A Person Who Lacks Vitality

Some examples taken from the novel Maigret and the Man on the Bench, which has been made into five different films, including one directed by a Japanese filmmaker, are shown here. (Perhaps Liège commissioned a statue of Simenon sitting on a park bench, as suggested by the title of this 1953 published work.)

The setting: “It was a day with little rain, just a few drops here and there, although the sidewalks were still wet, and as the day slowly passed and more and more people stepped onto them, they became very slippery. Then, at about four in the afternoon, the light flowing from the windows and the streetlights were blurred by the faint yellow of the fog that had lifted since morning.”

Human nature in question: “The technicians just arrived with cameras and other equipment. Like any pros, they were completely preoccupied with their work, asking no questions and only thinking about how they would operate in such a little area.”

Or: “Some people standing outside entered the house to pay their respects to the deceased and left with solemn and serious expressions, understanding that they had just fulfilled their duty.”

His stories were occasionally long, and because he wrote too much, the good parts were frequently obscured. Furthermore, throughout investigations, his character Maigret is always cool and collected rather than vivacious and powerful.

There is also a statue of Inspector Maigret in Delfzijl, a city of less than 20,000 people. This Paris Police detective’s “hometown” is in the northernmost region of the Netherlands. Pieter d’Hont, a sculptor, made the bronze figure, which stands on a stone pedestal and is just 1.2 meters tall.

Why bring up the location of birth? Simenon said that after visiting a pub in Delfzijl, he once resided there and developed the character Maigret.

He said: “… I began to see the appearance of a tall, muscular, and stubborn man as a gentleman, who seemed to me to be an acceptable fellow.” I adorned the persona with a long coat with a velvet collar, a bowler hat, and a pipe during the remainder of the day. Additionally, I gave him an old cast-iron stove for his office because the damp cold was so bad on my abandoned boat. The first chapter of Pietr-le-Letton was written at noon the following day. The novel was finished four or five days later.”

Maigret was born as a result. Simenon said that he signed his true name on the Maigret series and numerous more works after that.

Simenon was given a birth certificate by the city mayor on September 3, 1966, when the monument was officially unveiled. It read: “Jules Maigret, place of birth: Delfzijl; year of birth: 1929; father: Georges Simenon; mother: unknown…”

Placing sculptures of a few fictional characters and their creators on Ho Chi Minh City’s Book Street is undoubtedly an idea. Why not?