Maigret al Liberty Bar

Inspector Maigret #17

by Georges Simenon, Rosalba Buccianti (Translator)

Qualcuno ha ucciso brutalmente William Brown, un australiano che durante la guerra ha lavorato per i servizi segreti, e Maigret viene caldamente pregato di risolvere il caso con rapidità e discrezione. Giunto ad Antibes, tuttavia, il commissario si trova d'improvviso catapultato in un mondo che pare avere su di lui l'effetto di un narcotico. Un mondo traboccante “di sole, di mimose e di fiori dal profumo dolciastro, di mosche ubriache, di auto che scivolano sull'asfalto molle...”. Un mondo più che mai lontano da Parigi e dalla realtà conosciuta.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, France, Noir, Detective, Mystery Thriller

152 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1932

About the author

Georges 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.

Reviews

[Adrian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lunchtime Listen November 23
I think my original read and review from 3 years ago basically sums up my thoughts, its an excellent book, and as ever I am torn by which is the more superior method of experiencing Simenon : to read the wonderful prose and be fully immersed in the book or to luxuriate in the wonderful voice of Gareth Armstrong as he shares his view of the beautiful stories.

Series Read May 20
So Maigret is called in to a murder case in the glamorous South of France, but told by the powers in Paris, that important people are involved, so "no dramas".

On arriving in Antibes, and being met by Inspector Boutigues, Maigret seems dazzled by the people, the sunlight and not that interested in the murder itself. He checks himself into a small unfashionable hotel and immediately throws himself into the investigation. Still suffering from a lack of focus and repeating the mantra "no dramas", Maigret interviews the murdered man's partner and her aged heavily made up mother in the untidy villa they shared with the murdered man.

Further investigation into a fruit machine leads Maigret eventually after many drinks, to a sad little bar in the back streets of Cannes where he comes across the "goddaughter" of the murdered man, and yet still he's almost in a holiday mood through his lack of concentration.

Repeating the mantra again and again brings his powers of deduction to a fore and things begin to drop into place. 20,000 francs paid by the murdered mans son who has travelled from Australia, but why pay that much to a bar girl, a will that continues a family feud, an ancient expensive but now dilapidated yacht.

These and other clues allow Maigret to bring the case to a successful, in his eyes, conclusion, and allow him to leave the rich high life of the Cote D'Azure and return to his wife in beloved Paris, where he tries to explain the case to her over dinner, albeit unsuccessfully.

An excellent example of a Maigret novel, atmospheric, earthy and so so French, 5 stars !!

[Janet Roger · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is Maigret out of Paris solving a murder on the Riviera, out of sorts with instructions not to kick up a fuss and out of patience with the people he meets there. It’s also Maigret at his most compassionate—more at home with the down at heel aging widow still keeping bar, mothering her customers and young protégé than he is with the high-powered rich and grasping middle class who set his teeth on edge.

Why Simenon needed to set this case away from Paris I can’t imagine. But maybe it accounts for Maigret bad mood all through the novel. He’s still snappish with his ever-serene wife while he eats dinner on his return. Maybe by the time puts back a plum brandy and gets used to the idea it’s business as usual, he’ll be back en forme. Let's hope so.

A lovely read!

[Tim Orfanos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ένα από τα 'νουάρ' αστυνομικά μυθιστορήματα του Σιμενόν κατάλληλο για το καλοκαίρι. Οι περιγραφές της Αντίμπ, της Νίκαιας και της Κυανής Ακτής είναι πολύ 'ζωντανές', ικανές να μεταφέρουν τους αναγνώστες εκεί, ενώ η ιστορία της δολοφονίας έχει ενδιαφέρον και ικανοποιητική εκκίνηση.

Πέρα από αυτά, όμως, ο ρυθμός της πλοκής είναι αργός και οι περιγραφές των χαρακτήρων των ηρώων περιλαμβάνουν κάποια στοιχεία που επαναλαμβάνονται. Επιπρόσθετα, το τελικό ξεκαθάρισμα, ενδεχομένως, να 'θολώσει' την ειδυλλιακή 'νουάρ' ατμόσφαιρα της ιστορίας.

Βαθμολογία: 3,88/5 ή 7,76/10.

[Rosenkavalier · Rating 4 out of 5]

I need a chance, a second chance, a third chance, a fourth chance...

In tutti i Maigret che ho letto, noto solo l'atmosfera, non essendo appassionato di gialli nè interessato a scoprire colpevoli di delitti immaginari.
A volte il trucco riesce, del resto è sempre quello, spedire il massiccio, scostante Ispettore in un contesto dove risalti la sua evidente estraneità, insieme alla sua forse inusuale ma autentica umanità.

Lasciate perdere l'intreccio giallo, i dettagli un po' artificiosi con cui Simenon colora alcuni personaggi, l'esito non molto logico dell'investigazione.

