SIMENON SIMENON. YOU CAN'T GO WITHOUT MAIGRET…

Why Simenon continued to write novels with the Chief Inspector 

SIMENON SIMENON. NON POTETE ANDARE SENZA DI MAIGRET…

Perché Simenon ha continuato a scrivere romanzi con il commissario

SIMENON SIMENON. ON NE PEUT PAS SE PASSER DE MAIGRET...

Here is what Simenon told in a 1980 interview published in the book entitled Simenon, released by l'Age d'Homme editions: “When I had written the eighteenth Maigret novel, I went to Fayard and I told him: - I'll stop the Maigret collection. – Why? – Because I want to write what pleases me.” And so the novelist stopped writing Maigret novels for some times, and wrote only “romans durs”. Those novels had success too, despite Fayard's doubts… Nevertheless, we may wonder what would have happened if Simenon had kept his word and had never written Maigret novels anymore… Of course, the “romans durs” are important and essential enough to ensure him posterity and the place he deserves in the story of literature. Yet would he and his works have been the same without the Maigret novels? Didn't this hero, who followed him for more than forty years, contribute to a kind of equilibrium for the novelist and for his works? 

Simenon tried several times getting rid of Maigret, this character who had brought him glory and also, one must admit, the money that allowed him to live as he wanted to. No doubt the novelist found that his hero was somewhat cumbersome and even invasive, because it is true that for a long time people would only know Simenon as a detective novel writer… 

Simenon had to wait long till he was recognized as a great novelist, and, according to the law of the pendulum swing back, literary critics attempted then to eclipse the Maigret novels… Fortunately, thanks to Maigret's evocative strength, nowadays almost everyone acknowledges that the Maigret novels and the “romans durs”, that is to say both sides in Simenon's works, are equally important, and that the Maigret novels are much more that just good for relaxation in the waiting room... 

As for Simenon himself, he eventually realized that Maigret was necessary to his “writing balance”. He needed to alternate the “romans durs” and the Maigret novels, because writing an investigation lead by the Chief Inspector was a kind of little joy he offered himself between two hard writings, and also because he could try, in a Maigret novel, a theme he would afterwards develop in a “roman dur”; or, on the contrary, a Maigret novel would allow him to discuss topics he didn't succeed in dealing with in a “roman dur”. Over time Maigret would serve him as a kind of counterpoint, of counterpoise, putting some lightness in the heart of the works, but also becoming a character to which he could confide his own questionings about many subjects that haunted him. 

And their relationship got closer and closer over time. Whereas Simenon had forgotten, once he ceased to be a novelist, most of the characters he had created, wasn't Maigret the only character that the novelist talked about in his autobiographical works, and even many times?... 

 

by Simenon-Simenon 

SIMENON SIMENON. LES MAXIMES DE MAIGRET

"Mon rôle est de découvrir les coupables. Pour cela, je n’ai à m’inquiéter que de leur mentalité avant. Savoir si tel homme a été capable de commettre tel crime, quand et comment il l’a commis." (Cécile est morte)

"I mio compito è scoprire i colpevoli. Per questo non posso che occuparmi della loro mentalità preceddente. Sapere se un tale uomo è stato capace di commettere quel crimine, quando e come l'ha commesso" (Cecilia é morta)

“My role is to discover the culprits. For this I have only to care about their mentality before. To know whether this particular man was able to commit such a crime, when and how he committed it.” (Cécile is Dead)

