Ο ένοικος

by Georges Simenon, Αργυρώ Μακάρωφ (translator)

O Ελί Ναζεάρ πρέπει να κρυφτεί αφού δολοφόνησε έναν πλούσιο Ολλανδό για να τον ληστέψει μέσα σε ένα τρένο. Ο φόνος περνάει στα πρωτοσέλιδα των εφημερίδων. Ο Ναζεάρ βρίσκει καταφύγιο στον φοιτητικό ξενώνα της κυρίας Μπαρόν, μητέρας της ερωμένης του, στο Σαρλερουά του Βελγίου. Εκεί, στην κουζίνα του ξενώνα, περνάει τον περισσότερο χρόνο του, αφηγείται ιστορίες μεγαλείων και παρακολουθεί στενά τους άλλους ενοικιαστές, που όλο και περισσότερο τον υποπτεύονται, ενώ η αστυνομία αναζητά τα ίχνη του...

Το μυθιστόρημα μεταφέρθηκε στον κινηματογράφο με πρωταγωνιστές τον Φιλίπ Νουαρέ και τη Σιμόν Σινιορέ (L’Etoile du Nord, σκηνοθεσία Pierre Granier-Deferre, 1982).

Genres: Fiction, Noir, Crime, Mystery, French Literature, Belgium, Thriller

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1934

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

[Emilio Berra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bruxelles. Un giovane squattrinato e una donna, un'entraineuse vestita da gran dama, in una stanza d'albergo. In quella attigua c'è un ricco uomo d'affari, con una valigia piena di banconote, diretto alla stazione.
Così inizia questo libro di Simenon, che qui troviamo ai vertici della sua narrativa, quasi ai livelli dei capolavori come "Il Presidente" e "L'orologiaio di Everton".
La struttura del romanzo è collaudatissima : tutto trova il proprio incastro e nulla è superfluo. La scrittura, asciutta ed efficace, di notevole leggibilità, mantiene costante la tensione.
C'è un delitto che porta già con sé il suo castigo. Ma non ci venga in mente un paragone con "Delitto e castigo" di Dostoevskij : siamo a livelli sensibilmente diversi, perché qui è proprio l'approfondimento psicologico-esistenziale a mostrare carenze. Non che manchi totalmente : ci sono gesti o sguardi rivelatori , ma tutto è circoscritto; lo scavo interiore non fa parte di questo orizzonte.
Borges diceva che "la letteratura consiste, non nello scrivere esattamente quello che ci si propone, ma nello scrivere in modo misterioso e profetico qualcosa che va oltre quello che ci si era proposti".
Non possiamo dire che ciò sia avvenuto. Per gli appassionati del genere Giallo/Noir, penso però che questo libro sia imperdibile.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ho letto in una recensione su un quotidiano che in questo romanzo si parla della inestirpabilità del male dalla condizione umana, un cavallo di battaglia di Simenon. Ed è proprio così: per Elie Nagéar, turco di origini portoghesi, arrivato a Bruxelles per concludere un affare di tappeti che non si realizzerà mai, commettere un omicidio viene spontaneo, senza premeditazione, con una lucidità tale da far pensare a un criminale di vecchia data. Ma quando pensi di trovarti davanti a un freddo assassino, Simenon spariglia le carte e descrive un Elie in preda a una crisi di nervi, un debole spregevole individuo che non prova alcun rimorso per il delitto commesso, ma si dispera perché il rifugio che ha trovato, nella pensione di madame Baron a Charleroi, in una cucina calda del bollore delle pentole sul fuoco, è divenuto troppo rischioso e la polizia è alle sue calcagna. Il finale è cinematografico, il libro si chiude con l’immagine di due misteriose donne sulla spiaggia, a seguire l’imbarco dei condannati ai lavori forzati, due donne diverse, di cui una lascia davvero meravigliati.
Come sempre Simenon porta allo scoperto le tenebre del male dentro ciascuno di noi, mettendoci di fronte alla umanissima banalità del male.

