Villa des Roses, Willem Elsschot's first novel, was originally
published in 1913 to great acclaim. Elsschot went on to write
several more books which established his reputation as an acute
observer of the social milieu, concise in style and biting in his
satirical analyses. This is an engrossing dark comedy, set in the
suffocating atmosphere of a second-rate Parisian boarding house,
where the eccentric staff and lodgers gradually reveal their true
colours over the course of several months. The book traces the
dying days of the villa before it is due to be demolished, and is a
cruel expose of greed and emotional cruelty. The action takes place
mostly within the confines of the Villa des Roses, where there is
no electricity (ostensibly because it is too dangerous) and no
baths (for fear of drowning). But it is for reasons of economy that
the miserly landlord and his wife, the grotesque Madame and
Monsieur Brulot, deprive their guests of these most basic creature
comforts. Money is the driving force behind the business; their
greatest pleasure is to con their guests out of a few extra francs,
even introducing a sliding scale of fees depending on wealth and
social standing. On the other hand, their greatest fear is to be
conned themselves. The geriatric Madame Gendron causes outrage when
she manages to secrete several oranges in her handbag during a
meal, and she wreaks a shocking vengeance on Madame Brulot. It is
the occasional flashes of true blackness which enliven this book,
which is almost like a warped vision of A Room with a View. Here,
however, instead of a table full of beautiful young women, dashing
young men and wise literary figures holding dazzling and witty
conversations, we have Elsschot's cast of oddballs, bizarre both in
looks and personality. As well as the kleptomaniac Madame Gendron,
he gives us the suicidal Monsieur Brizard, the physically repellent
Jeanne de Kerros and the lascivious German Richard Grunewald. It is
Grunewald's casual affair with Louise, one of the maids, which
forms the main plot of this slender book, an affair which can only
have one possible, wretched outcome. Paul Vincent's translation is
fluent and eminently readable, ideally suited to Esscholt's terse
observations. 90 years on, Villa des Roses is as absorbing a read
as it was back in 1913. (Kirkus UK)
The gilt-lettered advertisement outside Madame Brulot's pension in
the shabby rue d'Armaille promises a 'first-class family boarding
house' and 'modern conveniences'. One thing is certain: few emerge
from their stay at the Villa des Roses unscathed. The seduction of
the new maid Louise, the tragic suicide of Monsieur Brizard, the
champagne birthday party for Madame Dumoulin, the antics of Chico
the monkey - these are just some of the incidents and characters
that cause a sensation in the bittersweet and blackly comic world
of the Villa des Roses.
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