Garlic, Mint, & Sweet Basil: Essays on Marseilles, Mediterranean Cuisine, and Noir Fiction - Softcover

"What makes Izzo's work haunting is his extraordinary ability to convey the tastes and smells of Marseilles." --The New Yorker
"Our last true romantic, Jean-Claude Izzo transmits warmth to his readers, as if granting them a mouthful of pure love." --Le Point (France)
"Just as Raymond Chandler and James Ellroy made Los Angeles their very own, so Mr. Izzo has made Marseilles so much more than just another geographical setting." --The Economist

Praise for Jean-Claude Izzo
What makes Izzo s work haunting is his extraordinary ability to convey the tastes and smells of Marseilles.
"The New Yorker"
Our last true romantic, Jean-Claude Izzo transmits warmth to his readers, as if granting them a mouthful of pure love.
Le Point (France)
Just as Raymond Chandler and James Ellroy made Los Angeles their very own, so Mr. Izzo has made Marseilles so much more than just another geographical setting.
The Economist"

Praise for Jean-Claude Izzo

"A real delight."
--Andrea Camilleri, author of the bestselling Inspector Montalbano series

"[Izzo's] essays...reveal a man of deep feeling and humanity."
--The Guardian

"What makes Izzo's work haunting is his extraordinary ability to convey the tastes and smells of Marseilles."
--The New Yorker

"Mr. Izzo was a marvelous food writer...His books are filled with winning descriptions of Provencal meals run through with the flavors of north Africa, Italy, Greece."
--Sam Sifton, The New York Times

"Just as Raymond Chandler and James Ellroy made Los Angeles their very own, so Mr. Izzo has made Marseilles so much more than just another geographical setting."
--The Economist

"In Izzo's books...Marseilles is a 'ville selon nos coeur, ' a city in tune with our heart...A cosmopolitan, maritime city, greedy, sensual and warm."
--Michel Samson, Slow Food

"Our last true romantic, Jean-Claude Izzo transmits warmth to his readers, as if granting them a mouthful of pure love."
--Le Point (France)

Jean-Claude Izzo was born in Marseilles, France, in 1945. He achieved astounding success with his Marseilles Trilogy (Total Chaos, Chourmo, Solea). In addition to the books in this trilogy, his two novels (The Lost Saliors, and A Sun for the Dying) and one collection of short stories (Vivre fatigue) also enjoy great success with both critics and the public. Izzo died in 2000 at the age of fifty-five.