SIMENON SIMENON. LA DERNIERE ENQUETE DU COMMISSAIRE

Quand le romancier tentait de mettre son héros à la retraite 

SIMENON SIMENON. L'ULTIMA INCHIESTA DEL COMMISSARIO

Quando il romanziere tentò di fare andare in pensione il suo eroe

SIMENON SIMENON. THE CHIEF INSPECTOR'S LAST INVESTIGATION

When the novelist was trying to put his hero in retirement 

On se souvient qu'en 1934, Simenon décidait d'abandonner le commissaire pour se consacrer à l'écriture de romans sans Maigret. En 1933, il avait écrit une dix-huitième aventure pour son héros, L’Écluse no 1, roman dans lequel Maigret se trouvait à une semaine de prendre la retraite. Le romancier avait imaginé que ce serait la dernière enquête du commissaire, et il s'était mis à écrire des « romans durs » pour Fayard, ainsi que les premiers qu'il donna à Gallimard. Ce n'est que sur l'insistance des lecteurs qu'il accepta de faire revivre encore une fois son personnage, et qu'il rédigea Maigret, roman où le commissaire à la retraite reprenait du service pour venir au secours de son neveu qui s'était fourré dans une sale histoire. Le roman parut en feuilleton dans Le Jour, avec un avertissement de Simenon, qui jurait que c'était la dernière fois qu'il mettait son héros en scène. Il tint parole… pendant deux ans et demi. Une période au cours de laquelle il voyagea beaucoup, prenant toutefois le temps de rédiger des romans, dont plusieurs s'inspiraient de ses récents périples. 

En automne 1936, cependant, il accepta d'écrire une série de nouvelles pour Paris-Soir, dans lesquelles il remettait Maigret en activité. Neuf nouvelles où on retrouvait le commissaire dans ses œuvres, installé dans son bureau du Quai des Orfèvres, ou menant une investigation hors de la capitale. Et en 1938, Simenon rédigeait une nouvelle série de dix nouvelles, cette fois pour le magazine Police-Roman/Police-Film. Comme l'a écrit Francis Lacassin, le romancier imaginait probablement que ces nouvelles resteraient « enfouies dans le cimetière des journaux d'avant-guerre » ; mais elles furent appelées à une vie prolongée puisque, sur l'insistance de Gallimard, dix-sept de ces nouvelles furent publiées, en 1944, dans le volume Les Nouvelles Enquêtes de Maigret. 

On peut croire à la sincérité de Simenon lorsqu'il affirmait, en 1934, qu'on ne l'y reprendrait plus à écrire un roman policier avec Maigret pour héros. En témoigne cette interview parue en septembre 1935 dans le journal Le Petit Parisien, dans laquelle le romancier avait ces mots : « Maigret, je l'ai mis définitivement à la retraite. Ne croyez pas que le roman policier tenait à moi par des liens nécessaires. C'est une forme que j'ai choisie, que j'ai voulue, parce qu'elle m'offrait le seul moyen […] de me faire la main. […] Quand j'ai su faire tenir quatre ou cinq personnages dans un bouquin, j'ai mis Maigret à la retraite. Ce sont mes livres actuels. Je les trouve trop courts, avec trop peu de monde. Je sais ce qui me reste à apprendre. Je le ferai. » 

Ce qu'on peut encore noter, c'est que parmi la seconde série de nouvelles, les quatre premières sont des enquêtes que Maigret mène alors qu'il est en activité à la P.J., alors qu'il investigue en retraité dans les cinq dernières. Entre les deux, la nouvelle L’Étoile du Nord, dans laquelle le commissaire est à deux jours de la retraite. On peut faire un parallèle entre cette nouvelle et le roman L’Écluse no 1 ; dans celui-ci, Maigret évoque sa retraite en se disant qu'il « avait vraiment envie de campagne, de quiétude, de lecture. Il était fatigué. », mais il ressent tout de même de la mélancolie, et surtout il ne peut s'empêcher de mener son enquête avec un certain plaisir ; Simenon montre que son héros a de la difficulté à quitter son ambiance habituelle d'investigateur. Dans la nouvelle, Maigret « n'avait jamais pensé avec impatience à la retraite. O, voilà que, à quarante-huit heures de la liberté, il […] comptait les heures, ne cessait d'évoquer la maison des bords de la Loire » ; mais là aussi, il ne pourra résister à l'appel d'une nouvelle enquête à embrayer. Voilà pourquoi il accepte aussi facilement les sollicitations de ceux qui viennent à Meung-sur-Loire lui demander de s'occuper d'une affaire, alors qu'officiellement il n'en a plus le droit. Parce que son métier lui colle à la peau… 

