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The Man Who Watched the Trains Go By
The Man Who Watched the Trains Go By | Georges Simenon
2 posts | 5 read | 3 to read
In this Georges Simenon classic, a Dutch clerk flees to Paris with his crooked boss’s money and meets the woman behind the man. “A certain furtive, almost shameful emotion . . . disturbed him whenever he saw a train go by, a night train especially, its blinds drawn down on the mystery of its passengers.” Kees Popinga is a respectable Dutch citizen and family man—until the day he discovers his boss has bankrupted the shipping firm he works for, and something snaps. Kees used to watch the trains go by on their way to exciting destinations. Now, on some dark impulse, he boards one at random, and begins a new life of recklessness and violence. This chilling portrayal of a man who breaks from society and goes on the run asks who we are, and what we are capable of.
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Jari-chan
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This book is uncomfortable. We are right in the head of a narcissistic personality, or at least to me Popinga felt truly narcissistic. So of course he's also an unreliable narrator. But that's exactly what makes this story fascinating and captivating. We follow Popinga, see the world through his eyes.
If you're new to Simenon, I might wouldn't start with this, but if you're interested in psychology it might be a book for you.

Bookwomble Sounds fantastic! 1y
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Villo
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Simenon, pure Simenon. A simple story but so dramatic and such an introspective character, this man that looked the train pass by. It seems that you can really be in his mind and his sickness, almost scaring. #2020