[Steven Godin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Lodger - another really impressive 'roman durs' novel - concludes my Simenon binge.
There will be more Simenon binging, I'm sure. Still absolutely loads to pick from!
This one, was the first of the five read recently to feature a murder scene - a pretty violent and cold-blooded one at that. And it's only the second time I've read a Simenon novel that takes place in Belgium. Makes a change from his usual France.
Set mostly in a boarding house where a Turkish businessman, Élie Nagéar, is hiding out after committing an horrific crime on the Theodore Gautier Express from Brussels to Paris, it might not be my favourite Simenon so far, but it was definitely the most tense. Madame Baron, the proprietor, just happens to be the mother of Nagéar's femme fatale mistress, Sylvie; and where there is a bag load of money involved, and the police starting to piece together the crime and its perpetrator, loyalties are pushed to the limit.
The weather in the Belgian city of Charleroi might have been dreary and dismal, but the novel was anything but!

[George K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Το Σάββατο που μας έρχεται η ΕΡΤ3 θα δείξει την ταινία "Το αστέρι του Βορρά" ("L'étoile du Nord", 1982) που βασίζεται σε αυτό το βιβλίο, έτσι αποφάσισα να το διαβάσω πριν δω την ταινία -γιατί έτσι κάνω συνήθως, τουλάχιστον όταν έχω την ευκαιρία-, αν και εδώ που τα λέμε καιρός ήταν να ξαναδιαβάσω βιβλίο του αγαπημένου και συνονόματου Ζορζ Σιμενόν, μιας και το τελευταίο το είχα διαβάσει τον Δεκέμβριο του 2020. Λοιπόν, ίσως να μην είναι και από τις πιο δυνατές στιγμές του συγγραφέα, όμως προσωπικά το βρήκα ιδιαίτερα καλογραμμένο (αλίμονο!) και αρκούντως ατμοσφαιρικό και ενδιαφέρον. Είναι το δωδέκατο βιβλίο του Σιμενόν που διαβάζω και κανονικά δεν θα έπρεπε να με εκπλήττει η ποιότητα της πένας του, όμως και πάλι θαύμασα το στιλ γραφής του, τον λιτό και συνάμα οξυδερκή τρόπο να περιγράφει χαρακτήρες και σκηνικά, το μεγάλο του ταλέντο στο να μεταφέρει τους αναγνώστες στον γκρίζο κόσμο των ιστοριών του. Ναι, σίγουρα μου άρεσε και αυτό το βιβλίο, με κράτησε από την αρχή μέχρι το τέλος, έστω και αν έχω διαβάσει καλύτερα από τον αγαπημένο αυτό συγγραφέα. (7.5/10)

[Meltem Sağlam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everest Yayınlarının “Ustaların Türkçesiyle Georges Simenon Serisi”nin 9 numaralı kitabı Kiralık Oda.

Türk uyruklu, İstanbul’lu bir gencin macerası. Karakterler ve yaratılan psikolojik gerilim çok etkileyici. Merhametin vazgeçilmez ağırlığı üzerine…

Çok beğendim.

[Filippo Bossolino · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quattro stelle abbondanti. Uno dei romans durs più noir nel senso classico del termine, soprattutto nella prima parte. Poi tanta psicologia, tensione con finissima caratterizzazione di più personaggi

[Rosenkavalier · Rating 3 out of 5]

Viaggio (a vuoto) intorno alla mia pensione

Tempo addietro avevo letto un curioso libriccino, scritto dal figlio di Joseph Le Maistre, ufficiale napoleonico condannato ad alcuni mesi di arresti domiciliari per aver preso parte a un duello, se ricordo bene. Il giovane Le Maistre aveva ammazzato il tempo descrivendo come si potesse viaggiare con la mente anche rimanendo confinati in una stanza.

