Sunday, August 25, 2019

Back to the Classics #22

I read this book for the 2019 Back to the Classics Reading Challenge.

Classic in Translation. Eileen Ellenbogen translated many Maigret mysteries and “gray novels” by Simenon. The web is totally unhelpful as to whether Ellenbogen taught French besides translating.

The Delivery – Georges Simenon

In this pitiless gray novel of the early Forties, Bergelon is a country doctor in a parish he has lived in all his life except for med school. Dr. Mandalin, a surgeon new to the town and with a wealthy wife, makes him an offer: for the first client Bergelon refers to the sumptuous private clinic that Mandalin owns and operates, Bergelon will receive the full fee; then, for every following referral he will get half. Thirty-year-old Cosson, a highly-strung bank clerk, wants his pregnant wife to have a reputable doctor. Though he feels ignoble for involving himself in Mandalin’s little racket, Bergelon advises Cosson to choose Mandalin's clinic.

And it ends badly, of course. One night Mandalin has Bergelon and his abjectly grateful wife over to his ritzy house. The clinic makes multiple calls about the difficult labor of Cosson’s wife. Mandalin, of the paternalistic old school, refuses to be pushed around by a mere patient and does not go to the clinic with Bergelon until many hours pass and many drinks drunk. Afraid to be regarded as a Nervous Norvus, Bergelon does not insist on their going to the clinic right away.

Mother and child die. Cosson, enraged and smelling the stink of malpractice, pursues Bergelon. Cosson feels that the local country doc let down one of his own.  Cosson dreams of killing Bergelon with a gun or a bomb. Bergelon does not try to avoid Cosson but instead seeks him in out in various dives where Cosson drinks himself mean and stupid. Bergelon is tongue-tied and ridiculous and cowardly when he does engage his nemesis. Cosson settles in with Cécile, his mistress, a young prostitute who visits Bergelon every week for the required health inspection. Canny Cécile advises Bergelon to make himself scarce until Cosson cools down.

On the beaches of Riva-Bella where Bergelon flees to rest, without wife and kiddies, for a few days, he dallies with Edna, whose name constantly reminds him of a volcano. Edna-Etna is a single mother he met the day before. But Bergelon spies from afar Germaine, his wife, arriving unexpectedly. So he decides to flee. Flee Germaine the melancholy pessimist.  Flee daughter Annie and son Emile, who judge him and find him wanting. Flee Cosson who, having obtained his address from a mail carrier, wrote him a letter that shows no signs of him cooling down.

Fleeing, Bergelon lands in Antwerp. He sees an opportunity for his entire life to begin anew when he chances upon a childhood friend who offers him as job as ship’s doctor and thence to Trebizond in Turkey where he can get a job doctoring easily. Bergelon plays with this idea for a time and then – you guessed it in one – flakes out of the chance to walk away from everything, a chance many Simenonian anti-heroes have taken up.

After a final weird meeting with Cosson, Bergelon returns to his monotonous uneventful life in Bugle. Simenon could care less about messages, I think, but I’m the kind of guy that likes stories about the pitfalls of choosing mediocrity, choosing fear over bravery, folly over wisdom, the cup over coffee.

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