The Outlaw (Simenon novel)
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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L'Outlaw (1941) is a 'roman dur' by Georges Simenon.
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Summary
Stan and his friend Nouchi, refugees from Central European countries, wander the streets of Paris looking for work. They have no money and no one is willing to help them.
At the end of the day, Stan, who has lost Nouchi in Paris, contacts inspector Mizeri, with whom he has had dealings shortly before. He wants to give him, in exchange for five thousand francs, the names of a Polish gang - the Frida gang - whom he knows to be bandits who attack farms. The inspector, not having the requested sum, refuses the deal. The Poles, joined by Stan, suspect a maneuver and decide to enlist him more or less by force in order to compromise him in an expedition they are planning against an isolated farm. Although watched by the Poles, Stan manages to accost an inspector who has been following him. At the Quai des Orfèvres, the police coldly listen to his story and dismiss him, still without money.
In the meantime, Nouchi has found refuge in the home of Dr. Storm, one of her compatriots. Stan finds her and she hides him in her room. The Storms notice it, but close their eyes. In his hiding place, Stan feverishly waits for the announcement that the gang has been arrested. Nothing happens and his anxiety grows. In fact, the police are tracking down every member of the gang, but none of them are making the slightest mistake. At the end of his rope, Stan wants to be incarcerated to be safe, so he steals from Dr. Storm. Confronted with the Poles finally arrested, he proves their guilt. But then we learn that before stealing Storm, he strangled Nouchi who opposed this misdeed. Stan is sentenced to the guillotine, as well as one of the Poles; the others are sentenced to hard labor for life.
Special aspects of the novel
The action, which includes flashbacks to the hero's past, is permeated by the panic of the outlaw, who is haunted throughout the story by fear of others and an obsession with food.
Book details
Space and time
Space
Paris. References to Lithuania.
Time
Contemporary era.
Characters
Main character
Stanislas Sadlak, known as Stan, Lithuanian from Wilno who lived under the Polish regime, illegally staying in France. Son of a teacher, abandoned medical studies, no permanent job. Single. In his thirties.
Other characters
- Nouchi Kersten, Hungarian, daughter of a lawyer in Budapest, friend of Stan
- Frida Stavitskaya, Polish, leader of a gang, and her accomplices
- Doctor Helmut Storm, friend of Nouchi's father
- Commissioner Lognon, of the French Judicial Police, and Inspector Mizeri, of the foreigners' brigade.
See also