Simenon confina il suo protagonista in una modesta pensione belga, dove, con un espediente non originalissimo, convoca una bizzarra comunità di ospiti, ognuno con le sue peculiarità.
Il protagonista, però, ha una peculiarità tutta sua, è in fuga dalla legge e la pensionante è la madre della sua amante (compagna, complice?).
Travolto dagli eventi, il pensionante-latitante si autoreclude nell'apparente sicurezza di quel menage, dove trova il tempo di fantasticare sulla sorella ragazzina della sua ganza, fino all'epilogo.

Alla fine, succede quel che più o meno ci si attendeva sin da metà romanzo, con un controfinale però piuttosto sorprendente, nel contesto.

Non mi è parso un capitolo felicissimo della produzione di Simenon, zeppo di cose già scritte altrove, meglio, dall'autore e con qualche personaggio riciclato (ovviamente, la donna del protagonista è al tempo seducente e spietata, amante passionale e fredda calcolatrice criminale; diciamo che Simenon avrebbe campato poco e male ai tempi del #metoo).
Come sempre, anche in un titolo medio perle e perline non mancano, ma anche a quelle ci si abitua e da un grande scrittore è lecito aspettarsi qualcosa in più del compitino.

[Seregnani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un altro appassionante racconto giallo di Simenon. Ormai mi sto abituando alla sua penna e rimango ogni volta entusiasta, non delude mai.

[nogaboga · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simenon is going here for a little bit of the haunting feeling of Crime and Punishment. We see the killer losing everything for the fear of being caught, and we share the anxiety of waiting for the inevitable together with him and everybody else at the house.

[Özlem Kayabaşı · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nurullah Ataç Türkçesi diye bir şey var evet. Simenon da bir odanın içindeki korku ve endişeyi başarılı bir şekilde anlatmış.

[Richard Hannay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Le Locataire est l’un des romans « durs » les plus sombres de Simenon, un chef-d’œuvre de tension psychologique où l’action se fait discrète et où l’atmosphère prend toute la place.

Ce roman ne ressemble à aucun autre : il ne s'agit pas de poursuites frénétiques ou de résolutions claires, mais d'une lente et inéluctable spirale intérieure.

L’histoire suit Élie Nagéar, un Juif turc de 35 ans, un homme modeste aujourd’hui, mais qui, provenait d'une famille autrefois riche. Après que l’affaire dans laquelle il espérait réussir échoue à Bruxelles, il commet un meurtre sur un riche Hollandais dans un train pour voler son argent.

Plutôt que de fuir, il se cache dans une pension de famille à Charleroi, gérée par Mme Baron, la mère d’une danseuse de cabaret qu’il a rencontrée durant son voyage et qui devient sa maîtresse pendant un bref moment, un amour bref, triste et purement mercenaire.. Il espère que cette vie calme et presque invisible pourra le protéger, mais ce n’est qu’une illusion.

Le véritable génie du roman réside dans la retraite progressive d’Élie dans l’atmosphère presque domestique de la pension, où il s’accroche à un espoir fragile : celui d’être autorisé à rester là, protégé, caché. Simenon réussit à explorer avec une grande finesse la montée de la culpabilité, du doute, et de la peur qui ronge Élie à mesure qu'il s’enfonce dans cette vie de retrait.

La pension elle-même devient un personnage à part entière, pleine de mystère et de tensions. Mme Baron, la cuisinière, et les autres locataires commencent à sentir qu'il y a quelque chose de trouble chez Élie, mais aucun d’entre eux ne le dénonce.

La fin du roman m’a laissé quelque peu perplexe. Comme souvent chez Simenon, elle n’apporte ni justice ni résolution dramatique. Élie n’est ni puni ni sauvé, Il attendait la guillotine et ce qu'il obtient, c'est un nouvel exil.

Le jugement final vient moins de l’extérieur que de l’intérieur : c’est l’acceptation lente de son propre effacement, la prise de conscience qu'il a perdu toute possibilité de rédemption.

