Death in Trieste

Death in Trieste, the new book by Jason, the most French of authors Norwegians, presents three distinct stories, but all three, have fun and juggle with references to create new hybridizations. In The Magritte Affair, two super agents in the style of The Avengers must face mysterious disappearances linked to the surreal world of famous Belgian painter. In Death in Trieste, which gives its title to the book, we are propelled into Berlin in the 1920s, where we meet Dadaists, Rasputin, David Bowie as a time traveler, Nosferatu, Marlene Dietrich — and the shadow of Nazism that come. Finally in Sweet Dreams, the "New Romantics" of the 80s, version superheroes, must save the world from the inexorable arrival of a dangerous meteorite. It's all told in Jason's characteristic style, with a beautiful economy of means and a deadpan humor that hits the mark. If the references and winks are legion, they never prevent us from appreciating these stories for what they are, fantastic, funny and offbeat news, playing with the codes and archetypes of adventure stories, and told with infectious joy and pleasure.