Entrate al Liberty Bar, un posto non molto pulito e certo non troppo illuminato. Nella penombra di questo modesto locale, che non riesce a tener fuori il caldo dell'estate e la pigrizia dei giorni tutti uguali (ma senza gerani e balconi), uno strano gruppo di persone condivide qualche ora della giornata, si fanno compagnia senza aver molto da dirsi, sfuggono alla vita che non vogliono vivere, si trascinano nella vita che è rimasta loro dopo aver malamente vissuto esistenze precedenti.
L'ex prostituta Jaja, la ragazza di vita Sylvie, il ruffiano Joseph e William, il ricco australiano approdato sulla Costa Azzurra dopo essere fuggito da una famiglia ricchissima e bacchettona.
Ogni uomo ha un destino, si dice, quindi William ricade nella stessa prigionia, si ritrova ormai anziano e senza altro scopo che quello di fuggire ancora, solo per qualche giorno al mese, dalla nuova donna che si è messo in casa: destinazione Liberty Bar, un'altra chance, un'ultima chance.


Un luogo immune dai vizi e dalla cattiveria! Un bar dove i clienti entravano e andavano subito in cucina, accolti familiarmente da Jaja! E bevevano mentre lei cucinava! E magari facevano un salto dal macellaio vicino a comprare un pezzo di carne per il pranzo! Poi, quando Sylvie scendeva seminuda e con gli occhi pieni di sonno, la baciavano sulla fronte, senza neppure lanciare un’occhiata ai suoi seni scarni. Non c’era molta pulizia, né molta luce. Non si parlava molto. La conversazione si trascinava pigramente, come del resto le persone... Il mondo esterno con la sua agitazione non esisteva più. Soltanto un rettangolo di sole... Mangiare, bere... Sonnecchiare e bere ancora mentre Sylvie si vestiva e si infilava le calze per andare al lavoro... Quando uno ne aveva viste di tutti i colori e sperimentato ogni sorta di vizio, non gli restava, come estremo rifugio, che il Liberty Bar. Donne senza fascino, senza civetteria, senza passione e che non ispirano passione, donne a cui si regalano cento franchi per le calze, a cui si dà un bacio sulla fronte quando escono e si chiede quando rientrano: «Lavorato bene?».

Post scriptum

Il titolo del commento viene dal testo di Strange currencies dei REM, il cui titolo vuol dire più o meno "strani mezzi di scambio" ("You know, with love come strange currencies").
A me sarebbe piaciuto di più "Love comes in strange currencies", l'amore circola in strane valute: il cambio oscilla, le transazioni sono complicate, figurarsi se il cambiavalute risiede al Liberty Bar.

https://youtu.be/j4iuG7StmPc

[Mostafa · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars
عموما در داستانهای جورج سیمنون، الکل نقش بسیار پر رنگی دارد... شخصیت مگره و دیگر شخصیت های داستان بسیار با الکل مرتبط هستند.... و این خود بیانگر و مُعرف پلیس فرانسه در اوایل قرن بیستم هست
نویسنده در این داستان طبق معمولِ داستانهای جنایی شخصیت هایی را معرفی میکند که با مقتول مرتبط هستند و هر کدام انگیزه ای برای قتل دارند، پرداخت شخصیت های داستان، خوب و مطلوب صورت گرفته، فضا سازی شهر نیس، کن و آنتیب به گونه ای هست که انگار با توصیفات نویسنده در حال دیدن و مشاهده آن مناظر هستید و کار تصویر سازی ذهنی برای خواننده به سهولت انجام می شود... نقطه ضعف داستان شخصیت پلیس منطقه نیس هست که کاملا در داستان گُم و گیج هست و گویی هیچ کاره است در حالیکه پرونده در اصل برای او بوده و البته مصرف بسیار زیاد الکل توسط مگره، پلیسی که باید سلول های خاکستری اش را برای حل پرونده های مشکل تر حفظ کند

[Peiman · Rating 3 out of 5]

داستانهای پلیسی معمولا جذابه مخصوصا وقتی یک کارآگاه با رفتارهای خاص خودش توی یک سری کتاب وجود داشته باشه، مثل خانوم مارپل یا موسیو پوآرو، اینجا هم با کارآگاه ساخته شده توسط ذهن ژرژ سیمنون روبرو هستیم، کارآگاه مگره. کافه لیبرتی داستان جذاب و نسبتا متفاوتی داره. کارآگاه مگره برای حل و فصل بی سر و صدای ماجرای قتل مردی که از پست چاقو خورده به جنوب فرانسه میره، طی تحقیقات به کافه‌ای میرسه که با بقیه‌ی کافه ها متفاوته، کافه لیبرتی و افراد حاضر در اون کافه و پسر و معشوقه‌ی هم خونه‌ی مقتول کم‌کم مسیر داستان و ماجرا رو مشخص میکنن.

[Ivonne Rovira · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ay, Georges Simenon! Just when I think I’ve finally gotten the true measure of Chief Inspector Maigret, you write a 180-degree curve into a novel, making me reassess the French sleuth yet again. Let me explain.

