The Flemish House: Inspector Maigret

Inspector Maigret #14

by Georges Simenon, Shaun Whiteside (Translator)

A new translation of this chilling novel, set on the Belgian border. Book fourteen in the new Penguin Maigret series.

She wasn't an ordinary supplicant. She didn't lower her eyes. There was nothing humble about her bearing. She spoke frankly, looking straight ahead, as if to claim what was rightfully hers.

'If you don't agree to look at our case, my parents and I will be lost, and it will be the most hateful legal error...'

Maigret is asked to the windswept, rainy border town of Givet by a young woman desperate to clear her family of murder. But their well-kept shop, the sleepy community and its raging river all hide their own mysteries.

Penguin is publishing the entire series of Maigret novels in new translations. This novel has been published in a previous translation as The Flemish Shop.

'Compelling, remorseless, brilliant' John Gray

'One of the greatest writers of the twentieth century . . . Simenon was unequalled at making us look inside, though the ability was masked by his brilliance at absorbing us obsessively in his stories' Guardian

'A supreme writer . . . unforgettable vividness' Independent

Georges Simenon was born in Liège, Belgium, in 1903. Best known in Britain as the author of the Maigret books, his prolific output of over 400 novels and short stories have made him a household name in continental Europe. He died in 1989 in Lausanne, Switzerland, where he had lived for the latter part of his life.

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

154 pages, Kindle Edition

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 Audible Listen May/June 2023
Eventually we finished in Greece in October. Through the wet miserable Summer in England we lost the habit of listening to a book at lunchtime. Hopefully on our return to the UK, we will continue.
An audiobook that as ever captures the essence of Maigret. Called in to help with the disappearance of a young women in a small village on the Belgian border, Maigret finds himself both loved and hated by the different factions in the village.
All through his investigations he scowls at the villagers and also the investigating inspector. Despite his surly behaviour he starts to discover exactly what did happen that stormy night .
Brilliantly read as ever and a joy to finally finish

Maigret Series Read 2020
A great detective novel in which Maigret is so typically Maigret, it’s wonderful.

So The Flemish House, where to start ? The last Maigret novel I read I was disappointed in, and it was almost like this was a Maigret novel with extra Maigret just to make up for that disappointment.

Maigret looms large through almost the whole of the book, broodingly stomping from the Hotel to the supposed murder scene, along the river, and back to her lodgings. It's almost as if he is trying to pick up clues by osmosis of the locale.
Whether it is the different people who are doing the translations , whether its Simenon’s writing, or indeed a combination of both, but this was Maigret plus. He scowled, he brooded , he questioned, he teased, he spoke, he listened, he remained silent, he just was !!

The story is a simple one, the only son of a good Flemish family living on the French/Belgium border has philandered with a local French girl despite being betrothed to a girl from a good Flemish Family. Following the birth of a child blackmail /maintenance is agreed and for a while things settle down, then unexpectedly one stormy evening the French girl disappears after collecting her monthly maintenance, and of course immediately the son is suspected, but he was away at University so is there more to it?
Maigret gets involved through a friend of the Flemish family and immediately departs from Paris, to the border where through a stormy few days with torrential rain and the threat of floods from the local river he makes a nuisance of himself investigating the girl's disappearance, is it even murder ??

A great novel and one of the most enjoyable Maigret’s so far, just so Maigret-y !!

[Marwan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most of the classical mystery authors I know about are either Americans or British. So discovering an author who's none of those two categories is always interesting for me. And this Belgium Author didn't disappoint me at all.

A typical golden age mystery set in Givet, a small town which lies on the border between Belgium and France. The story revolves around the Peeters, a Flemish family who run a grocery shop and a bar, and who are accused of murdering a local girl named Germaine Piedbeouf. The girl had a child and she claims that Joseph Peeters (the eldest son of the Peeters) is the father since they had a relationship in the past. So every month she goes to the Flemish house to collect the money for child support. However, on the 3rd of January, she went missing and the last time she was seen was on her way to the Flemish house, Which makes them the prime suspects.

Chief Inspector Maigret is sent there form Paris (unofficially) on the request of one of his wife's cousins (who's a friend of the Peeters) to investigate the matter and put it to an end once and for all. However, a lot of secrets start emerging as he digs deeper into the Case, and the ending took me by surprise

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ths is an atmospheric Maigret. The wife of Maigret asks him to go to a small town called Givet on the river Meuse and border with France and Belgium. One of his wife's relatives asked her if Maigret could come and investigate unoffically the disapperance of a young woman. It is January and in the depths of winter with it cold, windy and the barges unable to move so in lockdown.

