Poor old Maigret. This just isn't his week. Everything goes wrong from the start, and it's none of his fault, but there we are--the price of fame.Well, sort of. None of this would have happened if he'd gone home for lunch on time, instead of stopping off for a pastis or four with a workmate and getting home an hour late. If he'd been listening when Mme Maigret called him in some agitation, his revolver wouldn't have been stolen, and he wouldn't have found himself haring off to London to find the theif--and he can't even get a cold beer on one of the hottest days of the English summer.Oh he knows he's to blame. In line with the 1960s novel Maigret Hesitates, this one could have been called "Maigret Discomfited"--he spends the whole time in the swithers, kicking himself for mistakes or misattention. Nice to know that he isn't a Gary Stu all the time. Strong reminiscences of the very first Maigret novel, Maigret and the Enigmatic Lett--only this time Maigret is haunting the halls of London's Savoy, sans savoir faire--and often sans enough English to make himself understood. His trademark stolidity falls off in all directions as he feels that everyone is staring at this comic French detective who doesn't know the rules. The quintessential French cop misses his authority and support system at every turn. Poor old fish out of water. We've all been there, Jules, but with perhaps less at stake.
I haven't read a Maigret novel in nearly 30 years, so it was fun to be reacquainted with the characters. I especially liked this one, because for one long scene Maigret found himself stranded in the lobby of the Savoy Hotel in London, uncomfortable, unsure, out-of-place, feeling conspicuous, hungry, thirsty, and annoyed by people blithely speaking English as if it were normal. Since I always feel the same way in reverse in France, it warmed my heart. Typical economical story-telling with Maigret's characteristic empathy providing him with insights and clues that keep him several steps ahead of the reader.
What do You think about Maigret's Revolver (1992)?
I read a couple of the Maigret series many years ago and had a neutral response, so I thought I would try another one, which I selected more or less at random at the local library.My reaction has not changed. The best I can say for Simenon is that the books are okay, but no better than that. Maigret is fairly colorless, and can't hold a candle to Nero Wolfe or J. B. Adamsberg. The plot here is pretty simple, engaging enough to read, but lacking the kind of wit and detail which makes detective stories compelling.I can't say I regret having read this, but I can't imagine I will return to Simenon again.
—William