Antibes, the literal scene of the crime, is on the French Riviera between Nice and Cannes. That’s where William Brown, an Australian ex-patriate who had worked with French Intelligence, settled down 10 years ago. The Brown household consisted of Brown “and his two women” — Brown’s buxom, much younger mistress Gina Martini and Gina’s shrewish mother — which he supports on a monthly budget of 2,000 francs.

Brown dies under unusual circumstances and Gina and her mother weave an implausible tale, one that causes the local authorities to summon Chief Inspector Jules Maigret from Paris to investigate. Maigret soon finds out that Brown led a secret life when he would disappear each month for a bender, each time returning with his allowance.

I’m a big fan of the mercurial Maigret, but in Liberty Bar — previously published as Maigret on the Riviera — the always sexist Maigret descends into misogyny. His unreasonable distaste for the admittedly venal Martini women and others and his identification with the drunken William Brown proved pretty off-putting. Better a feckless, irresponsible drunk who values a woman only for her looks than a sex kitten who looks out for her own interests? If anything, what we have is a consensual transaction, with both parties equally creditable or blameworthy.

But just as soon as I’ve written him off as an insufferable, distasteful sexist, Maigret finds two other women — the fat, motherly widow, Jaja, who owns and runs the Liberty Bar in Cannes, and her friend, the young, tender-hearted prostitute Sylvie — and he waxes so admiringly about them both, that — yet again — I don’t know what to think about Maigret. Cad, or likeable curmudgeon? Perhaps, I’ll never know. With novels this good, you can bet I’m going to keep trying to find out — and reading further into the series! With more than 75 Maigret books to his credit, Simenon has provided me enough fodder to last me for decades to come.

[Tittirossa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Non so perché avessi un bias contre-simenon (tipo il contre Saint Beuve di proustiana memoria). Forse perché avevo letto un paio di romanzi-non-maigret e mi ero fatta prendere dalla narrazione della storia, e non avevo fatto caso alla scrittura. Non so. O forse sono una snob, e lo valutavo lettura da intrattenimento.
L'ho sempre tenuto come retrolettura, mai bocciato definitivamente perché al primo incontro sigurdiano @Ubik (grandissimo simenoniano) si presentò dicendo che aveva compulsato le nostre librerie per verificare il nostro tasso di simenonità (e mi dispiaceva pensare che il mio era basso e quindi potesse aver pensato che ero superficiale nelle scelte).
C'è voluta la lettura delle Memorie intime per scalzare e sbriciolare il bias.
Complice il fatto che ho ereditato la raccolta completa dei Maigret da mio zio (che non amava i romanzi, ma aveva tutte le prime edizioni Mondadori dei Maigret- che ha regalato a uno straccivendolo - per ricomperare tutto in Adelphi :-), ho un bello scaffale giallo a cui attingo a caso, non rispettando l'ordine cronologico.
Inizio a leggere e mi vedo Sim seduto in qualche posto riservato che è riuscito a ricavarsi in ognuna delle mille situazioni in cui ha abitato (in mutande e con due stracci ai polsi per evitare che il sudore colasse sulle pagine), che batte sui tasti, una unica versione senza revisione, cercando di scrivere un Maigret in meno di 9 giorni (arrivò a 7), e infila sempre pezzi di gran letteratura.

Qui siamo in una Antibes calda, intorpidita dal sole, tra bicchierini di liquore che contribuiscono al torpore generale, con magistrali ritratti di donne (e su questo, le Memorie sono assolutamente da leggere per comprendere come potesse ritrarre un certo tipo di donne senza cadere in alcun cliché), e una indagine che fa sorridere per quanto è slegata da qualsiasi nostra nozione odierna.

Chapeau Sim!

[Thomas Stroemquist · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well worth the time for the description and set mood of the 30’s French Riviera. And with the characters’ speech and manners it is a genuine time machine. The inimitable inspector Maigret seems to stumble around ailed with sunstroke and pernod overindulgence and initially seem to advance slowly with his investigation into a murder. His assignment came with an order “not to make a scandal”, something that irritates him mightily. But pieces start to come together and soon the policeman’s deductive capabilities leads him right. True to style, he proceeds to not make a scandal, and the ending is a closure for us invited few only.

[Three · Rating 4 out of 5]

uno dei Maigret in cui il lato umano (del Commissario, della vittima, del colpevole, della gente che sta loro intorno) è più presente. Senza la minima smanceria, inutile dirlo.

[Antonella Imperiali · Rating 4 out of 5]

Era l’ora rosata, ambigua, in cui l’umidità del tramonto si dilegua nella frescura della notte che si avvicina. Maigret uscì dal Liberty Bar come si esce da un locale malfamato, con le mani affondate nelle tasche e il cappello calato sugli occhi. Eppure dopo una decina di passi sentì il bisogno di voltarsi indietro, quasi per accertarsi che l’atmosfera da cui veniva fosse reale.

