The Rules of the Game
by Georges Simenon
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Book Summary Information
Author: Georges SimenonTranslator: Howard Curtis
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published); Unknown (Translation)
Published: 1988-11
ISBN: 0151694753
Number of pages: 154
Publisher: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich
Book Reviews of The Rules of the Game
Book Review: Discreet Harm to the Bourgeoisie
Summary: 4 Stars
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. Simenon's novels were immensely popular in the 1930s through the 1970s and many of his novels (particularly the Inspector Maigret stories) appeared in film and TV versions. Simenon also authored dozens of books that he described as "romans durs", roughly translated as`hard stories' that had a darker tone than his Maigret novels. Simenon seems to have fallen under the radar in recent decades but in recent years he seems to have been rediscovered by a new generation of mystery/detective story fans. Penguin Books has begun to reissue some of those Maigret mysteries and the New York Review of Books Press has reissued some of his `hard stories'. However, my appetite for Simenon has caused me to look beyond the recent reissues. A recent trip to my public library brought me to "The Rules of the Game".
"The Rules of the Game" was written in 1955 and translated and published in the United States in 1988. It is set in suburban Connecticut. (After World War II, for reasons related to accusations that he was sympathetic to the occupying forces and the Vichy Regime, Simenon moved to the United States and spent a few years in Connecticut.) Walter Higgins is a supermarket manager. He is a stolid, predictable, married father of four living in a house that stretches his economic resources to the fullest. He is also enormously (and understandably) proud of the fact that he has lifted himself through diligence and hard work from a less than happy and economically depressed childhood. He plays by the rules. He goes to church and volunteers in any number of community organizations. He seeks affirmation of his status by applying for membership in the local country club. He is told his membership is a sure-thing and is devastated when he is told that he has been blackballed, denied entry by means of a secret vote of the club's membership committee. Each member of that committee was known to Higgins and he thought of each as a friend and colleague in the community. The rejection turns Higgins's life upside down and the rest of the story takes us on the journey Higgins takes as the trauma of rejection hits him.
"Rules of the Game" provides a fascinating, contemporary look at life in the U.S. of the 1950s. Since it was written in 1955, Simenon's examination of the hidden cracks in the life-style of suburban America in the age of Ozzie and Harriet seems a bit ahead of its time. In a way, Simenon's look at the unraveling of Higgins life after the jolt of rejection is mildly reminiscent to the unraveling of Willy Loman's life in Miller's "Death of a Salesman". Higgins' reaction to `failure' (in his eyes) is not nearly as dramatic as Loman's but it does provide some warning that the American Dream does have cracks that even the most stolid members of its society can fall through.
"Rules of the Game" is a good example of the craft of Simenon. It is certainly worth reading if you can find a copy online or in your local library. My library has a nice collection of out-of-print Simenon's and I'll be back there soon for another Simenon. L. Fleisig
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