TEHRAN-The Persian translation of the detective fiction “Maigret” written by the Belgian author Georges Simenon has been released in the Iranian book market.

Abbas Agahi has translated the book from French into Persian and it has been brought out by Jahan-e Ketab Publishing House in the ‘Neqab’ (mask) series, which focuses on detective stories. So far, over 30 books on Maigret stories have been published in the country, Mehr reported.

In this story, Maigret has retired to the Loire Valley while his wife's nephew, Philippe, shows up. He had gotten a job in Paris as a cop, but he has become a suspect in a murder. He claims to be innocent. Maigret goes with him back to Paris and the story proceeds from there. The readers can see the seedy underbelly of Parisian life and understand how Philippe had gotten involved. Since Maigret is retired, he cannot investigate straightforwardly. Nevertheless, he moves forward, and justice is done.

Georges Simenon (1903-1989) was most famous for his fictional detective Jules Maigret. One of the most popular authors of the 20th century, he published around 400 novels, 21 volumes of memoirs, and many short stories, selling over 500 million copies.

Between 1931 and 1972, 75 novels and 28 short stories about Maigret were published. With the creation of Maigret, Simenon renewed the detective novel genre. The novels and stories have been translated into more than 50 languages. The Maigret stories have also received numerous film, television, and radio adaptations.

The character of Maigret was influenced by Chief Inspector Marcel Guillaume (1872-1963), said to be the greatest French detective of his day, who became a long-time friend of Simenon. 

Abbas Agahi, 83, is a prominent translator of French literature. A graduate of Paris-Sorbonne University, he has translated over 80 books, mainly works of detective fiction, which is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective investigates a crime, often murder.

In addition to George Simenon, the veteran translator has rendered works by several authors into Persian, including Frederic Dard, Michel Bussi, Olivier Norek, Jean-Christophe Grangé, Fred Vargas, Stanislas-Andre Steeman, Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac among others.

The Neqab series of Jahan-e Ketab Publishing House is a rich collection of more than 100 books in the genres of crime, thriller, and mystery. Although most of the works are from French literature, there are translations from English and German literature as well.

SS/SAB