[Marco Innamorati · Rating 3 out of 5]

Senz’altro non tra i migliori Simenon che ho letto. Alla fine il personaggio più riuscito è decisamente secondario - e l’autore, peraltro, se ne rende conto, dato che gli (le) dedica.l’ultima scena. Non c’è uno scavo psicologico particolare del protagonista, né una felice descrizione dell’ambiente. Tra l’altro, cosa strana per Simenon, si fatica a identificarsi col protagonista, uomo senza qualità né comportamenti estremi: è mediocre anche il modo di commettere il reato che segna il suo destino. Non che la sua descrizione psicologica sia poco credibile, anzi: la regressione infantile cui si abbandona nelle scene drammatiche è ben concepita e descritta. Ma forse Simenon ha preteso troppo da una materia di per sé povera di potenziali soddisfazioni per un narratore.

[Skittle Booth · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's not much plot or character development here, but Simenon's bare-bones style of writing creates images and an atmosphere that stick in the mind, like an impressionistic painting.

[Cantigone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eli, en iyi Simenon karakterlerinden biri bence. Bu eseri de en iyi Simenon eserleri arasında sayarım. Hele Eli ile pansiyondakiler arasındaki ilişki.

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have now read three Simenon books and this one was by far my least favorite…somehow it is darker and more sinister that the others. Incredibly well written still…but more detached and can I just say what an odd ending.

I am not sure that I cared for a single character in this story, not even the naïve proprietor of the Belgian boarding house, Mrs. Baron.

This is the story of a Turk (who is ethnically Portuguese) who is headed to Paris via boat, train and hotel in order to secure some Turkish rugs that have been held up in customs. The rugs are to be distributed to multiple sellers and he has been promised a big payday at the end. On the boat journey that signifies the start of his trip, he meets an opportunistic Belgian girl who worked as a “dancer” in Egypt. She becomes his mistress on the voyage, initially targeting him because of the fineness of his clothing and the way he is lavishly spending…the story starts when they have made it to Belgium and are staying in The Palace Hotel together. The Turk has a terrible cold, is almost broke and knows he has failed in his mission…and the luster has worn off on their relationship. Meanwhile they meat their next door neighbor at the hotel, a rolly-polly Dutchman.

The Turk overhears the Dutchman take a delivery of a valise of cash and follows him onto a train to Paris where he violently bashes his head in with a wrench and takes the money.

“What happened was so grotesque that he felt like breaking into hysterical laughter.

He then ends up hiding out in the boarding house of his mistress’s naïve parents.

The suspense is really built in the tension of the waiting and the unknown.

Well written and suspenseful, probably the first Simenon that I am not going to be recommending to anyone (not like The Cat which is also a non-Maigret novel).

I loved some of his descriptions, like I think this was to tell us he was now in Belgium vs. France: “Jeumont. Erquelinnes. Red brick houses. Windows with snow-white curtains, ferns in copper pots. Taverns. Cafe de la Gare. Bistro. Khaki uniforms instead of blue. And always parallel with the line, The Meuse, with long strings of barges towed by stocky little tugs, whistling impatiently at the lock gates.”

(Apparently they call their sandwiches a “pistolet” in Belgium)

There were some interesting bits shared about Turkey, and I am wondering if they are still true. “We dine much later in Turkey. Nine or ten. …We start off with all sorts of tasty little items that we call mazet. After that comes lamb and vegetables-perhaps half a dozen kinds of vegetables-and fruit to finish up with.” “What language do you speak at home?” “French. …there’s Turkish of course. But all the better-class people speak French among themselves. …At Pera everybody’s out till late at night. One meets one’s friends and roams around the streets, dropping into little cafés, where they have orchestras and singers. You can’t imagine how mild and pleasant the night air is in Turkey. Nobody dreams of going to bed before midnight.” “The Turks are the most hospitable people on earth. Once you’ve stepped into a Turkish house you’re it’s lord and master, and there’s nothing they won’t do for you.”…he gave an example of someone staying for five years!!!!!

“I suppose you think that the tobacco you’re smoking comes from Egypt?”
“Of course it does. I suppose you’re going to tell us that it comes from Turkey.”
“That’s just where it does come from. For one thing, there’s a law forbidding tobacco-growing in Egypt.”

