Novel
The Yellow Dog
Le Chien jaune
Georges Simenon · 1931
Synopsis
In Concarneau, one evening, the wine merchant Mostaguen, returning from the Hôtel de l'Amiral where he has drunk too much, is wounded by a gunshot. A yellow dog that nobody knows starts prowling the town. Inspector Maigret settles in on the spot and observes the regulars of the Amiral: a former journalist, a doctor who hardly practises, and the waitress, Emma, whose reserve intrigues him.
Context
The author spent the winter of 1930-1931 in Concarneau and wrote the novel there; it was published by Fayard in 1931, among the first titles of the series. It is the only one of his books set in Brittany, and the Amiral of the novel takes up a real establishment in the port. In English, the novel appeared in 1939 under the title A Face for a Clue, then under that of The Yellow Dog, in Linda Asher's translation.
Who it is for
Two hundred pages in short chapters, in a deliberately simple vocabulary. Can be read in one evening and reread for the atmosphere.
Prizes and reception
Brought to the screen as early as 1932 by Jean Tarride, the novel has also been adapted twice for French television.
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