Bouvard and Pécuchet

About “Bouvard and Pécuchet”

The boulevard Bourdon was completely empty on a day when the temperature reached 33 degrees. Below, the Canal Saint-Martin was closed by two locks and stretched in a straight line with its dark water. A boat loaded with wood was in the middle of the canal, and along the bank, two rows of barrels stood. Beyond the canal, between the houses separated by construction sites, the clear sky was divided into patches of deep blue. Under the sun's reflection, the white facades, slate roofs, and granite quays dazzled. A vague noise rose from the distance into the warm air, and everything seemed sluggish from the boredom of a Sunday and the sadness of summer days. Two men appeared. One came from the Bastille, the other from the Jardin des Plantes. The taller man, dressed in a light-colored suit, walked with his hat pushed back, his vest unbuttoned and his tie in his hand. The shorter man, whose body was hidden by a brown frock coat, kept his head down under a cap with a pointed visor.