The Cats Are Bored

A new entry in my “Books I Can’t Stop Talking About” Series:

Summertime, All the Cats Are Bored by Philippe Georget  (translated by Steven Rendall)

It’s rare to find a book translated to English that plays so lightly with the language. Seriously, I’m so crazy about the writing style here that I want to chase down the translator and read everything else he’s done.

I say that up front so you won’t be turned off when I say this is French Noir. The crime novel, set in Perpignan, France, has a beautiful, laid-back, romantic feel interspersed with hard crime. The characters, setting, dialogue, are all so realistic, particularly the lead investigator, Gilles Sebag, who is trying to solve three kidnapping-murder cases while worrying about his marriage and trying to spend enough time with his teenage kids.

Best line: Statistics – They’re like bikinis. You think they’re showing everything, but in fact they’re hiding the most important thing!

 For more book recommendations, see my “Books I Can’t Stop Talking About” series