Bologne, Limoges et Thessalonique dans le roman noir contemporain (1995-2015)
Bologna, Limoges and Thessaloniki in the Contemporary Noir Novel (1995-2015

Summary/Abstract: The article analyzes the representation of the cities of Bologna, Limoges and Thessaloniki, in the contemporary Italian, French and Greek noir novel (1995-2015), from a geocritical perspective. The reflection develops in two stages. In the first stage, the three cities are presented as places of crime to be deciphered, on the basis of five characteristics: dilation, dehumanization, disorientation, deculturation, deindividuation. In the second stage, we try to define the challenge of contemporary detectives: to read cities, as codes to be deciphered, to solve crimes. Our interpretation of the city in contemporary noir fiction develops in five phases, mirroring the characteristics of the first part: exploration, detection, reconstruction, identification, acceptance. At the end of his investigation and the novel, the detective discovers that the city is a real character, it is not only a place of crime but also a place of the soul, a mirror of the experiences of the protagonists. The contemporary noir novels of Bologna, Limoges and Thessaloniki depict the conflict, perhaps insoluble, which revolves around the definition of what is the city and therefore who is the man and they indicate the impossibility of a definitive and reassuring answer. The man and the city merge to become one.

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