Murielle Wenger

SIMENON SIMENON VINTAGE "REPORT" - "MAIGRET Á PIGALLE" : VIRAGE DU NOIR AU ORANGE SIXTIES

CineManiac - 26/1072016 - Camille Marty-Musso - Qui à tué Arlette, strip-teaseuse au « Picrate » à Pigalle tenue par un ancien proxénète et son ex-tapin, femme trop vite vieillissante, qui lui a offert l’établissement? Arlette qui vient hanter le film car tous les hommes l’aimaient, pas pour son corps de rêve, toutes ses collègues lui ressemblaient, cheveux très noirs, peau hâlée et regard clair paumé ou dur selon les circonstances? Tous ses amants et amis d’amants sentaient qu’elle n’était pas comme les autres… et tous sont des coupables potentiels… Dès son arrivée sur l’ensemble fan, on voit la silhouette d’une jolie femme en petit manteau rouge et escarpins vernis noirs, rien de vulgaire, la. Alerta s’approche, son visage trop maquillée est épuisé et bouffi, car on va en faire un portrait assez détaillé avant qu’elle doit assassinée sous sa douche, façon giallo soft, la scène est coupée très vite. Dans l’intervalle, ivre morte, elle a dénoncé deux types au commissariat qui voulaient « buter », comme ils ont dit une comtesse pleine de diamants, s’est rétractée le matin, est rentrée chez elle pour trouver la mort qu’elle cherchait partout mais pas comme ça… Le commissaire Maigret qui partait en vacances en Bretagne les passera Quai des Orfèvres…>>>

SIMENON SIMENON. LES MAXIMES DE MAIGRET

"Je répète volontiers que les gens sensés ne tuent pas. » (Maigret a peur)

"Ripeto volentieri che le persone di buon senso non uccidono" (Maigret ha paura) 

“I gladly repeat that sane people don't kill.” (Maigret is Afraid)

SIMENON SIMENON VINTAGE "REPORT" - GEORGES SIMENON'S PARIS: FOLLOWING INTHE FOOTSTEPS OFHIS FICTIONALSLEUTH, JULES MAIGRET

France Today - 16/04/2016 - Thirza Vallois No wonder Georges Simenon set most of the Maigret stories in Paris – 63 out of 75 of them in fact. Because Paris is a compact city, it provides an unrivalled stage for crime fiction, where the investigation can progress at speed. But the Maigret stories also make wonderful guides to the flip-side of pre-gentrified Paris, the Paris of black and white photos, a shabby conglomerate of closely-knit communities, yet alive with the pulse of authenticity. Simenon crisply encapsulates that Paris of neighbourhood bars and bistros, of payphones and platform buses, sparing us neither the gloom of November nor the heat of August. He even takes us past the loge of the concierge into private homes, and gratifies us with the smell of floor polish or the cooking smells of ragoût de mouton, blanquette de veau or tripes à la mode de Caen.With a Maigret in hand you can comb every bit of Paris. Be aware, however, that Simenon fiddles with street numbers and place names, throwing in existing ones alongside those he invents, or shifting places around. And to complicate it further, many of the real-life places have since disappeared. He also throws bits of his own life into Maigret’s, the devotion to pipes and beer not least. Maigret’s persona, on the other hand, is largely inspired by real-life Commissaire Guillaume, le grand patron of the Police Judiciaire...>>>

SIMENON SIMENON. LA COSE CAMBIANO: ROMANZO CARTACEO, DIGITALE O AUDIO?

 Rivoluzione per i romanzi, dal libro all'ebook fino all'audiolibro

SIMENON SIMENON. CHANGEMENT DE CHOSES: PAPIER, NUMERIQUE OU AUDIO?

Révolution pour les romans, du livre à l'ebook en passant par le livre audio

SIMENON SIMENON. THINGS CHANGE: PAPER, DIGITAL OR AUDIO NOVEL?

Revolution for novels, from the book to the ebook to the audiobook

Una volta si diceva: "Basta che leggi, qualsiasi cosa ma per favore leggi!". Uno sprone che insegnanti e genitori indirizzavano a chi non aveva propensione alla lettura. Oggi, parafrasando, potremmo dire "Basta che leggi, come non importa, magari ascoltali i libri, ma per favore leggi!".

