After a few years I decided it was a good time to reward my patience and actually buy something online. I decided on two things: stitching materials and books. Shocking, right?!
Well, It’s been 3 years since I last bought any manga’s, stitching kits/materials or any other random things that I used to buy before. Its not like I saved any money by not buying anything, is just that I stopped my impulsive shopping. It became an addiction in getting things by post every two weeks and it was not healthy for my budget, the free space in my room or my mental health in general.
So, after much deliberation I bought 2 needlepoint kits, both from Krif.ro. The first one I liked because it resembled Marlanu’ in a way and I can always do the background a different color. Its very easy to customize it to your own needs and cute at the same time.
The second needlepoint kit I just loved it. It’s just beautiful! Its like in video games, you go to the next level. No mode 20 colors and small size stitching, but 30+ colors, the stitching will require more attention on my side and also it is pretty big compared with what I’ve stitched so far.
My second purchase was for 6 books, all of them were written by Georges Simenon. There were on sale and I took advantage of it. The Maigret books are the only ones I cannot find online in audio format or in any other format. It’s not that I mind buying books, heck no, its just that he is Belgian writer, his books are in French and my French is not what it used to be.
I think if I try hard enough I might get some books in French, but at the moment I’ll stick to English and Romanian.
Hopefully, soon the post will come and I’ll be one happy hippo.
I believe I mentioned before that I borrow/buy books and just forget about them. Well, this year I decided to read as many books as I can from my bookcase. What I would do with them after I finish reading them, well I haven’t decided yet.
I don’t remember reading so many books in such a short period of time, not even in school.
But then again, I didn’t read huge novels that never end (The Fellowship of the Ring doesn’t count), I actually read detective books.
I still had 3 more books from the Jules Maigret series that I haven’t read and I was actually missing the French detective. The thing that I like most about Georges Simenon detective is that he isn’t a snob like you see in most detective books. So, in no particular order here are the three novels by Georges Simenon:
~~~Maigret Loses His Temper~~~
The plot: a nightclub owner is murdered and the police doesn’t have any suspects in the case. The owner of the nightclub is an Italian with a respectable family and who doesn’t have any enemies.
Basically, the owner vanishes one might and his family reports him as missing. Two days later his body is found in a cemetery. Maigret tries to find out if anyone from the other nightclubs might’ve had quarrels with him, but none hated him enough to kill him.
In the end I realized why the book was named “Maigret Loses His Temper“. The killer is actually the least expected person: the lawyer of the nightclub owner. The reason is actually simple: the lawyer used to pick his cases depending on the type of crime people committed. Then he used to ask “protection” money promising that the criminals wouldn’t be prosecuted and the police won’t be bothering them. But the money was never shared with the police. In reality, he was smart enough to know that the people won’t be indicted and would’ve gotten away even if they didn’t pay up. The nightclub owner was getting suspicious of the lawyer and his methods and that’s why he was killed.
In the end, the lawyer commits suicide in his cell being to afraid to face the harsh reality.
Rating: 2 stars out of 5.
Reason: it was interesting but not captivating enough.
~~~Maigret on the Riviera or Liberty Bar~~~
Plot: A murder takes place on the Riviera. Maigret is called in to investigate because the person murdered was actually a spy and the authorities want the case to be solved as soon as possible and without any complications.
The main suspects are the dead man’s lover and her mother who are caught in the act of fleeing the house their shared together.
The entire atmosphere of the book is that of a lazy vacation. Maigret cannot concentrate on the case, but in the end he finds the guilty person and guess what he lets that person go.
Basically his resolve of the case is that a stranger is guilty. Easy fix and with no complications. I won’t actually spoil this book because I really found it fascinating.
Rating: 3 stars out of 5.
Reason: it was interesting, made me yearn for the summer days at the sea side and for good food.
~~~ The Friend of Madame Maigret~~~
Plot: Inspector Maigret attempts to prove that a murder has actually been committed without a corpse anywhere to be found. As the investigation becomes increasingly complex, seemingly unconnected characters are drawn into the case, and Maigret begins to wonder if his wife’s earlier strange encounter with a woman and her baby may be the missing link.
This is the first book where Maigret wife is actually shown as being more than a housewife. She actually helps Maigret with his investigation and puts him on the right track.
