With his trademark comically wry phrasing and a sure eye for quirky
detail, Echenoz has produced his oddest and most enjoyable novel to
date. Chopin's Move interweaves the fates of Chopin, entomologist and
recalcitrant secret agent; Oswald, a young foreign-affairs employee who
vanishes en route to his new home; Suzy, who gets enmeshed in a tangle
of deceit and counterdeceit; the mysterious Colonel Seck, whose
motivations are never quite what they seem; and a typically Echenozian
supporting cast of neurotic bodyguards, disquieting functionaries, and
crafty double agents. As the plot thickens, the characters become
embroiled in layer upon layer of deception and double-dealing, leading
them further into a world in which nothing can be taken at face value
and in which reality hinges on apparently harmless coincidence.