Uncle Charles Has Locked Himself In

by Georges Simenon

Charles Dupeux, a humble bookkeeper, comes home from work as usual. But instead of sitting down to dinner with his family, he locks himself in the attic. He does not respond to the questions of his wife and his daughters--except to slip a message under the door demanding to be left alone. He paces, growls, moves furniture. Downstairs his family and relatives speculate on what might be happening, occasionally casting anxious glances at the ceiling.Why does a man "as timid as a rabbit" suddenly seclude himself? Why is his proud and overbearing boss so upset? What is the secret between them?Simenon portrays in precise detail the seedy, prosaic, unsentimental world of the suburbs of Rouen and against that background tells a superb tale of human suffering and depravity.(from inside jacket description)

Genres: France, Fiction, Noir, Belgium, Mystery

Hardcover

First published May 14, 1969

About the author

Georges Joseph Christian Simenon (1903 – 1989) was a Belgian writer. A prolific author who published nearly 500 novels and numerous short works, Simenon is best known as the creator of the fictional detective Jules Maigret.
Although he never resided in Belgium after 1922, he remained a Belgian citizen throughout his life.

Simenon was one of the most prolific writers of the twentieth century, capable of writing 60 to 80 pages per day. His oeuvre includes nearly 200 novels, over 150 novellas, several autobiographical works, numerous articles, and scores of pulp novels written under more than two dozen pseudonyms. Altogether, about 550 million copies of his works have been printed.

He is best known, however, for his 75 novels and 28 short stories featuring Commissaire Maigret. The first novel in the series, Pietr-le-Letton, appeared in 1931; the last one, Maigret et M. Charles, was published in 1972. The Maigret novels were translated into all major languages and several of them were turned into films and radio plays. Two television series (1960-63 and 1992-93) have been made in Great Britain.

During his "American" period, Simenon reached the height of his creative powers, and several novels of those years were inspired by the context in which they were written (Trois chambres à Manhattan (1946), Maigret à New York (1947), Maigret se fâche (1947)).

Simenon also wrote a large number of "psychological novels", such as La neige était sale (1948) or Le fils (1957), as well as several autobiographical works, in particular Je me souviens (1945), Pedigree (1948), Mémoires intimes (1981).

In 1966, Simenon was given the MWA's highest honor, the Grand Master Award.

In 2005 he was nominated for the title of De Grootste Belg (The Greatest Belgian). In the Flemish version he ended 77th place. In the Walloon version he ended 10th place.

Reviews

[Glenn Russell]

Rouen, city in the north of France, setting for this probing 1939 psychological tale

Georges Simenon wrote 117 non-Maigret existential novels. I've posted reviews on 23 of their number. To list several: The Blue Room, Red Lights, Tropic Moon, Dirty Snow, In Case of Emergency. From my own reading, Uncle Charles Has Locked Himself In is surely the most complex since the story focuses not only on Charles but a good number of other men and women. This is the only Simenon where I had to go back and read the novel a second time, pen in hand, ready to fill in several family trees.

Uncle Charles is also perhaps the most subtle Simenon, in the sense that the act propelling the unfolding drama isn't a murder or catastrophe, but simply Charles Dupeux returning home one evening to shut himself in his attic.

Why would a forty-eight-year-old husband and father of four grown daughters do such a thing? Initially, I thought Charles might have acted out of rage, a man forced to spend his waking hours working as a bookkeeper for his odious brother-in-law Henri - quite the sacrifice, considering we learn Charles is skilled with his hands and enjoys pursuits bordering on the artistic. Additionally, maybe Charles is rebelling against his place within a suffocating, conventional middle-class family. However, as more facts are disclosed, it becomes clear that there are other, less obvious forces at work.

Simenon proves himself a master in the way he provides telling details. For example, in the opening pages, when their three daughters currently living at home - Mauricette, Camille, and Lulu - leave for the evening, Laurence, Charles' wife, calls up to him and asks her husband if he's trying to scare her or if he's gone mad. Then she says, “You know, there's quite a difference between you and Uncle Guillaume.” We're given the backstory: Guillaume (Charles' brother) returned to the farm one evening from the horse market. While his family was busy eating dinner, Guillaume hanged himself in the stall next to the mare. The family discovered Guillaume had made a fifteen-year-old girl pregnant, a girl who died trying to get rid of the child. If he hadn't hanged himself, Guillaume knew he would have gone to prison. This bit of family history also serves as foreshadowing; in the final chapter, a member of the Dupeux family hangs themselves.

