Le Chien couchant

by Françoise Sagan

Le soir, sa journée de comptable terminée, Guéret rentre chez lui par les rues tristes de cette ville du Nord, suivi par un drôle de chien bâtard qui lui emboîte le pas jusqu'à sa pension. Le jeune homme attend et redoute à la fois le moment de retrouver Mme Biron, sa logeuse, une femme dure et hostile au passé douteux, qui n'a pour lui qu'indifférence et mépris. Or, un jour, par malentendu - un crime et un vol de bijoux ont été commis dans la région -, Mme Biron va prendre son banal locataire pour ce qu'il n'est pas. Pourquoi Guéret accepte-t-il de passer pour un criminel ? Pourquoi ce jeu sinistre ? Que désire-t-il chez cette femme ? Sa confiance, son amitié, son corps ? Jusqu'où cette comédie mènera-t-elle Guéret ? Le chien couchant, lui, semble le savoir, mais les chiens ne parlent pas.

Genres: Fiction, French Literature, France, Roman, Classics, Romance

216 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1980

About the author

Born Françoise Quoirez, Sagan grew up in a French Catholic, bourgeois family. She was an independent thinker and avid reader as a young girl, and upon failing her examinations for continuing at the Sorbonne, she became a writer.

She went to her family's home in the south of France and wrote her first novel, Bonjour Tristesse, at age 18. She submitted it to Editions Juillard in January 1954 and it was published that March. Later that year, She won the Prix des Critiques for Bonjour Tristesse.

She chose "Sagan" as her pen name because she liked the sound of it and also liked the reference to the Prince and Princesse de Sagan, 19th century Parisians, who are said to be the basis of some of Marcel Proust's characters.

She was known for her love of drinking, gambling, and fast driving. Her habit of driving fast was moderated after a serious car accident in 1957 involving her Aston Martin while she was living in Milly, France.

Sagan was twice married and divorced, and subsequently maintained several long-term lesbian relationships. First married in 1958 to Guy Schoeller, a publisher, they divorced in 1960, and she was then married to Robert James Westhoff, an American ceramicist and sculptor, from 1962 to 63. She had one son, Denis, from her second marriage.

She won the Prix de Monaco in 1984 in recognition of all of her work.

Reviews

[Steven Godin · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

The cover -

Before I get anywhere, I just want to say how much I adore this cover. I find the shade of pinks, big close-together lettering, and the little bag of sparkling jewels all quite sexy. I even smelt it, imagining just for a moment that I'd pick up the seductive aroma of something like Chanel Coco Mademoiselle. Nope, it's more like dust and mud. Nevermind. As much as I do admire it, I wouldn't be seen dead reading the book out in public, unless it was hidden inside a newspaper. My masculinity might take a bit of a hit otherwise.

The pages inside -

Françoise Sagan has written of the younger woman being involved with the older man, but here in Salad Days she goes for the opposite. Here we get the toy boy lover. Best way I can sum up this novel is that it's something like if Georges Simenon was to try his hand at edgy romance.
There is a crime. And there is passion. There are nightclubs, and also fighting. And there is sexual jealousy. There is a neo-moorish love nest, which is semi furnished with art deco. And there is a well maintained garden, which might be of some interest to those with green fingers but not me.


Gueret is a young man whose job is number crunching at the local factory. Nicole, who also works there is his on-off-on girlfriend, or alternatively his friend with benefits. At the start of the novel he finds a cache of stolen jewels and would learn that a broker was killed over them. He has a thing for 1940s noir gangsters, and to impress his much older boardinghouse patronne Madame Biron (or Maria as she goes by once they start sleeping together) he plays the tough guy, but over a misunderstanding, she in fact thinks he is the killer. And I guess it turns her on. They start a relationship. She knows of someone from her murky days in Marseille (Gilbert) who will exchange quite a lot of money for the jewels, and the pair can make plans to sail off into the sunset. Or in this case, start a lumberyard business somewhere in the African Colonies. Gilbert though has other plans once he shows up later like Ray Liotta.

While their passion is all swell to begin with (she even rents an apartment in Lille for the two of them), Maria starts to wonder just what this younger man sees in her graying hair and wrinkly rump. She gets fed up with love-making quite easily, has had enough of men snoring beside her, wanting to just spread out on the bed all on her own, and would rather tend to her garden, fussing over her Pea shoots and whatnot. She even persuades Gueret to go back with Nicole saying she is younger and fresher and would moan with pleasure far more (which she does), and yet Maria still can't escape the fact of wanting to be with him. Nicole describes Maria as 'not exactly a fresh piece of goods', and thinks he's crazy for wanting to be with her. He wouldn't be the first to be crazy in love, and neither would she. The age difference by the way is about 25 years.

Despite what I thought was a rather predicable and whimsy finale, I did quite like this. I was worried it would be a bit like trashy chick-lit, but no, far from it. It's a novel built on hopes and dreams and disillusionment. Of glory days, and of nostalgia. And why there is no stopping two burning hearts, regardless of age, from being in love whatever the cost. Sagan might have been accomplished in drinking and racing her car, but she was also a very accomplished writer, who shouldn't be remembered simply for Bonjour Tristesse.

[Efka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ką gi - pirmoji pažintis su Françoise Sagan gavosi visai nebloga. Tikėjausi banalokos apysakos, balansuojančios ant ribos žanro, kartais mandagiai vadinamo jausmų romanu, o gavau tikrai gerą ir dėmesio vertą istoriją. Istoriją apie du žmonės, kurie, atrodo, neturi nieko bendro, bet keistai sutapusių aplinkybių dėka jiems pradeda kažkas megztis.

