The widow couderc

Simenon, Georges

£10.99

A bus stops on the road to Montluçon, and there two strangers meet: Tati, a steely widow, who runs the farm her late husband left behind, and Jean, an odd, quiet man with nowhere to go. There is between them an affinity and Jean agrees to lodge with Tati, and help with the farm as he can. In the still and heat of the summer, they labour together and, inevitably, begin their affair. But nothing is at it seems, and as affections strain and stray, their relationship hurtles toward a disturbing doom.

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Publish Date: 15/06/2023

Description

‘Sensuously detailed . . . edgy . . . riveting’ Financial Times

Two strangers meet on a bus along a dusty road in rural France. Tati is a tough, work-worn widow, who runs the farm her late husband left behind, while trying to keep out of the way of her predatory in-laws. Jean is an odd, quiet man, recently out of prison, with nowhere to go.

These lost souls recognize something in each other, and Jean becomes Tati’s lodger and farm worker. In the still and heat of the summer, they labour together and, inevitably, begin to sleep together. Soon, however, their strange affair will become something altogether darker.

First published in 1942 at the same time as Albert Camus’ The Outsider, this is Simenon’s existentialist masterpiece, exploring the dangerous mystery of who we are and what we desire.

‘Published, like The Outsider, in 1942, and at least equal to Camus’s work in portraying a doomed and alienated life’ David Hare

Additional information

Weight 220 g
Dimensions 184 × 114 × 24 mm
Author

Publisher

Imprint

Cover

Hardback

Pages

192

Language

English

Edition

Reprint

Dewey

843.912 (edition:23)

Readership

General – Trade / Code: K