I've been down in the Shenandoah Valley for the last four
days enjoying nature and reading a lot of stuff. Returning
today I see that no one has posted yet on the topic of the
month Simenon. I just purchased four relatively rare Simenons
and planned to do a post on two or three of them. Given the
lack of comment, I will rush forward with a post on the one
I've finished.
THE NEGRO copyrighted 1957 by Simenon with a credit line at
the end that it was finished April 16, 1957 at Cannes. It was
first published in English by Hamish Hamilton in 1959 and in
the edition I read by Ace Books--New English Library--in
1962. I don't believe it's been published in a US
edition/
The title character is a corpse found near the train tracks
of a rural station somewhere between Calais and Paris.
Eventually it becomes apparent that this corpse is in the
center of a controversy regarding the inheritance of the
richest man in town who died a few days before the corpse was
discovered. Di he die by accident or by murder?
The story is told from the viewpoint of the station master, a
dimwitted man of little ability who is resentful of his
limited role in life. He hates the fact that he was dubbed a
"non-starter" early in life and is anxious to prove everyone
wrong. The discovery of the dead Negro presents him with an
opportunity to better himself through blackmail. How Simenon
manages to convey the basics of the plot and situation
through the dim view of Theo the station master is remarkable
to observe. I am of mixed view regarding this achievement. As
I read it, I will confess that I found some of the novel to
be tedious. It is tough being trapped in the mind of a
semi-literate person for an extended period! I recognize that
Simenon employed great ability in bringing forth certain plot
developments through this limited peephole of a viewpoint
character. I also was a bit restless. At the time of
finishing the novel I would have granted him a C Plus for
accepting the challenge of channeling so much through an
idiot's mind. In retrospect, I have to admit that there was a
touch of brilliance in this story by the Belgium master. It
wasn't "instant gratification" but by damn Simenon achieved
something wonderful here.
Now I would recommend you go to sample this master to THE MAN
WHO WATCHED THE TRAINS GO BY or THE NIGHTCLUB before this
non-Magriet novel. But if you have the sensibility to
appreciate a writer's art that dances close to the
interest-level border line then you should enjoy this
novel.
Richard Moore
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