Rico has been banished to society’s margins; he has neither a roof over his head nor a steady income on which to depend. When a friend and fellow clochard dies of exposure after a night spent in the Paris metro, Rico decides to flee the northern cold for his beloved south, for Marseilles and the Mediterranean. From the celebrated author of the Marseilles Trilogy, this is both an affecting on-the-road novel and a tender exploration of love’s power both to heal and to destroy.

“Izzo not only has a keen eye for detail . . . but also digs deep into what makes men weep.”—Time Out New York

“Our last true romantic, Jean-Claude Izzo transmits warmth to his readers, as if granting them a mouthful of pure love. A Sun for the Dying is beautiful, like a black sun, tragic and desperate.”—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

Jean-Claude Izzo
Jean-Claude Izzo was born in Marseilles, France, in 1945. Best known for the Marseilles trilogy (Total Chaos, Chourmo, Solea), Izzo is also the author of The Lost Sailors, A Sun for the Dying, Garlic, Mint, & Sweet Basil, and one collection of short stories, Living Tires. He died in 2000 at the age of fifty-five.

• Oct 1 2008
  Booklist: "a likely hit not just with fans of noir (including Izzo’s own Marseilles trilogy) but also with devotees of Charles Bukowski, Hubert Selby Jr., and other great modern tragedians."
  
• Oct 1 2008
  Mostly Fiction: "A Sun for the Dying is Izzo’s finest novel, bitter, bleak and perfect, and Izzo fans will not be disappointed."
  
• Sep 12 2008
  Daily Telegraph: "A psychologically intense, evocative indictment of social cruelty."
  
• Sep 8 2008
  Shelf Awareness: "why was I sobbing as I closed this book? Because Izzo's vision of life, though unspeakably sad, rings boldly honest."
  
• Jul 1 2008
  Kirkus Reviews: "Difficult but rewarding reading that offers an unflinching look at a social problem"
  
• Apr 30 2008
  Publishers Weekly: "Izzo (1945–2000) returns to Marseille (setting of Total Chaos and other of his books) with a bleak, affecting tale about a man on the skids, despairing of love's ability to heal...Izzo's last novel proves riveting and grim."