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bupdaddy's review
2.0
I read the 1933 edition, which is very different from the revised 1965 edition. In fact, the cover of the book shown is wrong. There are not tropical settings and no army guys in the book I read.
But there sure are cringingly terrible racist stereotypes about Chinese people! My book cover originally looked like this! If you want to read a novel for kids that literally has phrases like "diabolical, yellow face," have I got a book for you!
The mystery begins with the boys needing to get laundry done in a hurry, because Aunt Gertrude is coming. So they take their bag o' clothes to the Chinese Laundry. Unfortunately, the good, honest Sam Lee no longer runs the Chinese Laundry, and instead there's a guy with a twisted grimace of a grin named Louie Fong running the place.
How evil is he? Why, he can't have their stuff done by tomorrow, even though they need it! It take "thlee, fo' day" (sic).
And then it's not even done! The truth is, they never get their laundry back! Instead, the boys uncover a ring to smuggle Chinamen (sic) into the country - right into Bayport, which, I'm pretty sure, is on America's east coast.
But never mind. There's lots of overheard conversations, knives thrown, trap-doors (sic), disguises, telegraph office messages, and everyday people traveling from town to town by boat like that's a thing people do.
There's also a roadhouse* called "Lantern Land" owned and run by Orientals (sic). 217 pages was a bit much of this. I've had my fill of embarrassing xenophobic Americana for quite a long time.
According to this PDF, I happened upon one of the 3 Hardy Boys' mysteries that are the most racist (the 3 being volumes 12, 13, and 14), and in fact, the racism is one of the reasons people doubt these 3 were written by supposed ghost-writer Leslie McFarlane, who wrote most of the first 25. Volume 13 has old South stereotypes of former slaves, and volume 14 has Mexicans. Whee.
*Road. House. *Whht-Khhhh!*
But there sure are cringingly terrible racist stereotypes about Chinese people! My book cover originally looked like this! If you want to read a novel for kids that literally has phrases like "diabolical, yellow face," have I got a book for you!
The mystery begins with the boys needing to get laundry done in a hurry, because Aunt Gertrude is coming. So they take their bag o' clothes to the Chinese Laundry. Unfortunately, the good, honest Sam Lee no longer runs the Chinese Laundry, and instead there's a guy with a twisted grimace of a grin named Louie Fong running the place.
How evil is he? Why, he can't have their stuff done by tomorrow, even though they need it! It take "thlee, fo' day" (sic).
And then it's not even done! The truth is, they never get their laundry back! Instead, the boys uncover a ring to smuggle Chinamen (sic) into the country - right into Bayport, which, I'm pretty sure, is on America's east coast.
But never mind. There's lots of overheard conversations, knives thrown, trap-doors (sic), disguises, telegraph office messages, and everyday people traveling from town to town by boat like that's a thing people do.
There's also a roadhouse* called "Lantern Land" owned and run by Orientals (sic). 217 pages was a bit much of this. I've had my fill of embarrassing xenophobic Americana for quite a long time.
According to this PDF, I happened upon one of the 3 Hardy Boys' mysteries that are the most racist (the 3 being volumes 12, 13, and 14), and in fact, the racism is one of the reasons people doubt these 3 were written by supposed ghost-writer Leslie McFarlane, who wrote most of the first 25. Volume 13 has old South stereotypes of former slaves, and volume 14 has Mexicans. Whee.
*Road. House. *Whht-Khhhh!*
bev_reads_mysteries's review
3.0
Frank & Joe Hardy are fending for themselves in Bayport while their mom and dad are out of town on a trip. They know their dad is in the middle of a big case and is possibly using the trip as a cover. Then they get word that their Aunt Gertrude is about to descend upon them (as she always seems to do when she hears the boys are left at home)--little do they know that she will be the catalyst that sends them into a mystery as well.
For when they go to meet the boat she planned to arrive on, there's no Aunt Gertrude--only a man by the name of Simon Pebbles who tells them their aunt had a minor accident on the dock and wasn't able to make the trip after all. She had asked him to stop in Bayport and phone the Hardys to give them the news. Pebbles winds up missing the ferry and Frank & Joe invite him to spend the night at their house. When they wake up in the morning, they're surprised to find Pebbles gone, papers missing from their dad's things, and...Aunt Gertrude lying on the front room floor.