The family suspected of the disappearance are the respected Peeter's family. Anna Peeters's brother, Joseph had an affair with a local woman who then had a child now three years old. She has disappeared and her family suspect the Peeters family had murdered or kidnapped her. The Peeter's operate a grocery shop and are Flemish while the woman who disappeared is French. The family are seen as outsiders with the town is divided between the Flemish and the French.

I enjoyed this grim story as it is one in which the ending is unexpected. Joseph is idolized by Anna and her family. Once again Maigret is in a setting where it rains a lot and he drinks a lot.

The beauty of this story is for me the ending so different from many of today’s modern detective stories. Joseph is a spoilt man who is weak while his sister Anna is strongwilled and idolises her brother which adds to the mystery especially as someone has reported seeing a body thrown in the Meuse. The story keeps you guessing.

[Ivonne Rovira · Rating 4 out of 5]

Determined Anna Peeters, through sheer perseverance, gets Chief Inspector Jules Maigret to intercede in her family’s case. Located in Givet, a French seaport on the border with Belgium, the Peeters family runs a shop, the Épicerie Peeters (a.k.a. the Flemish House), on the French side of the border with Belgium, a large shop that caters to Belgian sailors who work on the barges that ply the River Meuse. Anna’s brother Joseph, a law student in Nancy 200 kilometers away, is believed to have fathered a child with a lower-class local lass named Germaine Piedboeuf; understandably for the time (the novel, first released in English in 1940 as The Flemish Shop), this bourgeois family insists that “it’s never been proved” and heap scorn on the girl — but, even so, they slip her a monthly maintenance of 100 francs for herself and JoJo, now two-and-a-half.

But, on Jan. 3, after a row at the Flemish House, Germaine disappears. All of Givet, resentful of the Flemish and well-to-do Peeters family, believes the family guilty. Even the local police tell Maigret they’re sure of the family’s guilt and will make arrests very soon. But Maigret travels from Paris to Givet to see for himself.

The French denizens of Givet harbor such consuming hatred of the Peeters because they’re Flemings and well-to-do. The Flemish House serves as a reminder of how easily prejudice can obscure what’s really going on.

As ever, readers can’t go wrong with a Maigret novel, and The Flemish House is not exception. The ending took me completely by surprise! Also, as ever, the best way to enjoy Chief Inspector Maigret is with the Audible version, narrated by Gareth Armstrong.

[Chantal · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book a while back in the thrift shop for 25 cents. Normally I don't really like murder mysteries, but I wanted to give this a try. It was an okay book, but I missed the clue at the end. There for it gets only 3 points. I wished the end and the names of the characters was more worked on.

[Alexander · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gewohnt souveräner Krimi. Simenon fasziniert wieder einmal mit seinem reduzierten Stil, der aber eine ungemein dichte Atmosphäre produziert.

[Mostafa · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 star
جنبه روانشناسی این داستان نسبت به جنبه جنایی آن پررنگ تر و بارز تر است
این داستان را می توان یک اثر کلاسیک در حوزه روانشناسیِ جنایی تلقی کرد

پسری ناتوان، رنجور، افسرده که نقش پدری را ایفا میکند که در داستان معلول و پیر است و همیشه روی صندلی چرخ دار در دنیای خود سیر می کند
... پدری که در طول داستان همواره روی ویلچر لمیده و هیچ اعتباری نزد خانواده ندارد و با گذر ایام و ظهور علائم مفرط پیری جایگاهش را از دست داده.... خانواده که متشکل از پدر و مادر و دو دختر و یک پسر و یک نامزد( نامزد آن پسر به نام مارگریت) است که تمام اعتبار پدرانه را از پسر( ژوزف) میگیرند.. او قطب و مرکز اصلی توجه اعضای خانواده است .. اگرچه پسری ناتوان و کم عرضه است اما خانواده که نیاز به رییس دارد او را به عنوان رییس پرورش می دهد
دو خواهر یعنی آنا و ماریا و نامزد ژوزف ( مارگریت) نقش مادر را برای او دارند در اصل او یک مادر طبیعی دارد و سه مادر غیرطبیعی... تمام این مادرها توجه و نظر مادرانه به ژوزف دارند و گویی می خواهند از گنجی( اعتبار پدرانه و اهمیت حضور جنس نر مقتدر در خانواده) محافظت کنند

