Apocalypse Baby — Virginie Despentes

The filmmaker and author of the Vernon Subutex trilogy delivers “a terrific page-turner . . . a compelling punk, queerish spin on the noir genre” (Maggie Nelson, author of The Argonauts).

Apocalypse Baby is a smart, fast-paced mystery about a missing adolescent girl traveling through Paris and Barcelona. She is tailed by two mismatched private investigators: the Hyena, part ruthless interrogator, part oversexed rock star, and Lucie, her plain and passive -- almost to the point of invisible -- sidekick. As their desperate search unfolds, they interrogate a suspicious cast of characters, and the dark heart of contemporary youth culture is exposed.

“It has everything: the nervous, ironic, vivid style of Baise-Moi . . . her sharp gaze on society and its divisions, her empathy for the poor wretches who compose it . . . an indefinable thriller, combing pulp and social chronicle.” -- L'Express

“Virginie Despentes's social criticism is blistering, but her prose is laid-back. Apocalypse Baby is an addictive feminist thriller that reads like shameless gossip from your smartest friend.” -- Johanna Fateman, writer and musician

“Rich in detail, emotionally precise, and caustically funny.” -- Bookforum

“Structured like a classic noir, this French novel exposes the rotten core of contemporary European society through the perspectives of several female characters.” -- Kirkus Reviews

“A model for the revolutionary figure . . . Grander than life.” -- Music & Literature

“Apocalypse Baby does not drift. It propels forward, hardly taking a breath.” -- Three Percent blog

“This is a book written to make the reader think, to challenge assumptions and provide no easy answer or understanding.” -- Lambda Literary Review