together on a spacecraft with an aloof woman they are both strongly attracted to, the two men's flaws and shortcomings emerge as they engage in an underhanded competition to win her over. Brimming with Jean Echenoz's inimitable humor, We Three is both a satirical take on the adventure novel and subtle experiment with narrative point of view."--

Book Synopsis

Louis Meyer is an overworked aerospace engineer looking forward to a week-long vacation on the Mediterranean. DeMilo is an astronaut and self-proclaimed ladies' man whose behavior borders on the obsessive and voyeuristic. When a series of coincidences and disasters--including a devastating earthquake in Marseilles--brings them together on a spacecraft with an aloof woman they are both strongly attracted to, the two men's flaws and shortcomings emerge as they engage in an underhanded competition to win her over. Brimming with Jean Echenoz's inimitable humor, We Three is both a satirical take on the adventure novel and subtle experiment with narrative point of view.

Review Quotes

"An amusingly fast-paced, if willfully deranged, parody of the spy thriller genre . . . Echenoz fills this gracefully funny book with fresh and appealing comic detail, limned with zany lyricism and eye-catching metaphors . . . A uniquely clever and likable novelist." -Kirkus Reviews (for previous work)

"Anderson's adroit translation preserves the celebrated idiosyncrasies of Echenoz's prose. The writing is clear, precise, and playful, featuring dramatic tone and point-of-view shifts, imagined moments, and movie script-style scene descriptions. Echenoz constructs a tight narrative in a constant state of flux. This fluidity mirrors the uncertainty of the protagonists and narrator, who all demonstrate a sense of rootless yearning. This novel welcomes repeated readings and presents new aspects to admire each time. It's a satisfying book from one of France's preeminent contemporary authors." -Publishers Weekly, Starred Review for We Three

"Echenoz belongs, with Umberto Eco in Italy, Julian Barnes in England, and Christoph Ransmayr in Germany, to the category of ironic novelists, devoid of all allusions, who have fun with their erudition." -Le Point

"Echenoz is a funny, literate writer with good characters and enough of a mystery to move the story along well." -Library Journal

"It is Echenoz's voice, the most distinctive voice of his generation, that holds us under its spell with its legerdemain of witty turns of phrase, inspired metaphors, fresh pop culture allusions, and the wackiest cast of characters this side of a David Lynch movie . . . [Echenoz is] the master magician of the contemporary French novel." -Washington Post