Maigret Takes a Room

by Georges Simenon

Maigret (37)

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When one of his best inspectors is shot, Maigret decides to book himself into Mademoiselle Clément's well-kept Paris boarding house nearby in order to find the culprit.

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12 reviews
Another Maigret story from 1951, this one has Maigret moving out of the family home to solve an attempted murder. He doesn't want to be in the family home anyway, because Mrs Maigret has gone to help her sister who is recovering from an operation and Maigret does not like being alone in the house. Another reason for the drastic move is that "petit" Janvier his favourite inspector is the attempted murder victim and has narrowly survived being shot in the chest. The gunning down of Janvier took place in the rue Lhomond a couple of steps away from Mlle Clements boarding house. Maigret figures that getting to know the other boarders by actually living in the property is the best way of picking up clues to the crime.

Maigret proceeds to show more interview the various boarders more than once and his attention also becomes interested in the building across the road and another chance to interview even more people. Fortunately there is a good brasserie in the next road where Maigret can hang out after his exhaustive enquiries. This reader started to get a bit lost with all the various people involved, but Simenon must have realised this as he provides some summaries of who is who as the story unfolds. Perhaps the best character is Mlle Clement herself a large lady with an enormous bosom who thinks all her tenants are wonderful and tries her best to entice Maigret into her kitchen. As usual with Maigret stories of this era there is some humour some of it at Maigret's expense, there is ittle danger or suspense, but the real meat is the unravelling of the story and the solving of the crime. Maigret's tough interviewing technique is put into action as his team provide all the legwork. Another good story which I rate as 3.5 stars. show less
½
Inspector Janvier is shot — nearly fatally — while on a stakeout, and Chief Inspector Maigret takes over the investigation in order to capture the would-be cop killer. Telling you any more would spoil the adventure, but I do want to say that Georges Simenon imbues this novel, the 37th in the series, with even more nuance this usual. I just loved it.
Maigret is pretty grumpy throughout this investigation. His wife is away looking after his sister. He consumes rather a lot of alcohol, two aperitifs on the very first page. Janvier is shot mysteriously and without any apparent motive. The copper pot is all important and, as usual, Maigret doesn't cast blame and understands how a mix of loyalty and passion led to the shot being fired. Drink and cigarettes are important in all Maigret novels - he gets through a lot of wine, spirits and beer in this one:
Page 3 - 2 aperitifs
Page 5 - wine
Page 6 - calvados
Page 6 - another calvados
Page 6 - a drink at home
Page19 -chartreuse
Page 31 - drink from decanter at home
Page 35 - clinking glasses at cafe
Page 37 - glass of white wine
Page 45 - show more chartreuse, more than 1 glass
PAge 46 - wants a glass of beer
Page 57 - 3 glasses of white wine
Page 59 - a fourth glass
Page 82 - calvados
Page 85 - 3 glasses of beer
Page 86 - a white wine
Page 89 - bottle of beer in sitting room
Page 93 - glass of white wine
Page 98 - glassof wine
Page 107 - glass of white wine
Page 124 - 2 glasses of wine
Page 131 - a bottle of beer
Page 145 - glass of wine
Page155 - bottle of beer
Page 159 - glass of white wine
The sentences that refer to having a drink or a cigarette create an excellent atmosphere; the reader visualises the moments. A good example. with regard to the cigarette, is on page 71 The scene comes to life, the reader can see the cigarette offered, and the puff as Paulus lights it.
He [Paulus] was relaxed.
As his cigarette had finished, he asked for another one.
‘Where did you meet him?’
‘in a bar near Les Halles’.
How sad it will be to see a novel written without reference to a cigarette or a drink.
show less
Fantastic as always. To think he wrote each of these books in just a couple weeks. Crazy.
½
Frankrig, Paris, ca 1950
Indeholder "1. Hvordan Maigret tilbragte en ensom aften, og hvordan den endte på hospitalet", "2. Hvor det er Maigret, der bliver en 'indtagende lejer' hos frøken Clément, og hvor han gør en hel del bekendtskaber", "3. Hvor tanken om et glas koldt øl spiller en vigtig rolle, og hvor Maigret opdager en lejer hos frøken Clément på et uventet sted", "4. Der beretter om et forhør, hvorunder Maigret ikke bliver vred en eneste gang", "5. Hvor Maigret gør en masse notater for at få sig selv til at tro, at han arbejder, og hvor frøken Clément ikke hele tiden viser sig venlig", "6. Hvor der fortælles om en kvinde, som ligger forsvarsløs i sin seng, og om en kommisær, der optræder ubarmhjertigt", "7. Hvor show more Maigret mindes den eneste kylling, han nogensinde har slagtet, og hvor frøken Clément er meget bevæget over at have mødt en morder", "8. Hvor inspektør Lucas gør notater til en god historie", "9. Hvor unge Lapointe begynder at blive mindre stolt af alle sine oplysninger".

