I'm a fan, as I find the books as very atmospheric. I can follow Maigret around Paris quite easily.
My partner, though has never read one.
Any idea of which one would be the best to get (I don't own any at home)?
Something baased in Paris, and very noir, please.
My favourite is 'The Bar on the Seine'. If I remember correctly, it includes scenes in a second hand clothes store and a hat shop. Great stuff. My all time favourite detective. In France they even have cookery books based on his wife's favourite recipes (mostly from Alsace?).Originally Posted by the hairy bloke
Also, it's worth reading Simenon's non-Maigret books. They are amazing.
"I know I believe in nothing, but is my nothing."
The early Maigret's are superb - look for early 30s publication dates. Maigret and the Yellow Dog is a favorite of mine.
I second the notion of searching out Simenon's other novels. I especially recommend his short novel The Watchmaker if you can find it; it's set in upstate New York, published in the 1950s while Simenon was living in the US.
"Well I'm goin' to town buddy; can I bring you somethin' back?
A pint of good corn liquor and a John B Stetson hat" - Muleskinner Blues
The Maigret novels are fun, fast reads that give a nice window to the times.
As the earlier posters said, Simenon's non-Maigret novels are very different and I often find more enriching reads. Not the light reading of Maigret, but wondeful in a very different ways.
I've loved almost all of Simenon's work, I highly recommend them.
Last edited by Chasseur; 12-16-2012 at 05:32 PM.
"As a kid, I used to abide by the judgment of Brooks Brothers in New York. I think I'm away from that now."
-Fred Astaire
I second this. Yellow Dog was really good. But then again, they all were.
I was surprised how much I enjoyed his American novels. I didn't expect Simenon to be able to convey the same sense of emptiness once he moved his settings from the bleakest parts of France and Belgian to the USA. But it worked.
With the Maigret books, I like the sense of his humanity. He is one of the few literary detectives with a settled home life. His wife is a good character and one gets a sense of the depth of their relationship.
I would recommend Simenon to everyone.
"I know I believe in nothing, but is my nothing."
It's great to see Simenon getting some appreciation, he was and is a great entertainer. As the hairy bloke stated, he is atmospheric. He creates imagery which easily takes you along with Maigret wherever he may be. I would suggest either jumping in blindly or reading in chronological order as either way will surely be a good if not great time.
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