Likewise, with the great author's quick character sketches. Here's Henri Dionnet, Charles' obnoxious, rich brother-in-law, who runs the largest wholesale grocery business in Rouen - a man of efficiency and business down to his toes, rarely seen without his bowler, heavy black overcoat, and umbrella. Henri's father had been a quarryman, and his brother a stonemason, but Henri arrived in Rouen and shortly thereafter came to know a gent by the name of Bonduel, who inherited a good bit of money. Henri persuaded Bonduel to start a grocery business - Dionnet and Bonduel - and some time thereafter, under shrouded circumstances, Bonduel died. As Simenon writes: “The week after, Bonduel's name disappeared from the front of the shop. In order not to waste the stock of letterhead and invoices, the name was crossed out in red, and the paper was used for several more years.” Wow! Such a clear picture of Monsieur Dionnet in so few words.

With the quickest of Simenon strokes, we get to know many more women and men. Yet, it is Charles who remains the most fascinating study. Why does such a mild-mannered, seemingly meek individual act the way he does? Can Charles be judged as a man of habit, one who is incapable of dramatic change? Or, is there something darker going on with Charles, including a quiet drive to extract a kind of revenge, even if that revenge means the destruction of one or more people around him?

I urge you to give this Simenon a go, among the author's murkiest.


Belgian author Georges Simenon, 1903-1989

[Steven Godin · Rating 4 out of 5]

When it is finally revealed just why Charles Dupeux waltzed in one day and went straight upstairs and locked himself away in the attic it was already of secondary importance to me. That side of the novel, involving embezzlement and his boss and brother-in-law, Henri, was overshadowed by that of Charles' wife & children. Simenon, in a mean-spirited, bleak and scathing mood with this one, was much more interesting when portraiting, within the bourgeoisie home, the daily life; the feuds and the niggles, of his bedraggled wife Laurence and their three daughters (four actually, but one ran away with married man) who, apart from one, are more pissed off with him over his odd behaviour than they are worried. Despite most characters being wholly unlikeable it was carried through with some great dialogue; specifically in the family kitchen, that had the feel of a play.

[Manny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rather like its hero, this taut little psychological thriller seems to have been dealt a bad hand by Fate. Simenon finished it in October 1939, a few days after World War II broke out, and it didn't get published until 1947. Eclipsed by his many other famous novels, it's virtually unknown. Notgettingenough, a staunch Simenon fan, had never heard of the book, and neither had my well-read Belgian friend Pierrette.

But it's a fine piece of work, and I strongly recommend it. Charles, a mild-mannered comptroller in his late 40s, is despised by his wife, his four teenage daughters and his appalling boss, who's also his brother-in-law. One day, he comes home as usual, but instead of sitting down to dinner goes up to the loft and locks himself in. People try to persuade him to be reasonable, but he refuses to answer. When they persist and threaten to break the door down, he warns them not to try; he's got a gun, and he'll use it. He just wants to be left alone.

Why has Charles done this uncharacteristic thing? You should read the book and find out - but if you can't be bothered, here's what you discover. Charles has discovered how his boss, Henri, made his money. The business originally belonged to Henri's partner, a dissipated and impractical young man who suffered from tuberculosis. Henri patronised a local house of ill-repute and started taking his partner there. The guy developed a taste for hookers. Henri and the brothel's madam devised a simple plan: they encouraged the guy's sex addiction, confident that this would weaken his already fragile health and eventually kill him. Everything worked perfectly, and when he died there was no way to implicate them. Henri took over the business and did well.

But Sophie, the madam, wants a larger cut and decides to blackmail Henri. She starts writing him letters, which are delivered to his office. Charles opens the first one by accident and immediately realizes what has happened. He doesn't tell anyone, and intercepts the following letters, which become increasingly threatening. At the same time, he begins writing anonymous letters himself, letting his boss know that someone has found out. Henri becomes more and more nervous. Finally, Sophie sends him a telegram plainly stating that she wants a lot of money or she'll tell. Henri has a mild heart attack. He finally understands what has been going on, and tells Charles that he'll give him anything he wants if he can just keep quiet. He also asks him to go to Paris and give Sophie the fifty thousand francs she's requested.