در این جریان، ژوزف با دختری روستایی ارتباط برقرار میکند و صاحب فرزند می شود و حالا خانواده می بایست به آن دختر مقرری و ماهیانه ای پرداخت کنند.. پس از مدتی دختر مفقود می شود و تمام توجه به این خانواده معطوف می شود
در اینجا آنا به نزد مگره می آید تا به آنها در رد اتهام مفقود یا به قتل رساندن دختر کمک کند زیرا تمام شواهد علیه آنهاست.......ر

[Kristen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book falls into the "Maigret meets a unusual woman by whom he is both repulsed and fascinated" category. There were some unique elements, like the setting on the French-Belgian border and the fact that Maigret was investigating in an unofficial capacity. I found this one a tad dull, though.

[Tim Orfanos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Πρόκειται για ένα από τα πιο 'στρωτά' στη δομή της πλοκής και των διαλόγων μυθιστορήματα/νουβέλες του Σιμενόν, όπου μεγάλο ενδιαφέρον παρουσιάζουν οι περιγραφές των περιοχών στα γαλλο-φλαμανδικά σύνορα, αλλά καί οι διαπολιτισμικές διαφορές και υπάρχουσες προκαταλήψεις μεταξύ των Γάλλων και των Φλαμανδών, οι οποίες, κάποιες φορές, 'καυτηριάζονται' με ξεκάθαρο τρόπο από τον συγγραφέα.
Από την άλλη πλευρά, όμως, η διαλεύκανση του μυστηρίου, όσο καί η ολοκλήρωση του βιβλίου δημιουργούν ανάμεικτες σκέψεις και συναισθήματα.

Βαθμολογία: 3,9/5 ή 7,8/10.

[AlbertoD · Rating 4 out of 5]

L’ambientazione in cui questa volta il commissario indaga è Givet, piccola cittadina francese al confine belga, abitata da valloni e fiamminghi. Un contesto provinciale, da piccola borghesia, malsano e soffocante, in cui la diffidenza e il pregiudizio verso l’estraneo sono all’ordine del giorno.
Ad esacerbarlo, la scomparsa di una ragazza: l’atto iniziale di un cupo dramma familiare che toccherà a Maigret portare alla luce.
Ancor più che in altre inchieste, il commissario è interessato non tanto al come del delitto, ma al suo perchè, e a cercare di comprendere nuove sfaccettature di un’umanità che lo sconcerta e stupisce da un lato e lo impietosisce dall’altro.
Tra le migliori indagini di Maigret lette finora.

[Sharon Barrow Wilfong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another Maigret. What can I say? I cannot stop reading about this Parisian detective.

This particular mystery does not take place in Paris, however, but on the Belgian border in the town called Givet. Maigret is not officially on duty, he only comes because a young woman has specifically asked him to. So while Maigret assists the detective in charge, Monsieur Machere, he insists that he is not responsible for anything.

The woman, Anne and her family are Flemish and not especially liked by the French inhabitants of Givet. To make matters worse, a young French girl has disappeared. It is feared she has been murdered and the number one suspect is Anne's brother. After all, he has the biggest motive: he got the girl pregnant and he is paying a lot of money every month to support, not only her and the baby, but also the nanny of the little boy, and also her lout of a brother who is constantly demanding more and more money.

But did he? Did anyone else have a motive for killing this girl?

That is what Maigret sets out to discover..

Possible spoiler, read on at your discretion:

My only quibble with the entire book is the lax attitude Maigret seems to have with right and wrong. He seems to think it is not his responsibility to administer justice, even with a murderer, since he is off-duty.

[Meredith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Acting in an unofficial capacity at the request of his wife's cousin, Inspector Maigret travels to a French-Belgian border town where the Flemish family who owns the local grocery is suspected of killing the mother of their son’s illegitimate child.

"An accusation hardly ever holds water, any more than the defense. Other people might be accused..." (page 120)

Interestingly, this is one of the cases in which Inspector Maigret correctly identifies the guilty party/ies and extracts a confession despite an almost complete lack of evidence but then allows the perpetrator and accomplices to go free. Other times, he will literally hound the guilty person to death even when the motive is sympathetic and the perpetrator unlikely to ever reoffend. Maigret is unpredictable like that.

