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the Complete Review
the complete review - fiction



Command Performance

by
Jean Echenoz


general information | review summaries | our review | links | about the author

To purchase Command Performance


Title: Command Performance
Author: Jean Echenoz
Genre: Novel
Written: 2020 (Eng. 2025)
Length: 162 pages
Original in: French
Availability: Command Performance - US
Command Performance - UK
Command Performance - Canada
Vie de Gérard Fulmard - Canada
Vie de Gérard Fulmard - France
from: Bookshop.org (US)
  • French title: Vie de Gérard Fulmard
  • Translated by Mark Polizzotti

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Our Assessment:

B : rather madcap amateur-PI (mis)adventure, with an emphasis on (literary) style and flair

See our review for fuller assessment.



Review Summaries
Source Rating Date Reviewer
The French Review B- (94:2) 12/2020 William Cloonan
The Guardian . 29/11/2024 John Self
Libération B 3/1/2020 Philippe Lançon
Le Monde . 1/1/2020 Raphaëlle Leyris
World Lit. Today A 1-2/2025 Kai Maristed


  From the Reviews:
  • "This novel makes no serious commentary on French politics, and, as a parody of the roman policier genre, it seems a bit tired. It is mostly an exercise in style. Echenoz's style. The characters have the psychological depth of comic book figures. Logic only makes an occasional appearance. The tone never varies despite the plethora of startling, often outrageous events (.....) Echenoz displays his literary wares in this novel, which is fun to read, but not among his best" - William Cloonan, The French Review

  • "It’s a hectic tale, but keeping up with the breakneck pace is all part of the fun." - John Self, The Guardian

  • "Dans cette fente entre les genres, enjambée par les effets de style et la hantise du cliché, la vie et l'émotion ont de plus en plus de mal à passer, peut-être parce qu'il n'y a plus désormais, entre comique de situation et cabrioles de la langue, aucune place pour la foi dans le récit : faire le grand écart entre Flaubert et Lautner est un exploit que l'auteur réussit, mais que le lecteur subit. Reste un plaisir semblable à celui qu'on a de manger d'excellents chocolats fourrés, après le repas, avec le café. Ils ont été fabriqués et sculptés avec soin un par un, assemblés dans une boîte elle-même très bien conçue. On ouvre la boîte, on regarde, on choisit, on déguste, surpris par le mélange des saveurs et des consistances. Le problème, c'est qu'on n'a plus faim." - Philippe Lançon, Libération

  • "In a screenwriter’s elevator pitch, Command Performance might be described as The Pink Panther meets Veep. (...) (R)efreshing and sly, niftily plotted, and entertaining (.....) Certain wines travel better than others. A household name in France, Echenoz is scarcely known in the US. But if a whip-smart escape is what you’re looking for -- along with some tips on how to dress -- you won’t want to miss Command Performance." - Kai Maristed, World Literature Today

Please note that these ratings solely represent the complete review's biased interpretation and subjective opinion of the actual reviews and do not claim to accurately reflect or represent the views of the reviewers. Similarly the illustrative quotes chosen here are merely those the complete review subjectively believes represent the tenor and judgment of the review as a whole. We acknowledge (and remind and warn you) that they may, in fact, be entirely unrepresentative of the actual reviews by any other measure.

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The complete review's Review:

       The protagonist and sometime narrator of Command Performance is Gerard Fulmard, a rather hefty (196 pounds, at a mere 5'6") former flight attendant (who lost his job in an "incident" which: "resulted in my dismissal as well as the addition of my name to a blacklist"). Good fortune, after a fashion, strikes him in the novel's opening, when he is not struck by "a huge chunk of obsolete Soviet satellite" that plumets to the ground -- or rather: into the apartment of his landlord, taking out that unfortunate soul (as well as smashing up the local hypermarket), allowing Gerard to at least rejoice in the fact that: "his demise would allow me to defer -- if only temporarily -- the payment of my monthly rent". The apartment was his mother's, with Gerard having taken over the lease after her death; it is located in rue Erlanger, in a novel in which locales and geography feature quite prominently.
       Out of a job, Gerard needed a new one -- and decided to offer his services, opening up shop as the 'Fulmard Assistance Bureau'; inspired by a detective bureau sign he frequently passes, he presents himself as a private dick.
       As a result of the incident that cost him his flight attendant job Gerard is obligated to undergo therapy, visiting psychiatrist Jean-François Bardot twice a month. At one session he mentions his "entrepreneurial plans" to Bardot -- but:

He didn’t react, not even to encourage me, perhaps he didn’t understand or, go figure, wasn’t listening. More and more I get the feeling that he really doesn’t give a crap.
       In fact, however, Bardot clearly picked up the gist -- and soon spies an opportunity for a political organization he is involved with, the not-very-popular Independent Popular Federation (IPF), whose founder and chairman, Franck Terrail has a problem requiring: "an independent agent of some kind" to handle. Bardot serves up Gerard as just the man for the job, and in turn convinces Gerard to go along with it. Nicole Tourneur, Franck's (second) wife and national secretary of the IPF, has apparently been kidnapped, and Gerard is charged with looking into that -- a commission that appeals not least because he is a big fan and very attracted to Nicole Tourneur's daughter, Louise, "whom we also sometimes see on television, as she also plays a small role in the IPF".
       Gerard is, unsurprisingly, in over his head -- not least because of the machinations at the IPF, which include the push to push out Franck, as well as the possibility of having Louise take over her mother's position. Bardot snares Gerard good and proper, eventually backing him into a very uncomfortable corner where Gerard has little choice but to agree to take care of some business -- or rather, of someone. As always, things do not go well for Gerard in the execution (and it seemed like such a good plan ...) -- though he's not the only one with bad luck: among the novel's detours is one to Sulawesi, where a small nick, barely worth a mention or a band-aid, proves very consequential.
       Command Performance is a variation on the usual PI-thriller, with the PI here very amateur, but it's not mere or flat-out satire. Echenoz indulges in the genre, playing around with and stretching many different aspects of it though generally also circling back to its basics. It's also not all style over substance, but style matters a lot to Echenoz here. He luxuriates in it, in small details -- "Franck Terrail’s mustache is not assertoric but apodictic:" -- or at playful length:
     Such a scene, moreover, could occur even now, for everything in the Honeymoon Suite lends itself to it: the ambience and air-conditioning are muted, the colors are calming, the vaporous veils filter a soft light, and especially the round bed, of senatorial dimensions, upholstered in buffalo hide and at the foot of which lies a tray laden with cool drinks, would jibe perfectly. It would be all the more suitable in that at first we would make out only the frolics of silhouettes blurred by the mosquito netting, an effective intro before indulging in close-ups and extreme close-ups, the better to follow the succession of postures, harmonized by the surf from the Flores Sea down below, the comings and goings of its waves providing an excellent soundtrack, symmetrical and synchronous with the action.
       There's a political tinge to the story, but it's mostly incidental, and the plot is rather messy and a bit free-wheeling -- fitting enough for Echenoz's style-play, which is where most of the novel's appeal lies (though some of the characters and how they are presented certainly also make for a good show).
       Parts lack a proper follow-through, as Echenoz tosses and twirls ideas and details in and around at head-spinning pace, and there are arguably too many layers to it all. Meanwhile, Gerard isn't allowed to be the truly central figure or voice, so the whole feels a bit unmoored. Still, there's good, creative fun to be found here, and things move along at a good pace in the quick succession of short chapters and the sheer variety on offer, making Command Performance a somewhat dizzying but quite fun read, with some very amusing bits -- both locutions and episodes.

- M.A.Orthofer, 19 February 2025

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Links:

Command Performance: Reviews: Jean Echenoz: Other books by Jean Echenoz under review: Other books of interest under review:

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About the Author:

       French author Jean Echenoz was born in 1947.

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© 2025 the complete review

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