She's very groggy and feels ill and insists that she saw a Chinese man staring at her in the night. It seems she didn't miss the ferry, but became extremely drowsy and slept through the first stop at Bayport. She was awake enough to get off when it made its return trip in the early morning hours. But what about the Chinese man? It seems that Chinese folks are going to figure very prominently--when the boys took a huge load of laundry to the local Chinese laundry (trying to prepare for their aunt's surprise visit), they found the very friendly Sam Lee replaced by a nasty man by the name of Louie Fong. Then when they search around the house for clues to explain Pebbles disappearance, they find a piece of paper with Chinese writing in addition to some mysterious footprints.
Next up...a man who says he hired Fenton Hardy to investigate claims that he (the man) was smuggling Chinese illegally into the States appears and demands that the boys tell him where their father is. Since they don't know, Frank & Joe decide to investigate on their own. All the clues seem to point to the laundromat and the change in ownership....but who is the man who left the footprints under their window and who seems to be spying on the same people they're investigating? And what does Simon Pebbles have to do with it? They'll have to answer those questions before they can wrap up this mystery.
The story line is actually very pertinent today--with people so very worried about "illegals" getting into the country. As per usual, it is the immigrants looking for a new life who suffer the most. Here we have a gang of smugglers "helping" illegal immigrants get into the country and then exiorting money from them by blackmailing them about their status. There are, certainly, some disturbing racial stereotypes to be found here--but a point is made that while most of the Chinese encountered in the story can speak English perfectly well, they deliberately do not do so with white men so no one will suspect how intelligent they really are. And the ultimate bad guy of the piece isn't Chinese.
There is a lot of action--from thrown knives to falling down trapdoors to being chased by an angry wolfhound. There's also overheard conversations, disguises, urgent telegraph messages, and the drugging of innocent aunts. And, of course, the Hardys--Frank, Joe, and Fenton--get their man/men in the end.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block.
For when they go to meet the boat she planned to arrive on, there's no Aunt Gertrude--only a man by the name of Simon Pebbles who tells them their aunt had a minor accident on the dock and wasn't able to make the trip after all. She had asked him to stop in Bayport and phone the Hardys to give them the news. Pebbles winds up missing the ferry and Frank & Joe invite him to spend the night at their house. When they wake up in the morning, they're surprised to find Pebbles gone, papers missing from their dad's things, and...Aunt Gertrude lying on the front room floor.
She's very groggy and feels ill and insists that she saw a Chinese man staring at her in the night. It seems she didn't miss the ferry, but became extremely drowsy and slept through the first stop at Bayport. She was awake enough to get off when it made its return trip in the early morning hours. But what about the Chinese man? It seems that Chinese folks are going to figure very prominently--when the boys took a huge load of laundry to the local Chinese laundry (trying to prepare for their aunt's surprise visit), they found the very friendly Sam Lee replaced by a nasty man by the name of Louie Fong. Then when they search around the house for clues to explain Pebbles disappearance, they find a piece of paper with Chinese writing in addition to some mysterious footprints.
Next up...a man who says he hired Fenton Hardy to investigate claims that he (the man) was smuggling Chinese illegally into the States appears and demands that the boys tell him where their father is. Since they don't know, Frank & Joe decide to investigate on their own. All the clues seem to point to the laundromat and the change in ownership....but who is the man who left the footprints under their window and who seems to be spying on the same people they're investigating? And what does Simon Pebbles have to do with it? They'll have to answer those questions before they can wrap up this mystery.
The story line is actually very pertinent today--with people so very worried about "illegals" getting into the country. As per usual, it is the immigrants looking for a new life who suffer the most. Here we have a gang of smugglers "helping" illegal immigrants get into the country and then exiorting money from them by blackmailing them about their status. There are, certainly, some disturbing racial stereotypes to be found here--but a point is made that while most of the Chinese encountered in the story can speak English perfectly well, they deliberately do not do so with white men so no one will suspect how intelligent they really are. And the ultimate bad guy of the piece isn't Chinese.
