The Bar on the Seine (Penguin Mysteries)
One of the world?s most successful crime writers, Georges Simenon has thrilled mystery lovers around the world since 1931 with his matchless creation Inspector Maigret. In The Bar on the Seine, Maigret must visit a prisoner he arrested and bear the news that his reprieve has been refused and he will be executed at dawn. But when the condemned man tells Maigret a story, his investigations lead him to the Guinguette à Deux Sous, a bar by the River Seine, and into the seamy underside of bourgeois Parisian life.
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The Bar on the Seine (Penguin Mysteries) Reviews
"The Bar" is a wonderful small novel and a terrific read. The story itselfthe investigation of a six-year old murder that leads to a second killing as Maigret skeptically begins a look at the earlier crimeis well told and keeps the reader turning pages until the end. This book is part of a Penguin reprint of some of the Maigret stories (of which there are 75 novels and many stories). "The Bar on the Seine" is an early Inspector Maigret mystery and a very good story indeed. But along the way, the details of daily life in Paris and the social interactions of Parisians are presented in such specific and so convincingly that it is like reading a newspaper of the period. I will be among many who will attempt to read them all.
He acts with dignity, and his determined effort to solve crimes becomes inseparable from his effort to keep focused on how one should keep one's dignity, even in a corrupt society. Magritte is a member of the working class, not living in poverty, but also not able to share in the wealth he sees others squandering. The mystery novel becomes, in the hands of Simenon, not only a stage for characters to develop and respond to one another, but a form of social commentery as well.
As has already been articulated in other reviews, Simenon is a master reporter of human behavior. Yet the Pernod keeps on being poured and the laughter and jolly times keep rolling. Maigret commits himself to collaring the culprits, and so the plot unwinds as Simenon the journalist succinctly and colorfully reports the action for us. He simply furnishes the facts, as gruesome or sordid as they may be.
My outrageous jet lag and sleepless nights provided ample time to finish this work and move on to others. I read this book while on a business trip in India. Probably the only book I would have wanted to read would have been a treatise on insomnia. Here, middle-class fun seekers on holiday are busy committing adultery, being blackmailed, and killing people. Not Simenon's fault. That mystery is revealed in the very first chapter as a condemned man archly hints at another murder which has gone unpunished. Inspector Maigret is the ballast on this cruise and keeps his eye ever focused on the mystery at hand.
They are lightweight and the type size is generous and airy. He makes no value judgments, nor does he provide elaborate details. I must admit, however, that I wasn't much in the mood for it, but then again, I spent much of my time trying to get some rest and being unable to. Distinctive covers, consisting of grainy black and white photos vaguely reflecting the general feel of the books' plot, and Georges Simenon's name, tipped to the left in dropout white on a black background, give all the books a branded look which marks them clearly for the potential Simenon fan. The trim size of these series permits you to pack these books easily into your pocket. Penguin has reissued Inspector Maigret mysteries in a winning new format which invites the reader to cozy up to a neat little page that is easy on the eyes.
The story is set in a slightly decaying house or bar on the river among weekend guests and French recreational boaters. He started off as a city reporter as a teenager first in Liege, then later moving to Paris. In any case, it is highly entertaining, light, perhaps what one would call beach reading. The Paris based Inspector Maigret is his best know series with over 100 works between 1931 and 1972. Without revealing the plot details in this particular mystery story, the novel "The Bar of the Seine" manages to combine crime, detective work, Paris city life, and the charm of the French countryside all in one quick and enjoyable read. This is a light and an enjoyable read which I managed to digest easily in an evening sitting.
I enjoyed the book and would recommend it. The setting is far from the city. It has a cast of very entertaining characters, including a wealthy coal merchant and his wife, along with his mistress and others.
He had over 500 million books in print.
In later years he lived and worked in Canada and in America.
He started writing in Liege at a young age.
The story involves a confession which leads to a trip to the countryside and then the unraveling of a complex murder mystery.
Recommend: 4 stars.
Inspector Maigret has become synonymous with great Parisian detective stories.
The book is either 4 or 5 stars.
As most know, Simenon was one of the best know mystery writers of the twentieth century, having written close to 200 novels, over 150 novellas, plus several autobiographical works.
His trademark visits to smoky Parisian bars for a few drinks are part and parcel of the reading experiences.
"The Bar of the Seine" begins with a curious conversation between Inspector Maigret and a prisoner, Lenoir, sitting in a cell on death-row in a Parisian jail. Simenon's Maigret stories, although faithful to the detective story formula of his time, manages to hold up better over time for me than others. Simenon's writing is sparse and to the point. Inspector Maigret stories also appeared in film and TV version. During their conversation Lenoir tells Maigret about an unsolved murder. L. Simenon doesn't set about to provide you with a character map to Maigret's personality in any one book.
As Maigret takes his leave of Lenoir he does not take the train to meet his wife at their summer vacation spot. He has an innate disdain for higher authority that is appealing. "The Bar on the Seine", one of Simenon's earlier Maigret stories, is a good place to start. I think that what sets Simenon's Maigret stories apart from those of his contemporaries is the character of Maigret and down to earth settings of the stories.
Drinking, cards, boating on the Seine and indiscriminate bed-hopping are the order of the day. Instead, he defers his vacation and sets out to investigate. That he doth work with his adulterate money on the Seine." Dante. Georges Simenon was the author of over 100 Inspector Maigret mystery stories.
Maigret finds the bar in short order and walks into a world where a slice of the Parisian middle-class comes for its rather tawdry summer weekends. This is a short book, 154 rather small pages, and can be read in one or two sittings. Lenoir's execution has been set for dawn on the next day and for Maigret, the person responsible for the capture and conviction of the prisoner, this visit is something of a courtesy call. But despite its brevity this reader felt engaged not only by the characters (Maigret in particular) but the settings.
Penguin Books has begun to reissue a set of Maigret mysteries. The Divine Comedy. Rather, he grows on you over time. They were immensely popular in the 1930s through the 1960s. He simply paints a very evocative picture and leaves the analysis for the reader. These are not parlor room mysteries where the reader has to determine which upper-class member of the gentry (or the butler) committed murder most foul in the library.
Anyone interested in a good story, simply told should enjoy Bar on the Seine. Simenon doesn't tell you what to think of any particular character nor does he engage in lengthy discussions on his protagonists' morality or character. Fleisig.
Maigret is not a character that is revealed to the reader immediately. There has also been a murder and, as befits a story planted so firmly in the detective genre, Maigret brushes aside all distractions to solve the mystery handed to him by a condemned man. Simenon's settings and other characters also add a dash to his Maigret mysteries. The only real information he provides is that some unidentified bar on the River Seine would lead Maigret in the right direction.
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