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"Three Bedrooms in Manhattan" (1946, translated from the French by Romano and Lawrence G. Blochman) focuses on a wounded couple who come together in the bars of New York. Simenon displays his gift for compression in describing their budding relationship thusly: "And gradually, this silent nighttime walk took on the solemn aspect of a wedding march. Both knew that from now on they'd cling to each other even harder, not as lovers, but as two creatures who'd been alone and at last, after a long time, had found someone to walk with."

His masterpiece, "Dirty Snow" (1948, translated from the French by Romano and Louise Varese), features one of the most despicable characters in all of literature: a young man who murders, rapes and steals just to feel something. But like all Simenon characters, he yearns for something more.

"Dirty Snow" was so raw that I had to put it down momentarily to escape its nihilistic landscape. Yet like Simenon's other books, it was thoroughly absorbing.

These novels are dated -- in ways that illuminate our contemporary world. For much of the 20th century, Simenon and other artists focused on the individual's relationship to society. They saw our greatest challenge as finding ways to realize our true selves despite the iron grip of culture and the state.

That theme has all but disappeared from literature, film and the other arts, which now cast problems in largely personal terms. As our ties to the larger community have frayed, our relationship to ourselves, our family, friends and co-workers has taken center stage.

Of course, society is still potent; it still twists and shapes us. As Simenon grabs us with his compelling stories, he also shakes us to recognize and confront its force.

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