I’d like to look up Prinkipo, an island in the Sea of Marmara, an hour’s ride from Istanbul. Everyone supposedly has a private caïque, or light rowboat with a sail, where in the spring on the weekends they head out to the island…sometimes musicians on board and “the island are a mass of flowers, and in the distance you see white minarets tapering up along the coast.”

Another great Simenon quote, “All this was true, and he visualized the scene so clearly that he could have made an accurate sketch of it. And yet somehow he didn’t feel it. He could hardly convince himself that he had spent a good part of his life there.”

And…”there was an atmosphere of hushed suspense, like that when some great domestic event is impending-when, for instance, everyone is waiting for a woman to have a baby.”

It was interesting to me that difference between French and Belgium law, France had the death penalty…making it important to establish where the crime was committed.

(Note to look up who Beau Brummell is, some kind of a dandy)

“The only sound to fill the silence was the clatter of knives and forks on plates-and for some reason it had a sinister effect, like the sound of a distant tocsin.”

“But there was something sinister about their calmness that recalled…that day of evil memory when a German advance guard entered Charleroi and some twenty neighbors had gathered in the Baron’s cellar. Then, too, there had been the same feeling of helplessness, of being at the mercy of events.”

[SirJo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cosa si può dire di positivo su un libro di Simenon che non sia già stato detto? Nulla di nuovo direi.
E cosa si può dire di negativo su di un libro di Simenon? Poco o nulla direi.
E anche qui l'autore dimostra l'incredibile capacità di sondare la solitudine dell'animo umano sia esso un abbietto, come il protagonista, che invece un cuore gentile come la padrona di casa, che riesce a preoccuparsi della situazione di Elié - il protagonista - e lo seguirà anche quando verrà condotto alla condanna che giustamente gli spetta.
La descrizione delle figlie e degli ospiti della casa è sempre lapidaria e di pochi aggettivi, ma esaustiva come mai. Gli animi e le personalità sono delineati con estrema precisione pur con la concisione tipica dell'autore. Nella lettura provi le stesse identiche emozioni e stati d'animo dei protagonisti.
Coinvolgente e, ovviamente, imperdibile.

[Boukhalfa Inal Ahmed · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dans les années 1930, Elie un jeune Belge assassine un homme dans un train pour s'emparer de l'argent qu'il transporte. Il commet ce crime après la frontière, en France où la peine de mort existe à l'époque contrairement à la Belgique. Il a peur et se réfugie dans une pension de famille tenue par la mère de sa maîtresse à Charleroi.
Ignorant toute prudence, il persiste à y rester. Certains pensionnaires devinent qui il est car l'affaire est relatée dans des journaux qui traînent dans la cuisine. Elie se rappelle son passé fastueux et fait rêver la patronne et certains locataires en le racontant.
Pas vraiment d'enquête mais plutôt un suspense psychologique, une atmosphère lourde, pesante, des personnages englués dans le quotidien.

[Marco Castellani · Rating 4 out of 5]

È impressionante quanto la scrittura volutamente scarna di Simenon riesca a portarti dentro un ambiente, un sistema di rapporti. Odori, colori, sensazioni. Nessuna parola di troppo, nessuna concessione al "bello scrivere", ma un realismo che solo dopo un po' ti accorgi che è velato di poesia e di grande misericordia per l'animo umano. Nella pensione si entra con diffidenza ma presto ci si abitua, la si conosce da dentro, insieme a tutte le piccole abitudini delle persone che la popolano. Nessuno sguardo ideologico ma l'amore al reale, semplice e puro. E una grande sapienza di scrittura, che quasi nasconde sé stessa.

[Gianni Bandiera · Rating 4 out of 5]

La trama non è il piatto forte del libro ma 4 stelle vanno sempre dati alla penna di questo grande maestro. Dialoghi a incastri così come la storia che scivola…
Alert 🚨
Peccato solo che manchi quello che I giallisti (vero questo non è un giallo)definiscono come uno dei capisaldi del libro in cui c’è un morto ucciso: il movente.
Qui sappiamo a differenza dei gialli l’assassino ma la
Domanda resta: perché?

