Reading is my hobby. Although as a dog I also enjoy chewing furniture, playing fetch-the-ball, gnawing on socks & shoes and other traditional past-times, I found that reading books is on a par with eating books.
And my favorite genre: detective stories, i.e. mysteries.
If I had to recommend a Favorite Author, I'd choose Georges Simenon, a prolific Belgian writer of "demi-novels" which include his world-famous Maigret series.
Above is a picture of Inspector Jules Maigret, that Paris fixture whose wisdom & compassion extends to the criminal class even while he remains committed to the rule of law. The quote below annotates the lot; read much more at this wonderful Maigret website http://www.trussel.com/f_maig.htm
"The Maigret stories are unlike any other detective stories — the crime and the details of unraveling it are often less central to our interest than Maigret's journey through the discovery of the cast of characters... towards an understanding of man. Simenon said he was obsessed with a search for the "naked man" — man without his cultural protective coloration, and he followed his quest as much in the Maigrets as in his "hard" novels."
Paris is Maigret's city. Although his origins were rural (see Maigret Goes Home), he lives and breathes the city, familiar with all the nooks and alley ways, with the crooks, the wealthy & politicos alike. Maigret's First Case [not the first published] recounts the story of a young, new-to-city life and recently married Maigret who unmasks the secrets of a wealthy, powerful family. My personal pick: Maigret and the Tavern by the Seine. The plot concerns a formerly unreported murder which a condemned prisoner boasts of witnessing; Maigret will solve this 4-year old crime. Miagret explores the world of petit-bourgeouis young marrieds, their often numbing work and home lives, their play times (Maigret inadvertantly participates in a mock wedding), their escapes from each other (Maigret befriends James who allows himself 1 hour a day after work to drink Pernod and more Pernod at the Taverne Royale). And perhaps the sweetest Maigret novel: Madame Maigret's Own Case.
In all there are 75 Maigret novels, 28 short stories and each a master piece of elegant simplicity and an intriguing mystery in which the bad guy is caught and the reader participates with Maigret/Simenon in exploring the vaguaries of human nature.
***Mercury Rating: First Rate: all highly recommended***
Remember to check back during the next week as I continue to list and describe other mysteries, current and classic. Each will include the highly prized Mercury Rating evaluation.
1 comment:
Thank you for this post!
Maigret is far-and-away my favorite fictional character & it's a source of exasperastion that so few Americans have heard of him, whereas the ridiculous Sherlock Holmes is a household word.
So much of Maigret is intriguing....his occasional unease among those of higher social class, his moments of self-reproach, scenes of domestic tranquility with Mdm Maigret....is he the only one in Paris without a mistress?....he and the other cops, that is, just like in real life :)
Judging from Simenon's other works and his personal life, (10K women?) you almost get the impression writing Maigrets must have been therapy for him.
After reading all the Maigrets I can get my hands on, I have two questions about France: 1. do Frenchmen really drink that much? 2. do they all really (except Maigret and colleages) keep mistrisses?
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