Tastes and smells in the detective novels of Jean-Claude Izzo: recipes for a cosmopolitan life

Abstract

Jean-Claude Izzo’s Marseilles is a cosmopolitan city with a pervasive smell of death. Its stench spreads across the city, irredeemably poisoning the flavour of life. For Fabio Montale, the detective protagonist of Izzo’s trilogy (Total Khéops, Chourmo and Solea), this sensation is a constant thread running through all his adventures. In an attempt to rid himself of it, he counteracts its unpleasant aftertaste by savouring the range of dishes offered by the Mediterranean city, delighting in each shot of alcohol and discovering the aromas that lie under the skin of the women he loves. Like the Belgian writer George Simenon and the Italian novelist Andrea Camilleri, Izzo also introduces the pleasure of good food and drink into his detective novels, but seasoned at the same time with the multicultural mix characteristic of Marseilles.