Pierre Magnan, R.I.P.
News has belatedly reached Detectives Beyond Borders that Pierre Magnan has died.I've read three of Magnan's novels: Death in the Truffle Wood, The Messengers of Death, and The Murdered House, each an extraordinarily rich picture of rural French life. Here's a post I made about The Messengers of Death. Here's one about The Murdered House. And here's a third, about Death in the Truffle Wood.
Magnan was 89.
© Peter Rozovsky 2012
Labels: France, Pierre Magnan
posted by Peter Rozovsky at 8:03 AM
6 Comments:
I've read several of Magnan's books, and, like you said in your post about Death in the Truffle Wood, they're all about a sense of place. I wouldn't rate them strongly as straight mysteries, but as atmospheric novels they're great.
They're atmospheric like few others I've read.
Oh, well, now this post reminds me to read Magnan's books. The library has The Murder House, but not Death in the Truffle Woods.
I just read your two posts about these books, and they sound fascinating.
As a fan of Fred Vargas' books, I am interested in reading Magnan's mysteries.
Vargas wrote one book set in the French mountains among peasants. It gave a good sense of life there. It was unusual, but then, so is she and Inspector Adamsberg.
So, I must pursue this.
Blogger eats another comment, so I'll try again.
Kathy, I think that Vargas novel is probably Seeking Whom He May Devour, which I think is the one with the wolves in it.
I wrote once that readers who like Vargas might also like Pierre Magnan, and other commentators have said the same. I realize now that Magnan captures the feel of an enture town or region, whereas Vargas focuses more on her odd characters. But there are certain similarities, of course.
And try Anne Zououdi also. She immediately reminded me of Pierre Magnan.
I somehow missed this. I'm sorry to hear it. I have been looking forward to reading these, so I guess I'd better bump them up.
The one thing I can say with assurance that Magnan did not write typical crime stories. I also found out late about his death, a month or two after the fact. It was not big news in America.
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