WIDOW, THE

'The Widow', originally published as La Veuve Couderc, begins with the chance encounter of two outcasts. One is the widow herself, Tati. Still young, she hasn’t had an easy time of it, even if she’s not about to complain. She lives with her father-in-law on the family farm, putting up with his unwelcome attentions, working her fingers to the bone, improving the property and knowing all the time that her late husband’s sister is scheming to seize it and drive her away.

The other is a killer. Just out of prison and in search of a new life, Jean meets up with Tati, who hires him as a handyman and then takes him to bed. Everything goes swimmingly until Jean develops a liking for the girl next door.

'The Widow' is Georges Simenon’s most powerful and disturbing exploration of the death instinct at the heart of desire.