It’s actually funny when a taxi driver questioned by Maigret says he saw a fat lady looking after a small child, the “fat lady” in question being Maigret wife. Again, I shall not spoil the ending. It was funny, interesting and it showed that even without an body you can still prove that a murder was committed.
Rating: 3 stars out of 5.
Reason: again it made me hungry, it was captivating, the Maigret family unites in solving a case.
Remember back in September when I went on a shopping spree for books and bought ten novels by Georges Simenon?
Well, I finally got the chance to read one of them last weekend. I was in a hurry so I didn’t pay much attention to what I was putting in my backpack, but I picked an interesting book: The Saint-Fiacre Affair.
The original French version (L’Affaire Saint-Fiacre) was published in 1932, 79 years ago. But I got to read the 2005 Romanian version, published by Polirom.
Cazul Saint-Fiacre Georges Simenon
It was on Saturday morning that I decided not to watch TV, or log on my computer. I just wanted to read while I drank my coffee. I wanted a peaceful morning.
Just to get this out of my system: seriously, I doubt I ever read a novel in which the detective is left so helpless. I felt sorry for Maigret, not because he was unable to figure things out or prosecute the murderer, but because his entire childhood gets ruined by this one visit. I guess that’s why I love Simenon’s novels. His character is more real than any other detective out there (from the books I read so far). He isn’t perfect like other detectives, he makes mistakes, he gets involved more than he should, he feels like a real detective that lived 79 years ago.
The action of the novel takes place in the small village of Saint Fiacre, the village were Maigret was born and raised. It all starts with Maigret waking up at an inn runned by Marie, one of his childhood friends. He wakes up early to go to the village church so that he can prevent a murder that was announced in a small note.
At the end of the service, the Countess (a woman who he admired as a young child) dies unexpectedly, yet there are no signs of trauma or poisoning. All of this leaving the detective wondering how could someone predict a natural death? Or is it a well planned murder?
And from here on the book really starts moving on with Maigret running from one place to another trying to piece things together.
The atmosphere of the book really fitted with the weather outside: cold and gloomy. The only thing that didn’t fit was the food described in the book. Seriously I was starving by the 5th chapter. I guess I should make a note for my next weekend and eat before I start reading anything else.
What can I say, I spent a nice Saturday morning reading and the day passed slowly and nicely. What more can I ask for.
Georges Simenon photographed in his Swiss home in 1979.
It was only by chance that I read a book with the great Commissaire Maigret. I was accompanying Johnny to some friends that were in desperate need for a person that could fix their computer. And who better for the job than my dear Johnny.
While he was working his magic I was getting really bored and I noticed they had lots of books so I browsed around and picked the smallest book I could find and started reading. The book was called “Maigret and the Old Lady”. Long story short, I was captivated and asked the person there if I could borrow the book and a few more with this new detective.
Needless to say that during my free time I’ve read the books and I can truly say I have found a detective that captivates me as much as Sherlock Holmes. The books have such a nice flow and they don’t let anything out until the very last pages which makes them so addictive.
Fast forward to the present day, I was with one of my sister-in-law shopping and she pointed a book she wanted to buy and I was stunned. There it was the new printed version of “Maigret and the Old Lady”. You can imagine that I bought it. I am one of those people that enjoy possessing things. Well I’m not a hoarder, I can’t afford hoarding especially with my hobbies. Manga, stitching supplies, stitching kits, notebooks and books are expensive.
Anyway, that’s when I decided to look for the books and see if I could buy them.
It was an easy search. On the Polirom site you can find most of the books with Maigret and I was happy to see that a few of them were on sale. So, I’m waiting for 7 new books that cost me no more than 12 Euro. Yup, I only bought the books that were on sale.
That might seem cheap on my side but there are 74 novels with the Commissaire Maigret. In the long run I will invest a good amount of money in buying all the novels. But for now I will have to wait for my new books: “The Friend of Madame Maigret”, “The Saint-Fiacre Affair”, “Liberty Bar”, “Maigret at the Gai Moulin”, “Maigret in New York”,“Maigret and the Killer” and “A Battle of Nerves”.
~~~~~
Just as a side note, I got interested in what other books Georges Simenon wrote and I started reading about his life. He really is an interesting character and apparently he lived till I was 2 years old (1903 – 1989). Not only that, but he hanged around with really interesting people, for example Josephine Baker.
Josephine with her pet.
I, for one, am captivated by the people in these black and white photos.