Jules Maigret er græsenkemand, for hans kone er taget til Alsace, fordi hendes søster Hortense skal opereres. Han flakker lidt rundt i byen og spiser en portion snegle, som fru Maigret ikke er så vild med. Da han kommer hjem, ringer telefonen med besked om at hans underordnede Albert Janvier er blevet skudt ned. Janvier får pillet en kugle fra en Colt 45 ud af højre lunge, men forventes at komme sig helt. Janvier er ikke lige klar til forhør før dagen efter, men de ved at han befandt sig nær et pensionat ejet af en frøken Clément. Han holdt vagt i håb om at pågribe en Emil Paulus, som var eftersøgt i forbindelse med et røveri i en lille natrestaurant Storken.
Maigret flytter ind hos frøken Clément i Rue Lhomond. Hendes lejere har typisk ikke kunnet finde en lejlighed eller har ikke råd, så de nøjes med et møbleret værelse ved hende og hun er også ganske villig til at give kredit i kortere tid. Hun er kæmpestor og har et muntert væsen. Han gætter snart at Emil Paulus gemmer sig i hendes værelse og samler ham på venlig vis op og tager ham med til forhør. Han tilstår et røveri med en legetøjspistol, men insisterer på sin uskyld i Janviers nedskydning. Røveriet er lavet sammen med en lidt ældre Jef van Damme. Denne er gift med en Juliette, men ikke mere end at Emil også har været i seng med hende. Juliette og Jef har en lille dreng på et par år. Maigret sender Lucas hen for at samle Jef op. Denne har ikke været hjemme i fem dage og Juliette gætter på at han er stukket af og sikkert er taget tilbage til Belgien. Maigret får et billede af ham og lader ham efterlyse, men er jo lige vidt med hvem der skød Janvier. Maigret bliver boende nogle dage og frøken Clément er venlig og rar, men måske ikke helt alligevel. Maigret borer lidt i et ægtepar Boursicault, hvor konen Françoise på 48 år er meget yngre end manden på 61. Han rejser meget og længe og hun er syg og ligger i sengen, men måske har hun alligevel set noget? Maigret lugter en lunte og gætter at hun får besøg når manden ikke er hjemme. Det får hende til at se panikslagen ud og klappe helt i. Hun har et signal med en urtepotte i vindueskarmen, men det har han også luret.
Den besøgende er en 45-årig Julien Foucrier, der mødte hende første gang for mange år siden og blev forelsket i hende. For at få penge slog han en ågerkarl ved navn Mabille ihjel. Så flygtede han til udlandet og levede der i atten år under navnet Vermersch i Panama. Han blev syg og tog tilbage til Frankrig, hvor han tilfældigt mødte hende igen. Hun var sin mand meget hengiven og ville ikke forlade ham, men efterhånden fik de en vane med at Julien kom på besøg og blev natten over. Det gik galt sidste gang manden var hjemme, for politiet ledte udenfor efter Paulus og Julien kunne derfor ikke snige sig ud. I stedet tog han den revolver, der lå i Boursicaults skrivebord og skød Janvier. I postyret bagefter var det let for ham at komme væk.
Han har nu indset at Maigret har fat i den lange ende og ringer og tilbyder at melde sig, hvis Maigret kan holde Françoise ude af historien. Det går denne med på, så officielt bliver det til at Julien brød ind i huset og skød Janvier, da han så at han ikke kunne komme uset ud igen.

Glimrende krimi, hvor Maigret bruger sin evne til at gennemskue andre og deres handlinger på fin vis.
show less
Encore un opus bien sympa du commissaire. Une enquête à tiroirs où les réponses trop évidentes déplaisent à Maigret.

Un polar qui commence durement ! On a tiré sur Janvier, une balle lui a traversé le poumon. Pour démasquer le tireur, Maigret va s’installer en planque dans un meublé.

