The Outlaw (English And French Edition)

The Outlaw (English And French Edition)

Product Description Homeless, penniless, and wanted for a a crime in his native Poland, Stan wanders through Europe, only to return to Paris with one thing to sell--his inside knowledge of the workings of a notorious gang From Publishers Weekly Simenons acute sensitivity to losers permeates this novel, in spite of a somewhat elliptical and incompatible translation of the 1941 French edition. The outlaw is Stan, who has fled persecution in his native Poland and is now penniless in Paris with his waiflike girlfriend Nuschi. Leaving her one night, hes beaten up by a man he tries to rob, the usual result of his grandiose plans. In despair, Stan tries to sell information on the Polish gang, thieves and murderers he had been in league with, but the police refuse to buy. Nuschi has been found destitute and taken into the home of a couple; Stan jeopardizes the girls sanctuary by sneaking into the house to eat and sleep. Meantime, although the gang terrifies him, Stan goes back to join their next attack, which means killing an entire fmaily for their possessions. The readers nerves are tested by the consequences of events set afoot by a craven, self-absorbed, inept criminal. Its a sign of Simenons mastery that he makes Stan pitiable as well as contemptible. Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.