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margaretpinard's review against another edition
challenging
lighthearted
tense
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? No
3.0
peixinhodeprata's review
3.0
This book was an easy and entertaining read. I love the simplicity of Inspector Maigret book's, that are very well written.
Nonetheless this one was full of nautical vocabulary that for a non native speaker was at times difficult to follow.
Still enjoyed it and recommend it to everyone who loves mistery books.
Nonetheless this one was full of nautical vocabulary that for a non native speaker was at times difficult to follow.
Still enjoyed it and recommend it to everyone who loves mistery books.
writerlibrarian's review against another edition
3.0
Understated but really good prose. Simenon is able to set the place, the mood of a place with ease and without too much exposition. Maigret is sent to solve a grim murder in the land of the Marne river at a time when the boats were still being toed by horses and sailed side by side with motor boats.
Epernay, Vitry-le-François and a few others stops along the river in the early 30s is a grey place. Wet, almost continuous rain. With small rays of sunshine. During 3 days Maigret pedals along the canals. A woman, is found in a horse stall on Sunday opens a story where the reader is not always in the know and stands back a little watching and not really getting the under currents, much like Maigret.
This is old school French mystery lit of the good kind.
Epernay, Vitry-le-François and a few others stops along the river in the early 30s is a grey place. Wet, almost continuous rain. With small rays of sunshine. During 3 days Maigret pedals along the canals. A woman, is found in a horse stall on Sunday opens a story where the reader is not always in the know and stands back a little watching and not really getting the under currents, much like Maigret.
This is old school French mystery lit of the good kind.
sarrie's review
3.0
This one had a slower start for me than the others I've read, but once the pace picked up the end hit fast and hard. I enjoyed the twist in it.
ericwelch's review against another edition
4.0
Certainly no need to summarize the plot. This is another of the wonderful series of police procedurals by George Simenon featuring Chief Inspector Maigret, the calm, pipe-smoking Parisian detective, who, in an almost plodding manner succeeds in bringing the villains to justice. That raises some interesting points because clearly the way the judicial system works in France is vastly different from that in the United States. There is an examining magistrate or public prosecutor, the rules are different and that almost makes the books more interesting from my perspective. Of course, there is none of the black-garbed, heavily-armed SWAT confrontations with guns blazing, so typical of some of the modern police thrillers, and for me, that's part of the series' appeal.
I have always wanted to travel along one of the many French or British canals with their numerous locks and restaurants and villages along the way that require only tying up the boat and a meander to the local village. My father did that years ago in England and it remains one of his favorite vacations. It sounds so peaceful and idyllic, yet as in all of Maigret's cases, there is an undercurrent of bleakness.
Anyway, this story, that takes Maigret away from Paris, has such a nice setting, if somewhat dark. But, then again, the chief character is an English colonel and gentleman(?) who manages to indulge in all manner of orgies and behaviors on his yacht. Perhaps that explains it. In the end, the book is a supreme love story, but tinged with despair and sadness. I think this is one of Simenon's finer efforts. Do not expect a happy ending.
I have always wanted to travel along one of the many French or British canals with their numerous locks and restaurants and villages along the way that require only tying up the boat and a meander to the local village. My father did that years ago in England and it remains one of his favorite vacations. It sounds so peaceful and idyllic, yet as in all of Maigret's cases, there is an undercurrent of bleakness.
Anyway, this story, that takes Maigret away from Paris, has such a nice setting, if somewhat dark. But, then again, the chief character is an English colonel and gentleman(?) who manages to indulge in all manner of orgies and behaviors on his yacht. Perhaps that explains it. In the end, the book is a supreme love story, but tinged with despair and sadness. I think this is one of Simenon's finer efforts. Do not expect a happy ending.
gillysingh's review against another edition
3.0
The second in the Inspector Maigret series.
As much as I enjoyed the first novel I was not quite expecting the second to be as compelling as it was. The story provides an expert sense of misdirection leading to a conclusion which is more tragic than I would have thought the author capable of.
As a whole this was thoroughly enjoyable and has encouraged me to read more of the series as well as potentially striking out further and reading other detective genre novels. They're not traditionally my usual forte.
I suppose that is probably good praise for the author and their story telling abilities.
