An Evening at the Club by Christian Gailly
Translated from the French by Susan Fairfield

• Bibliotheques Municipales Geneva, Switzerland

In order to save his life and his marriage, Simon Nardis gave up his career as an outstandingly innovative jazz pianist. No more road trips, alcohol, or women. And no more jazz. For ten years, Simon has worked at a humdrum job and led a quiet home life with his wife, Suzanne. Then, one evening, he finds himself in a jazz club owned by the American singer Debbie Parker. The sudden, irresistible reawakening of sexual and artistic passion in this middle-aged man leads to a tragicomedy of missed trains and missed opportunities, as seen through the eyes of Suzanne, Debbie, and a painter, the good friend of Simon, who tells their story and, indirectly, his own. Gailly's deadpan, quirky humour and a style that excites the reader with a verbal texture like the riffs and syncopations of jazz are a dazzling counterpoint to the profound and disturbing theme of the novel: the life-and-death sacrifices demanded by art and marriage.

Christian Gailly was born in 1943 in Belleville, France, close to Paris. Prior to becoming a writer he was a jazz saxophonist and then a psychoanalyst. Since 1987 he has published eleven novels.