Garlic, Mint, and Sweet Basil: Essays on Marseilles, Mediterranean Cuisine, and Noir Fiction

by Jean-Claude Izzo Narrated by PJ Ochlan

Overview

A short sublime book on the three things dearest to Jean-Claude Izzo's heart: his native Marseilles, the sea in all its splendor, and Mediterranean noir-the literary genre his books helped to found. This collection of writings shows Izzo, author of the acclaimed Marseilles trilogy, at his most contemplative and insightful. His native city, with its food, its flavors, its passionate inhabitants, and its long, long history of commerce and conviviality, constitute the lifeblood that runs through all of Izzo's work.

Reminiscent of Henry Miller's The Colossus of Maroussi and the lyrical essays of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and Albert Camus, as uplifting and touching as Daniel Klein's Travels with Epicurus, this slender volume will appeal equally to gourmets who delight in the strong flavors of Mediterranean cuisine, to those travelling on the Riviera (or arm-chair travelers who wish they could), and, naturally, to aficionados of noir fiction.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Praise for Jean-Claude Izzo

“What makes Izzo’s work haunting is his extraordinary ability to convey the tastes and smells of Marseilles.”
—The New Yorker

“Our last true romantic, Jean-Claude Izzo transmits warmth to his readers, as if granting them a mouthful of pure love.”
—Le Point (France)

“Just as Raymond Chandler and James Ellroy made Los Angeles their very own, so Mr. Izzo has made Marseilles so much more than just another geographical setting.”
—The Economist

Product Details

BN ID:	2940177174020
Publisher:	Everand Productions
Publication date:	08/31/2021
Series:	Europa Compass
Edition description:	Unabridged

Videos