Customer Reviews

The Yellow Dog (Inspector Maigret Mysteries)

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is my first Simenon title ever. Yet Inspector Maigret is hardly foreign to my sensibilities, as his independence, brilliance, and taciturn pipe-smoking personality have disseminated throughout countless popular mysteries, films, and TV shows. I found this mystery quite entertaining, even though it follows the well-worn path for such works as throwing out dead-end clues, and assembling a cast of peculiar characters together in a dreamy mysterious setting. Penguin's neat new printings of these classic tales are easy on the eyes. In this particular story, the coastal town of Concarneau is thrown into a frenzy by a series of attacks on its prominenet citizens. A skittish hotel waitress is obviously part of the mystery, as is a large yellow dog who suddenly appears on the scene. Everything is satisfyingly resolved in the end, and Maigret appears to be a genius. This is a quick, neat read, full of atmosphere and literary sensibility. I'll be visiting Simenon again shortly.

Georges Simenon was the author of over 100 Inspector Maigret mystery stories. They were immensely popular in the 1930s through the 1960s. Inspector Maigret stories also appeared in film and TV version. Simenon and Maigret seem to have fallen under the radar in recent decades but in recent years he seems to have been rediscovered by a new generation of mystery/detective story fans. Penguin Books has begun to reissue some of those Maigret mysteries and the New York Review of Books Press has reissued some of his `hard stories', stories that did not feature Inspector Maigret. Simenon's Inspector Maigret Mystery, "The Yellow Dog" was a fun book to read and is as good a place to start for anyone wishing t discover (or re-read) Simenon.

The Yellow Dog, written in 1931, is set on a fishing town in Concarneau, France. One of the town's leading citizens has been shot. A series of murders or attempted murders soon follow. At the same time a stray, rather mangy looking yellow dog is wandering around the town. Inspector Maigret is sent to clear up the mess. In so doing he must deal with panicked locals, an irate mayor demanding an end to the affair, and a cast of characters who each, in their way, have done something to make themselves suspicious. The rest of the story involves Maigret's attempt to unravel the chain of events and find the guilty party or guilty parties.

This is a `classic' detective story in the sense that Simenon does not stray for the general formula or boundaries found in classic stories by Conan Doyle or Agatha Christie. There are twists and turns in the plot, red herrings, and fake clues, but eventually justice (or some semblance of justice) is served.

What sets Simenon apart is the character of Maigret and the supporting cast. Maigret was, or seems, ahead of his times in his aversion to `higher authority'. He also seems to have a deep and clearly defined set of moral values that does not necessarily coincide with the values held by his higher ups or by those reporters or office holders that seem to second guess his every move. This personality, this ahead of its time jaundiced eye, may explain the resurgence of interest in his books.

The Yellow Dog is an enjoyable read. Recommended. L. Fleisig

This story was written in 1931 soon after the very first Jules Maigret stories started coming out. It takes place in a small fishing village on the coast of Brittany. Someone is trying to kill town notables and the only clues are a stray yellow dog and some very large foot prints. A perfect location and jumping off point for a Jules Maigret mystery.

The fun of a Georges Simonon novel is the unique way in which Inspector Maigret approaches a crime. At one point Maigret notes, "I ran this investigation from the end backward-which doesn't mean I won't go the other way in the next one. It's a question of atmosphere, a question of faces...When I first got here, I came across one face that appealed to me, and I never let go of it."

It is this odd perspective that is so appealing in the Maiget stories. It is an approach which separates him from the Anglo-American tradition of mystery writing. It is the individual genius that counts and not the investigative procedure. Jules Maigret is the essential "bella figura" or man of genius. The fun of this novel is that the reader sees the character of Maigret while he still being formed by Simenon. Maigret evolves into a character who will appear in 75 novels of which more than 500 million editions will be sold. For those who love Inspector Maigret, these initial novels are an important indicator of what type hero he will become.

Now this book,being from 1931, must belong somewhat to the adolescence of the detective novel genre. It's actually an ok read. The setting for this crime story is rural France, that is the fishing town Concarneau on the Bretagne coast. The dick of Georges Simenons books is called Maigret and he is actually quite cool. He is a strong self-willed character, who refuse to take any crap from his surroundings, and seems alive and kicking even today. Embedded in this book is also a social criticism. The book drew a picture for me of early 20th century France, which was somewhat surprising to me. It's evident that if you are a prominent person, rich, factory owner, or the mayor of Concarneau, then you can get away with things the small people can't get away with. In terms of bribery, camaraderie and manipulate the authorities. This is things we would expect from a developing country like Turkey, Philippines or Russia, but apparently it was also like that in France at that time. Anyway I shall not disclose the plot here, just know that Maigret cuts through all the conventions and nail the crooks! Also the book has even got a touch of the creepiness Poe.