Charles emerges from his attic and makes the payoff; the creepy scene at the brothel is one of the highlights of the book. He comes back and refuses to tell Henri anything about what's happened, enjoying the power he has over him. But meanwhile, several other dramas have been playing out alongside the main story. Lulu, Henri's favorite daughter, has been humiliated by her unpleasant boyfriend. Ophelia-like, she becomes distracted and ends up hanging herself during her older sister's wedding.

At the end, Charles has nothing left but his revenge. He goes in to work every day and does his bookkeeping, relishing Henri's terrified inability to confront him. He has decided to kill him slowly and imperceptibly, just as Henri once killed his partner.

Why is revenge so important to people? It's rare for it to achieve anything, but once someone has decided to go down that path they are generally unable to stop. Simenon found an unusually good way to dramatise the theme.

[notgettingenough · Rating 4 out of 5]

Updated for Eric:




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Four stars? Or three? This is just a Simenon. There is absolutely nothing special about it, it is putting an old pair of socks on....out of hundreds of pairs. So, as Simenons go, I'm rather inclined to give it three stars only. But if I am comparing it with the rest, all the socks in other people's cupboards and drawers all over the world - well, it's probably worth that extra star.

.....................

So Manny refused to vote for this review on the basis that it didn’t have enough stuff in it. “Not even all the socks in the world?” “Not even that.”

Hence I am going to make a few observations of the type for which he might vote.

Number one. I despised Simenon as a teenager because in my ill-fated French at school we were expected to read it about day one. I’m illiterate in this language and yet I can read this book? It must be rubbish. Short sentences? No adverbs? Bah. At the time nothing made me happier than having my nose stuck in page three thousand eight hundred and fifty two of a Russian work by somebody who probably wasn’t paid by the word, but clearly wished they were.

Now I know better. Pared down, minimalist is quite my preference. I never read much Maigret even after I got over my teenage rebellion against him, but the other works, like this one, I do regard with the greatest respect.

Number two. I’m just started wondering about this. We were having an argument about this book: is Lulu ‘nice?’ Well, I don’t think Simenon meant her to be. I think middle aged male readers probabably have a soft spot for idiotic self-centered teenagers, despite Simeon’s efforts to the contrary. On the other hand, it could just be that any grown up girl was once a teenager and knows the truth. It could just be that. But I read somewhere that part of the reason Simenon writes quickly is that he doesn’t want to get emotionally involved with his characters. I can see why. Having read a gadzillion Simenons and Highsmiths (there are others, but these are the finest practitioners) where one sides with the sociopathic main character, suffers with him, barracks for him, feels injured as heartfeltly as does the antihero himself at the way in which others treat him, it has only just occurred to me that Simenon is pulling my strings. He makes normal people ghastly, so that one is backed into the corner with his star character. The incredible thing is that he does so, so little to make them this way. If he were a painter it would be some minute stroke of the brush, a dab here, a spot there, that might transform something normal into something hideous.

Either that or my first thought. People are hideous. Normal ordinary people are hideous. Sociopaths have got it right.

[Andy Weston · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of Simenon's romans durs novels, known for their psychological complexity, and for that reason, more appealing to me than his Maigret novels, which can be a bit formulaic.
A common theme in the romas durs books is a man who abruptly leaves home, his routine and conformity, and the effect that has on those around him; Monsieur Monde Vanishes, The Man Who Watched Trains Go By for example.
This is similar, though accountant Charles Dupeux returns to the family home one evening and locks himself in the attic.
There's a large cast of extended family and work colleagues here, confusingly so at times, as many of them have only bit parts.
As ever, Simenon delves into human mind and uncovers its darker side. In this case Charles Dupeux has spent a lifetime feeling inadequate. Unappreciated by his wife and family, and treated with contempt by his unfeeling and brutish boss, Charles grasps, without hesitation an opportunity to turn the tables. Basking in his new found status Charles is a changed man, then, as with the best Simenon, comes a twist..

[Bryan--The Bee’s Knees · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the first Simenon I've read, and I was sort of ambivalent about it. I didn't seek it out--I found it at a library sale and bought it on Simenon's name only. But for some reason, the cover always made me think of a British cozy mystery, and it took me a long time to finally pick it up. It definitely wasn't a cozy, but neither did it have the tension I associated with Simenon's non-Maigret 'romans durs' that I've heard about, and which I was most hoping for.