Un livre bien intéressant pour comprendre le système qui précéda les digicodes : les concierges (même si en l’occurrence il s’agit de la propriétaire) qui étaient chargé-e-s d’ouvrir la porte du bas et d’assurer la moralité – et les commérages – de l’immeuble. Mais également bien amusant pour son traitement de la séduction où, pour une maigre fois, Simenon parle à mots couverts des attraits féminins d’une show more généreuse propriétaire show less
Cuando, en el curso de una investigación, un desconocido dispara y hiere gravemente a uno de sus inspectores, el comisario Maigret decide ocuparse personalmente del caso. Eso significa que debe instalarse en la pensión de Mademoiselle Clément, mujer voluminosa, maternal e ingenua que alquila habitaciones en un barrio popular de París. Uno de sus huéspedes, llamado Paulus, ha atracado un local nocturno y se ha fugado, dejando el dinero del robo en la pensión: tal vez sera él el autor del disparo.

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Author Information

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1,317+ Works 62,741 Members
The prolific Belgian-born writer Georges Simenon produced hundreds of fictional works under his own name and 17 pseudonyms, in addition to more than 70 books about Inspector Maigret, long "the favorite sleuth of highbrow detective-story readers" (SR). More than 50 "Simenons" have been made into films. In addition to his mystery stories, he wrote show more what he called "hard" books, the serious psychological novels numbering well over 100. The autobiographical Pedigree, set in his native town of Liege, is perhaps his finest work. The publication of Simenon's intimate memoirs also attracted considerable attention. Simenon himself once said that he would never write a "great novel." Yet Gide called him "a great novelist, perhaps the greatest and truest novelist we have in French literature today," and Thornton Wilder (see Vol. 1) found that Simenon's narrative gift extends "to the tips of his fingers." The following are some of Simenon's novels, exclusive of the Maigret detective stories, that are in print. (Bowker Author Biography) Georges Simenon was born on February 13, 1903 in Liege, Belgium. He wrote more than 200 fiction works under 16 different pseudonyms. His first book, The Case of Peter the Lent led to 80 more of the like including the main character, Inspector Maigret. He published over 400 books that were translated into 50 different languages and sold by the millions. He also wrote psychological novels, including The Man Who Watched the Train Go By. He died on September 4, 1989 in Lausanne. (Bowker Author Biography) show less

Some Editions

Brain, Robert (Translator)
Cañameras, F. (Translator)
Gruyaert, Harry (Cover artist)
Marker, Chris (Cover photograph)
Minghini, Giulio (Translator)
Schäfer, Wolfram (Translator)
Tlarig, M. (Cover artist)
Whiteside, Shaun (Translator)
York, Denise (Cover designer)

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Common Knowledge

Canonical title
Maigret Takes a Room
Original title
Maigret en meublé
Alternate titles
Maigret a pensión; Maigret al acecho
Original publication date
1951
People/Characters
Jules Maigret; André Lucas; Albert Lapointe; Joseph Torrence; Inspector Vauquelin; Inspector Vacher (show all 14); Mlle Clément; Jef van Damme; Juliette va Damme; Françoise Bouriscault; Madame Keller; Louise Maigret; Émile Paulus; Julien Foucrier
Important places
Paris, France; 36 Quai des Orfèvres, Paris, Île-de-France, France; Boulevard Richard-Lenoir, Paris, France; Rue Lhomand, Paris, France (house of Mlle Clément)
Related movies
The Cactus (1961 | IMDb); Maigret op kamers (1965 | IMDb); Maigret en meublé (1972 | IMDb); Maigret en meublé (2004 | IMDb)
First words
Pourquoi ne viendriez-vous pas dîner chez nous, à la fortune du pot ?
"Why don't you come and have dinner at ours, pot luck?"
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)And young Lapointe, staring at the door through which Maigret had disappeared, said simply: "Ah!"
Original language
French
Disambiguation notice
In the French original, Maigret en meublé (1951).
Variously published in English as:
(i) Maigret Takes a Room (trans. Robert Brain) (1960); aka Maigret Rents a Room (1961)
(ii) Maigret... (show all) Takes a Room (trans. Shaun Whiteside) (2016).

Classifications

Genres
Fiction and Literature, Mystery
DDC/MDS
843.912Literature & rhetoricFrench LiteratureFrench fiction1900-20th Century1900-1945
LCC
PZ3 .S5892 .MLanguage and LiteratureFiction and juvenile belles lettresFiction and juvenile belles lettresFiction in English
BISAC

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