Georges Simenon, The Rules of the Game (La Boule noire,  Presses de la Cité, 1955)

The Rules of the Game (La Boule noire) is the first novel Simenon wrote in France upon his return from his decade-long stay in America. Written in April 1955 and set in Connecticut, it drmatizes issues of belonging and membership, and the small-town mentality. It is apparent that, in writing it, Simenon had just come to terms with the realisation that he had never truly belonged in American society.

Original edition,  Presses de la Cité, 1955