keebleman's review
mysterious
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
There are no bad Simenon novels - at least not based on my limited knowledge of a mere 15 or so! - but this is definitely a lesser work. The storytelling is careless, such as when a character, Dr Florian, is introduced with no explanation for how Maigret came to hear of him, and the plotting is perfunctory, especially in the wrap-up. This is not a book for those who are new to him, though I doubt that any newbie would want to begin with the very last of the Maigret books anyway.
There are good things though. It moved very fast indeed, and Madame Sabin-Levesque is a memorable creation - albeit one that comes close to cliche - as is her missing husband, and the enormous apartment they 'share'.
But perhaps the main problem is that Maigret was a character that just didn't fit in the 1970s. There is very, very little in the book to suggest it has a contemporary setting, a couple of references to television, the term 'playboy', and that's it. I don't know if Simenon started this book knowing it would be his signature character's swan song, but I think it's more likely he just came to accept that, like so many other great recurring characters, he belonged to the milieu in which he was born.
There are good things though. It moved very fast indeed, and Madame Sabin-Levesque is a memorable creation - albeit one that comes close to cliche - as is her missing husband, and the enormous apartment they 'share'.
But perhaps the main problem is that Maigret was a character that just didn't fit in the 1970s. There is very, very little in the book to suggest it has a contemporary setting, a couple of references to television, the term 'playboy', and that's it. I don't know if Simenon started this book knowing it would be his signature character's swan song, but I think it's more likely he just came to accept that, like so many other great recurring characters, he belonged to the milieu in which he was born.
8797999's review
5.0
A decent read and story it certainly reads like the end of ending of a series. Not my favourite and I didn't really like the characters in this, compared to Montalbano this final book is 5 stars.
So that is that then, in 4 and a bit years I have now finally read the entirety of Georges Simenon's Inspector Maigret series. On the whole it was a very fun and enjoyable series, and mostly all quite enjoyable. There were some I didnt enjoy but none stick out as being bad. It is a shame beyond a few short stories that I have no more Maigret to read for the first time but I do have plenty more Simenon to discover.
I look forward to beer in the future at the brasserie dauphin and catching up again with the gang! It was a blast!
This 5 star rating is not reflective on the book but the series. The Book I'd put at 3.5.
So that is that then, in 4 and a bit years I have now finally read the entirety of Georges Simenon's Inspector Maigret series. On the whole it was a very fun and enjoyable series, and mostly all quite enjoyable. There were some I didnt enjoy but none stick out as being bad. It is a shame beyond a few short stories that I have no more Maigret to read for the first time but I do have plenty more Simenon to discover.
I look forward to beer in the future at the brasserie dauphin and catching up again with the gang! It was a blast!
This 5 star rating is not reflective on the book but the series. The Book I'd put at 3.5.
bundy23's review against another edition
3.0
An okay Maigret to end the series on but nothing outstanding.
iainkelly_writing's review
5.0
The 75th, and final, Maigret, and the last novel Simeonon wrote before he simply gave up writing. As usual understated and brilliant. As a whole the series is almost unrivalled as an achievement. I recommend every single Maigret novel. The earlier ones are a shade better, the later ones tend to be more formulaic and stray into repetition, but all are worth reading. Taken as a whole, an astonishing character study as well as mapping the changing world and Paris over 4 decades.
colophonphile's review against another edition
I so enjoyed my first experience of the Maigret series of French detective novels that I quickly moved on to a second, despite a stack (physical and virtual) of other books in various media waiting for me to return to them. Having been told that I could essentially read these books -- of which there are 75 -- in any order, I chose this one almost at random. The extent to which there was any logic involved in the selection, I suppose the fact that it was available played a role in the decision, as did the fact that since the title included another adult (this Mr. Charles), I presumed that the story would differ distinctively from the previous volume I'd read, Maigret Goes to School, which had prominent roles for children.
It turns out that I have now read the last book in the series. I'll assume until convinced otherwise that the decision Maigret makes at the opening of the book is a significant one that would have carried more weight had I read more than one other book about him previously. Otherwise, this book starts and ends like any other book in such a series, and so, well, I guess this wasn't too much of a continuity banana slip on my part.
The book tells the story of a drunk society woman whose philandering husband, an accomplished professional, goes missing. We spend much of the book not knowing if he's alive or dead, and slowly learning about his past, and that of his psychologically remote wife. As with the previous book, I was most impressed by just how much people can drink and still get their work done, a fact set in contrast by a prominent character who drinks even more than all the other characters combined.
It turns out that I have now read the last book in the series. I'll assume until convinced otherwise that the decision Maigret makes at the opening of the book is a significant one that would have carried more weight had I read more than one other book about him previously. Otherwise, this book starts and ends like any other book in such a series, and so, well, I guess this wasn't too much of a continuity banana slip on my part.
