Mr Hire's Engagement

The roman durs are extraordinary: tough, bleak, offhandedly violent, suffused with guilt and bitterness, redolent of place . . . utterly unsentimental, frightening in the pitilessness of their gaze, yet wonderfully entertaining. --John Banville 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. --The Guardian I love reading Simenon. He makes me think of Chekhov. --William Faulkner The greatest of all, the most genuine novelist we have had in literature. --Andr� Gide A supreme writer . . . unforgettable vividness. --The Independent Superb . . . The most addictive of writers . . . A unique teller of tales. --The Observer Compelling, remorseless, brilliant. --John Gray A truly wonderful writer . . . marvellously readable--lucid, simple, absolutely in tune with the workd he creates. --Muriel Spark A novelist who entered his fictional world as it he were a part of it. --Peter Ackroyd Extraordinary masterpieces of the twentieth century. --John Banville The roman durs are extraordinary: tough, bleak, offhandedly violent, suffused with guilt and bitterness, redolent of place . . . utterly unsentimental, frightening in the pitilessness of their gaze, yet wonderfully entertaining. John Banville 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. The Guardian I love reading Simenon. He makes me think of Chekhov. William Faulkner The greatest of all, the most genuine novelist we have had in literature. Andre Gide A supreme writer . . . unforgettable vividness. The Independent Superb . . . The most addictive of writers . . . A unique teller of tales. The Observer Compelling, remorseless, brilliant. John Gray A truly wonderful writer . . . marvellously readable lucid, simple, absolutely in tune with the workd he creates. Muriel Spark A novelist who entered his fictional world as it he were a part of it. Peter Ackroyd Extraordinary masterpieces of the twentieth century. John Banville The roman durs are extraordinary: tough, bleak, offhandedly violent, suffused with guilt and bitterness, redolent of place . . . utterly unsentimental, frightening in the pitilessness of their gaze, yet wonderfully entertaining. --John Banville 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. -- The Guardian I love reading Simenon. He makes me think of Chekhov. --William Faulkner The greatest of all, the most genuine novelist we have had in literature. --Andre Gide A supreme writer . . . unforgettable vividness. -- The Independent Superb . . . The most addictive of writers . . . A unique teller of tales. -- The Observer Compelling, remorseless, brilliant. --John Gray A truly wonderful writer . . . marvellously readable--lucid, simple, absolutely in tune with the workd he creates. --Muriel Spark A novelist who entered his fictional world as it he were a part of it. --Peter Ackroyd Extraordinary masterpieces of the twentieth century. --John Banville