I was so eager to read another
police novel, one of my favorite literary genres, that I postponed ending another book ( a bad habit I have developed the last few years). I used to be such an enthousiatic reader of
mystery novels involving more or less sophisticated methods of discovering the character "who did it" secretly wishing to bury the stories somewhere deep inside my mind so as to act instinctively whenver there was necessary (yes, my job includes this task). Before sharing my opinions about Georges Simenon''s "The Madman of Bergerac", I must confess that from time to time, if the crowd of characters of a book is overwhelming, I read the ending so as to understand whose destiny my attention should follow.... but never with police novels.
After such a long introduction, there is "The Madman of Bergerac", there is the famous Georges Simenon whose first book I read just now has disappointed me deeply. Kind of an intersting case, but the narrator is cheating his public. I believe a good
detective story writer should involve him in the process of discovering the author of the
crime by giving him pieces of puzzle which only need to be put together in such a simple way and based on logical reasons.
I wonder how could I have been pleasantly surprised by the story as the narrator only lets us know about superficial aspects such as health state and some vague circumstances? How was I to know or to realise that the characters hide
family and personal secrets when all he tells us are their occupations and the description of their houses and that of the village.
I must say that the character I enjoyed the best was Maigret''s wife who seemed to me such a witty and long-trained wife whose instincts have developed into searching and observing by the time she had spent next to her husband - the "commisaire". Even though I made and almost automatic connection with Alfred Hitchock''s film "Rear Window", Cary Grant and the vision of the director, as well as teh advantage of teh visual art, leaves no term of comparison.
This book kind of reminded me of Ellery Queen''s novel i first read when I was younger, but at least that story had romantic elements by which I was mislead.
Definitely "The Madman of Bergerac" was written just as to complete a series of dective stories and not to create a book of real value. I miss Sherlock Holmes saying "Patience, my dear Watson!" or even those detective books previously ending: "The butler did it!"
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