Pietr the Latvian

Inspector Maigret, Book 1

By: Georges Simenon, David Bellos - translator

Narrated by: Gareth Armstrong

Length: 3 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

The first audiobook which appeared in Georges Simenon's famous Maigret series, in a gripping new translation by David Bellos.

Inevitably Maigret was a hostile presence in the Majestic. He constituted a kind of foreign body that the hotel's atmosphere could not assimilate. Not that he looked like a cartoon policeman. He didn't have a moustache and he didn't wear heavy boots. His clothes were well cut and made of fairly light worsted. He shaved every day and looked after his hands. But his frame was proletarian. He was a big, bony man. His firm muscles filled out his jacket and quickly pulled all his trousers out of shape. He had a way of imposing himself just by standing there. His assertive presence had often irked many of his own colleagues.

In Simenon's first novel featuring Maigret, the laconic detective is taken from grimy bars to luxury hotels as he traces the true identity of Pietr the Latvian. 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.

David Bellos is Director of the Program in Translation and Intercultural Communication at Princeton University and has won many awards for his translations including the Man Booker International Translator's Award (2005).

©2013 Georges Simenon (P)2013 Audible Ltd

Critic reviews

"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)

Detective fiction at its finest!

One down, seventy plus to go. I look forward to the hours of enjoyment ahead.

obscure gallic mystery

Hard to follow due both to age and author's apparent desire for protagonist to be gallic to a fault. Worth a listen if on sale, but no more of this series for me.

Lost in the translation

What did you like best about Pietr the Latvian? What did you like least?

I listened to the whole book. Nice performance. But the plot was hard to follow and I never understood or really cared about any of the characters. There was a nice twist at the end that tied up a lot of loose ends but it wasn’t enough for me to want to read another of his books.

Just eh.

This is a story about a hardworking methodical cop. It's not a whodunit. There's no big mystery to be solved. It's not even a police procedural. Just a tough dedicated cop doing a lonely job.
I would not characterize this as a mystery at all really.

Interesting storyline

I enjoyed this book. It seems like people either love it or hate it. I consider the time in which it was written and understand that some of the topics may not be "okay" by today's standards. It moved fairly quickly and I am happy I took a chance on it. I plan on reading the next one in the extensive series.

meh.

Forgetable. not particularly suspenseful. Story kept trying to built to something but never did.

First Maigret

I have never read or listened to any of the famous Inspector Maigret Novels. I found this to be an intelligent story but slow-moving and not too exciting.

Good start on a long career.

Longer than the stated run time? The middle of the story needs editing to keep things rolling.
Good character development of the protagonist, but not of the villain. Simenon's criminals will have more to say in most of his stories, and this early one shows why it should be so. A character can remain a shadow or silhouette for only so long and still hold the reader's interest.
Still, since the story is Maigret's introduction, it makes sense that he preoccupies the narrator's attention.
🔍

ended too quickly

This story has the potential to be longer. but feels like it was brought to a close quickly. still a nice one.

An early police procedure and investigation story

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Sure. It's interesting and shows a slice of the early 1900s

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The limitations of investigation of the era - communication, identification.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

Narrator was OK

Could you see Pietr the Latvian being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

It would be tough to get people interested in this historical era - it would require an ensemble cast ala Downton Abbey.