‘Zone’ by Mathias Énard and translated from the French by Charlotte Mandell tells the story of Francis Mirkovic, a Franco-Croat intelligence officer who is travelling by train from Milan to Rome after missing his plane. He will be delivering a briefcase containing a dossier about war crimes across various parts of the “zone” where he worked – the region around the Mediterranean Sea spanning across Spain, Lebanon, Cairo and Croatia – which he plans to sell to the highest bidder thus ending his career as an agent. During the journey, Francis reflects on his twenty-year career, his future, his family, his relationships with Marianne, Stéphanie and Sashka, his fellow passengers on the train and much more.
Originally translated into English and published in the US in 2010, ‘Zone’ was first published in the UK last year by Fitzcarraldo Editions. It was a surprise omission from this year’s Independent Foreign Fiction Prize longlist and has been enthusiastically promoted by Tony and Stu as one of the best, if not the best, works of translated fiction published last year or even this century so far. However, despite the enthusiasm of other members of this year’s IFFP shadow jury, I was unsure about how I would fare with ‘Zone’ and approached it with some caution. Far from a conventional spy thriller, it is an unashamedly avant-garde work which the TLS describes as “a novel that takes itself very seriously, and invites its readers to do likewise”.
As well as the train journey itself, numerous digressions make up the majority of the book, where Francis recalls his often traumatic experiences as a soldier fighting for Croatia during the Balkan Wars as well as his work in Cairo, Beirut and several other places in the area known as “the zone” around the Mediterranean Sea. With the exception of three brief passages from the book Francis is reading by an imaginary Palestinian author Rafael Kahla, there is only one full stop at the end of the text. The prose reads like a 520-page stream of consciousness broken up mostly with commas as well as chapter breaks. Interestingly, it was the Kahla passages which, for me, were the least enjoyable sections and I was glad to get back to Francis’ story after these. The hypnotic rhythm of Francis’ story is surprisingly easy to adjust to and less gimmicky and tedious than I thought it would be thanks to a lucid translation by Charlotte Mandell. It also suits the rhythm of the train journey and non-linear narrative as well as Francis’ general state of mind during his journey nursing a hangover with amphetamines.
The scope of ‘Zone’ is incredibly ambitious and it is certainly weightier and ultimately more powerful and rewarding than many of the other titles longlisted for this year’s Independent Foreign Fiction Prize. At times exhausting and overwhelming in its countless references to obscure literature and geopolitics, ‘Zone’ isn’t the easiest read but it is a pretty spectacular one and I’m glad it was called in by the shadow IFFP jury.
Many thanks to Fitzcarraldo Editions for sending me an eBook copy of ‘Zone’.
A Little Blog of Books 
Do you have a favourite book that was first written in a different language?
LikeLike
Interesting question! Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami is one of my favourites although I have many others too. Maybe one day I will write a post about my top ten translated works of fiction…
LikeLike
I’m reading it now 🙂 I’m not far in, only about 20 pages. Where would you rank Norwegian Wood on that list?
LikeLike
I hadn’t come across this one, so thanks for sharing. Definitely one to add to the TBR list methinks! Enjoy your weekend 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hope you’ve had a good weekend too 🙂 I hadn’t heard of Zone until I got involved with the IFFP shadow panel so I’m glad I can continue to spread the word!
LikeLiked by 1 person
” its countless references to obscure literature” This phrase alone makes me want to read it! I am a bit scared I wont get all the politics in it, but they are probably things I should look up/learn.I’m going to try this at some point. I hope I appreciate it as much as the others did.
LikeLike
You don’t have to be an expert on the politics of the Balkans or the Middle East to appreciate the book as a whole but it probably does help with some of the intricacies which may have gone over my head 🙂
LikeLike
It’s probably a novel that would require serious rereading to get all the references, but I found it an easier read than it sounds – like you say, it’s something to do with the rhythm.
LikeLike
Yes I think I would need to mug up on Balkan/Middle Eastern politics before rereading it. The rhythm is hypnotic and for such a dense book, it was a speedier and easier read than I thought it would be.
LikeLike
Sounds intriguing… Adding Zone to my list of books to read, thank you!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hope you enjoy it 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow. I am just imagining what would happen if I chose this for our next book group. Some of us are still traumatised by the weight of In The Light of What We Know.
LikeLike
I haven’t read In The Light of What We Know but I can definitely appreciate wanting to read something lighter after finishing a very dense and complex book!
LikeLike
Pingback: Hay Festival: Alexander McCall Smith and Jenny Erpenbeck | A Little Blog of Books
Hi Clare, great post, Zone has been on my to-read list since reading his latest book The Street of Thieves (read in French) Due out in English by Fitzcaraldo in August, you can look it up on my blog under French Language writers, Pat
LikeLike
Thanks for the recommendation!
LikeLike
Pingback: Preview of the start to the French Literary Season | south of Paris books
Pingback: The Man Booker International Prize 2017 Longlist | A Little Blog of Books
Pingback: Man Booker International Reviews: Part 4 (and the official shortlist) | A Little Blog of Books
Pingback: Solar Bones by Mike McCormack | A Little Blog of Books