The Krull House (Romans Durs) - by Georges Simenon (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

A malicious interloper in a quiet family is the catalyst to tragedy, in this unnervingly prophetic tale of small-town groupthink in 1930s Europe.

Twenty-five-year-old Hans Krull, from Germany, is finally visiting the French Krulls: Uncle Cornelius, Aunt Maria, and cousins Anna, Joseph, and Liesbeth. It would be best, they tell Hans, if he concealed his nationality: it's the 1930s and the family, who owns a grocery, suffers discrimination for their German heritage. Yet nonchalant, charismatic Hans, who takes pleasure in causing discomfort, instead flaunts his Germanness. Then a local girl is raped and murdered, and a terrifying wave of hostility swells against the Krulls. For decades they've been living discreetly, hoping to shed their image as sinister foreigners. Now their worst fears are realized. The only answer is for Hans to leave France, to disappear--but will he? With The Krull House, Georges Simenon proves himself not only a fearless explorer of psychological depths, but a social critic with startling prescience.

About the Author

Georges Simenon (1903-1989) was born in Liège, Belgium. An intrepid traveler with a profound interest in people, Simenon strove on and off the page to understand--and not to judge--the human condition in all its shades. His books include the Inspector Maigret series and a richly varied body of wider work united by its evocative power, its economy of means, and its penetrating psychological insight. He is among the most widely read writers in the global canon.

Howard Curtis lives in Norwich, England, and has translated more than a hundred books from the French, Italian, and Spanish.