Uncle Charles Has Locked Himself In

Charles Dupeux, a humble bookkeeper, comes home from work as usual. But instead of sitting down to dinner with his family, he locks himself in the attic. He does not respond to the questions of his wife and his daughters–except to slip a message under the door demanding to be left alone. He paces, growls, moves furniture. Downstairs his family and relatives speculate on what might be happening, occasionally casting anxious glances at the ceiling.Why does a man “as timid as a rabbit” suddenly seclude himself? Why is his proud and overbearing boss so upset? What is the secret between them?Simenon portrays in precise detail the seedy, prosaic, unsentimental world of the suburbs of Rouen and against that background tells a superb tale of human suffering and depravity.(from inside jacket description)