In this case, those who committed and were accessory to this crime punish themselves worse than the law could have done. Rather than freeing themselves from misery, they only added a lifetime of guilt to it.

[Meltem Sağlam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nisan Yayınlarının Simenon Serisinin 1 numaralı kitabı Flamanların Evinde.

Atmosferi her zamanki gibi çok iyi oluşturulmuş, sürükleyici ve akıcı bir metin.

Çok beğendim.

[Leah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Culture clash…

Maigret has been approached by a young woman, Anna Peeters, who wants his help. Her family is suspected of having killed another young woman, the lover of Joseph, Anna’s brother, and the mother of his child. Anna fears the local police are about to arrest them and wants Maigret to investigate separately. Since Anna has been introduced to him by an old friend, Maigret agrees, and heads to the small town of Givet on the Belgian border to look into the matter in an unofficial capacity.

This is a short one even by Maigret standards, coming in at just 132 pages, or 3 hours for the audiobook. It gives an interesting picture of a border town, looking in two directions and split between French and Belgian cultures. Simenon was Belgian by birth, although he moved to France as a young man. Here he shows how the French people in Givet look down on the Flemish residents, and because the Peeters family have done well for themselves they also meet with a lot of resentment, of the kind that suggests they are aiming above their station as members of a “lower” culture.

The Peeters themselves behave as if they think they are something special. The missing girl is a young French girl called Germaine Piedbouef and the Peeters see her as too common to marry their precious Joseph, who anyway is more or less betrothed to his cousin Marguerite. Germaine was last seen when she visited the Peeters’ house, looking for the monthly allowance that Joseph paid her for the maintenance of the child. Although no body has been found, the local police are assuming that she has been murdered and that the Peeters must have been involved, either having committed the murder as a group or at the least covering up for whichever one of them did the deed.

Maigret is less sure – perhaps the girl has simply given up hope that Joseph will marry her and run away to Paris, or perhaps despair has caused her to take her own life. And so he wanders around Givet talking to people, drinking plenty of the local Flemish drink of choice, genever (a kind of gin, apparently), and waiting for the local police to find Germaine, dead or alive. He becomes increasingly fascinated by the Peeters family. To him Joseph seems an unremarkable, rather weak young man, but his mother, sisters and cousin Marguerite all adore him immoderately and see him as the centre of their world. Anna particularly intrigues Maigret – she seems so sure of herself, so unemotional, but determined. He realises she is the true centre of the family, the person who holds them together and gives them strength.

Maigret does more actual detection in this one than is sometimes the case, and as always his setting is very well portrayed, with the added interest of the mixed culture. The dynamics within the Peeters family is also shown very believably, from a time when men were seen as the most important members of a family due largely to their greater opportunities to have a career and a place in the public sphere. The ending is a little odd in that it left me wondering why Maigret decided to do what he did – vague to avoid spoilers, sorry – but it added an interesting element to his character. A good one, and as usual the excellent narration by Gareth Armstrong added to my enjoyment. 4½ stars for me, so rounded up.

www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com

[Elizabeth (Alaska) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes my reading has me Google for a map and this was one of those times. Givet is a small town in France on the Belgian border. Set somewhat apart from the more traditional French houses is the Flemish House of the title. One of the daughters of the household has contacted Maigret to please come, that the family is being falsely accused. Another Inspector is in charge of the case of a young woman gone missing, but Maigret is intrigued and goes to Givet to learn what he can.

In this series I never know who is the murderer until it is revealed by Maigret. Usually I at least have a suspicion. In this, I suspected first one and then another and back to the first and then I had a third suspect. And I wasn't finished changing my mind even though this is a very short novel. I thought "she is too calm" or "she is too nervous" or "was he there or wasn't he" - mental turn again and turn about.

That sounds as if this should be a favorite, but it isn't. Unfortunately, I found the ending quite unsatisfactory. Of course, one title in such a long series won't deter me from investigating more of them. Maybe one day I'll find I've read them all and then what will I do? Oh, probably read them again.

[Marisol · Rating 3 out of 5]

En este camino que me he trazado de leer todas las obras de Simenon, a veces dudo pero la mayoría de las veces refuerzo mi deseo de seguir leyéndolo.

En esta historia hay una desaparición, una mujer es vista entrando a una casa donde vive una respetable familia portuguesa que regentea una especie de tienda de ultramarinos, un clan femenino que cuida y protege al primogénito, un personaje enigmático que parece no importarle su destino, con respecto a la muchacha mencionada parece que nadie la vio salir de la casa y a partir de aquí se esfumó.