Dietro la facciata di hotel e ristoranti d’élite di città come Cannes e Antibes, adagiate sulla Costa Azzurra, si nascondono vicoli stretti sui quali si affacciano alcuni piccoli locali dall’aria equivoca e dalle insegne discrete, frequentati da marinai e piccoli malviventi.
Come il Liberty Bar.

Anche lontano dalla sua Parigi, Maigret si muove bene e gli bastano pochi giorni per osservare i luoghi, entrare nella vita dei protagonisti, capirne le debolezze e i pochi punti di forza. Capire soprattutto le ragioni e la dinamica del delitto sul quale sta indagando (senza peraltro ingenerare “grane”).

Giallo insolito, per ambientazione ed atmosfera, con una vena di dolce malinconia... perché in fondo è solo la storia di un uomo che cercava un posto dove poter essere finalmente se stesso ed ha incontrato quello che credeva fosse amore.

... e come al solito la signora Maigret (simpaticissima) non ci ha capito niente...



🗣 RC 2020 - Consigli mar/20 (da Anna [Floanne])
🔠 RC 2020 - Alphabet Titoli: L
✍️ G.S./Maigret

[The Frahorus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Il commissario Maigret viene chiamato ad indagare su un assassinio avvenuto sulla Costa Azzurra: è stato ritrovato il cadavere di un anziano ricco uomo nel giardino della sua villa e due donne stavano fuggendo via con le valigie (la sua amante e la madre di lei). Ma ben presto in questa storia entreranno altre figure legate a uno sporco bar, il Liberty, e apparirà anche il figlio del defunto.

"Non vogliamo grane!" chiedono i superiori a Maigret mandato in Costa Azzurra a risolvere questo caso. E lui risolverà il delitto senza dare loro grane. Ritroviamo un Maigret sempre più solitario e malinconico, il quale, come in altre sue magistrali indagini, riesce a sbrogliare il delitto immedesimandosi nei vari personaggi che popolavano il piccolo mondo felice dell'assassinato il quale cercava solo un suo spazio ideale dove finalmente essere se stesso.

[Roozbeh Estifaee · Rating 4 out of 5]

