Hortense Is Abducted Book

On the sixth prie-dieu of the ninth row of the Church of Sainte-Gudule the corpse is discovered. Chief inspector Blognard is on the scene, as is our narrator, now married to Hortense, the delectable star of Roubaud's first novel "Our Beautiful Heroine". But will they succeed in detecting the criminal—perhaps the same?—before his plot to kidnap the lovely bride succeeds? Or perhaps Carlotta, the fifteen-year-old redhead, her mysterious black cat Hotello, and the Poldevian pony prince Cyrandozoi will prevail where lesser men have failed?
The delightful imaginary world brought into being in Jacques Roubaud's first novel comes to uproarious life again in this sequel. While the murder investigation is afoot, teenage girls argue the relative merits of the rock groups Dew-Pon Dew-Val and Landau Valley, Pere Sinouls tries to program a computer to take his place at the organ so that he can continue to practice Beeranalysis, and the clientele of the Gudule Bar debate the reality of Infinity. The author's whimsical touch and deft craftsmanship intermingle reflections on the novel, asides to the reader, and a rich gallery of comic characters enmeshed in a peculiar intrigue that spirals like the Poldevian coat of arms—a snail.

"A witty and sexy page-turner." (Michael Dirda, Washington Post Book World 7-30-89)

"If Mel Brooks, Lewis Carroll and Alfred Jarry were forced at gunpoint to collaborate on a mystery, the result might be something like Hortense is Abducted. . . . It's a grand stunt." (Barry Schechter, Chicago Tribune 7-23-89)

"Clever and cream-puff light." (Colin Walters, Washington Times 7-17-89)

"Those who decide to read this book on a bus or train should be forewarned: uncontrollable bursts of laughter will seize you at any time!" (Library Journal starred review 6-15-89)

"Roubaud seduces with felicitous—and feline—humor . . . evoking the spirits of his countryman Rabelais, of Flann O'Brien, Jorge Luis Borges, Gilbert Sorrentino, Julio Cortazar, Umberto Eco, Tom Robbins." (Kenneth Atchity, Los Angeles Times 12-13-89)