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thisisstephenbetts's review against another edition
4.0
Beautiful little gem of a book. It's more of a character study than a novel, though the way Simenon extracts plot through flashback is masterful. The characters (particularly the two principals) really shine too. Essentially, a quiet bookseller's life in a small French town is turned upside down when his much younger wife disappears.
Incidentally, I think this was lent to Ellen by Barnaby Richards. Judging from a receipt within, he bought it in Falmouth in August 2003 for 99p. Money well spent.
Incidentally, I think this was lent to Ellen by Barnaby Richards. Judging from a receipt within, he bought it in Falmouth in August 2003 for 99p. Money well spent.
margaret21's review against another edition
4.0
When Gina, the free-loving and much younger wife of Jonas Milk, Russian emigre, small-time bookseller and stamp dealer disappears, Jonas lies, and says she's away visiting a friend. It's almost immediately clear that this isn't true, and Jonas has impotently to realise that his soon-disbelieved untruth has consequences. He's increasingly made aware that his experience of being both Jewish and a migrant has accounted for his being less integrated into society than he had believed. A powerful evocation of 1950s small-town French life, which though bleak, is also atmospheric and elegantly told.
matteottt's review against another edition
5.0
Simenon non sbaglia un colpo. Cupissimo e disperato. Forse il romanzo più d'impatto che ho letto dell'autore, e ce ne vuole.
marinetta's review against another edition
5.0
Βλέπω τις αγορές μου και αυτό το βιβλίο το έχω από το 2017 . Ευχαριστώ τη Δώρα που αποφάσισε να μειώσουμε τα αδιάβαστά μου
iainkelly_writing's review against another edition
5.0
Simenon at his best. An understated, simple tale that shows a simple man slowly unwind as intolerance, xenophobia and rumour in a small community tear him apart. Written in 1950s, set in the 1930s, and yet relevant and still prescient today.
tommyro's review against another edition
5.0
Brilliant. One of Simenon's roman durs - or hard novels. This one is softly brutal. A fantastic description of the process of alienation. A story of a man's quiet descent into existential despair. It is extraordinarily effective.
furfff's review against another edition
5.0
Elusive and lonely and beautiful. One of his best. Starts off almost like a prot-Gone-Girl, but the mystery here ends up not really being the point. What really struck me on this one was the ratcheting importance of everyone else around the protagonist, as the stories he told himself about the way he was considered in his society come undone. Definitely a re-read-in-the-future.....
lnatal's review against another edition
3.0
From BBC Radio 4:
When a bookseller's wife goes missing, his neighbours suspect the worst.
When a bookseller's wife goes missing, his neighbours suspect the worst.
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