L'assassinio di Pont Rouge

by Charles Barbara, Margaret Petrarca (Translator)

Parigi. Rodolphe e Max, amici e artisti bohèmien, parlano di arte e di vita. Durante la conversazione, Max confessa di avere un'infatuazione per una donna, la signora Thillard-Ducornet. Si tratta della sua vicina di casa, una giovane vedova di un agente di cambio, annegato nella Senna. Successivamente, mentre passeggia in un parco, Max si imbatte in Clément, un amico di gioventù. Si stupisce nel trovarlo molto cambiato: è ben vestito, ma sembra nascondere qualcosa. Qualcosa che ha a che fare con il passato, forse, e che lui e la moglie cercano disperatamente di dimenticare... Ma la coscienza presenterà il conto a Clément e a sua moglie, prendendo le sembianze inquietanti del loro primogenito. "L'omicidio di Pont-Rouge" è un libro dimenticato sia in Francia, dove è rimasto nell'ombra per molto tempo dopo il suo successo iniziale, sia in Italia, dove in realtà non è mai arrivato. Eppure, il romanzo ha probabilmente ispirato i più grandi autori francesi dell'Ottocento e non solo. Spesso, gli elementi reali e sovrannaturali si uniscono all'interno della stessa opera, motivo per il quale Barbara viene considerato come uno dei precursori del realismo magico.

Genres: France

184 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1855

Reviews

[Werner · Rating 4 out of 5]

With a name like "Max Destroy," the viewpoint character here sounds like a pulp fiction anti-hero, or the central figure of a violence-oriented video game. In fact, though, "Destroy" just happens to be a French last name, which only coincidentally duplicates an English word (and Max is short for Maximilien). :-) This is actually a serious, somber and even dark exploration of how far a human being might be led to yield to temptation if he/she holds a philosophy of "do what you will," and what role guilt might still play in the psychology of such a person. Given the title, it's no spoiler here to say that we're dealing with murder in the first degree. (Despite the Goodreads description, though, I wouldn't say that the "police procedural" element, to the extent that it's in the story at all, is very prominent.) Barbara's perspective seems to be that of traditional Roman Catholicism, with Max playing the role of his spokesman; but he mostly lets the story's events be their own commentary, with the exception of a couple of telling passages. One of these reads:

"In what way, then, am I more criminal than the so many others who present identical thoughts, if not in that I've claimed to be a more rigorous logician? I defy anyone to contradict me: When one is convinced there is no God, that conscience is only prejudice, that death is nothingness, what one calls crime is only relative, pain makes no sense, anything that can be done with impunity so as to save himself from it is permitted; there is well and truly only pleasure, and concern for playing with the law is only useful. Kill, steal, rape, be a monster, just so long as no one knows! Who will punish you? It's only a coward or an imbecile who can fear chimeras and phantoms!"

That pretty well sums up the central philosophical problem here (as well as giving a good example of Barbara's translated but still French-flavored prose style).

At around 86 pages, this is a fairly quick read, but it has to read with attention, and it doesn't have a very strong narrative drive; the plot moves slowly and deliberately, even broodingly. (The time frame here spans about 20 years, so "unity of time" is an Aristotelian convention that Barbara didn't observe here.) It's also very much a novella of ideas; Max and Clement discuss these a lot. And a fair criticism that could be made, IMO, is that Max is a rather passive character, in both his interactions with Clement and Madame Thillard, where a more active character would have been more satisfying. Being a modern translation, the diction here isn't as archaic as it probably is in the original French (indeed, expressions like "For Pete's sake" have a modern feel); but it still has a formal quality to it. If any or all of these qualities strike you as off-putting, they probably will be. But if any of this strikes you as intriguing, you might find this an intellectually or even spiritually rewarding read.