مگره موجود غریبی است واقعا. انگار که از داستان‌های غیرمعمایی آمده و پایش توی داستان‌های معمایی باز شده. می‌توانست آدم نابوکوف باشد، می‌توانست پنین باشد که شغلش را عوض کرده و شده کارآگاه پلیس. می‌توانست اشتیلر باشد حتی. لابد خیلی از ما دوست‌داران قصه‌های معمایی فکر، و حتی آرزو، کرده‌ایم که کاش داستان‌های عزیزمان را می‌شد با داستان‌های عادی‌ای که بهشان «جریان اصلی» می‌گویند ترکیب کرد و آن لذت ناب و مکاشفه غافل‌گیرکننده جهان و انسان‌ها را، که در آن داستان‌ها اتفاق می‌افتد، با جذابیت و طعم نگاه بی‌رحم و لحظات بحرانی انسانی که در داستان‌های معمایی اتفاق می‌افتد با هم داشت. مگره شبیه‌ترین قهرمان معماحل‌کنی است که به این ترکیب می‌شناسم. وسط همان پرونده‌های پیچیده و قتل‌های غریبش هم حواسش به لحظات هست. درون آدم‌ها را هم می‌بیند. برایش هر کسی مجموعه‌ای از حساب و کتاب‌های هوشمندانه و نقشه‌های پیچیده برای تسویه حساب‌های منطقی نیستند. هر جایی برایش صحنه جرم یا محل کشف و جمع‌آوری مدارک نیست. می‌تواند مسیر بین دو شهر را با اتوبوس طی کند و تمام مدت سرش را بچسباند به شیشه و بیرون را نگاه کند. می‌تواند جواب همکارش را ندهد و اصلا هم هوشمند و زیرک و همه‌چیزدان نباشد. فقط حوصله نداشته باشد. می‌تواند نگاه‌های ملوانی را که از توی کشتی می‌پایدش حس کند، و دلیل وجود آن نگهبان نقشش در فرآیند جنایت داستان نباشد. می‌تواند وسط داستان کشف کند که خودش چه قدر شبیه آن بیچاره‌ای است که جنازه‌اش را گذاشته‌اند توی تابوت و از کشف این شباهت به یک درک حسی برسد که چرا مقتول بدبخت این میخانه را دوست داشت. و فقط حسی. حس امنیت. مگره نه مثل شرلوک هلمز و پوآرو و باقی کارآگاه‌های انگلیسی ارتباط حسی‌اش را با جهان خارج قطع کرده و معنای چیزها را فقط در تالار ذهنی‌اش، یا پای برج ساخته شده با کارت‌های پاسورش، می‌فهمد و نه مثل فیلیپ مارلوی چندلر و کارآگاه بی‌نام داشیل همت و باقی نوآرنویس‌ها آن قدر درگیری حسی با ماجرا پیدا می‌کند که خودش را سوژه ماجراها کند و عاشق مظنون و متهم و شاهد شود. مگره ذهن پخته یک مرد شصت ساله است که دائم دارد زندگی‌اش را، حین زندگی کردن، برای خودش روایت می‌کند. هم‌زمان هم سوژه است و هم ابژه؛ هم زندگی می‌کند، هم مخاطب زندگی خودش است. درگیری حسی‌اش پدرانه است، مادرانه است. آدم‌ها را درک می‌کند؛ نه باهاشان غریبه است، نه مقهورشان می‌شود. به همین خاطر هم هست که:
به نظرم این که می‌گویند داستان‌های مگره روان‌شناختی هستند و مثلا مگره با تحلیل روان‌شناختی ذهن شخصیت‌های داستان به نتیجه می‌رسد چندان معتبر نیست. داستان روان‌شناختی، اگر آن چیزی باشد که نمونه خوبش می‌شود میلان کوندرا و نمونه بدش خروار خروار توی هر سوراخی ریخته، مبتنی بر تحلیل خودآگاه روان و درونیات آدم‌ها و فرضیه‌سازی و تعلیل و از این قماش است. کاری که مگره می‌کند اصلا این نیست. همان قدری روان‌شناختی است که رابطه من با دوست‌هام، رابطه شما با راننده تاکسی، رابطه همه با هم. مبتنی بر شهود حسی است. بر اساس تلاش برای درک دیگران بر مبنای اطلاعات حسی بنا شده. بینایی (ظاهر خسته، قیافه پریشان، چشم‌های وق زده، لب چین خورده)، بویایی (تنباکو، عطر، آب جو، چوب)، شنوایی (آهنگ صدا، خستگی، رخوت)، چشایی (تلخی الکل، طعم سالاد، خوشمزه‌ترین خوراک گوشت جهان) و لامسه (چسبناکی میز کوچک میخانه، زبری پوست، خیسی لیوان). مگره، درست مثل من و شما و همه، آدم‌ها را با این چیزها می‌شناسد، نه با تحلیل لایه‌های ناخودآگاه و عقده‌ها و بلایی که توی بچگی سرشان آمده.
حرف زیادی راجع به «کافه لیبرتی» ندارم. پیچیدگی طرح جنایت به نسبت زیاد است، ولی روش مگره برای کشفش کمتر از خیلی از داستان‌های دیگرش پیچیده است. بیشتر می‌چرخد و اطلاعات جمع می‌کند، بعد آدم‌های مختلف را، در موقعیت‌های دشوار، با هم مواجه می‌کند و خودش را در معرض واکنش‌ها می‌گذارد. ماجرا تقریبا خودش کشف می‌شود. مگره هیچ وقت برایمان جلسه توضیح واقعیت ماجراها را برگزار نمی‌کند. فقط آخر رمان برمی‌گردد پیش زن عزیزش و سر سفره شام دونفره‌شان برای بعضی‌ها دل می‌سوزاند.

(ژیلا گفت در مورد ترجمه‌اش هم بگویم. من که تا به حال نه متن اصلی هیچ کدام از داستان‌های مگره را خوانده‌ام، نه ترجمه‌شان به زبان‌های دیگر را. تنها مرجعم خود کتاب به زبان فارسی است. ولی این را می‌توانم بگویم که متن داستان روان و درست در آمده و (جز چندتایی ناهم‌نواختی نگارشی) اعصاب را به هم نمی‌ریزد. علاوه بر این، مترجم تلاش‌هایی برای بازتولید و ساخت سبک نثری سیمنون هم کرده. هر چند مرجعی ندارم که در مقایسه نتیجه تلاش‌هاش را بسنجم، و هر چند به نظر می‌رسد این تلاش برای ساخت زبان و سبک داستان به قوام کافی نرسیده و هنوز کار دارد تا بشود، همین که تلاشی براش انجام شده به نظر من مبارک است و شایسته تقدیر.)

[Aloke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read it for its sketches of sun-drenched Antibes and Cannes and for Boutigues, the dashing inspector always on the hunt for a good place for a drink (occasionally contributing a clue or two), and for the Liberty Bar itself with its louche denizens, delicious food and its fruit machine. What exactly is a fruit machine? I pictured an over-sized gumball machine filled with oranges operated with exotic metal tokens. The reality is more prosaic but let me have my fantasy. The plot itself is meandering and frustrating and more like the romans durs than a traditional mystery.

[Rosanna]

Libro 'Libroinfiore 2016'
Libro di decantazione.
Libro d'attesa, prima di riprendere quelli 'seri' dati per scontati a un livello secondo di un secondo settembrino livello. Oddio, sembra un giallo!
E mi ritrovo, a solo un euro, in giro per i bar di Cannes con Maigret , buon compagno di bevute, da quel che so.. Un 'Bar liberty', dove liberty è anche il sentimento, il chiacchierare, il bere e...l'amare.
Tutto il resto è vita grama e grama vita.
Tutto il resto è solo abbandono e tradimento. No, sbaglio...si può tradire senza abbandonare, grande mistero...Tutto ciò diventa movente. Assassinio.
Che dire del merluzzo mantecato della signora Maigret?
Solo che il signor Maigret è ben strano a tornare ogni volta, dopo, alla sua normalità casalinga con un grande appetito!!! Ognuno fa quel che può per difendersi ...

