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Tout Simenon, Tome 23: Oncle Charles S'est Enferme / Le Veuve Couderc / Ceceile Est Morte / Les Caves du Majestic / La Maison du Juge / Les Fils Cardinaud ... L'Amiral A Disparu / La Sonnette de l'Alarme
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First published October 1, 1978
About the author
Georges Simenon
2,687 books2,455 followersGeorges Joseph Christian Simenon (1903 – 1989) was a Belgian writer. A prolific author who published nearly 500 novels and numerous short works, Simenon is best known as the creator of the fictional detective Jules Maigret.
Although he never resided in Belgium after 1922, he remained a Belgian citizen throughout his life.
Simenon was one of the most prolific writers of the twentieth century, capable of writing 60 to 80 pages per day. His oeuvre includes nearly 200 novels, over 150 novellas, several autobiographical works, numerous articles, and scores of pulp novels written under more than two dozen pseudonyms. Altogether, about 550 million copies of his works have been printed.
He is best known, however, for his 75 novels and 28 short stories featuring Commissaire Maigret. The first novel in the series, Pietr-le-Letton, appeared in 1931; the last one, Maigret et M. Charles, was published in 1972. The Maigret novels were translated into all major languages and several of them were turned into films and radio plays. Two television series (1960-63 and 1992-93) have been made in Great Britain.
During his "American" period, Simenon reached the height of his creative powers, and several novels of those years were inspired by the context in which they were written (Trois chambres à Manhattan (1946), Maigret à New York (1947), Maigret se fâche (1947)).
Simenon also wrote a large number of "psychological novels", such as La neige était sale (1948) or Le fils (1957), as well as several autobiographical works, in particular Je me souviens (1945), Pedigree (1948), Mémoires intimes (1981).
In 1966, Simenon was given the MWA's highest honor, the Grand Master Award.
In 2005 he was nominated for the title of De Grootste Belg (The Greatest Belgian). In the Flemish version he ended 77th place. In the Walloon version he ended 10th place.
Although he never resided in Belgium after 1922, he remained a Belgian citizen throughout his life.
Simenon was one of the most prolific writers of the twentieth century, capable of writing 60 to 80 pages per day. His oeuvre includes nearly 200 novels, over 150 novellas, several autobiographical works, numerous articles, and scores of pulp novels written under more than two dozen pseudonyms. Altogether, about 550 million copies of his works have been printed.
He is best known, however, for his 75 novels and 28 short stories featuring Commissaire Maigret. The first novel in the series, Pietr-le-Letton, appeared in 1931; the last one, Maigret et M. Charles, was published in 1972. The Maigret novels were translated into all major languages and several of them were turned into films and radio plays. Two television series (1960-63 and 1992-93) have been made in Great Britain.
During his "American" period, Simenon reached the height of his creative powers, and several novels of those years were inspired by the context in which they were written (Trois chambres à Manhattan (1946), Maigret à New York (1947), Maigret se fâche (1947)).
Simenon also wrote a large number of "psychological novels", such as La neige était sale (1948) or Le fils (1957), as well as several autobiographical works, in particular Je me souviens (1945), Pedigree (1948), Mémoires intimes (1981).
In 1966, Simenon was given the MWA's highest honor, the Grand Master Award.
In 2005 he was nominated for the title of De Grootste Belg (The Greatest Belgian). In the Flemish version he ended 77th place. In the Walloon version he ended 10th place.
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Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review
March 2, 2014
This is a review of the first novel in the 23rd volume of the complete Simenon: Oncle Charles s'est enferme....
Spare, relentless, unforgiving, this non/Maigret Simenon is nonetheless a crime novel. Taking as its starting point the inexplicable, silent, self imposed imprisonment of uncle Charles in an attic, the novel unfolds to explore the family and community, the past, that led to this act sealed by silence. And the ongoing discovery reveals that the crimes involved are petty as the people who commit them. Here are empty lives and an empty crime, born of silence and desperation.
One thinks of Melville’s Bartleby and his iconic severance from humanity. And one thinks also of Sartre’s No Exit … for hell, here, is other people. Indeed, here, you could say that crime is other people. The prose, powerfully immaculate, draws one on in a tale told admirably well, but without mercy or hope.
Spare, relentless, unforgiving, this non/Maigret Simenon is nonetheless a crime novel. Taking as its starting point the inexplicable, silent, self imposed imprisonment of uncle Charles in an attic, the novel unfolds to explore the family and community, the past, that led to this act sealed by silence. And the ongoing discovery reveals that the crimes involved are petty as the people who commit them. Here are empty lives and an empty crime, born of silence and desperation.
One thinks of Melville’s Bartleby and his iconic severance from humanity. And one thinks also of Sartre’s No Exit … for hell, here, is other people. Indeed, here, you could say that crime is other people. The prose, powerfully immaculate, draws one on in a tale told admirably well, but without mercy or hope.
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review