WHEN I WAS OLD: Simenon on Simenon. (1970) George Simenon. ****.Back in 1960, George Simenon bought three leather-bound journals. He planned to leave some kind of written record of his life and career for his sons. It was never his intent to have the journals published. At the time, he was 57-years old, and he was going through a mid-life crisis. It was the age – more or less – when most men ran into a brick wall and began to wonder what life was all about, and how they rated in its living. Reading these journals gives you a good idea of what was on his mind. Aside from being a best-selling author and being happily married for many years, he needed to explore what other facets of his life were eligible for some kind of deeper reflection. We learn a lot about Simenon from his writings in these books. There was no central theme, per se, just thoughts and ideas jotted down as they came to him. He covers such diverse areas as his family, his wife, his books and how he writes them, and his unusual sex drives. As of the point when he started keeping his notes, he was under contract to his publisher to write six books per year. He usually came up with more than that. At a best guess, his wife told him that he had written more than 200 books. His most popular novels were crime novels featuring his detective Maigret. Aside from this volume of prose, he wrote another 200 or so under different names. He of course was also active in TV, film, and radio. To top this effort off, he typically read from one to five books per day. He was not socially active – since he did not make friends easily – but he considered his wife his best friend, even though they were looking at potentially divorcing by the time he reached the end of these journals. If you are any kind of Simenon fan, you will want to read these journals in order to know him better. Recommended.