El inspector Maigret se encuentra con uno de los mayores desafíos, es como tratar de abrir una almeja que está cerrada, protegiendo su vida.

Muchos misterios rondan alrededor de esta desaparición, secretos inconfesables parecen murmurar su deseo de ser revelados, y sobre todo la profunda lealtad femenina que parece transformarse en una irrespirable forma de amar, esa que es ciega, obsesiva pero sobre todo profundamente agotadora.

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very similar to a crime in holland, with Maigret brought in without an official role in the case of a missing woman feared murdered. The chief suspect is the son of a Flemish family and it his sister who apppeals to Maigret for help.
This is the usual questioning of witnesses; distilling evidence and looking for character flaws as much as motive.
The town of Givet is well described and the weather as usual plays its part; Maigret walking around in damp clothes doesn't lighten his mood. But it is the peoples' prejudice and the snoblishness in others that appears to get him down as he presses on with his parallel investigation, often with annoying success for the police inspector in charge of the case. Maigret is always one step ahead of the poor Machere leading the enquiry which is clearly murder when the women's body is found; Maigret often frustrates his colleague by knowing what he is about to disclose and by his success when the other has failed to move things along.
I love the characters so tidily drawn and the inner conflicts in human beings that are exposed in the story. I like very much the confusion the reader feels along with the hapless Machere while Maigret clearly understands the dynamics of the crime.
A greater justice is perhaps seen in this book as the criminal may appear to be allowed to escape by Maigret; he is perhaps looking for an acknowledgement of guilt and a sense of remorse, something perhaps the judicial system couldn't even achieve in this case.
No-one appears to have truely benefited from the crime and it is a clever story that demonstrates again the power and presence of Chief Inspector Maigret

[Anna [Floanne] · Rating 4 out of 5]

Con le mani calate nel cappotto appesantito dalla pioggia e la sua immancabile pipa in bocca, l’ispettore Maigret si aggira per Givet, piccola città francese vicina al confine con il Belgio attraversata dall’impetuoso fiume Mosa. È stato chiamato in veste non ufficiale da una famiglia fiamminga - i Peeters - per indagare sulla misteriosa scomparsa di una ragazza francese, Germaine Piedboeuf, amante del figlio Joseph da cui ha avuto un bambino.
Come sempre, l’indagine si dipana a poco a poco, in modo torbido, tra le stupende descrizioni del paesaggio e dei drammi interiori dei suoi abitanti. Il romanzo si incentra soprattutto sulle differenze inconciliabili tra la popolazione francese e la famiglia dei fiamminghi, accusati dal resto della popolazione di essere gli autori del delitto. Trattati come degli stranieri e colpevoli di essere ricchi di una fortuna derivata probabilmente dal contrabbando che li pone in cattiva luce all’interno della comunità, i Peeters ingaggiano Maigret per scagionarli. Ma qualcosa di sinistro aleggia tra le mura della loro casa, che è al contempo un’abitazione, un emporio ed una sorta di bistrot, frequentato dai barcaioli delle chiatte. Alla fine, quello che importa al lettore non è tanto la soluzione del delitto, forse un po’ scontata, quanto il dramma dell’esistenza di chi l’ha compiuto. Molto bello. Voto: 4 stelle

[Sandro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Premetto che non riesco ad essere oggettivo nel valutare i romanzi di Simenon con protagonista Maigret: per me tutti meritano 5 stelle.
Questo si caratterizza per un'ambientazione fuori Parigi, siamo a Givet, città francese vicina al confine con il Belgio attraversata dal fiume Mosa, un clima freddo e piovoso, un omicidio condizionato da miseria e pregiudizi sociali, un Maigret che opera in veste non ufficiale, ma più cupo del solito e un finale che un po' lascia sorpresi.
Ma la grande abilità di Simenon è proprio quella di calare Maigret in contesti e situazioni diverse, rendendolo sempre credibile e coerente a se stesso.

[AC · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clear, simple, expertly done. A very good introduction to Maigret, in fact

[Marie-Therese · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a review just a note that reading this later Maigret after the earlier A Crime in Holland is quite illuminating and indicates an interesting psychological change/growth in the Maigret character.

