The Tenant by Roland Topor Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Tenant
Book Review: A Chilling classic that explores the darkness of pressure and conformity.
Summary: 5 Stars
The Tenant is Roland Topor's fictional masterpiece. In it, he offers readers one of the most underrated protagonists in the thriller/horror genre, the ultimate outsider's outsider-as Thomas Ligotti correctly puts it in his introduction-the extremist nonconformist: Monsieur Trelkovski. This top-notch 1964 French novel is probably best known to American readers due in large part to Roman Polanski's incredibly close and respectable film adaptation of the same title, which came out in 1976 and also subsequently has gone on to become a classic horror film in its own right, often appearing on film registers and the best of cinematic lists.
Through a very ordinary plot, a powerful message is conveyed. Monsieur Trelkovski is a mild mannered, docile seeker of a new apartment in Paris, a strenuous task, because he is on the cusp of being evicted out of his old one. Through the grapvine, i.e. his co-worker, Simon, he comes across a possible vacancy in a new apartment, due to the fact that one of the tenants-a Ms. Simone Choule-has decided to "off" herself by jumping out of her apartment window. Though she does not die immediately and barely clings to life, Monsieur Trelkovsky takes a grim initative to visit her in the hospital, and in the simplicity of inappropriate desire, he wills for her demise (though it is unspoken) just so he can be the new renter of the "apartment".
Secretly, almost guiltily, wishing ill will for someone is one thing; it is quite another matter when that ill willed intention becomes an irreversible reality, and in the case of Monsieur Trelkovski, it is at this point when his nightmare begins, because it unreservedly showcases the darkness of the human heart and somehow justifies the eye-for-an-eye mental onslaught that he, Monsieur Trelkovski, battles with as the novel progresses. And it does get bizarre.
As he moves in, he is expected to behave in a manner that is in very strict accordance with the rules of the "apartment," which is no noise, women, pets, parties or people, just him in his two room apartment accompanied by his guilty conscience and a deafening silence. As he bends the rules just a tad bit, odd and unexplainable trouble comes along his path. The acts of harassment are palpable, yet the committers of them are unseen and unheard, for they are stealthy and almost invisible. The odd happenings seem to be signals (or so Trelkovski believes) from the tenants-peer pressure-to make him correspond to their way of life. The deeds somehow alter the present-day reality as he knows, sees and feels it. Slowly, very slowly, incrementally, in fact, he gradually tries to discipline himself to the tenant's way of doing things and the "apartment," which, to some extent, has an unusual supernatural energy of its own, due in large part to the suicide of the previous tenant, Simone Choule.
The longer that he dwells on the life and mysterious death of Simone Choule as well as the unmentioned conspiracy that he firmly believes his neighbors have knowingly thrust upon him, his ultimate act of defiance against them happens via the altering of himself, his very presence and complete identity. To go on further would be a plot spoiler, but chapter by chapter on a wider scale here, Topor brings forth the disturbing insights of how to view institutions, "clicks," general matters of authority, "guises" and aspects of corrupt governments; as a writer of clean, detached prose, he widened the sense of seeing and perceiving. Monsieur Trelkovski acts as a sort of flashlight to be used by a wider audience. A great read.
Book Review: Absolutely amazing. For fans of Kafka, Philip K. Dick, Terry Gilliam..
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is astounding in so many ways.
I wrote a short story in highschool with the same
ending, the same idea, but of course Roland here
beat me to it by say 40 years or so.
However, that didn't stop me from enjoying it
at all.
It has a meticulous, claustrophobic atmosphere
develop somewhat early on in the book and it culminates
in an ending that is so grueseomely fantastic, and PERFECT.
Some of the perspective and other aspects of the novel
remind me of Philip K. Dick.
Book Review: An underrated mini-masterpiece Rate: ****1/2
Summary: 5 Stars
Topor's drama of mental desintegration and social alienation
is one of those works that never achieved success in the USA
beyond cult status. It's a shame because The Tenant is a master-
ful psycho-existential-drama written in a clear, elegant, concise
style that lends to the text a chillling urgency and realism.Worth
mention is this fine edition. Ligotti's introduction (the undisputed
master of existential horror) is erudite and informative and the
bonus materials are also very fine. Apart from the novel, Centipede
Press gives us a healthy selection of Topor's short stories and his
disturbing surrealistic art.
If you like your psycho-thriller peppered with an existential bent and a distinct european flavour The Tenant is for you.
Book Review: Delightfully Unsettling
Summary: 5 Stars
If someone were to found a church based on the exquisite terror of identity loss, Roland Topor would be an excellent choice for its high priest. And "The Tenant"--his delightfully nightmarish depiction of a gradually dissolving sense of self--should most definitely be its bible. For readers interested in venturing off the beaten-to-death path of tiresome bestseller lists, "The Tenant" (and any of Topor's bizarre short stories) offers an exhilarating, if unsettling, change of scenery.Book Review: Disconnected, but Maybe That's the Point
Summary: 3 Stars
I should mention that I'm not a big fan of existentialism. As many reviewers have noted, the novel is often best described as existentialist horror.
I liked parts of the book--the feeling of paranoia present in the final chapters is fantastic. Some of the images are haunting: the teeth Trelkovsky finds stashed in a hole under his baseboard...weird. The morning he wakes and realizes he is missing a tooth and knows just where to find it...priceless.
It was the pacing of the novel that disappointed me. Sometimes, pacing issues are due to the translation. This was different. For the first 2/3 of the book, each chapter stands alone, seemingly unconnected. Yes, most elements do come together in the end, but some bits continue to float.
The same is true for certain images/events. Trelkovsky wakes in the night and sees strange, carnival-show goings on in his courtyard. While strange, I finished the book scratching my head. What was that all about? The old, dark woman sitting on a trash can when he tries to sneak into the building at night...also very weird and scary. But, how does she fit into the overall narrative?
Is it all just to unsettle the reader? Do I feel alienated? Yes...but disappointed, too. A string of disturbing events does not a plot make.
Maybe that is the existentialist message--there is no plot in our pathetic, alienated lives.
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