Histoires grises

A series of short, observational tales sketches moments in the lives of urban inhabitants, focusing on small reversals of fortune, private satisfactions, and everyday indignities. One story follows a man nicknamed Plutarque who, after an unexpected windfall, indulges in a proper meal and the privacy of a rented room while confronting the squalor that surrounds him. Other pieces likewise portray social types, fleeting prides, and ironic disappointments, rendered through close scene-setting, economical narration, and a quietly sympathetic but unsentimental eye.