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The Strangers in the House (Penguin Modern Classics)
 
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The Strangers in the House (Penguin Modern Classics) (Paperback)

by Georges Simenon (Author), Geoffrey Sainsbury (Translator)
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)

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Product details

  • Paperback: 224 pages
  • Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd (29 April 2004)
  • ISBN-10: 0141187662
  • ISBN-13: 978-0141187662
  • Product Dimensions: 19.2 x 12.8 x 1.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 397,630 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #42 in  Books > Crime, Thrillers & Mystery > Authors, A-Z > S > Simenon, Georges

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Product Description

Product Description

Hector Loursat, a lawyer, has lived as a drunken recluse since his wife left him 18 years before. Estranged even from his own daughter, his mind is numbed by bottles of Burgundy. But when a body is found in his home, the investigation unearths secrets that shake Loursat's seclusion to the core.

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars I have been a stranger in a strange land, 7 Jan 2007
By Leonard Fleisig "Len" (Washington, D.C.) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)      
This review is from: The Strangers in the House (New York Review Books Classics) (Paperback)
Exodus ii. 22.

Georges Simenon was nothing if not prolific in both his literary and public life. Born in Belgium in 1903, Simenon turned out hundreds of novels. Simenon's obsession with writing caused him to break off an affair (he was prolific in this area of his life as well) with the celebrated Josephine Baker in Paris when he could only write twelve novels in the twelve month period in which they were involved. Although perhaps best known for his Inspector Maigret detective novels, Simenon also wrote over a hundred novels that he referred to as `romans durs' (literally "hard novels"). "Strangers in the House" is one of Simenon's hard novels and to call it noir is not an understatement.

Hector Loursat, an accomplished attorney, has been a stranger in his own house ever since his wife abandoned him and their newborn child eighteen years ago. Since that time Loursat's universe has shrunk to his bedroom, his library and his dining room. He barely speaks to his now 18 year old daughter or their cook. They are for all intents and purposes, strangers. He is a hermit, alone with his books and a profligate amount of burgundy and brandy. It is only the murderous presence of other strangers in his house that may stir him out of his emotional coma. That dark-setting forms the backdrop for "Strangers in the House".

Loursat is roused from his alcohol-induced sleep by what he thinks may be a gunshot. His suspicions are confirmed when he stumbles through portions of the house he hasn't seen in years and discovers a body. He soon discovers that his daughter has fallen in with something of a gang of youths who like to live on the edge. The rest of the novel finds Loursat grappling with the implications of the murder. We see Loursat struggling out of his hermetic cocoon. The reader is left to wonder, as the story progresses, whether Loursat can break out of his cocoon long enough to connect with his daughter and protect her interests through a criminal investigation and trial.

The result is wholly satisfying. I was totally drawn to the character of Loursat. Simenon does not make him particularly attractive. His word pictures of Loursat's appearance and manner are not designed to elicit great sympathy. Nevertheless, the pain Loursat has suffered (although unstated) is palpable and as the story progressed I could not help but hope that Loursat would find the strength to `set things right' both with the criminal investigation and trial and with his life. The result is surprising but it also felt just about right.

New York Review of Books should be congratulated for bringing Simenon's classic `romans durs' back into print. The paperback quality is excellent and each novel in the series is introduced by a writer of note. In this instance the marvelous P.D. James writes a brief but powerful introduction. I recommend all of Simenon's books and Strangers in the House is no exception. L. Fleisig
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