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A review by keebleman
Maigret and Monsieur Charles by Georges Simenon
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.