Maigret and the Man on the Bench

<p><b>'His artistry is supreme' John Banville</b><br><br><i>'He was wearing a dark suit, a beige raincoat and on his feet, which were twisted at an odd angle, he wore yellow-brown shoes, which seemed out of keeping with a day as colourless as this.<br>Apart from his shoes he looked so ordinary that he would have passed completely unnoticed on the street or on one of the numerous café terraces on the boulevard.'</i><br><br>'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' <i>Guardian</i> <br><br>'A supreme writer . . . unforgettable vividness' <i>Independent</i></p> <p><b>'His artistry is supreme' John Banville</b><br><br><i>'He was wearing a dark suit, a beige raincoat and on his feet, which were twisted at an odd angle, he wore yellow-brown shoes, which seemed out of keeping with a day as colourless as this.<br>Apart from his shoes he looked so ordinary that he would have passed completely unnoticed on the street or on one of the numerous café terraces on the boulevard.'</i><br><br>'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' <i>Guardian</i> <br><br>'A supreme writer . . . unforgettable vividness' <i>Independent</i></p>