I have a little joke with myself that when it comes to our club reads, there’s pretty much always at least one Maigret story that I can read from the year in question. 1968 is no exception, and there were two titles available, although I only own one – and as I’m trying to read from the stacks where I can, I went for that one.
However, when I was looking through titles of books for the last Club, the name of Rex Stout came up. I hadn’t read any of his Nero Wolfe titles for absolutely ages (decades probably) and I had wanted to squeeze one in to 1951. That didn’t happen, but as I had access to a 1968 book I decided to go for that too. So a double-header today and a pair of rather wonderful, if different, crime reads.
First up I read the Stout, “The Father Hunt”; narrated by Archie Goodwin, sidekick to Nero Wolfe (who always tells the tale as far as I can recall), it’s about a young woman called Amy Denovo who asks Archie to help her find out who her father was. Her mother was killed in a hit and run accident, and she knows nothing about her missing male parent. Amy’s mother was remarkably secretive, and of course as Archie is employed by Wolfe and can’t act on his own, he draws the great detective into the quest. It turns out that Amy was left a lot of money by her mother, which came from her absent father over the years, and so she can afford Wolfe’s large fee (well, he does have a collection of rare orchids to maintain!) As usual in these stories, there are tight-lipped millionaires, starchy bankers and uncooperative policemen, all ripe for Archie to annoy (I can still remember the format even though it’s such a long time since I read a Stout!) There’s a wonderful ensemble cast and although the solution was perhaps a little rushed, it was still an enjoyable read.
The Simenon was “Maigret’s Boyhood Friend” and concerns the murder of a women known as Josee who has been shot. Josee had a number of ‘friends’ who helped her to pay her way, regular visitors with regular days; but she also had an almost live-in lover in the form of Florentin, the class clown from when Maigret was at school. It is Florentin who presents himself at Maigret’s office, claiming that Josee was murdered and it was not him – he had been hiding in the cupboard and had heard the murderer but does not know who it was.
Janvier could not help smiling. He was well acquainted with this mood, and, as a rule, it was a good sign. It was Maigret’s way, when he was working on a case, to soak everything up like a sponge, absorbing into himself people and things, even of the most trivial sort, as well as impressions of which he was perhaps barely conscious. It was generally when he was close to saturation point that he was at his most disgruntled.
Maigret is, of course, skeptical, and sets off to investigate the murdered women’s visitors. His investigation is hampered by Florentin’s antics, and the fact that Maigret really dislikes his old school classmate. Despite this, however, he finds it impossible to believe the man is a murderer, and so there has to be much grilling of the other suspects, and also of a monumental and uncooperative concierge who troubles Maigret greatly. Once again, there is a wonderful ensemble cast, plenty of Parisian atmosphere and a clever, twisty solution (as well as a little nod to one of Poe’s seminal crime stories). I don’t think I’ve ever read a Maigret that disappoints, and this one was no exception.
So, looking back over these two crime tales, how different actually are the French and the American detectives? In some ways, there are similarities: both are very individual, both detect in their own way which often baffles those around; both have an ensemble team around them and a very distinctive location. Despite the superficial differences of New York vs Paris, neither detective suffers fools gladly, neither likes to admit defeat and neither functions well without their particular foils or sidekicks. Maigret and Nero Wolfe are more alike than you might think, both these books were a marvellous read, and this double-header was a wonderful way to finish off the #1968Club reading week! 🙂
*****
As an aside, I read the Stout on my tablet (e-book! eek) but the Maigret in paperback; and the latter was a most unpleasant experience, as it was a *very* old anthology edition with crispy brown pages and as soon as I opened it these started falling out as obviously the spine glue had given up the ghost. Not fun, and it’s odd for me to have found an ebook a more enjoyable read… !
Café Society
Nov 05, 2017 @ 09:16:01
I’ve not come across Stout. From what you say about the way in which the narrative is set up, was he channelling Sherlock Holmes?
kaggsysbookishramblings
Nov 05, 2017 @ 11:40:11
Well, I would actually consider arguing that pretty much every author who came after Doyle was channelling the great detective! There’s nearly always the main sleuth and a sidekick. The sleuth is usually eccentric, the sidekick ordinary, but it’s down to the skill of the many varied and wonderful authors of crime novels that we forget that and love what we’re reading! :))
Jonathan
Nov 05, 2017 @ 10:03:40
I should actually read some detective stories, either Christie or Simenon perhaps, but they’ve never really appealed to me.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Nov 05, 2017 @ 11:38:20
It depends what you’re looking for – Simenon is perhaps a little tougher than Christie (though I would argue she has her own kind of toughness). It depends whether you’re attracted to the puzzle element or the psychological element or the setting or the characters of such things – detective novels come in all shapes and forms and can offer many differing delights!
