''Diva'' (1979) by

Daniel Odier Daniel Robert Odier (born 17 May 1945 in Geneva), is a Zen master, Chan master, writer, poet, screenwriter and essayist, specialist in Kashmir Shaivism. Praised by Anaïs Nin as "an outstanding writer and a dazzling poet," he is also a spiritual ...

(writing under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

Delacorta) is a crime novel set in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. It was adapted into the film ''

Diva Diva (; ) is the Latin word for a goddess. It has often been used to refer to a celebrated woman of outstanding talent in the world of opera, theatre, cinema, fashion and popular music. If referring to an actress, the meaning of ''diva'' is cl ...

'' in 1981.

Plot summary

Jules, a young man, is a motorcycle courier for

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

in Paris, and an enthusiastic fan of classical music and opera. Jules is a particular fan of Cynthia Hawkins, a beautiful American opera singer, who only performs live and has never made a recording, studio or otherwise. One day, Jules secretly records a Cynthia Hawkins concert. He shares the tape with his friend Alba, a precocious teenage beauty. Alba shares the tape with her older friend Serge Gorodish, Serge is a successful part-time criminal in his mid-40s, who has Alba as a sort of

muse In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the ...

. Serge realizes that the Cynthia Hawkins tape could fetch a lot of money from "pirate" record makers. This plot becomes entangled with the fate of Nadia, a young woman employed by Saporta, who controls the largest drug cartel and prostitution ring in Paris. Nadia records a statement exposing Saporta on a cassette tape, but is pursued by Saporta's henchmen. She hides the cassette in the satchel of Jules' motorcycle. Soon, Jules is being chased by the police, as well as gangsters, though he has no idea why. Saporta mobilizes his entire crime organization to retrieve the tape from Jules. Locating an intrepid and skilled motorcyclist in Paris is not easy. Meanwhile, there is a furious underground bidding war for the Hawkins tape.

References and external links

1979 novels Crime novels Novels by Daniel Odier Works published under a pseudonym Novels set in Paris Swiss novels adapted into films {{1970s-crime-novel-stub