Readers familiar with world literature will recognize common themes in this work and Crime and Punishment: the idea of a nihilistic criminal motivated to his behavior by philosophy, a crime that's difficult or impossible for the police to solve, and the role and meaning of guilt in the life of the perpetrator. The question of direct influence, I think, would depend on what evidence there is that Dostoevsky might actually have read this tale. But even for a reader like myself, who's only read part of Crime and Punishment, it's evident that Dostoevsky's handling of these themes is deeper and more adept. He's writing at novel rather than novella length, uses a more compressed time frame, and writes from the viewpoint of the killer, not an outside third party, so that we're in the former's head. (The Dostoevsky novel is also more grisly-gory.) Most importantly, the later novel gives a much more explicit treatment of Christian redemption, whereas here, all we're left with is the clear (to Christian readers --but possibly not others!) implication that guilt-driven good works don't equate to seeking and accepting Divine forgiveness. But it's nevertheless fascinating to see here an adumbration of the later classic, and to appreciate it in its own right.

By way of disclosure, I don't own (and don't want!) a Kindle, but the translator herself, my friend Krisi Keley, generously gave me a printable electronic copy, with no strings attached.

[Tahlia Newland · Rating 5 out of 5]

This ebook includes two versions of the same story, the original French written in 1855 and the English translation. It’s eighteen short chapters of beautifully written prose that takes you back to the time of its writing and wraps you in mystery and mysticism.

The story is essentially about a man called Clement as seen through the eyes of his friend Maximillien Destroy. Clement—described as, the very image of revolting deterioration— and his wife have come into money since Max saw them last. Keen to prove that every increase in wealth is from a verifiable source, Clement insists on showing Max his bookkeeping ledger. This is our first clue that something is amiss, and as the story progresses we come to wonder just what it is that causes his wife’s dire illness. Eventually, even her doctor is forced to admit that it is a disease of the spirit.

The story focuses on the terrible results of extreme poverty and the philosophical aspects of committing a crime. The question posed is, even if you escape trial and the retribution of the law, and even with extenuating circumstances, can you escape God’s punishment or the law of karma?

Even after Clement leaves the country, Max hears about him from a traveller, for here is a man dedicated to doing good for others, but has no happiness himself. It’s as if he has a hole in his soul that eats all the goodness from Clement’s life.

L'Assassinat du Pont-Rouge is a story about crime and punishment, and it bears enough resemblance to Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment to make one consider the possibility that this was the inspiration for that famous work. Dostoyevsky read fluently in French and stayed in Paris between 1855 and 1866, and Crime and Punishment was first published in monthly instalments throughout 1866.

It’s been thirty years since I read Crime and Punishment, but The Red Bridge Murder has whet my appetite for more, so I now have Dostoyevsky’s work on my Kindle, and look forward to dipping into it again.

Nori Kameya—someone a great deal more familiar with Crime and Punishment than I—pointed out these similarities between the texts.

- poverty leads the protagonists to crime
- the scene of the crime is described vividly with strong detail
- the murderers justify their act with philosophical considerations; they believe it a "humanitarian" act
- they act from a belief there's no moral law, something which gives them a sense of power
- they are subject to hallucinatory dreams in which their victims appear
- they soon experience the need to confess their crime to someone
- relieved by their confession, they still don't experience true repentance

[Toglietemi tutto, ma non i miei libri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Recensione: https://chelibroleggere.blogspot.com/...

[kintanakely · Rating 3 out of 5]

Voilà un de ces livres qu'il faut avoir lu au moins une fois dans sa vie. Le tout premier roman policier français qui se déroule durant la période romantique à Paris. Franchement, pour un livre d'époque c'est plutôt sympa. Le livre nous laisse délibérément dans le flou en ce qui concerne ce fameux crime qui se déroule au Pont-Rouge même si on arrive à deviner ce qui a pu se passer. On connaitra le fin de mot de l'histoire à la fin à travers une confession finale et pas avant.

L'histoire a également un peu de fantastique et bien sûr l'histoire d'amour inévitable à cette époque. Il est aussi un portrait de la société et des tourments d'une âme qui se sait coupable et que sa conscience met au supplice.

