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b>b>b>b>“One of the greatest writers of the twentieth century . . . Simenon was unequaled at making us look inside, though the ability was masked by his brilliance at absorbing us obsessively in his stories.” --The Guardianbr>/b>/b>/b>br>The basis for the 1947 French film noir classic Panique, which was rereleased in January 2017/b>br>br>b>Georges Simenon’s chilling portrayal of tragic love, persecution and betrayalbr>/b>br>“One sensed in him neither flesh nor bone, nothing but soft, flaccid matter, so much so that his movements were hard to make out. Very red lips stood out from his orb-like face, as did the thin moustache that he curled with an iron and looked as if it had been drawn on with India ink; on his cheekbones were the symmetrical pink dots of a doll''s cheeks.” br>br>People find Mr. Hire strange, disconcerting. The tenants in his building try to avoid him. He is a peeping Tom, a frequent client of sex workers, a dealer in unsavory literature. He is also the prime suspect for a brutal murder that he did not commit. But Mr. Hire’s innocence will not stand in the way of those looking for a scapegoat as tragedy unfolds in this quietly devastating and deeply unnerving novel.
About the author
Georges Simenon was born in Liège, Belgium in 1903. An intrepid traveller with a profound interest in people, Simenon strove on and off the page to understand, rather than to judge, the human condition in all its shades. His novels include the Inspector Maigret series and a richly varied body of wider work united by its evocative power, its economy of means, and its penetrating psychological insight. He is among the most widely read writers in the global canon. He died in 1989 in Lausanne, Switzerland, where he had lived for the latter part of his life.
Summary
“A writer as comfortable with reality as with fiction, with passion as with reason.” —John Le Carré
The basis for the 1947 French film noir classic Panique, which was rereleased in January 2017
Georges Simenon’s chilling portrayal of tragic love, persecution and betrayal
“One sensed in him neither flesh nor bone, nothing but soft, flaccid matter, so much so that his movements were hard to make out. Very red lips stood out from his orb-like face, as did the thin moustache that he curled with an iron and looked as if it had been drawn on with India ink; on his cheekbones were the symmetrical pink dots of a doll's cheeks.”
People find Mr. Hire strange, disconcerting. The tenants in his building try to avoid him. He is a peeping Tom, a frequent client of sex workers, a dealer in unsavory literature. He is also the prime suspect for a brutal murder that he did not commit. But Mr. Hire’s innocence will not stand in the way of those looking for a scapegoat as tragedy unfolds in this quietly devastating and deeply unnerving novel.
Report
Praise for Georges Simenon:
One of the greatest writers of the twentieth century . . . Simenon was unequaled at making us look inside, though the ability was masked by his brilliance at absorbing us obsessively in his stories. The Guardian
These Maigret books are as timeless as Paris itself. The Washington Post
Maigret ranks with Holmes and Poirot in the pantheon of fictional detective immortals. People
I love reading Simenon. He makes me think of Chekhov. William Faulkner
The greatest of all, the most genuine novelist we have had in literature. André Gide
A supreme writer . . . Unforgettable vividness. The Independent (London)
Superb . . . The most addictive of writers . . . A unique teller of tales. The Observer (London)
Compelling, remorseless, brilliant. John Gray
A truly wonderful writer . . . Marvelously readable lucid, simple, absolutely in tune with the world he creates. Muriel Spark
A novelist who entered his fictional world as if he were a part of it. lle Peter Ackroyd
Extraordinary masterpieces of the twentieth century. John Banville
"Gem-hard soul-probes . . . not just the world's bestselling detective series, but an imperishable literary legend . . . he exposes secrets and crimes not by forensic wizardry, but by the melded powers of therapist, philosopher and confessor" Times (London)
"Strangely comforting . . . so many lovely bistros from the Paris of mid-20th C. The corpses are incidental, it's the food that counts." Margaret Atwood
"One of the greatest writers of the 20th century . . . no other writer can set up a scene as sharply and with such economy as Simenon does . . . the conjuring of a world, a place, a time, a set of characters - above all, an atmosphere." Financial Times
"Gripping . . . richly rewarding . . . You'll quickly find yourself obsessing about his life as you tackle each mystery in turn."-- Stig Abell The Sunday Times (London)
