A stolen diamond and three right feet, wearing shoes of a non-existent brand, that wash ashore in Scotland set into motion the first plot of Island of Point Nemo, a rollicking Jules Verne-like adventure narrative that crosses continents and oceans, involves multilingual codes, a world-famous villain, and three eccentrically loopy detectives. Running parallel is the story of B@bil Books, an e-reader factory in France filled with its own set of colorful characters, including the impotent Dieumercie and his randy wife, who will stop at nothing-including a suspect ritual involving bees-to fix his "problem," and their abusive boss Wang-ilWong, obsessed with carrier pigeons and spying on his employees. With the humor of a Jasper Fforde novel, and the structure of a Haruki Murakami one, Island of Point Nemois a literary puzzle and grand testament to the power of storytelling…even in our digital age.
"Blas de Roblès takes great pleasure in mixing styles and genres, and Island of Point Nemo is both an adventure-tale of the very traditional sort, moving quickly from one exciting episode to the next, as well as a much more relaxed larger project, demonstrating that: 'Every sentence written is presage'."
The Complete Review
"Psychodrama meets history meets mystery-vintage Umberto Eco territory, as practiced by French philosophy professor turned novelist Blas de Roblès."
Kirkus Reviews
"Those of you who stay with Blas de Roblès's ultimately quite satisfying novel will find yourselves with a new European literary star to steer by."
