Bill,
The translation is correct; in that excerpt Manchette wrote
indeed
"l'homme" (the man) in the original French version (1981).
The citation are the last sentences of chapter 19 of the
French text. It's long ago that I reread this top novel and I
cannot remember if this was extensively used all over this
novel. To note that as a stylist Manchette was on the
minimalist side, but with sentences adjusted to the last
millimeter (make it 1/25 th of an inch) in texts that he
reworked extensively and drastically. But the result is
stunning and very personal, under this apparent simplicity.
As I already said in the past here, he is one of the greatest
French noir writers.
E.Borgers Hard-boiled Mysteries http://www.geocities.com/Athens/6384
POLAR NOIR http://www.geocities.com/polarnoir
William Denton :
>I just finished Jean-Patrick Manchette's LA POSITION
DU TIREUR COUCHE
>(1983), but in the English translation, THE PRONE
GUNMAN (2002). Damn!
>That is fine, fine stuff.
>
>Here's a quote from THE PRONE GUNMAN from the
archives that shows
>something unusual in the style:
>
>| Seated in the darkness of the 504, Martin Terrier
listened attentively
>| to this news. His haggard face at first registered
great perplexity;
>| then it registered worry, thoughtfulness, or
whatever other movements of
>| consciousness that might cause his face to look the
way it did. Once the
>| news was over, the man started the
engine.
>
>Notice "the man" instead of "he." It happens all
through the book. In
>the original, is it "l'homme" and not "il"? I wish my
French was good
>enough that I could read it that way. C'est un tres
bon livre, et
>j'acheterai l'autre bientot.
>
>Bill
>
>
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