A review by vsbedford
Bird in a Cage by Frédéric Dard

4.0

After a bit of a slow start, and that's really only 10 pages or so, this noir really gets going. There's a definite cinematic feel here, as in the best hard-boiled fiction of the post-WWII era, and all the boxes are ticked; hard luck antihero, femme fatale, clever twists and double blinds. The translation is a bit blank with, for me, a few real hard stops in the narrative flow (a "no-holds barred" reference in particular pulled me right out). Small quibbles for a great afternoon read.