The third Simenon omnibus (Penguin crime fiction)

by Georges Simenon

Book Overview

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0140033246
• Release Date: January 1975
• Publisher: Penguin
• Length: 366 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Good collection of late Simenon novels.

Maigret and Monsieur Charles was the last Maigret novel to be written and published (1972). Simenon announced his retirement the following year. In this novel, Maigret explores the world of nightclubs and unhappy marriages. Simenon paints a startlingly clear picture of a bitterly unhappy woman who fails to get what she wants from her marriage. It isn't a sympathetic portrait, precisely, and the lack of sympathy can be troubling. Still, very acute. If the first Maigret books were often more of an exploration of place and culture, this should be seen as an exploration of character. Worthy finisher to the series. The Disappearance of Odette (1971) is one of Simenon's short psychological novels, and probably the most interesting of those I have read so far. If you know a bit about Simenon's life, it is difficult not to read autobiography into the text. Which probably isn't fair. Odile is the depressed disaffected daughter of a great writer who goes to Paris to kill herself. The book is written from the point of view of her brother, who goes looking for her to save her life. (Simenon's daughter Mary-Jo killed herself in 1978.) I found it a very affecting book. Affecting and effective-- simple, moving and unpretentious. Simenon as the writer I love so much from the Maigret novels, but which I've often found missing in his psychological works. The Cat is also one of the short psychological Simenon novels. It is a singularly unpleasant book. It tells the story of a couple in their 70s who stopped speaking to each other after killing each other's pets years ago. As difficult as the subject matter it shows Simenon's style to perfection-- short terse sentences, flat and sympathetic treatment of characters. An excellent example of his work, even if the plot means that it will never be one of my personal favorites.