Reviews

Maigret Goes to School by Georges Simenon, Linda Coverdale

isabellegillen's review against another edition

mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

+ readable in one day, not too obvious who the murderer is
- not a fan of French stuff nor detective/crime fiction

colophonphile's review against another edition

Been meaning to read Georges Simenon for a long time. Kept stumbling on these slim volumes at the library for the simple reason that they were housed on a shelf at eye level just at the end of a stack where one would turn in order to get to the exit. Then, one day, they were gone, presumably moved elsewhere, because the whole shelf had changed its makeup. Like any good mystery, they thus needed to be sussed out.

I asked about and was essentially told I could read the novels -- of which there are, like, 75, not counting short stories -- in any order. A list of someone's top-10 favorites led me to this one. It tells the story of a renowned Parisian detective, named Maigret, who travels to rural France to assist in locating the murderer of the most despised woman in a small town because he believes that the accused, the least liked man in that same town, is innocent. Per the reputation that preceded it, it's a mystery told as an exceptionally elegant, elegant to the point of banal, procedural. Highly enjoyable, especially for the depiction of small-town animosities, and the even more micro-interactions between individuals, especially between adult and child. And I am amazed that people can drink that much alcohol during the day and get anything accomplished.

I'm not sure that if I read all of Simenon's Maigret books I will remember any of them, but for the time being I will be dipping into the series.

brona's review against another edition

mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

After all what was he doing there? A hundred times, in the middle of an investigation, he'd had the same feeling of helplessness or, rather, futility. He would find himself abruptly plunged into the lives of people he had never met before, and his job was to discover their most intimate secrets. This time, as it happened, it wasn't even his job. He was the one who had chosen to come, because a teacher had waited for him for hours in Purgatory at the Police Judiciaire. 

furfff's review against another edition

3.0

Liked this on afterward more than during. Interesting “but nobody liked her anyway” victim. I also enjoyed the barrel of monkeys in a hall of mirrors feel to the end/solution, in the way it spoke to ideas of perspective/guilt/motivation/exoneration.

lnatal's review

3.0

From TIA:
When a school teacher from a small coastal town near La Rochelle asks Maigret to help prove he is innocent of murder, the Inspector returns with him to his insular community and finds the residents closing ranks to conceal the truth.
Adapted for radio by Edward Bruce.

Maurice Denham - Chief Inspector Jules Maigret
Michael Gough - Georges Simenon
Michael Spice - Joseph Gastin
Madi Hedd - Madame Gastin
Denise Bryer - Jean-Paul Gastin
Geoffrey Collins - Inspector Danielou
Ronald Herdman - Dr. Bresselles
Jean England - Marcel Sellier
Michael Harbour - Marcellin Rateau
Rosemary Miller - Joseph Rateau
Michael Goldie - Louis Paumelle
Shirley Dixon - Maria Smelker
Gavin Campbell - Ferdinand Cornu
Produced and directed by Betty Davies

https://archive.org/details/09MaigretGoesToSchool

2* Betty
4* Pietr the Latvian (Maigret, #1)
3* The Carter of 'La Providence' (Maigret, #2)
3* The Late Monsieur Gallet (Maigret, #3)
4* The Hanged Man of Saint-Pholien (Maigret, #4)
3* A Man's Head (Maigret #5)
4* The Yellow Dog (Maigret #6)
4* The Night at the Crossroads (Maigret #7)
2* A Crime in Holland (Maigret #8)
3* The Grand Banks Café (Maigret, #9)
3* The Dancer at the Gai-Moulin (Maigret #10)
3* The Two-Penny Bar (Maigret, #11)
3* The Saint-Fiacre Affair (Inspector Maigret #13)
4* The Misty Harbour (Maigret, #15)
4* Lock No. 1 (Maigret, #18)
4* The Cellars of the Majestic (Maigret, #20)
3* Inspector Cadaver (Maigret, #25)
3* Maigret Se Fache (Maigret, #26)
4* Maigret's Holiday (Maigret, #28)
4* La première enquête de Maigret (Maigret, #30)
4* My Friend Maigret (Maigret #31)
4* Maigret at the Coroner's (Maigret #32)
3* The Friend of Madame Maigret (Maigret #34)
3* Maigret and the Burglar's Wife (Maigret, #38)
3* Maigret's Mistake (Maigret, #43)
3* Maigret Goes to School (Maigret #44)
3* Maigret and the Calame Report (Maigret, #46)
3* Maigret si diverte (Maigret, #50)
3* Maigret in Court (Maigret, #55)
3* Maigret and the Old People (Maigret, #56)
3* Maigret and the Idle Burglar (Maigret, #57)
3* Maigret and the Bum (Maigret, #60)
4* Maigret Loses His Temper (Maigret, #61)
3* Maigret on the Defensive (Maigret, #63)
3* Maigret Bides His Time (Maigret #64)
3* Maigret Hesitates (Maigret, #68)
3* Maigret's Boyhood Friend (Maigret, #69)
3* Maigret and the Madwoman (Maigret, #72)
4* Maigret and the Loner (Maigret, #73)
TR The Shadow Puppet (Inspector Maigret #12)
TR The Flemish House (Maigret, #14)
TR The Madman of Bergerac (Inspector Maigret #16)
TR Liberty Bar (Maigret, #17)
TR Maigret (Maigret, #19)
TR The Judge's House (Maigret, #21)
TR Cécile is Dead (Maigret, #22)
TR Signed, Picpus (Maigret, #23)
TR Félicie (Maigret, #24)
TR Maigret à New York (Maigret, #27)
TR Il morto di Maigret (Maigret, #29)
TR Maigret et la Vieille Dame (Maigret, #33)
TR Le memorie di Maigret (Maigret #35)
TR Maigret in Montmartre (Maigret #36)
TR Maigret Rents a Room (Maigret #37)
TR Maigret and the Gangsters (Maigret #39)
TR Maigret's Revolver (Maigret #40)
TR Maigret and the Man on the Bench (Maigret #41)
TR Maigret Afraid (Maigret #42)
TR Maigret et la jeune morte (Maigret #45)
TR Maigret and the Headless Corpse (Maigret #47)
TR Maigret Sets a Trap (Maigret, #48)
TR Maigret's Failure (Maigret #49)