The book tells the story of a drunk society woman whose philandering husband, an accomplished professional, goes missing. We spend much of the book not knowing if he's alive or dead, and slowly learning about his past, and that of his psychologically remote wife. As with the previous book, I was most impressed by just how much people can drink and still get their work done, a fact set in contrast by a prominent character who drinks even more than all the other characters combined.
furfff's review
3.0
A fine but only fine need to the series. Index is a little heavily on notes of “sad Alcoholic ex prostitute” and “boys will be boys” for me, but that is what one gets sometimes for reading from a series this old. An amazing enough installment for complete us but not one I would recommend to start, which is probably obvious, given that it is the 75th and last in the series.
lnatal's review against another edition
3.0
Maurice Denham - Chief Inspector Jules Maigret
Michael Gough - Georges Simenon
John Rye - Inspector Albert Lapointe
Sean Barrett - Inspector Janvier
Sheila Grant - Mme. Nathalie Sabin-Levesque, nee Frassier
Cyril Shaps - Jean Lecureur
Pauline Letts - Blanche Bonnard
Nicolette McKenzie – Martine
Douglas Blackwell - Maurice Mocco
Michael Goldie - Vittorio Petrini
Jeffrey Segal - Dr. Paul
Anne Rosenfeld - The Concierge
Adapted for radio by Frederick Bradnum.
Produced and directed by Betty Davies
https://archive.org/details/MaigretAndMonsieurCharlesByGeorgesSimenon
4* Pietr the Latvian (Maigret, #1)
3* The Carter of 'La Providence' (Maigret, #2)
3* The Late Monsieur Gallet (Maigret, #3)
4* The Hanged Man of Saint-Pholien (Maigret, #4)
3* A Man's Head (Maigret #5)
4* The Yellow Dog (Maigret #6)
4* The Night at the Crossroads (Maigret #7)
2* A Crime in Holland (Maigret #8)
3* The Grand Banks Café (Maigret, #9)
3* The Dancer at the Gai-Moulin (Maigret #10)
3* The Two-Penny Bar (Maigret, #11)
4* The Misty Harbour (Maigret, #15)
4* Lock No. 1 (Maigret, #18)
4* The Cellars of the Majestic (Maigret, #20)
3* Inspector Cadaver (Maigret, #25)
3* Maigret Se Fache (Maigret, #26)
4* Maigret's Holiday (Maigret, #28)
4* La première enquête de Maigret (Maigret, #30)
4* My Friend Maigret (Maigret #31)
4* Maigret at the Coroner's (Maigret #32)
3* The Friend of Madame Maigret (Maigret #34)
3* Maigret and the Burglar's Wife (Maigret, #38)
3* Maigret's Mistake (Maigret, #43)
3* Maigret and the Calame Report (Maigret, #46)
3* Maigret si diverte (Maigret, #50)
3* Maigret in Court (Maigret, #55)
3* Maigret and the Idle Burglar (Maigret, #57)
3* Maigret and the Bum (Maigret, #60)
4* Maigret Loses His Temper (Maigret, #61)
3* Maigret on the Defensive (Maigret, #63)
3* Maigret Bides His Time (Maigret #64)
3* Maigret Hesitates (Maigret, #68)
3* Maigret's Boyhood Friend (Maigret, #69)
3* Maigret and the Madwoman (Maigret, #72)
4* Maigret and the Loner (Maigret, #73)
3* Maigret et monsieur Charles (Maigret, #75)
TR The Shadow Puppet (Inspector Maigret #12)
TR The Saint-Fiacre Affair (Inspector Maigret #13)
TR The Flemish House (Maigret, #14)
TR The Madman of Bergerac (Inspector Maigret #16)
TR Liberty Bar (Maigret, #17)
TR Maigret (Maigret, #19)
TR The Judge's House (Maigret, #21)
TR Cécile is Dead (Maigret, #22)
TR Signed, Picpus (Maigret, #23)
TR Félicie (Maigret, #24)
TR Maigret à New York (Maigret, #27)
TR Il morto di Maigret (Maigret, #29)
TR Maigret et la Vieille Dame (Maigret, #33)
TR Le memorie di Maigret (Maigret #35)
TR Maigret in Montmartre (Maigret #36)
TR Maigret Rents a Room (Maigret #37)
TR Maigret and the Gangsters (Maigret #39)
TR Maigret's Revolver (Maigret #40)
TR Maigret and the Man on the Bench (Maigret #41)
TR Maigret Afraid (Maigret #42)
TR Maigret Goes to School (Maigret #44)
TR Maigret et la jeune morte (Maigret #45)
TR Maigret and the Headless Corpse (Maigret #47)
TR Maigret Sets a Trap (Maigret, #48)
TR Maigret's Failure (Maigret #49)
ggafujitsu's review against another edition
3.0
definitely not his most ingenious intrigue (or was it just because it was spoiled for me by Carl?)
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