Ebook183 pages2 hours
Grand Menteur
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
5/5
()
About this ebook
The secret world of Mauritian street-gangs is not for the faint of heart. Fraught with peril and mischief, its inner workings are a mystery to the daughter of one of its most valued members: Serge, the Grand Menteur. A liar of exceptional caliber whose sole responsibility is to purposefully confuse police with alibis, the Menteur fears for the criminal future he has unwittingly introduced into his daughter's life, when her clear knack for violence attracts the notice of senior gang members.
Mauritian Kreol, English, and French blend together into a heady brew of language in Grand Menteur. Written in a nuanced style reflecting the island-nation's convoluted history of colonialism, this debut novel by Jean Marc Ah-Sen sheds an unflinching light on the poverty and down-and-out hardship of a shadow class of immigrants from the 1940s to the '80s.
Their story, with elements of child/parent relations and the tumultuous emotions tied to leaving home for greener pastures, will resonate with readers familiar with diasporic fiction, adventure and travelogue writing, and 'lock, stock and barrel' British crime fiction.
Praise for Grand Menteur:
"Jean Marc Ah-Sen's Grand Menteur is a dazzling display of diction, filled with Mauritian Kreol, Latin tags and masterful English, with wonderful narrative momentum. From the island of Mauritius to the island of England and later, homeless shelters in Toronto, it is a fascinating story of Mauritian street gangs, emigration, capers that don’t pay, and a father-daughter relationship like no other. Jean Marc Ah-Sen’s Grand Menteur is voice-driven fiction at its lyrical best."
—John Goldbach, author of The Devil and The Detective
“What a strange and extraordinary book — it reads like a magic trick no one’s ever done before or a myth of a myth — it’s too mysterious, too original, too funny, too pure, too profound to be the work of a mortal being.” — Lee Henderson
Mauritian Kreol, English, and French blend together into a heady brew of language in Grand Menteur. Written in a nuanced style reflecting the island-nation's convoluted history of colonialism, this debut novel by Jean Marc Ah-Sen sheds an unflinching light on the poverty and down-and-out hardship of a shadow class of immigrants from the 1940s to the '80s.
Their story, with elements of child/parent relations and the tumultuous emotions tied to leaving home for greener pastures, will resonate with readers familiar with diasporic fiction, adventure and travelogue writing, and 'lock, stock and barrel' British crime fiction.
Praise for Grand Menteur:
"Jean Marc Ah-Sen's Grand Menteur is a dazzling display of diction, filled with Mauritian Kreol, Latin tags and masterful English, with wonderful narrative momentum. From the island of Mauritius to the island of England and later, homeless shelters in Toronto, it is a fascinating story of Mauritian street gangs, emigration, capers that don’t pay, and a father-daughter relationship like no other. Jean Marc Ah-Sen’s Grand Menteur is voice-driven fiction at its lyrical best."
—John Goldbach, author of The Devil and The Detective
“What a strange and extraordinary book — it reads like a magic trick no one’s ever done before or a myth of a myth — it’s too mysterious, too original, too funny, too pure, too profound to be the work of a mortal being.” — Lee Henderson
Author
Jean Marc Ah-Sen
Jean Marc Ah-Sen is the author of In the Beggarly Style of Imitation and Grand Menteur, which was selected as one of the 100 best books of 2015 by The Globe & Mail. The National Post has hailed his work as “an inventive escape from the conventional.” He lives in Toronto with his wife and two sons.
Read more from Jean Marc Ah Sen
Grand Menteur Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIn the Beggarly Style of Imitation Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to Grand Menteur
Related ebooks
Stealing Fatima's Hand Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLife in the Court of Matane: By 2018 Giller Finalist Eric Dupont Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dynamiter Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOasis: What's The Story? Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSquandering Aimlessly: My Adventures in the American Marketplace Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Zig-Zags at the Zoo Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTerrific Melancholy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Visitor's Guide to Victorian England Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Angels and Electrons: A Sub-Suburb Tale Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAzarias Tor: The History Maker Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTales of Mean Streets Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTono-Bungay Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bildungsroman, No! Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Many Fentanyl Addicted Wraiths of Sault Sainte Marie Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Rogue’s Life Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsModern Manners: The Essential Guide to Correct Behaviour and Etiquette Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEnglish Folktales: Fairytales Series Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMarabou Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Someone Could Lose an Eye Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMore New Arabian Nights - the Dynamiter by Robert Louis Stevenson (Illustrated) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWill: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Love Poison No. 13 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Book of Extraordinary Historical Mystery Stories: Best New Original Mysteries Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An African Millionaire: Episodes in the Life of the Illustrious Colonel Clay Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNous Nous Reverrons, Mate! We’ll Meet Again, Mate! Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMurder at Monte Carlo Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTen Journeys Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCharlie Spark: Villain Extraordinaire Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Charlotte Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Crime Thriller For You
Cain's jawbone Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Pale Blue Eye: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Notes on an Execution: An Edgar Award Winner Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Good Daughter: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pieces of Her: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Still Life: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Finn Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hallowe'en Party: Inspiration for the 20th Century Studios Major Motion Picture A Haunting in Venice Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Razorblade Tears: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Silent Wife: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Girl Who Was Taken: A Gripping Psychological Thriller Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Appeal: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5False Witness: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5One of Us Is Dead Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lucky Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5These Silent Woods: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Summit Lake Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The 120 Days of Sodom (Rediscovered Books): With linked Table of Contents Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Book of Ruth Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Blacktop Wasteland: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lost Man Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone: A Murdery Mystery Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Club: A Reese's Book Club Pick Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cleaning the Gold: A Jack Reacher and Will Trent Short Story Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sydney Rye Mysteries Box Set Books 10-12: Sydney Rye Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMurder at the Book Club: A Gripping Crime Mystery that Will Keep You Guessing Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Butcher Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Kept Woman: A Will Trent Thriller Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The ABC Murders: A Hercule Poirot Mystery: The Official Authorized Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Trust Me When I Lie: A True Crime-Inspired Thriller Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Reviews for Grand Menteur
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
5/5
1 rating0 reviews
Book preview
Grand Menteur - Jean Marc Ah-Sen
91^ book_preview_excerpt.html [[Fv
/) OH*H1m,rB1 $Ȅ2UK:YϹ7~hlBRw8G?cn#lRϟϋ^'>B밸tޘ%?6~\g~ow/۟ݏ21,`ɵ7Vv6UgT=UÒ|_a]ksj8V~aIϾyJK6x65h7&U'^].[)<>s4Mv-BUcFk"kiΥEfZ}3@F#6JG;٩1Uńi%d&V?z!|j|6q\ vyopY{2ю&yY50VM£PY,qW~D-,[xLUm0Q@5G;~^o'먢h;-R9*E*q֥`TU
m1,.VMn$|rhYE yCLbl^UZmo\wnZXݣO