Dans l'ensemble j'ai bien aimé. C'était chouette de se plonger dans cette ambiance parisienne d'époque et j'ai beaucoup aimé y retrouver un poème de Baudelaire qui est un de mes poètes préférés. Il y a quelques tournures un peu vieillottes et un vocabulaire un peu daté mais dans l'ensemble ça se lit assez facilement.

Une bonne pioche.

[Giulia vita_nei_libri · Rating 4 out of 5]

🔎Eccoci con una nuova recensione di questo romanzo. Un romanzo che sarebbe sconosciuto per la maggior parte dei lettori, se non fosse per la magnifica casa editrice @abeditore, che scova gioiellini del passato e li fa rivivere.

🔎Il libro, scritto nella seconda metà dell’Ottocento, fu il precursore dei romanzi polizieschi e del realismo magico, dove gli elementi reali e sovrannaturali si uniscono all’interno della stessa opera.

🔎Troviamo poi una profonda analisi psicologica, di come l’assassino sia arrivato a fare ciò che ha fatto e perché. Dove la cruda lucidità, lascia il passo alla disperazione, senza dare spazio ai rimorsi e all redenzione.

🔎Sappiamo fin dall’inizio chi siano gli assassini, ma quello che invece scopriremo pagina dopo pagina è la loro angoscia, che percepiremo sempre più insistente e disperata, in un escalation di emozioni e agonia.
Tutto questo li porterà alla distruzione personale.

💬E a voi cari lettori chiedo: conoscevate questo romanzo? Cosa ne pensate? Vi aspetto nei commenti!

[Mouâd Benzahra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un roman policier à construction habile qui met en avant , de fond en comble, les facettes de la vie tumultueuse d’un individu, ayant été motivé par l’ardent désir de sortir de la pauvreté et de la bassesse par la voie du crime.

L’auteur nous entraîne dans une description très détaillée et accablante de cet océan de douleurs, peines et remords, dans lequel se débattaient les personnages principaux.

Le caractère philosophico-religieux de ce poignant récit ne passe en outre point inaperçu. Le style de rédaction, quoique peu moralisateur, est très bon.

[Eli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un libro davvero interessante e una lettura che ho apprezzato molto.
Durante la lettura ho avuto reminescenze di Delitto e Castigo (libro che ho letto e molto amato troppi anni fa e che mi riprometto da un po' di leggere nuovamente) e in effetti leggendo la postfazione, emerge come Charles Barbara sia considerato precursone del genere poliziesco e del realismo magico francese e che si suppone possa aver influenzato autori del calibro di Emile Zola e, appunto, Dostoevskij.
Un romanzo psicologico, breve e molto interessante, che affronta il temi come la morale e il pentimento.

[Chiara Reba · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recensione di “L’assassinio di Pont-Rouge” di Charles Barbara edito Abeditore

Un caso archiviato come suicidio, un agente di cambio indebitato che, schiacciato dal senso di colpa, pone fine alla sua vita.
Nessuna indagine, nessun dubbio. Ma cosa c’è di più rivelatore della coscienza umana?

Questo breve racconto rivela la maestria di Barbara sin dall’inizio.
Lo stile appare, in principio, leggero quasi frivolo - più adatto a un racconto comico - mano a mano però che ci si addentra nella vicenda, la prosa cambia: diventa grave, pesante, nera.
Il lettore non ha dubbi su ciò che è successo, non bisogna scoprire il “chi”. Quello che affascina è il decadimento, prima morale e poi fisico, del “chi”.
Come ne “Il cuore rivelatore” di Poe il climax non lo raggiungiamo con il compimento dell’atto ma con gli avvenimenti successivi.

Parlando dell’edizione, quelle di Abeditore sono sempre ricche di magnifiche illustrazioni e curate nei minimi dettagli. Ottima la tradizione di Margaret Petrarca.

Da leggere!