Già perché, e non da oggi, oltre che leggerli, sia in cartaceo che in digitale, i libri si possono anche ascoltare, sul proprio smartphone, sul computer, sul tablet...

Non da oggi, perché il libro elettronico data la sua comparsa sul mercato nei primi degli anni '90 e l'audiolibro circola già dagli anni '60, sia pure allora avendo come supporto le cassette-audio e non i digitali mp3.

In questo campo le polemiche non mancano. Da una parte gli ultrà della tradizione asseriscono che l'unico vero modo per poter davvero apprezzare un romanzo é quello di leggerlo in un libro cartaceo, stampato in tipografia, rivendicando anche il concorso del valore, non solo iconico, dell'oggetto libro insieme al piacere di sfogliarne le pagine. E, alla vista del successo di ebook e audiolibri, fanno previsioni catastrofiche, in taluni casi, addirittura sulla fine della letteratura.

I sostenitori degli ebook invece magnificano il fatto di poter portarsi ovunque decine e decine di libri in un device, quasi tascabile, che pesa poco più di cento grammi. Di poter comprare libri senza porsi il problema di dove stivare decine e decine di libri in una casa magari già zeppa di volumi su librerie, mensole, scrivanie, comodini, tavoli, scaffali vari...E poi si può leggere senza fonti di luce, grazie alla sua illuminazione autonoma, ma anche senza occhiali, potendo variare la grandezza dei caratteri, avendo sempre attivo il segnalibro di dove si è interrotta la lettura ed altre meraviglie.

L'audiolibro viene dai detrattori identificato come "il libro dei pigri", di chi non vuole faticare a leggere....! In realtà in tutte le situazioni in cui non si può leggere, mentre si guida durante un viaggio o uno spostamento, mentre si va in bici, o si cammina, quando si è impegnati a fare qualcosa con le mani, smartphone, cuffiette e si è trasportati nel mondo raccontato dal romanzo. C'é chi magnifica anche l'addormentarsi con la seducente voce di un attore che vi legge una storia...

Insomma le polemiche tra nuovi e vecchi metodi di fruire dei romanzi non si placheranno tanto facilmente, ma abbiamo fatto questa veloce analisi per arrivare la nostro Simenon che mette d'accordo tutti e ci permette di gustarci le sue opere sia su carta, che su ebook, che su audiolibro. E ci sorge spontanea una domanda, cosa ne avrebbe pensato Simenon? 

Questo significa chiedersi anche che cosa pensasse lo scrittore dell'innovazione tecnologica. Rimaniamo nel campo della scrittura iniziamo dalla macchina per scrivere che proprio tra gli anni '20 e i '30 ebbe, con le Remington Rand, una vera diffusione commerciale.  

Simenon passò dalla penna alla macchina senza remore. Un altro esempio è la dotazione tecnologica che lo scrittore volle per la grande villa di Epalinges che lui stesso aveva progettato, con telefoni intercomunicanti in tutte le stanze, insonorizzazione degli ambienti, sala operatoria, celle frigorifere, etc...  E in ultimo una scoperta della terza età quando, avendo smesso di scrivere, a settant'anni iniziò ad utilizzare il registratore per incidere pensieri, ricordi, riflessioni che poi verranno poi sbobinati dalla sua casa editrice (Presses de la Cité) e raccolti in volumi che passeranno alla storia come Les Dictées.

Personalmente abbiamo provato sia il cartaceo, che il digitale che l'audio e intanto dobbiamo confessare che a nostro avviso la soluzione più pratica e fruibile è l'ebook. Non che i libri non ci piacciano, anzi!... ma le nostre condizioni, sia pure privilegiate, vivendo in due in una casa grande su due piani, non ci consentono di stipare altri volumi (e poi incombe l'eredità della corposa biblioteca di mio padre!). Insomma l'ebook mi consente di comprare quei tre, quattro libri al mese senza patemi d'animo. 

Mi piace viaggiare in autostrada con un audiolibro che mia fa compagnia e mi piace l'idea che il tempo passato in auto non sia sprecato, ma una piacevole occasione per scoprire nuove storie e nuovi autori. 

