Synopsis of the Novel, The Chronicles of Michel du Jabot
The Chronicles of Michel du Jabot is a massive, whale tale kind of a book that exercises the writer in Eckhard Gerdes. The novel is not just about seducing readers with a suspenseful story, but about delighting in the ability to use language. The story follows Michel du Jabot, a Frenchman who sets out on a journey to find his father, a man he has never met. Along the way, he encounters a cast of characters, including a talking dog, a giant squid, and a tribe of cannibals. The novel is a surreal adventure that explores the nature of identity and the human condition.
CRITICAL PRAISE
"Whatever you do, don´t even look into Eckhard Gerdes’ book, The Chronicles of Michel du Jabot, because you’ll never get out of it again! If J. Joyce were to be reincarnated—and instead of writing in his inextricably reinvented and rather illegible (without the help of an East European multi-lingual scholar) Panglish, were to practice an altogether clear and charmingly grammatical English as here (admittedly with a scatter of soft linguistic implosions but few)—he would have written this book. It will take generations of English professors to sort it out. Hilarious semantic sport. And don’t expect me to tell you what it is about. I would have to give you a involuted idio-semantic analysis with innumerable brackets and labels, which wouldn’t help anyway. No, okay then, dare to tip-toe into the cavernous echoing brain-chamber of Gerdes’ The Chronicles and if you’re lucky you’ll come tumbling out into the dull everydaylight with a mad enlightened gleam in your eyes and will never read another novel. Yes, this — not Finnegans Wake—is the novel to end the novel. —Alain Arias-Misson, author of Autobiography of a Character from Fiction
About the Author, Eckhard Gerdes
Eckhard Gerdes is a prolific author who has published books of poetry, drama, and fourteen books of fiction. He has won numerous awards and nominations, including the &Now Award for his novel Hugh Moore and a nomination for Georgia Author of the Year. Gerdes' writing is characterized by his ability to use language in a unique and creative way, as seen in The Chronicles of Michel du Jabot. He currently resides in Arlington Heights, Illinois, with his family.