[Sandro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Non sono molto oggettivo nella valutazione dei romanzi di Simenon con protagonista Maigret: a me piacciono tutti e ho dato a tutti quelli letti fino ad ora 5 stelle.
Liberty Bar si caratterizza per un'ambientazione in costa azzurra e per un Maigret particolarmente malinconico.

[Elina · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 αστεράκια γιατί είναι ο Μαιγκρέ και γιατί έτσι!!!

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Georges Simenon was one of the most popular detective writers of the twentieth century. Born in Belguim, died in Switzerland, he wrote in French an his 400 novels sold over 500 million copies. Of his 400 novels (a number equaled by Australia’s Carter Brown), Simenon wrote some 192 under his own name and the rest under various pseudonyms. His most well-known novels are his Inspector Maigret series, short punchy detective novels that focus on concise episodes and do not try to deal with global themes. His Maigret novels began in 1930 through 1972, some 42 years. Often, the French publication was followed quickly (or within a few years) with an English translation. Most modern English readers are familiar with the Penguin Classics translations which came out beginning in 2013 through 2020.

Maigret at Liberty Bar was originally published in French in 1932 and in English in 1940. It has also been published as Maigret on the Riviera. The action here takes place in Antibes, which is on the Mediterranean between Nice and Cannes. Maigret, who primarily is based in Paris, is sent here to investigate a death and instructed quite explicitly to avoid any dramas. Brown had lived in the villa for about ten years off a private income with two women, his mistress Gina Martini, and her mother. They lived without a maid and the estate was filthy. Maigret is told a butcher saw a car weaving and assumed Brown was drunk. When it crashed into a rock, two women got out and started running toward town carrying three suitcases. The police searched the villa the next morning and a gardener found Brown’s corpse fully dressed. The two women, now in police custody, said Brown pulled up, and fell down on the steps with a knife right between the shoulder-blades. Thinking the police would not believe any explanation, they buried hi and made off with money and objects of value.

Maigret thought about the world of Brown and his women, one of a world “sticky with sunshine, the scent of mimosas and sickly sweet flowers, drunken flies, cars gliding over softened pavement.” When he spoke to the two women back in the villa, he found that the girl had a full figure, almost too buxom, “she was a classic psuedo femme fatale.” The mother was a ghastly sight. Maigret is puzzled and wonders how on earth did a fellow like Brown spend ten years with these two women, who could only tell him that they rarely went out and every month Brown would go away for three or four days to fetch money and come home filthy, stinking of alcohol. He would bring home two thousand francs each month and in the second half of the month they would have to tighten their belts. Maigret looks around the house and finds that it is “A cross between a den, where animals live in their own stench, among leftover food and excrement, and a bourgeois interior, with all its preening pomposity.”

Maigret is puzzled, but decides he will find out what bar Brown went to when he disappeared for days and came home stinking drunk. His explorations, of course, lead him to the Liberty Bar, a place at the end of the road, where the fat proprietor Jaja, her half-naked friend Sylvie the drug addict whore, and Yan, a sailor, spent time. The Liberty Bar was the essence of noir, a place where time stood still and Maigret was not even sure it was real. “Wasn’t the Liberty Bar the last port of call, when you had seen everything, tried everything by way of vices?”

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

An Australian millionaire is stabbed in the back on the Riviera, and Inspector Jules Maigret is sent to investigate without "making waves." He is mightily confused by the victim's confused sex life, what with four women; but he manages to tough it out and find the criminal in the end.At one point:

From that moment Maigret realized that he was on the wrong track. But, as always in such situations, he pressed on even more stubbornly as he felt himself become more entangled.

Georges Simenon's Liberty Bar is one of my favorite Maigrets because it shows the detective inspector at his most persistent and intuitive. Not only is the murderer a big surprise, but what Maigret does about it is even more surprising.

[Charles Dee Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read seven Maigret novels in the past year, and this is the most satisfying of them all, despite the fact that almost nothing happens. Perhaps because so little happens.

Inspector Maigret has been dispatched to Antibes. William Brown, the dissipated, expatriate head of the wealthiest sheep ranch in Australia, has died on the steps of his rundown villa, stabbed in the back. Because Brown has a distinguished war record involving army intelligence in addition to his wealthy background, Maigret has been given explicit instructions that there is to be "no dramas." Of course, the situation is a nest of potential drama, but Maigret meets the principal players, in all their sleazy glory, sorts things out and leaves. No drama. Just the pleasures of the luxurious Riviera setting, which Maigret despises, along with its underbelly of prostitution and crime. Simenon captures each character and each locale with an economy of words exceptional even for him.