[Franziska Nyffenegger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sommer in den Bergen und es regnet und was ich eigentlich lesen will, will ich nicht so schnell lesen, wie ich lesen will, also nehme ich etwas aus dem Regal, das in der Stube des Ferienhauses steht, vermutlich zu genau dem Zweck. „Die Vögel Europas“, „Märchen aus dem Bündnerland“, ein paar Bildbände, Wanderführer, ein Tablar mit Belletristik, Martin Suter, Patrick Süskind, Georges Simenon. – Ich habe lange keinen Krimi gelesen und ich lese diesen hier in einem Zug und durchaus mit Vergnügen. Die Handlung treibt alles, meist über Dialoge, Beschreibungen nur knapp und keinerlei Introspektion, die Charakterisierungen träf, die Stimmung passend: Es regnet und die Leiche schwimmt im Hochwasser der Maas. – Wäre Simenon nicht sowieso schon bekannt, berühmt und beliebt, würde ich ihm vielleicht vier Sterne geben. In dem Regal stehen noch drei oder vier weitere Bücher von ihm. Mal sehen. Noch regnet es.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of atmosphere and psychology in less than 150 pages, a very pleasant change from today's bloated crime books

[Thom Gething · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Maigret tried to identify an impression that he had had since he arrived, but every time he thought he was on the point of reaching his destination, his thought became elusive. Something had changed. But he didn’t know what. And he was in a bad mood. He had the blank face, the stubborn brow of his bad days. In fact, he wanted to do something incongruous just to disrupt all the harmony that surrounded him."

Maigret #14. So far the most consistent element in the Maigret novels I have read is they are more focused on character, situation, and place than a crime. Crimes are often the starting point for Maigret, but often it is the slow unveiling of character and motive that is the most compelling part of the writing. In the case of The Flemish House Maigret becomes involved in a case out of curiosity, not duty. While the plot is a little slim the characters are all and there is a sense of ambiguity that makes the end of the book at once satisfying and yet not fully explained. Simenon and his creation leave us disrupted. (Feb. '18)

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

I quite enjoyed this one, unofficially a Miagret case and a very complicated one too. One that the twist at the end gives a miscarriage of justice.

As always with these books, there are some meorable characters. Not as much humour as some of the previous Maigret books but an enjoyable read. A bit of a slower read too for me, normally I can finish a Maigret in a sitting or two but this one I took my time with.

Onto the next one.

[The Frahorus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Continuo la maratona Maigret ed eccoci al 14esimo romanzo sul celebre commissario di polizia francese, anche stavolta in trasferta: prende il treno e arriva a Givet, una cittadina francese che confina col Belgio ed è attraversata dal fiume Mosa. Qua Maigret viene accolto dall'unica famiglia fiamminga del paese, i Peeters, dove proverà ad indagare per scagionare i sospetti che tutti gli abitanti hanno su di loro, visto che è scomparsa una ragazza, Germaine, che ha avuto un bambino col figlio dei fiamminghi, Joseph, e l'ultima volta è stata vista proprio entrare nella loro casa. La famiglia Peeters era contraria a un matrimonio riparatore perché la ragazza scomparsa apparteneva a una povera famiglia di operai e perché Joseph era già promesso sposo della benestante cugina Marguerite. A chiedere l'aiuto di Maigret è stata Anna, sorella di Joseph. Fin dall'inizio il nostro commissario trova un clima ostile perché gli abitanti vedono in lui un vero e proprio nemico, un poliziotto di parigini che viene a difendere i fiamminghi. Naturalmente egli scoprirà i motivi della scomparsa della ragazza e chi è stato il colpevole e deciderà la sua umanità a fare una scelta contro le regole.

In questo romanzo possiamo comprendere lo stile di Maigret: più che fare delle indagini egli si muove sulle atmosfere e giungerà a scoprire il colpevole guidato dal suo intuito. Come ho già detto in una passata recensione su Maigret, egli è come una spugna: assorbe tutto ciò che lo circonda, i dialoghi, le atmosfere, gli odori, le persone e quasi sempre frequenta il bar del paese, luogo dove ci si conosce e dove quasi tutti passano anche solo per un caffè o per scambiare due chiacchiere. Gli assassini che ci pennella Simenon è gente comune che spesso appartiene alla classe operaia, non troveremo mai un genio del male che complotta e organizza chissà quale omicidio, ma il delitto si rifà al dramma di esistere e spesso sopravvivere al quotidiano, e quasi sempre l'assassino o lo diventa per sbaglio, o una tragedia lo porta a quel gesto estremo. Un'altra caratteristica di Simenon è quella di farci entrare dentro le case, facendoci osservare quelle situazioni familiari che avvengono in esse.

