The frequent mention of a location in the Maigret universe is no indication that it actually existed - the »Brasserie Dauphine« can be seen as proof of this. Sometimes Simenon sprinkled in true local color, often a restaurant or bistro sprang from his imagination. The passage of time does not make it any easier to find out what is true. This time: the »Manière«
»Wait, where am I right now?« That's what came to mind during this little affair and inevitably the question of whether I'm wrong, Simenon or the translator. Due to an innate quirk, I hate being wrong, but that doesn't mean that when I'm vindicated I necessarily throw my hands up in victory. This time it's about rivers.
So many loose threads - but which one do you start to pull? The novel »The Crimes of My Friends« doesn't make it easy. Starting with the question of why Georges Simenon used the word »friends« in the title, through »Nanesse « to the central character Hyacinthe Danse. Then there is the comparison of reality and fantasy.
An - admittedly - silly thought: although I was busy with Simenon all week, there was no »output«. That makes me feel like I've been lazy. I'm grateful that this doesn't creep up on me when I'm really NOT working on Simenon and Maigret. Simenon hadn't worked on the detective for some time. Then he wrote a letter.
The Louvre in Paris is the largest art museum in the world. So if you fancy a cultural visit to the museum, you shouldn't waste too much time getting there and back. One address you could consider is the »Hôtel du Louvre« - which is aptly named. This choice of accommodation will not save you any money on your travel budget - on the contrary.
It has not quite been a year since we reported on Peter Kaiser's work guide at this spot. The article at the time had only a minor flaw: The discussed novel guide was already out of print and at best only available as an antique. This time we are definitely earlier. The second edition has just been released and is available in every bookstore.
One might exclaim, they found each other, upon hearing the story. On one side, an American who had ended up stranded in Paris, keeping afloat with swindles. On the other, the spoiled offspring of a bourgeois family from the French capital on the Seine, who had chosen the same path. One of them would not survive the encounter.
As Simenon fans, we don't get to see quite as much as we would like. You don't even stand at the fence, you stand in front of a wall and have to rely on birds to carry little breadcrumbs over this barrier. LINE-UP CINÉMA has revealed on its website what the movie »Belle«, which is currently being filmed with Charlotte Gainsbourg, is about.
Anyone who is disturbed after reading the story reacts normally - that was my final sentence in the description of »The snow was dirty«. The intensity of Simenon's story remains and if you want to get through an ugly description of events quickly, you are probably better off with the painted version. Readers can't expect pretty pictures.
First a late meeting in a café, where the person who invited us said nothing. On the way home, someone tried to put a bullet in Maigret's fur. He wished things would go better. The next day, he walked across the Square d'Avroy in the morning. The translation reads: »[...] of the Square d'Avroy, which Maigret had just crossed [...]«. The translator has probably been taken for a ride.
Some time ago, we reported on the work of the journalist Pem. The man had left Germany for reasons and finally settled in England, from where he wrote about cultural affairs - published in the German exile press in New York or in the Viennese »Weltpresse«. And in the latter he wrote about Simenon.