11 Comments
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Michael Edward's avatar

Yet another interesting look, at yet another author I am yet to read haha. Thanks Troy and Martine :)

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Mr. Troy Ford's avatar

I know! Exciting to find a whole series (my poor TBR pile!!!)

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Ken Funsten, CFA's avatar

Georges Simenon!!! Thanks, Martine, for sharing these astute observations. Yes, the psychology and the bare commercial style--almost a lowest-common-denominator style--are the great attributes of this very emulatable writer. My personal goal = his speed and spareness. Love this guy. And bonus for me: He often writes about business matters!

--Ken Funsten, CFA

PS--Realize that this would be hard to do because it's piles of books vs. a sparse output, but how would you compare Simenon and Camus? Both style-wise and subject-wise....

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M.E. Proctor's avatar

It's probably been 20 years since I read Camus, although I swore I would reread The Myth of Sisyphus this year, it's an amazing book. Funny factoid: I staged Caligula in high school! Camus' theater spoke to me as an 18 year old (State of Siege kept me entranced). I think it's the mix of idealistic politics and noir cynicism that does it! I always found Camus a lot more readable than Sartre (boring! Except "No Exit", the play). Besides being a great writer, he's also an interesting man... and should I mention damn sexy with that perennial cigarette?

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Mr. Troy Ford's avatar

Caligula! So punk! 🤣

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M.E. Proctor's avatar

Yeah, my lead actor did NOT look like Malcolm McDowell, lol!

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Mr. Troy Ford's avatar

Thanks for your comment, Ken! It's been decades since I read Camus, I wonder if Martine's got some more recent experience? :)

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Kathleen Clare Waller's avatar

Happy to hear more about Simenon and enjoy the introduction to ME Proctor. Looks right up my alley and I’ve just subscribed!

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M.E. Proctor's avatar

Good to see you there!

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Mr. Troy Ford's avatar

Many thanks to Martine for opening up a whole new world of crime fiction to me, both her own and that of Georges Simenon! So glad to have hosted your voice in my little corner of Substack. 🩵

In particular, I'm fascinated to read of his "stripped down" style, that the characters keep their thoughts to themselves. I confess that at times I feel overwhelmed by the preponderance of (what shall I call it?) gushing that goes on in some modern novels, at the expense of beautiful language, fresh details, smart dialogue. It creeps into TV too - I remember a particular show we watched where every martial arts fight scene was punctuated by an even longer scene where the characters talked about how the fighting made them feel. It was ... a little much. But I can't wait to dig in to Simenon's work and see how he handles narrative without spoonfeeding the reader with the emotions the characters are feeling, as though we can't figure it out ourselves, as though we need sugar syrup to ensure we love their character.

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M.E. Proctor's avatar

Thank you of having me, Troy. It was a pleasure to revisit old favorites and go back to a style of writing that I find deeply inspiring. Let's hope some of it finds its way into my writing... working on it!

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