[Pixelina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maigret is not very likable is he? He is kinda whiny and tired the whole time and he doesn't really give a damn about Justice, he is quite happy to solve the puzzle and then just leave it all to play out and go home.

[Dvora Treisman · Rating 4 out of 5]

After not finishing a depressing book about Russia and some of the former Soviet countries, it was like a breath of fresh air sitting with a Maigret. Granted this isn't a happy story, but it's Maigret and it takes place on the Cote d'Azur, and hey.

[Anna [Floanne] · Rating 4 out of 5]

Questo di Simenon è un giallo un po’ insolito per l’ambientazione. A differenza della maggior parte dei suoi romanzi, non siamo infatti nel nebbioso e cupo nord della Francia, bensì nella solare e vacanziera Costa Azzurra. Come da sua tradizione, però, anche qui, il delitto che l’ispettore Maigret deve risolvere matura all’interno di un ambiente sordido e malfamato, il Liberty Bar, frequentato da prostitute e marinai. Intrigante e per nulla scontato.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good read. I think the most common phrase associated with Maigret for me is’Would you like a drink’. This story is set in Cannes. Maigret is there to make sure there is no drama after Wilson an Australian is murdered. His family who he is ostracized from are wealthy and want to at all costs avoid a scandal. Wilson is a drunk who lives in a villa with a mother and his mistress the daughter. He also visits the Liberty Bar with Jaja the drunken owner and her protege Sylvie.

Wilson leaves a Will that if found or not send would tie up his family for years. Maigret deduced the murderer but will he arrest them or let time take its course. 1930s Cannes with it’s white sands, sunshine and hidden underbelly is captured wonderfully. As Maigret says to his wife it was a love story.

[Zuberino · Rating 4 out of 5]

My habit of reading at least a couple of Simenons every year goes back to 1991 - "Inquest on Bouvet" was not only my first Simenon, it was also the very first used book I ever bought with my own money. (The first of many thousands). The joys of reading Simenon are invariant - it evokes a certain mood, a certain nostalgia in the reader, a series of snapshots that are almost sensual in their cumulative pleasure, and yes, above all else, they present a certain eternal vision of France, a vision that became fixed in our collective minds sometime in the 20th century - now almost a caricature! - but one that lingers on, if only because it hews so close to reality in important ways.

Take Liberty Bar, for example. This was the 17th Maigret that Simenon produced in an extraordinary phase of productivity; the first Maigret came out in the early summer of 1931 (Peter the Lett) and by the late summer of 1932, the author had published the 17th in the series! That is almost 1.5 Maigrets every month, sustained for well over a year. How he did it, God only knows - especially when you read volume after volume and realize the absolute consistency of quality in his output. It reminds me of my favourite food joints; no matter how often I go back to Nanna Biriyani, I always know that they will serve up a perfect plate of kachchi - the first whiff of fragrant polao and mangsho will always be a reminder of that wonderful reliability. Maigret is a bit like that; within the first couple of pages, you are transported back to your idealized France. This book came out some 90 years ago, but if you have been to the Cote d'Azur even once in your life, you will know just how true its impressions are of that magical coast. Sunlit, indolent, decadent, diverse - a pleasure like no other.

That's the stage-set on which this specific whodunnit plays out. The particulars are not important, though it's a robust story as always. An Aussie wool magnate, hiding out in the Riviera for years and years, away from his family, his estate and his cares. Dissolute women, contested money, a murder that Maigret has been called to solve. In our heart of hearts, how many of us would wish to swap lives with Monsieur Brown, do what he chose to do? Is there a better place to kick the bucket than in the shade of the pines and cypresses of that southern paradise, even if it does mean a knife sticking out of your back? Methinks not.

So. This one was good. I might just pick up another one after this. In closing, all I will say is that if I can keep reading a couple of Simenons every year for another 30 years, it will not have been such a bad way to live after all.

[Rhys · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are 75 'Maigret' novels in the entire series and I now have all of them. I have read 66, so only 9 to go! Simenon began writing 'Maigret' novels in 1931 and finished in 1972. I began reading them in 2014 and hope to finish them early next year. For me, the final countdown began a few days ago, namely the last 10 titles that I haven't yet read. Then I read this one....

I think of the 'Maigret' novels as falling into three distinct phases:
(1) The early novels, most of which were written in the two years, 1931 and 1932. This first phase was brought to a close by Maigret's retirement in what was originally the final book of the series, a novel simply titled Maigret and published in 1934.
(2) The mid period novels. This is 'Maigret' at his finest and darkest. Simenon brought him back in 1942 at the height of the Second World War. These novels tend to be longer and harder in tone than the early period works. It is in this period that the best 'Maigret' novels can be found (in my own opinion) such as Cecile is Dead and Maigret's Dead Man.
(3) The late novels. Maigret is a somewhat tired character by this stage. There is no clear dividing line between the mid period and late period, but it seems to have occurred in the early 1960s just after the excellent Maigret and the Tramp.

