A Turn in the Road?: 'The Widow Couderc' by Georges Simenon – Book Recommendation

 

Two lonely people meet on the road one summer. They grow to need each other, though for quite different reasons. Simenon, creator of Maigret, explores human desires, fears, and selfishness, but also life’s attritions and their effects. The season’s shifts and the rural setting reflect the characters’ developing relationships and concerns. Like natural phenomena, these are both acute and commonplace: love, sex, money, and death feature prominently. I felt my sympathies being pulled in different directions by Simenon’s characters, whose flaws and aspirations seem very real. Attraction and repulsion are equally present in a sensual novel which reminds us that our animal nature is never far away. This is a brilliantly thought-provoking tale of everyday dreams and desperation that left me with many questions to ponder: How can a chance encounter alter the course of a life, and is redemption ever possible? Where do our responsibilities lie? Is life worthwhile and, if so, which parts of it, and why? Simenon portrays life as both simple and complicated, full of extraordinary events that are just moments in otherwise ordinary lives, but which have a lasting effect. Which books have really made you think about life’s journey?

The Widow Couderc by Georges Simenon ISBN: 9780241534731