Those of you who are also readers of Ed McBain, will notice the similarity to his books. In this story we get a new feel for Maigret who is a Superintendent in this one, and is once again at his very annoying best. It's always a pleasure to read how Simenon loved to 'stick it' to the Provinciales in between the wars France. He loved to open the door on their pomposity and their groping for status.

The story is pretty straight forward, but it's the way that Maigret goes about what he does that is so much fun. While everyone is watching his every move, including a good portion of the Paris national press, he goes about as if he doesn't care. Smiling at everyone and puffing on his pipe he is the archetypical civil servant in no hurry to finish his work. Meanwhile the Mayor is spending all his time trying to protect the good name of his Town.

The ending is almost 'Hercules Pirot' in style, with everyone of the candidates brought together in the Police Barracks at the end to hear Maigret deductions. More than anything there is a decision by Maigret to protect two of the characters who are then left to go on with their lives, as McBain does in many of his stories.

"The Yellow Dog" is an enjoyable short read that was published early in the Inspector Maigret series (1931). The setting--Concarneau, a small rural town in Brittany--is one of author Georges Simenon's favorites. No fan of the petits bourgeois, here, as is repeated fairly often, Simenon writes of crimes committed by and against the big frogs in a small pond--a social group that the author particularly loathes. The story starts with the unexplainable shooting of the town's best liked citizen, followed by the attempted poisoning of several of the victim's friends. Inspector Maigret is dispatched to the scene from nearby Rennes where he's on assignment from Paris. The Inspector adopts a very laid back approach to investigating the crimes, seeming to be preoccupied with an attractive barmaid and a yellow mongrel dog who keeps appearing at the scene of the crimes. While the burghers of Concarneau grow increasingly panicky, Maigret keeps his cool and his own counsel.

The story is told mostly in narrative form and the resolution of the crimes is closely held to the last few pages of the book. Simenon includes a satisfying epilogue to assure the reader that justice can prevail. Altogether, an entertaining novel that displays the format and attitude that the author will often use in the dozens of crime stories that are to follow.

The Yellow Dog (Le Chien Jaune) has many of the characteristics typical of a Georges Simenon thriller, even if it initially seems like there are going to be rather a few more deaths than is usual for the usually more sedate confines of a Maigret novel. Maigret, working on a temporary transfer from the Paris jurisdiction to Rennes, is called out to a small Brittany port, Concarneau, to investigate the shooting of one of the town's most important businessmen, shot in a doorway while he struggled drunkenly against the elements to light a cigar after an evening with friends at the Admiral hotel. And sitting alongside the crime is a mysterious yellow dog that appears like a premonition of doom.

As Maigret makes his entrance to meet the businessman's friends - several other people of note within the small town, all of them gathered around a bar (of course), drinking Pernod (a few drinks essential for any Maigret investigation) - the scene seems to be set for a slow-burn after-the-fact teasing out of events in the manner of La Guinguette a deux sous (The Tavern on the Seine) or another non-Maigret small port thriller, The Man from London. All it takes is time to get to grips with the provincial smalltown mentality, the rumours, the feuds and the rivalries, (several of the group seem to be having an affair with the hotel's young barmaid), Maigret letting events leisurely unravel as he downs a few Pernods and Calvados.

But, no - and much to the reader's surprise - Maigret discovers just in time that his very first Pernod, and those of his companions, has been spiked with strychnine. As it looks like each of the men seem to be under threat from an unknown person with a vendetta against them, it becomes clear that The Yellow Dog is a more exciting prospect than the usual leisurely Maigret investigation, closer to Les Fantômes du Chapelier, with its serial killer out to exact vengeance on a small group of townsfolk.

While there are crucial differences in this early 1936 Maigret novel however, the allure of Simenon's detective is in place, the Commissioner refusing to follow the usual lines of extensive legwork and deductive reasoning, demonstrating rather a wonderful ability to understand and relate to people, consider the passions that motivate them and predict the actions that are likely to ensue. It all comes together marvellously in The Yellow Dog, Simenon creating an intriguing situation with no shortage of incident that fully brings out the character, the mentality and the dangerous dynamic that can exist in small provincial towns.

First one of the town's leading citizens is shot in the stomach in a doorway. Then his friends still inside the café barely escape being poisoned.

Maigret shows his usual distain for evidence and deduction. He's more intrigued by the yellow dog wandering around the scene of the crimes - and the poignant face of the young barmaid who sleeps around a bit.

More incidents occur. The reporters swarming all over the hotel seem to know more about the crime wave than the police!

Maigret's flair for inaction, and his sensitivity to atmosphere, are nicely portrayed in this book.