The Outlaw
by Georges Simenon
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Book Summary Information
Author: Georges SimenonEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 1987-04
ISBN: 0151705097
Number of pages: 153
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt P
Book Reviews of The Outlaw
Book Review: Make a new plan, Stan
Summary: 4 Stars
Georges Simenon was prolific without ever being prolix. He wrote hundreds of novels, most notably his Inspector Maigret mysteries. But some of Simenon's best work in my opinion can be found in what he called his "romans durs" ("hard stories"). In those stores you typically find a middle-aged male, leading a middle class life or a petty criminal living life on the edge of society. In each story the protagonist hits a bump in the road (often of his own making) and this slight bump takes him off his normal life path and puts him on a wild downhill road to the depths of darkness.
Simenon's Maigret stories and romans durs are enjoying something of a new life with new issuances by Penguin (Maigret) and New York Review of Books Press (romans durs). However, many more remain to be reissued and I've read all the reissued Simenons. As a result, on a recent trip to my public library I couldn't resist picking up two `older' Simenons, "The Outlaw" and The Rules of the Game that have not yet found their way into a new edition. "The Outlaw" is a good example of Simenon's hard story format and is well worth reading.
Stanislas Sadlak, (Stan), is an illegal immigrant from Poland living in Paris in the late 1930s. He has fled Poland rather than face criminal charges for murder. He is not a likeable character at all and as the book opens he and his girl-friend Nuschi are down and out and on the edge of starvation. Stan botches an attempt to rob a taxi driver and in desperation reaches out to the Paris police. He offers to rat out a violent gang of Polish criminals living in Paris in return for enough cash to get him and Nuschi back on their feet again. After this `introduction' Simenon takes us on the rough bumpy ride that flows from Stan's decision to turn informer.
There is a lot to like about "The Outlaw". Simenon does a very good job of portraying Stan as a very unsympathetic character. Nothing that has ever happened to Stan has been his fault. Nothing. In fact, none of the characters in the book, even the police, have much in the way of redeeming or appealing character traits. Simenon is not one for false empathy or redeemed criminals. Life is tough in the demimonde and so are the villains and the police that go after them. There is no one to root for and, so, the reader is left with nothing but the story. But in the hands of Simenon the story is more than enough. As I mentioned at the outset, Simenon was prolific. However, the writing in each of his books is sparse and free of adornment. The story begins, it moves quickly, and it ends. If you are looking for tortured, complex sentences and deep musings on the meaning of life, Simenon is probably not for you. He tells a story and leaves the musings to the reader, not his characters. The story was enough and it was both satisfying and absorbing.
I'd recommend this book to anyone with an interest in Simenon or just an interest in good, dark stories. L. Fleisig
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