Tai pasakojimas apie tai, kaip žmonės keičiasi dėl vienas kito, ir pasakojimas apie tai, kaip kartais būna neįvertinamos ar pervertinamos paprasčiausios žmogiškosios savybės.

Patiko ir personažai, kurie buvo gyvi, gerai išpildyti - skaitydamas nesunkiai galėjai įsivaizduoti tokius žmones realybėje. Netgi galiu lažintis, kad vieną ar du panašius asmenis kiekvienas iš mūsų nesunkiai rastų savo aplinkoje. Patiko ir pasakojimo tempas, kuris buvo labai vykusiai subalansuotas - nei bereikalingos skubos, nei bereikalingos beletristikos, kuo taip pasižymi nekurie kiti mano šiuo metu skaitomi autoriai *coughjustincronincough*.

Drąsiai galiu rekomenduot šią knyga visiems, kas nori paprastos, jaukios, šiek tiek komplikuotos istorijos apie eilinius, lyg gretimam name gyvenančius, žmones.

[Tanuj Solanki · Rating 3 out of 5]

The better of the two 'hurried' fictions I've read recently (the other one being Joyce Carol Oates' "Beasts").

Roger Gueret is a book-keeper in love with an older woman, Maria. The Why and How of it is important, but mentioning it here would spoil the fun. It is clear, not long after beginning the book, that the story will end in murder. It does, though not at all predictably in the manner of it, and Sagan keeps the reader's interest before it does. The volatile relationship between the two main characters is laid bare through wonderfully crafted situations and events. One cannot escape thinking of it as a slow, 'greyish' French movie, one in which every character is equal parts vulnerable and violent, loving and obsessive. Though it is, perhaps, in the same breadth that one has to add that the characters' complexity does not far exceed the levels usually witnessed in short stories.

Final word: Sagan may be low-to-middle brow, but shouldn't be ignored. Her characters, even if limited, are not what you'll witness elsewhere. And she does them justice.

P.S. I need also mention the queer 'Japanese' feeling I got while reading the book. Most of the time, I thought of Yasunari Kawabata. I could easily imagine the characters belonging not to France but to Japan. I don't know how to explain the association, though.

[Clare Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sagan does it again. 5 stars.

[Richie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wanted to change up the books I’ve been reading so grabbed this from the library. I have read so much Sagan, and even her not-as-amazing books are still on another level. Really liked this short little book. Very happy to find a good one since I have not visited this old friend in quite a while.

[hava · Rating 3 out of 5]

kitabı umut verdiği için mi, yoksa umut'un gerçekten modern bir gueret olmasından mı bilmiyorum ama aklımda umutla okudum bu kitabı.

umut, benim küçük gueret'm olacak hep.

[Anni-Mari · Rating 4 out of 5]

Takakansiteksti:

"Gueret on hyvin tavallinen nuorimies, kirjanpitäjä ranskalaisessa pikkukaupungissa. Eräänä päivänä hänelle tapahtuu jotain täysin yllättävää. Hän löytää kadulta pussin, joka on täynnä jalokiviä - ryöstettyjä, kuten myöhemmin selviää. Mutta Gueret ei vie löytöään poliisille, vaan piilottaa sen huoneeseensa pienessä täysihoitolassa.
Täysihoitolan omistaa rouva Biron, elämässään monia kokenut ja parhaat päivänsä jo kauan sitten taakseen jättänyt nainen. Nainen pääsee perille aarteesta - ja nuoresta miehestä tulee hänen rakastajansa.

Tästä alkaa dramaattinen tapahtumasarja, jännittävä ulkoisilta puitteiltaan, mutta ennen kaikkea ihmissuhteen kuvauksena. Sagan paljastaa jälleen jotakin perin olennaista ihmisestä - ja ilmiöstä nimeltä rakkaus."

[Solar · Rating 1 out of 5]

Саган никога не ме е разочаровала, но с тази книга и това се случи. Тежка като евтино червено червило върху устните на леличка. Банален сюжет, който се лута между "Престъпление и наказание" и Едиповия комплекс

[Lacey · Rating 5 out of 5]

For a great deal of the book I found myself engaged but slightly bored. Yet, I knew François Sagan was to be trusted. It was in the last twenty pages that my hopes were totally rewarded. Brilliant.

[Alain Vázquez · Rating 4 out of 5]

¡Sabía que este iba a estar muy bueno! Me encantó este libro de Françoise Sagan porque dentro de todo el ambiente en el que se desarrolla siempre hay momentos de humor, es una novela donde sorprende por los giros inesperados que encuentras. Muy recomendable.

[Adam · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nonsensical story, terrible writing

[Marie-Chritine · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nul

[Zéro Janvier · Rating 3 out of 5]

Je continue avec François Sagan et cette histoire touchante d'un type banal qui trouve par hasard des bijoux d'une valeur incroyable, ce qui va entrainer quelques changements dans sa vie. Pas mal du tout.

[isidora · Rating 3 out of 5]

When in doubt choose Sagan. Especially during summer. Even when the book is not about summer.

[The Nike Nabokov · Rating 2 out of 5]

not one of her best but still enjoyable.

[Layla · Rating 1 out of 5]

my digital copy was broken. so I need to try this one again

[Bram De longhi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Je mannelijkheid heb je op een andere manier bewezen, door je kracht en door de misdaad die je gepleegd hebt.