Since the beginning of COVID, I may have read six or eight novels by Belgian author Georges Simenon. In this time I've grown to respect and appreciate his style, up to the point I now consider him a favorite author.  His  books are filling a shelf here in my Mexicali house. They are postioned near the books of my other crime fiction favorites: Patricia Highsmith, James M. Cain, Jim Thompson, Charles Wileford, Barry Gifford.   This week I completed my first Maigret novel:  Maigret, Lognon and the Gangsters.  Jules Maigret is Simenon's famous French detective. 

Simenon inspires me with his mission to keep his writing basic.  He says he’s not into abstract words, adjectives adverbs.   They get in the way.  They are a distraction.   He must know what he's doing. He is prolific.   He has 350 works published under his own name, and maybe 122 stories published under various pseudonyms.  This is over a sixty year period.  I also read he could write 80 pages in one sitting.  Really.  He's known to have weighed himself before and after each writing session.  He claims he always lost a few pounds from the strenuous typing.  Simenon was famous for his fast and furious form of novel writing.   In 1928 alone, he wrote 44 novels!   He could drop everything from his life and check into a hotel with a handful of notes and a typewriter – Ten or eleven days later he would emerge with a completed novel.  If he could write one in less than two weeks, I suppose I could read one in same timeframe.  That’s what I try to do

I promise not to reveal anything substantial about the murder or the murderer(s) in Gangsters, but I will divulge this:  For all talk about the QUANTITY of Simenon's  work, there is equal discussion of the QUALITY.  His writing is often compared to Balzac, Dostoevksy, and Dickens.  If you ask me why I like Maigret, it will have little to do with the previously mentioned authors.  Georges does MORE  with LESS.  He is a master of keeping the action moving without superfluous commentary or reflection.  His eye for detail allows his readers to see what Maigret sees.

What you see is what you get. In Gangsters, a 1950s novel, Jules Maigret may be closing in on the age of fifty.  Maybe a little overweight.  I surmise that because he's always eating or drinking.  I don't think he's an alcoholic. No, not Jules.  I once held a debate in my classroom regarding the French tradition of encouraging children to drink wine at meals.  The French believe to normalize drinking is to alleviate or reduce societal drinking problems before they start.  Jules doesn't have a drinking problem; he has a sleeping problem.  He's relentless in his pursuit of the  bad guys.   He works around the clock.  This is why we often see Jules drinking whiskey or beer with his breakfast.  Somehow, some way, he has to take the edge off.  It's who he is.

In Gangsters, Jules does not appear that quick or knowledgeable when it comes to forensics, science, history, or art. I'm not sure he is well-educated or specially-trained.  It seems like he spends most of of his time walking in the rain and smoking a pipe.  This method of investigation can be exhausting and dangerous.  Jules spends a lot of time in seedy bars and hotels, talking with underworld figures and prostitutes.   I'm not sure how successful he is at finding clues, but this type of trek helps him get into the head of his suspects.  Wherever he goes, people in Paris recognize him and respect him.  He's solved some famous cases. Not for his brilliance, but for his relentless nature to finish the job.

Gangsters begins with the disappearance of one of Jules' subordinates. He learns this from the hysterical wife.   She tells the detective that American wiseguy types burst into her aparment like they owned the place.  She knows they were American by the way they dressed and talked.  They were very stylish and spoke no French.  When Jules finds out that the American Mafia may be involved, he puts himself at the center of the case.  Jules has spent time in the States, where he heard his share of wiseguy stories.  His FBI contacts have told him, not only are these mafia types brutal in their methods,  they are pretty much "untouchable."  Their influence has penetrated the highest ranks of the criminal justice system.  They get away with pretty much everything they want.  In this case, everything Jules has heard is true.  American gangsters  have abducted one of Jules's detectives rigth off the streets in plain daylight.  Soon he learns they gave him a brutal beating and left no trace.

This is what I like about Jules:  He can't  help himself.  His FBI contacts in the United States say the Mafia suspects are armed and dangerous. Local crime figures and suspects warn Maigret these guys are ruthless killers.   There seems to be an implication that Maigret just may be out of his league in taking on these gangster. But he doesn't step back; this talk just fuels his fire.  He delves deeper into the hunt.  He keeps on drinking.  My favorite part of this novel may come from the gunplay.  I think the timeframe for the novel may be two or three days.  The longer the case goes on,  the more Jules drinks and the more guns show up on the scene.  Simenon has let us know right from the start where the action is headed.   I'm a Simenon follower now, not for the vivid action of any plot, but for the psychological complexity of the detective.  Jules is a sensitive man.  Despite his rough edges, I truly believe he cares for the people  he works with. But when people say to him to back down, he cares for little else than stepping forward.  He's driven towards violence.  

For my friends – most if not all who don't read very much – I would recommend Maigret.  He has his share of flaws.  For all his successes on his record, there seems to be a lot of "fuck-ups" along the way.  Jules is gruff.  Antisocial.  He's not a guy who would be fun to talk to at a party.  He's always angry or distracted.  No patience at all.   Often my own friends come back to me to ask the reasons behind my recomendation.  I say, "He's one of us."