[NoID · Rating 2 out of 5]

Il ne se passe pas grand chose ici. Un meurtre. Un assassin désemparé. Incapable de réagir. Sous le choc, il se terre dans une petite pension en Belgique.

Peu d’intérêt donc pour ce petit locataire, si ce n’est, une fois encore à la lecture des Simenon d’avant guerre, la sensation que la valeur de la vie à bien évolué depuis. Le meurtre semble moins terrible ou tabou, et la peine de mort en était la sanction. Simple

https://www.noid.ch/le-locataire/

[Tina D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully written. I'm not sure what this is meant to be but it captures a time and place very well. It explores the small group dynamics surrounding a criminal taking shelter in a boarding house, in a coal mining town outside Brussels in post war Belgium. The kitchen scenes are like a Dutch masters painting, Vermeer would approve. Beautifully done.

[Cornelis Broekhof · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ik herlas dit boek, omdat ik zag dat Netflix de film ervan aanbood, met een van mijn favoriete acteurs - Phillippe Noiret - in de hoofdrol. Het boek is ook bij herlezen adembenemend goed. Voor de film is het verhaal echter flink aangepast, op een manier die het beklemmende van het boek wat mij betreft onvoldoende recht doet. De film heeft overigens ook een andere titel gekregen: l'Étoile du Nord.

[Bob · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oof. Interesting beginning that half makes sense so you give it the benefit of the doubt assuming All will be explained. Well, not so lucky. The characters all seem to be in the same waiting game as the reader, waiting for some thing logical or exciting or both to happen. No such luck.

[Ananda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Il miglior Simenon mai letto assieme a "L'orologaio di Everton".

[IlMero · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.4⭐️

[Géraldine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Court roman efficace où la tension psychologique augmente au fil des pages !

Après une série de voyages en train, pratiquement toute l'histoire se déroule dans le huis-clos de la petite cuisine de la maison de M. et Mme Baron et leur fille cadette, Antoinette. Les Baron louent des chambres à des étudiants étrangers, qui partagent leur table. La cuisine embuée, où chauffe le café, cuisent la soupe et les pommes de terre, est le cœur du logis, où règne Mme Baron. Chacun s'y croise.

La fille aînée, Sylvie, émancipée, qui vit d'opportunités à la limite de la morale et de l'honnêteté, y envoie se cacher son amant criminel.

Les habitants sont bientôt au courant des actes du dernier arrivant, et un huis-clos, de plus en plus étouffant au fil des pages, se met en place. Curieusement, personne ne pense à dénoncer le meurtrier, lequel se sent de plus en plus chez lui dans le chaleureux refuge. Mme Baron, maternelle avec ses étudiants, le prend en affection : il est si poli, et raconte tellement bien la vie dans son pays !

Rien n'est de trop dans ce roman. Chaque mot est à sa place. L'atmosphère, comme toujours avec Simenon, est le point fort du livre. Cette maison, cette cuisine, on les voit, on y est, on sent presque l'odeur de la soupe aux poireaux qui embue les carreaux. Chaque personnage existe tant moralement que physiquement , en quelques traits.

L'auteur dépeint formidablement bien les souvenirs qu'il conserve de sa maison d'enfance, dans laquelle sa mère louait, elleaussi des chambres d'étudiant. Notamment, le fait que son père devait céder son fauteuil aux locataires, et que la famille se logeait inconfortablement, pour pouvoir louer une chambre supplémentaire.

La dernière partie du roman décrit ce qu'on ne connait plus : le départ des bagnards depuis Saint-Martin-de-Ré vers la Guyane, au début des années trente. Ce roman étant paru en 1934 et écrit l'annee précédente dans la région de La Rochelle, Simenon a certainement assisté à un départ de bagnards.