As much as I enjoyed the first novel I was not quite expecting the second to be as compelling as it was. The story provides an expert sense of misdirection leading to a conclusion which is more tragic than I would have thought the author capable of.
As a whole this was thoroughly enjoyable and has encouraged me to read more of the series as well as potentially striking out further and reading other detective genre novels. They're not traditionally my usual forte.
I suppose that is probably good praise for the author and their story telling abilities.
lnatal's review against another edition
3.0
Maigret doit enquêter sur le meurtre d'une femme à l'écluse 14 de Dizy. Il fait la connaissance du curieux équipage du yacht « Southern Cross », dont le propriétaire, Sir Lampson, mari de la victime, et Willy, amant de celle-ci, attirent ses soupçons. Pourtant, certains détails relevés à l'autopsie du corps de Mary lancent Maigret sur la piste de la « Providence », péniche dont le charretier Jean, homme solitaire et taciturne, retient son attention. Trois jours après le début de l'enquête, Willy est à son tour assassiné.
Ecrit à A bord de l'Ostrogoth, Nandy près de Morsang-sur-Seine (Seine-et-Marne)
Adaptations à l'écran :
Le Charretier de la « Providence » (1980)
La Croqueuse de diamants (2000)
Ecrit à A bord de l'Ostrogoth, Nandy près de Morsang-sur-Seine (Seine-et-Marne)
Adaptations à l'écran :
Le Charretier de la « Providence » (1980)
La Croqueuse de diamants (2000)
whysoserious's review against another edition
mysterious
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
SPOILER ALERT
Economy of words. Simple and concise. The reader is not subjected to a litany of descriptive paragraphs when it comes to Simenon, the prose is not fussy or stylistic in a way that some authors try to ‘wow’ the reader. The reader is also not given an internal monologue of the inspector running with the murder case. Maigret is cool, calm and sticks to the facts. We do not have the usual clichés associated with a detective. He is not a drunken divorcee, he has no skeletons in the proverbial closet. He is a man with a goal – to uncover the truth behind a murder.
Economy of words. Simple and concise. The reader is not subjected to a litany of descriptive paragraphs when it comes to Simenon, the prose is not fussy or stylistic in a way that some authors try to ‘wow’ the reader. The reader is also not given an internal monologue of the inspector running with the murder case. Maigret is cool, calm and sticks to the facts. We do not have the usual clichés associated with a detective. He is not a drunken divorcee, he has no skeletons in the proverbial closet. He is a man with a goal – to uncover the truth behind a murder.
But does this work? Maigret’s aloofness makes him hard to relate to as a character. His lack of urgency stunts the flow of the narrative… he slowly cycles from place to place, trying to catch up with the criminal. There are no flashing lights, sirens and armed conflicts between future convict and the police here. I personally did not get emotionally invested in the murder and death of two characters; they were painted in such a way that I would not show an interest if this was a real life scenario much less a fictional piece of work. The fact may be that Maigret has seen everything and does not get fazed by the murder but Simenon does not put this into words or even ‘show not tell’ the impact of his experience on the work he does. We therefore get a two dimensional hero that seems to have little interest in the case he is pursuing.
The Colonel on the other hand is an interesting character full of intrigue. Had Simenon plumbed the depths of his characters this book may have been wonderful. Unfortunately the Colonel is the only person in the whole novel that is bought to life with any sort of effort. He is cold, distant and ultimately selfish. It would have been wise to have demonstrated the reason for such callousness to the reader; shown some back story to the life he had with his wife before her untimely death. Illuminated the turmoil in their marriage that led to the lifestyle choices both parties were accustomed to. Alas we get a fairly flat character who has all the potential to be something special. The Colonel brings to mind the stuffy, egocentric Professor Challenger of Conan Doyle’s Lost World. The book leaves a reader asking ‘if only’ Simenon had invested his talents in the personalities behind the dull characters.
Finally another gripe. We get a cast of moderate size that are fairly interchangeable – alongside an array of boats and barges with similar sounding names and places which are indistinguishable from each other. The reader has to wade through these confusing elements stumbling to a fairly unsatisfying conclusion. The novel left me with a bitter aftertaste; so much potential but such a wasted effort.
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