Liberty Bar is the last of the early period novels that I needed to read. I have read it and now I feel I ought to say goodbye to the early Maigret. He is rather different from the chief inspector he would later become. He is less bound by formal procedures and is able to bend the rules as he wishes. There are no higher up authorities seeking to obstruct him. This is the Maigret of a world where murderers are still executed by guillotine and where it is permissible to rough up suspects but also where it is possible to turn a blind eye to criminal activities if one has a sympathetic understanding of their circumstances. Maigret is freer. Not that such freedom means he can't be grumpy, sour and irritable at times...

Some of my favourite of the 'Maigret' novels have taken him away from Paris. In this adventure he arrives in the Côte d'Azur to investigate a murder. I thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere that Simenon conjures up so well. The hot sun, the boulevards with their casinos and luxury cars, the landscape of ocean and mountains...

[KOMET · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chief Inspector Maigret is on special assignment in the Côte d'Azur. He is met at the train station in Antibes by a young inspector by the name of Boutigues. Boutigues, knowing of Maigret's reputation, tries to ingratiate himself with the veteran policemen of the Paris Police Judiciare. Maigret shows little interest in the younger man as they ride an ancient fiacre to a house some distance away. It's a residence owned by an Australian. An Australian who had lived in the area for the past decade with 2 women and was found dead from a stab wound in the back. Maigret sets himself to investigating the murder. As he goes about uncovering the clues and questioning people who were associated with the Australian (who, it turns out, lived a somewhat schizophrenic existence), Maigret becomes caught up in the festive and somnolent atmosphere of the Côte d'Azur - "... A land fulfilling every promise: mimosa, sunshine, palms and parasol pines, tearooms, tennis, golf, and American bars..."

This is a book that will appeal to the senses and to any mystery book lover who enjoys a captivating story which is leisurely laid-out and whose denouement brings together all the pieces of the puzzle.

[Maria Altiki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Μια ακόμα εξαιρετική περιπέτεια του Μαιγκρέ! Τι να πεις για τον Σιμενόν, όλα είναι ένα κ ένα!

[Andrea Rojas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Es genial. Simenon tiene una forma increíble de contar las cosas, este caso en sí te resalta los vicios del ser humano de una manera muy entretenida. Es brillante 😂🫶🏻

[Suni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maigret è in trasferta in Costa Azzurra per risolvere un omicidio e soprattutto per evitare uno scandalo.
Fa caldo, la gente è lì in vacanza e il commissario non si sente nel suo elemento, nonostante l’ispettore locale non faccia che decantargli la bellezza del luogo.
Maigret invece si interessa solo alla vittima, a cui per certi versi si sente affine, prova a mettersi nei suoi panni e rintracciandone gli spostamenti arriva al Liberty Bar.
E il Liberty Bar lo inghiotte.
L’atmosfera, che nei romanzi di Simenon ha sempre un ruolo enorme, qui è quasi più importante della trama. Si arriva alla fine inebriati e intontiti.
Una lettura veloce ma intensa.

Gli era tornata in mente la frase di un amico cui un giorno aveva offerto l’aperitivo.
«Cosa prendi?».
«Una genziana!».
«Che cos’è, una nuova moda?».
«Non è una moda! È l’ultima risorsa dell’ubriacone, vecchio mio! Tu conosci la genziana e sai quant’è amara. E non è neppure alcolica! Be’! Quando per trent’anni uno ha buttato giù liquori di ogni genere, questo è l’unico vizio che gli resta. Perché solo il gusto amaro della genziana riesce ancora a stimolargli le papille...».
Proprio così! Un luogo immune dai vizi e dalla cattiveria! Un bar dove i clienti entravano e andavano subito in cucina, accolti familiarmente da Jaja!
E bevevano mentre lei cucinava! E magari facevano un salto dal macellaio vicino a comprare un pezzo di carne per il pranzo! Poi, quando Sylvie scendeva seminuda e con gli occhi pieni di sonno, la baciavano sulla fronte, senza neppure lanciare un’occhiata ai suoi seni scarni.
Non c’era molta pulizia, né molta luce. Non si parlava molto. La conversazione si trascinava pigramente, come del resto le persone...
Il mondo esterno con la sua agitazione non esisteva più. Soltanto un rettangolo di sole...
Mangiare, bere... Sonnecchiare e bere ancora mentre Sylvie si vestiva e si infilava le calze per andare al lavoro...
«A presto, padrino!».
Era esattamente la storia della genziana! Quando uno ne aveva viste di tutti i colori e sperimentato ogni sorta di vizio, non gli restava, come estremo rifugio, che il Liberty Bar.
Donne senza fascino, senza civetteria, senza passione e che non ispirano passione, donne a cui si regalano cento franchi per le calze, a cui si dà  un bacio sulla fronte quando escono e si chiede quando rientrano: «Lavorato bene?».