[Charles Dee Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maigret arrives in Givet, a small town on the border separating France and Belgium. His is not on official business. A letter from one of his wife’s cousins has forwarded a request from her brother-in-law that he assist Anna Peeters, the daughter of a Flemish family that runs a grocery store and bar in Givet. The Peeters family, whom Maigret views as lower middle class, are considered rich foreigners in this small port city on the Meuse River. Joseph Peeters, Anna’s brother, has carried on a long- term affair with a local girl, Germaine Piedbeouf. They have a son now just over two years old. The Peeters pay child support, but Germaine has not been seen since the night she went to collect from the family now almost a month ago. There is no body, so murder, suicide, or a decision to run away all remain possibilities. The town has decided on murder. During the affair, after the birth of the child, and in the present circumstances, Joseph has remained engaged to his lovely cousin, Marguerite.

Maigret is capable of solving the crime, but even while he meddles in everyone’s affairs and uncovers clues, the whole thing remains “not his job.” He is, however, drawn in by the “tragedy and the meanness of the whole affair.”

And Maigret hurried off again through the rain, into the darkness. It wasn’t an investigation. It had not starting point, no foundation.
There were only a handful of humans each getting on with their own lives in the little windswept town.
Perhaps they were all sincere. But perhaps one of them concealed a tormented soul, frightened to death at the thought of the bulky form roaming these streets at night.

[A · Rating 4 out of 5]

A frustrating book out of a frustrating case for Maigret. He is called to a border town near flanders (like some other Maigret book... which one?) to help out the family of a distant relative. One of the family has been accused of killing the girl he got pregnant. The family is dutch chilly- cold and emotionless and all their hopes in the accused son. Maigret is rather unattractive in the way he treats the local police inspector (he is unofficially there) and doesn't tell him much and practically makes fun of him (not too nice). Finally it turns out to be one of the remarkably icy sisters / daughter who brained the girl with a hammer (!) while feeling... nothing. Dark.

[Pamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another gloomy and atmospheric story, this time set in the small town of Givet on the French-Belgian border. Maigret is asked to come there by Anna Peters, whose family are suspected of murdering a young woman (the lover of Anna’s brother and mother of his child).

This story has a lot of unpleasant undercurrents that add to the tension between the characters. There is suspicion and mistrust between the French and Flemish speakers, and between the relatively wealthy Peters family, who are shopkeepers and have sent their son Joseph to study law, and the poorer families like that of the dead girl. Givet is by the Meuse river where barges pass by and add their itinerant sailors to the bars and cafes of the area, and these are also suspected of criminal activities.

Maigret is brooding and bad tempered in this book, he of course finds his way to the heart of the matter but finds little satisfaction in it - indeed he seems overwhelmed by the sordid nature of the crime and all those involved. It’s quite downbeat, but still very compelling and I find this series immersive and unmissable.

[Antonella Imperiali · Rating 4 out of 5]

La scomparsa di una ragazza induce una famiglia di origini fiamminghe a chiedere aiuto a Maigret perché possa dimostrare la loro estraneità al fatto.
Il commissario si ritrova così - in veste non ufficiale - tra gente ostile, immerso in un ambiente totalmente diverso dalla sua Parigi, in un clima umido e piovoso quale è quello di Givet: una zona di confine dove vivevano fianco a fianco due etnie diverse: francesi e belgi.

Quella non era un’inchiesta: non c’era nessun punto di partenza, nessun elemento su cui basarsi.
C’era soltanto una manciata di esseri umani che conducevano ognuno la propria esistenza nella cittadina spazzata dal vento.

Eppure Maigret come al solito osserva, ascolta, annusa, fino a capire - aiutato dal suo intuito - come si sono svolti realmente i fatti e a scoprire il responsabile di quello che si rivelerà un delitto premeditato.
Ma l’umanità del commissario, complice la non ufficialità del suo ruolo, lo porterà ad una decisione ben lontana da ciò che vorrebbero le regole o la giustizia.

Bellissima l’ambientazione, soprattutto gli interni familiari; ottima la caratterizzazione dei singoli protagonisti. Storia pressoché perfetta.


✍️ GS/Maigret