Early Simenon

It had somewhat grotesque characters, an atmosphere very French and Maigret himself doesn’t yet come with rich backstory.

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classic Maigret...crusty n compassionate

very well performed...I could see in my mind all the different characters...Maigret at his crusty, clever and compassionate best..

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Very Good

An excellent narrator made this story alive and evocative of time and place. The character of Maigret is as large as life as he works through the heat of the summer days. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys detective novels of the Golden Age. A satisfying story. Well crafted.

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Excellent as always

What did you like most about The Late Monsieur Gallet?

Again an excellent story. Excellent narrator very good characterisation thoroughly good read well listen

What about Gareth Armstrong’s performance did you like?

A perfect voice for these books

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

yes

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A whodunnit of human nature

Inspector Maigret: Book 3 – The Late Monsieur Gallet by Georges Simenon, translated by Anthea Bell

Hello once again my readers and fellow audio enthusiasts! I wasn’t quite sure what my next review could be after discussing my last few topics so I decided to return to a previous subject: The member of the French Flying Squad Inspector Maigret. I discussed the first book in his long lasting series back in July of last year and recently got books two and three in the series to pass the time. I decided to review book three because it seemed interesting material.

As I mentioned back during my review of book one, Maigret’s author the Belgian Monsieur Simenon was and is a respected name in crime fiction across Europe with more than 400 published books to his name. As a result Maigret has had several adaptations in film, radio, TV and theatre over the years.

The plot of book two in the series (following the somewhat confusing numbering of the modern English translations by Penguin. Why couldn’t they have been released in chronological order like it should be?) is as follows: Maigret has been tasked with solving a rather ordinary but unpleasant case. Monsieur Gallet is dead. He had been an example of middle class or bourgeois respectability selling christening cups and various other bits and pieces of silver giftware throughout Normandy with a good wife in a town in Burgundy living in a home that cost two thousand francs a month. But many parts of the seemingly easy puzzle of Monsieur Gallet’s life are in fact a lie. How will Maigret find the true solution? Can he even find connections in this puzzle? And just what led to Gallet’s unpleasant death?

This story is a very entertaining whodunnit. Simenon excellently depicts the complexities of human nature in the process, both leaving potential clues to the reader and listener and pointedly developing his characters so that they come across as people. Perhaps unsavoury or unlikeable people but people nonetheless. There is a good helping of red herrings throughout but unlike his contemporary Christie he doesn’t leave one vital clue out. Maigret also comes across as compassionate, genuinely thinking about the consequences of discovering the ‘real truth.’ Who does it benefit? He may be blunt or somewhat pointed while asking questions but this particular case definitely eats at the Inspector. To be honest? This case would make an excellent jumping on point for the curious among my readers as there is no real need to read or listen to the series in order.

As well as making Maigret himself and the potential suspects come across as distinctly human (even if Maigret does not show that many of his usual quirks), the author also does an excellent job of characterising France itself during the period of the late 1920s and early 1930s. There is much time devoted to the layout of places, the intense heat, the general feel of almost anything named in the book and the intricacies of the social orders and how that affects things. The book is very engaging despite being fairly short and I found it a very gripping listen as I waited eagerly for the next vital potential clue. I’m sure I won’t be the only one gripped by the writing style and narrative of Simenon!

The narration for this whodunnit is performed by Gareth Armstrong who I mostly know – discounting other mysteries in the Maigret series – for his involvement with audio versions of Warhammer stories such as The First Heretic, Little Horus and other similar stories. His narration is very enjoyable, easily letting you slip back in time to the France of Maigret. Suitably entertaining he is very good at performing the Inspector in all kinds of moods whilst also excellently pulling off the various accents required for the sake of the narrative from the upper class snobs all the way to the maid servants.

The age of the story can sometimes affect the use of certain words that are no longer said for various reasons but at the same time you have to take these things into account when you read old material and can’t judge these things by modern standards because in fifty years what we think of as progressive will be considered horrendously outdated.

In conclusion if you are already a fan of Maigret, are curious to try the series or enjoy traditional classic crime stories I highly recommend giving The Late Monsieur Gallet a read or a listen. It’s definitely my favourite out of the Maigrets I’ve experienced so far.


Sayonara!

Nephrite

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A Classic Whodunnit

Excellent stuff that unwinds at just the right pace. It won't be the least expected ending you've read, especially if you know Homes well, but satisfying none the less. Enjoyable

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Simenon is genius storyteller

This book is the best one I've listened to. Indeed I listened to it in one go, not going to bed till past 2 O'clock

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One of the best Maigret booksl

What made the experience of listening to The Late Monsieur Gallet the most enjoyable?

This was a good reading of one of the better plotted Maigret books. I think you either take to Maigret, and the evocation of a particular kind of France, or you don't. If you do, then you will overlook the occasional repetious and clumsy writing in favour of an engrossing immersion into a vanished world.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Maigret dominates the book: the other characters are drawn dispassionately. You understand them, but you don't like them.

What about Gareth Armstrong’s performance did you like?

I gave the reading full marks: it's a bit hard to say what makes a good reading, but it was well paced and somehow Gareth's voice suited the Maigret world.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

All the Maigret books seem to me to be emotionally chilly. You are interested in his world, but not engaged with individual characters.

Any additional comments?

I've gone back to the Maigret books after a long absence and am enjoying them. I've got a bit fed up with serial killers and convoluted plots and these score with me because of the atmosphere they build up and because Maigret himself is sympathetic. They aren't perfect - sometimes the writing is slap dash, though it can also be very evocative, particularly of place. You won't enjoy them if you like fast paced thrillers, but you will if you like crime fiction which takes you to a different place and time.

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The twisting storyline

Gareth Armstrong is wonderful, as always, in his narration of another supreme Simenon/Maigret novel. Simenon's humane writing imbues his protagonist with a level of humanity rarely viewed in novels - Maigret is a man of immense morality and decency. I find it impossible to express anything negative about this author, his immense literary creation and the beauty of the authorship.

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An Excellent Listen

I don't think there was anything I didn't like about this audiobook. The reading was excellent, the characters well brought out and the story engaging. Perhaps you can guess the solution before the end but it is still enjoyable to listen to because of Maigret's quiet outrage whenever someone behaves as they do in this story. I also loved the first book in this series and have just downloaded the third.

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2 people found this helpful