I was drawn to this as it took me back to my days of studying French at university. It didn’t disappoint. A darkly compelling read that examines the minutiae in the relationship between Emile and Marguerite so absolutely cleverly as only Simenon could. I have to say that I appreciated his writing now much more than I did as a student. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for a review.

This is a short and claustrophobic account of a disastrous marriage. Two elderly people from different social classes, both lonely, following the deaths of their first spouses, married each other. Pretty quickly, the marriage disintegrated, and they have completely stopped speaking to each other. Any communication happens through vicious notes left for the other. What precipitated, finally, this state of affairs, was a stray cat which Emile adopted but which Marguerite hated. The cat has already shuffled off its mortal coil, in unpleasant circumstances, unforgiveably. Marguerite has a parrot which she lavishes with love, and which Emile hates. Revenge is brewing. These two have replaced love for pleasure in hurting each other, revenge and vindictiveness. Simenon’s skill is to make this truly awful, depressing account of a horrible relationship between 2 people who are unable to let go of the pleasure they experience in trying to hurt each other, amusing. This wasn’t the book I thought I was going to be reading when offered it as a digital ARC. The cover seemed a little whimsical. Whimsy it ain’t!

Georges Simenon’s The Cat is a short, sharp tale of two pensioners locked in a bitter stalemate. Émile and Marguerite share a house but little else, their marriage poisoned by petty grudges and the loss of a cat. Simenon’s writing is lean and quietly brutal, turning small domestic moments into something both funny and unsettling. It’s bleak, yes, but also strangely gripping — the kind of story that leaves you squirming and fascinated in equal measure. A dark, quietly brilliant look at what happens when love curdles and silence says more than words ever could. Many thanks to Penguin Press UK - Allen Lane, Particular, Pelican, Penguin Classics and NetGalley for providing an advanced copy of the book