Big Bob (Simenon novel)
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Le Grand Bob (1954, English: Big Bob) is a 'roman dur' by Georges Simenon.
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Summary
Lulu Dandurand informs Dr. Charles Coindreau that her husband, Big Bob, has drowned. This death, apparently accidental, is in reality a suicide. Charles looks into the past and the private life of his friend, a real joker who is always cheerful and mocking, for elements that can help him solve this mystery.
Born into an honorable family, Bob has attended law school, first in Poitiers, where his father taught, then in Paris. In 1930, he meets Lulu, a young 'loose' woman with a kind heart; he tells her of his decision to abandon his studies (even though he is about to finish them) and thus breaks with his family.
Bob and Lulu, after living together, marry a few years later and move to Paris where Lulu, a milliner, and Bob, who is very unstable, live modestly. During a weekend at the Auberge du Beau-Dimanche de Tilly, Lulu has one of her many miscarriages. Charles Coindreau takes care of her and becomes the couple's friend. Bob, who is in fact an functioning alcoholic, suffers from frequent stomach aches; however, but he is not known to see a doctor.
However, a neighbor of Lulu's tells her that Bob is the client of a cancer specialist, Dr. Gigoigne. During an interview with this specialist, the truth comes out. Knowing that he has cancer in the duodenum, Bob refuses the possible operation, because he cannot tolerate the idea that he becomes Lulu's patient. In Tilly, he pretends to be interested in pike fishing, which allows him to leave alone at dawn and disappear.
Life resumes for Charles. He loses sight of Lulu until the day he learns of her suicide: letting herself go more and more, she wanted to join Bob before her complete decline, before feeling unworthy of the one who had transformed her.
Special aspects of the novel
The story is told in the first person and from the point of view of Dr. Coindreau. Frequent flashbacks shed light on the lives of the characters.
Book Details
Space and time frame
Space
Paris (Montmartre). Reference to Tilly (Seine-et-Oise).
Time
From June to mid December 1953.
The characters
Main character
Charles Coindreau. Doctor in medicine. Married, two sons. Middle age.
Other characters
- Robert Dandurand, known as Big Bob, without permanent job, 49 years old
- Lulu, Bob's wife, 46 years old.
Éditions
- Édition originale : Presses de la Cité, 1954
- Livre de Poche n° 14286, 2001 Template:ISBN
- Tout Simenon, tome 7, Omnibus, 2002 Template:ISBN
- Romans durs, tome 9, Omnibus, 2013 Template:ISBN
Source
- Maurice Piron, Michel Lemoine, L'Univers de Simenon, guide des romans et nouvelles (1931-1972) de Georges Simenon, Presses de la Cité, 1983, p. 180-181 Template:ISBN
Article connexe
Liste des œuvres de Georges Simenon