Charles Dupeux comes home one day, and without saying a word, locks himself in the attic. His wife is nonplussed as his time in the attic extends to days, but his three daughters mostly just shrug their shoulders and continue on with their lives. Eventually the rest of the family weighs in with their opinions on what could be causing Charles' odd behavior, and even his overbearing brother-in-law, who is also his employer, comes to the house to have a private chat. But when Charles reemerges, it becomes the catalyst that exposes the inner secrets of the entire family.

I think the book suffers from its brevity--I wasn't much affected when characters made fateful choices because I wasn't attached enough to care. And there's an extremely large cast of characters for such a short book--it was all I could do to keep track of them all. On the other hand, the tale turned a lot grittier than I would have suspected. All in all, I think it was probably not the best choice to start reading Simenon with--I've been threatening to read Act of Passion for several years now; I wish I'd started there.

[William Wical]

Simenon kind of in his bag for this one.

[Stephen Rowland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strange, interesting little novel that went places I did not expect. I finished last night and the more I thought about it, the more I liked it.

[Jim Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the kind of book that when you finish it, you immediately go back to the beginning to look for the breadcrumbs left by this ingenious author. This novel, short, but as dense as a good three act play, constantly surprises with its twists and turns in the lives of a large Rouen family. When the head of the house suddenly locks himself in the attic, we think it is the beginning of his mental breakdown, the result of a life of humiliation and unimportance. But this event turns out to be part of a scheme for revenge. Meanwhile his family is totally unaware of what is going on. Charles has become secretly rich with his brother in law’s ill-gotten wealth, but he quickly realizes that his life and the life of his children will not change. In fact, things get much worse for all of them. Charles’ youngest, Lulu, is like her father, barely noticed in the corner reading her movie magazines. But unlike her father, Lulu’s breakdown is real and almost unnoticed by the family until the shocking ending. A wickedly good read!

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Likely in my top 10 Simenon books. The first 90% is excellent. Intriguing premise of a seemingly normal guy who comes home one day and locks himself up in the attic without a word. Also some of the loveliest most evocative scene setting from synonym I’ve ever read. There is that cliché about books and movies where the city is it’s own character, and I suppose that applies to cinnamon, and yet I don’t get a burning urge after reading one of his books to visit Paris per se. It’s just some block in some neighborhood somewhere that you can feel and smell and taste so viscerally you feel like you are there. Probably my favorite passage from the book… “The rain was coming down thick and fast in the half light, pattering on the paving stones and bouncing off to a height of more than 4 inches, like flowers of spun glass constantly forming and dying. “
On the less positive side, the final 10th of the book is comparatively a disappointment, veering its focus away from Charles and his primary concerns, and pulling the camera back as if the book has always been more about the entire family. It doesn’t quite work, Especially in terms of the final revelation. But all in all, quite a fine read.

[Ronald Koltnow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Less successful than most of Simenon's romans durs. A bookkeeper in his bother-in-laws business comes home one day and locks himself in the attic. In many Simenon books the main character runs away from his hum-drum life. In this case, the man cocoons himself in the midst of his dysfunctional family. What could have been a variation on the "Bartleby the Scrivener" theme becomes a study of the sadism of the powerless. Disturbing but unfocused.

[NoID · Rating 3 out of 5]

En tombant sur un courrier qui ne lui était pas destiné, Charles comprend que son beau-frère, en plus d'être avare, mesquin et odieux, est une crapule !

Sans dire un mot, il risque bien de le faire craquer.

Des familles où pas grand chose ne va, où l'arnaqueur se fait arnaquer et nul n'en sort indemne

https://www.noid.ch/oncle-charles-ses...

[Barbara Nutting · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read 2013

[Fredsky · Rating 4 out of 5]

A large, truly eccentric family suffers a variety of jolts, revelations, and even tragedy when the unassuming, obedient father of four daughters locks himself into the attic without any explanation. A great story, beautifully told. It could almost be an opera.

[Mikee · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting book, with more characters (family members) than most. Hard to keep straight. The story continues familiar themes, about how life unfolds at its own pace and in its own ways, regardless of human endeavors. The actions and motivations of one character were unsettling (as they were supposed to be) -- heartless and methodical vengeance -- and undermine the life of the victim as well as the pursuer. Br-r-r.