Four Days in a Lifetime

Les quatre jours du pauvre homme is a 1949 non-Maigret story, framed as a tragedy, and describing two 48-hour periods in the life of François Lecoin, whom we first meet engaging in a classic Simenon plot-device, deceiving his wife into believing that he has a regular job when in fact he's been unemployed for months. Debt, drink, despair and disgust with his bourgeois roots have brought him to the bottom of the heap, but a crisis in his life seems to give him the strength of character and resource to make a new start.

Lots of lovely low-life Parisian detail in part one, and in part two we get an interestingly detailed look at the way a dodgy weekly scandal-sheet operates - this obviously must be drawing on Simenon's early journalistic show more experiences. Another interesting touch is that the Paris police who are the heroes of so many of his books here appear in quite a different light, as unscrupulous and corrupt. So well worth a look, but not really up there with the best of Simenon's fiction. show less

Georges Simenon - [Les quatre jours du pauvre homme]
Georges Simenon - [Un nouveau dans la ville]

Two novels by Simenon that have been labelled as part of his Roman Durs (Hard stories) oeuvre. They were intended to be more literary works than those which featured Maigret and although the police appear in the novels they rarely take centre stage. They were psychological thrillers where more often than not characters would stop and examine the actions that they were taking, trying to work out how they got themselves into situations that might soon destroy or overwhelm them. Characters suffer trauma and despair, but this rarely stops them acting in ways that are detrimental to others around them: the novels seem to revel in the dark side of show more human nature. These two published in 1949 and written while Simenon was in 'exile' in the United states are typical.

Les Quatre jours du Pauvre Homme is set somewhere in Paris. François Lecoin is visiting his wife in hospital, it appears that she is terminally ill and is about to undergo yet another operation. François is drinking heavily and has lost his job and is struggling to make ends meet. The first part of the novel takes place over a two day period when his wife dies soon after her operation and François feels a sense of relief, his teenage son is still at home and they are joined by Raoul one of François brothers who has just returned from making his living in Africa. There develops a tug of war between the two brothers over François son and Francois leaves the funeral arrangements to Raoul while he sets up a meeting with his successful older brother Marcel. He is in luck when he finds Marcel's attractive wife home alone and blackmails her into handing over a cheque which will pay for the funeral and put him back on his feet. Part two of the story takes place some three years later. François has got himself a job with a magazine writing exposé stories about the rich and famous, one of whom is his own brother. There are still tensions with his son and his blackmailing scam is starting to unwind.

Un Nouveau dans la Ville is set in America in a small town just a few miles away from Calais on the border with Canada. Winter is closing in and a middle aged man of sallow complexion has hitched a lift into town. He calls himself Justin Ward and when he calls in at the bar in town he creates suspicion and is promptly taken down to the police station for questioning after a local murder that has made the news on the radio. Justin will not say where he comes from, but it is obvious that he has nothing to do with the murder and when he is released the next day he makes it known he is going to stick around for a while. He takes a room is a local boarding house and is seen to have a wad of bills in his moneybelt. He refuses to give any information about himself, but takes a keen interest in the news from Chicago and seems to know a lot about gambling on horse racing. Charlie is the owner of the bar in town has worked hard at making a position for himself in town; he runs a betting book from his bar and is involved in occasional smuggling, but has a working relationship with the sheriff. Everybody is suspicious of Ward and when the editor of the local paper remembers seeing him in Chicago it appears he had another name. Justin Ward not only stays in town but arranges to buy out the owner of the billiard hall across the road from the bar. Is he a fugitive, a tax inspector or just an ill man looking for somewhere to make a living?

Both of these stories look at the underside of life in a functioning community. People are on the make, criminality seeps into the lives of the leading characters. They are suspicious, wary of each other, illicit sex and prostitution are commonplace and there are hints of successful criminals higher up the food chain. Both the stories create a certain amount of tension, but perhaps Un nouveau dans le Ville is the more focused of the two with its depiction of small town life. They are both included in Tome number 8 which is part of the series which collect together 117 novels of Simenons Romans Durs. 3 stars for Les Quatre Jours du Pauvre Homme and 3.5 stars for Un Nouveau dans la Ville. show less

Il titolo fa riferimento alle due grandi svolte nella vita di François Lecoin, ognuna avvenuta nell'arco di 48h, durante le quali l'uomo cerca di affrancare se stesso e il figlio da una vita di miseria. La disperazione dell'uomo, il suo senso di vuoto e impotenza davanti alle avversità, sono palpabili.

Simenon è uno di quegli scrittori per i quali non si può certo dire che "l'ottimismo è il profumo della vita".

Désemparé à la mort de sa femme, sans emploi et à bout de ressources, François Lecoin va céder à la tentation du chantage. Un chantage qu'il a l'occasion d'exercer contre son propre frère, le brillant avocat en quête d'une carrière politique. Ainsi s'ouvre pour lui une nouvelle vie, quitte à exercer le pire des métiers : celui qui fait commerce du scandale, de la calomnie et de la diffamation. Jusqu'au moment où ses manoeuvres se retourneront contre lui. C'est l'histoire d'une déchéance morale que nous raconte Georges Simenon dans ce sombre roman, centré sur quatre journées décisives dans la vie de François Lecoin - personnage peu reluisant dont le titre nous rappelle néanmoins ce qu'il est d'abord, et peut-être show more avant tout : un pauvre homme. show less