Comunque nonostante queste mie preferenze a casa ho tutti i Simenon (Maigret compresi) in cartaceo, alcuni titoli in varie edizioni e in lingua originale, edizioni degli anni '30 e quindi quasi tutti i romanzi simenoniani li ho letti su libri. Poi però molte riletture le ho fatte su ebook ed alcune le ho riscoperte su audiolibro. 

E crediamo che Simenon ne sarebbe stato contento, dal momento che la grande diffusione delle sue opere, ancor oggi, si basa proprio sulla capacità di aver unito quella che viene definita letteratura bassa a quella alta e aver usato tutti i mezzi per parlare ad un pubblico il più vasto possibile.

SIMENON SIMENON. NO NEED FOR CHRONOLOGY?

Why Simenon didn't worry about a chronological description of Maigret's biography 

 

SIMENON SIMENON. NON C'È BISOGNO DI CRONOLOGIA?

Perché Simenon non si è preoccupato di descrivere cronologicamente la biografia di Maigret

SIMENON SIMENON. PAS BESOIN D'UNE CHRONOLOGIE?

Pourquoi Simenon ne s'est pas préoccupé de décrire chronologiquement la biographie de Maigret 

Some years ago, there had been on this blog a discussion about this topic: the chronological order for the writing of the Maigret novels doesn't follow the chronological order of Maigret's life and career. At the time, one of the answers had been proposed in French and Italian, and today we propose an English version, which has been slightly modified and adapted.  

One can argue that Maigret isn't the first character for which his creator would first write some events in his life, and afterwards write other novels in which he would tell his infancies or youth, or beginnings in his career, and so on. Maurice Leblanc's Arsène Lupin could be an example for that. But with Simenon, there were other things that came into play.  

"One thing that irritated me sometimes was that he was mingling dates, placing at the beginning of my career investigations that had taken place later on, and vice-versa. […] I even intended […] to establish […] a timeline of the main cases I had been involved in. – Why not? Simenon answered to me. That's an excellent idea. Thus we'll be able to correct my books for the next edition. And he added without irony: - But, my old Maigret, you'll have to be kind enough to do the job by yourself, for I never dared to reread myself." (Maigret's Memoirs) 

This last sentence is a good illustration of what Simenon's writing is: fast, without backtracking, a minimal correction as a kind of "cleaning up", and, once the book had been published, the author didn't reread it. Which, beside, didn't prevent the fact that, although the novelist asserted that he forgot his characters once the book was finished, he had a rather good memory of what he had written: to be convinced of it, you have only to see the multiple examples of reminiscences from a novel to the other that you can find throughout the Maigret saga.  

Thus, if Simenon didn’t reread his books, he had no reason to worry about the internal chronology of them. Moreover, he didn't plan his Maigret novels as a (chrono)logical sequence that had to go over his character's whole life, with a beginning and an ending. He didn't act as Balzac, who wrote his Comédie humaine such in a way that characters would come back from a novel to the other, nor or as Zola, who intended to write the entire story of the Rougon-Macquart family. And we might say that Simenon didn’t really intend to make a saga with the Maigret novels as a whole: it's because there are such many novels that we can speak afterwards of a saga, and it's the long writing period (more that 40 years!) that permitted the character's development.  

When Simenon "entered a novel", he wasn't telling himself that his purpose was to write Maigret's next investigation; rather his writing started from an idea, a sensation, a memory, a situation in which he wanted to immerge a character, and at the beginning he wasn't always sure that he was going to write a Maigret or another novel. It's especially true for the Presses de la Cité novels, where we know some novels for which Simenon had in mind to write a roman dur, and then he couldn't "find the right tone", and so he decided to deal with the subject in a Maigret novel. Simenon wrote instinctively, and he didn't build his works according to an architectural project such as Proust did in his Recherche. Even if, of course, he perfectly knew what kind of literature he intended to write.  

But Simenon essentially wrote because he really felt the need of writing, an almost physical need to write down his questioning about life. And every time he began to write a new novel, it was not the requirements of a pre-established project that he responded to, but rather an almost vital need to express his feelings... 

 

Murielle Wenger