Cathy746books
Nov 05, 2017 @ 11:22:16
Once again I’ve managed to miss the #1968Club. Gah! I need to get more organised!
kaggsysbookishramblings
Nov 05, 2017 @ 11:37:11
:))) It’s hard to keep up with all the reading challenges and stuff you want to do – join in next time! :))
heavenali
Nov 05, 2017 @ 12:00:46
Rex Stout is a completely new name to me. One to look out for he sounds good.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Nov 05, 2017 @ 12:25:43
He’s definitely worth checking out. I read stacks of the Nero Wolfe stories back in the day and they were very entertaining.
Liz Dexter
Nov 05, 2017 @ 17:09:49
Wonderful work and two great reads, well done! I am actually reading a 1968 Club Book – “Greensleeves” by Eloise Jarvis McGraw – hoping you’ll do your wrap up posts tomorrow so I’ve got time to review it later on today! It’s fab, though.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Nov 05, 2017 @ 18:39:51
Thank you! And yes, link to your review – I’ll add it to the page, because there are always several that come in after the deadline! :))
Simon T
Nov 05, 2017 @ 21:03:48
I love how Simenon (and Christie) have appeared in all, or nearly all, the clubs so far! And I so agree with you about this browned, curly, thin pages…
kaggsysbookishramblings
Nov 06, 2017 @ 11:32:28
They have! Such prolific authors! And the book was painful to read – I had to try to hold the pages together in order, but there was no glue left in the spine and I was scared of tearing them too. Not fun…
Cavershamragu
Nov 05, 2017 @ 21:45:48
I love Stout and Simenon but sandwiching them like this has just about blown my mind Karen 😉
kaggsysbookishramblings
Nov 06, 2017 @ 11:31:42
:))))) They’re not an obvious pairing but I rather enjoyed reading the two and comparing!
Harriet Devine
Nov 06, 2017 @ 08:38:14
Yes it’s hard to avoid Simenon! But I was glad to have a chance to read one, though a different one from you. It’s often confusingly hard to work out what dates his books appeared in – the one I did, Maigret Takes the Waters, I’ve seen listed as 1967, 1968 and 1969! Never read Rex Stout, though I’ve heard of him.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Nov 06, 2017 @ 11:09:06
Yes, I’ve found the dates for Simenon awfully confusing. There is a site I always consult which seems quite authoritative and I always check with that. As for Stout, he’s a fun read – worth reading if you come across him!
Sarah
Nov 06, 2017 @ 14:07:03
Despite my best intentions, I flunked out of the 1968 readalong this time round. Still, I’ve really enjoyed reading everyone’s reviews, not least of all these as I’m also rather partial to Simenon. I shall keep an eye out for some Nero Wolfe titles as I’ve yet to read any of those.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Nov 06, 2017 @ 15:43:42
Simenon is really rather wonderful! And I recommend the Nero Wolfe books as they’re very entertaining!
Kat
Nov 07, 2017 @ 02:34:23
Oh, I know all about unpleasant old editions! Sometimes the e-book is better. And by the way, I’ve never read Rex Stout, though i used to see his books everywhere.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Nov 07, 2017 @ 11:29:59
It was definitely the crumbliest thing I’ve read in ages…. 😉
buriedinprint
Nov 07, 2017 @ 20:57:43
I had this experience not long ago as well and actually had to (for, hopefully, the first and last time in my life) put the book into the blue-bin (to the curb for recycling) because it was simply unmanageable. Sigh. Lucky you managed to finish: devotion!
kaggsysbookishramblings
Nov 07, 2017 @ 21:13:30
It’s painful – I just made it through the book but I think I may well have to recycle it because I wouldn’t want to try that again….
#1968Club – Stuck in a Book
Nov 08, 2017 @ 20:08:38