[Bella Baxter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ο Ελί Ναζέαρ , αφού αποτυγχάνει σε μια επιχειρηματική συμφωνία χαλιών στις Βρυξέλλες, βρίσκεται απένταρος. Σε μια απεγνωσμένη προσπάθεια να αποκτήσει χρήματα, δολοφονεί έναν πλούσιο Ολλανδό, σε ένα τρένο που ταξιδεύει από τις Βρυξέλλες στο Παρίσι, και του κλέβει τα χρήματα.
Μετά το έγκλημα, ο Ελί επιστρέφει στις Βρυξέλλες και συναντά τη Σίλβι, την ερωμένη του, η οποία εργαζόταν ως χορεύτρια σε καμπαρέ. Η Σίλβι, στην οποία δίνει μέρος των κλεμμένων χρημάτων, τον στέλνει να κρυφτεί στο σπίτι των γονιών της στο Σαρλερουά, όπου η μητέρα της, η κυρία Μπαρόν, διατηρεί πανσιόν για φοιτητές.
Ο Ελί βρίσκει καταφύγιο στην κουζίνα της πανσιόν, παρακολουθώντας τους άλλους ενοίκους και τα μέλη της οικογένειας. Σταδιακά, ο καθένας, με τον δικό του τρόπο, αρχίζει να υποψιάζεται ή να καταλαβαίνει ότι ο Ελί είναι ο φυγόδικος δολοφόνος για τον οποίο μιλούν οι εφημερίδες. Ωστόσο, υπάρχει μια περίπλοκη ατμόσφαιρα σιωπής και ακόμη και κάποια συμπάθεια ή αμηχανία προς το πρόσωπό του, καθώς το έγκλημα διαπράχθηκε σε γαλλικό έδαφος και η θανατική ποινή είναι πιθανή.
Το βιβλίο εστιάζει βαθιά στην ψυχολογία του εγκληματία, την αίσθηση της αποξένωσης και την ατμόσφαιρα της επαρχιακής ζωής, όπου ο φόβος και η ανθρώπινη κατάσταση μπλέκονται με μοναδικό τρόπο.
Σύσταση:Καταθλιπτικό.

[Bert van der Vaart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actually the book I read and want to note is Cinq Jours de Bonte, by Claude Orval, but for once the mighty Goodreads inventory disappointed the reference. Orval turns out to have been one of France's first movie directors. In the 1950's he turned to writing crime novels and spy novels. In Cinq Jours de Bonte, he writes a very witty and very film-worthy thriller about a clever policeman (Perrignon), an ex-criminal guy who is trying to live a quiet and respectable life (Dominique Rossoni) and a very crude thug who however tries always to speak in a refined French, but always seems to miss by one word (Gilbert Vercanio). Surrounding the problem of being in the wrong place at the right time, the book twists and turns to a good solution, where Dominique gets the girl (a strong, decisive but very mignonne Lea (think Alicia Vikander). I looked for the book's ISBN number but all I could fund was some of Orval's books being sold on a French eBay site. I hope I am not being too old to say what a fun book this was and how unfortunately not all good books survive. I have also read Simenon's le Locataire, not bad as well, but have to say I would galdy read more Claude Orval!

[A. Macbeth’s bks · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel of Simenon’s, ‘Le Locataire’ , developed into a boarding house psychological murder mystery thriller.
The tension started rising later in the novel, so one was compelled to keep on reading to the end.
The detective-inspector corps tread very lightly in this story, but successfully got their man.
The protagonist Élie Nagéar unbeknownst to himself, converted to himself an empathetic little true-believer of a follower.
Despite threats in all the newspapers of capital punishment in France ( the guillotine ) for murderers, another shockingly inhumane sentence was passed on the culprit.
Because Nagéar was not able to commit a subsequent heinous crime in Belgium to get himself detained, tried and sentenced there first, which would have prevented his quick extradition to France.
It’s difficult to decide whether Nagéar was a sympathetic protagonist or not. But how could one be considered sympathetic after committing such a brutal murder ?

[Jaq {Gwen} · Rating 3 out of 5]

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