There is a lot of action--from thrown knives to falling down trapdoors to being chased by an angry wolfhound. There's also overheard conversations, disguises, urgent telegraph messages, and the drugging of innocent aunts. And, of course, the Hardys--Frank, Joe, and Fenton--get their man/men in the end.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block.
b00kr3vi3ws's review
3.0
When I first read Hardy Boys, I think I was in class 5, I had such a crush on Frank Hardy. I liked the brainy one over the brawny one and that sums up my first impression of Hardy Boys.
In their late teens, Frank and Joe Hardy take after their detective father Fenton Hardy. Frank is the older of the two and has more breakthroughs in the cases because he is the brainy one. Joe is the younger brother who more often than not is useful when things get hot and they need to fight their way out.
Like Nancy Drew, the books in the The Hardy Boys series re written by ghostwriters under the collective pseudonym Franklin W. Dixon. And yes, the earlier books were better than the latter ones.
In their late teens, Frank and Joe Hardy take after their detective father Fenton Hardy. Frank is the older of the two and has more breakthroughs in the cases because he is the brainy one. Joe is the younger brother who more often than not is useful when things get hot and they need to fight their way out.
Like Nancy Drew, the books in the The Hardy Boys series re written by ghostwriters under the collective pseudonym Franklin W. Dixon. And yes, the earlier books were better than the latter ones.
manwithanagenda's review
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
Frank and Joe have been left to their own devices while their parents are away on yet another vacation, when suddenly there's a phone call: Aunt Gertrude is coming! That formidable lady of indeterminate years will wring their necks if the house isn't spotless when she arrives. Being boys the Hardy Boys have neglected their linens and make haste to drop it all off at the best Chinese laundry in town.
Unfortunately instead of the friendly Sam Lee, they are greeted by the sinister Louie Fong who accuses the boys of eavesdropping and doesn't see at all reliable as far as laundry. Spoiler alert: they never get their laundry back!
Things keep going wrong for the Hardy Boys. Their aunt fails to turn up at the docks, a young man they invite to stay overnight goes missing along with many important papers of their father, and Aunt Gertrude complains of a vision of a Chinamen coming in through the window - you may have guessed that the boys find footprints under the window shortly thereafter.
The mystery this time is all about the illegal smuggling of Chinese into Bayport (which is on the Atlantic coast and therefore convenient for this) and a curious case of duplicate identities. Along the way Tom Wat, a young Chinese man whose life is in jeopardy may or may not be dressed up as a girl by the boys to avoid detection.
There is a mix of tone-deaf cultural depiction in here and outdated terms (read: Chinamen), but also a lot of racially charged associations that are a real problem. Language changes over time and I can't fault the author for trying to write in the, uh, "pidgin English" of the Chinese immigrant....well, maybe a little. However, when we're constantly reminded of the dusky or yellow cast of the skin of our villain, and reminders of the suspicious differences between our heroes and villains you know we're supposed to make certain associations.
Bad form Hardy Boys, bad form.
Speaking of bad form, our good friend Chet has a good-sized part in the novel, but Biff is on to my game and refused to make an appearance.
The revision of this 1934 novel came out in 1965 and involves the Hardy Boys investigating illegal immigration in a fictional island nation and stolen blueprints to a miniature spy camera. I'm sure laundry has something to do with it.
Hardy Boys
Next: 'The Mark on the Door'
Previous: 'While the Clock Ticked'
Unfortunately instead of the friendly Sam Lee, they are greeted by the sinister Louie Fong who accuses the boys of eavesdropping and doesn't see at all reliable as far as laundry. Spoiler alert: they never get their laundry back!
Things keep going wrong for the Hardy Boys. Their aunt fails to turn up at the docks, a young man they invite to stay overnight goes missing along with many important papers of their father, and Aunt Gertrude complains of a vision of a Chinamen coming in through the window - you may have guessed that the boys find footprints under the window shortly thereafter.
The mystery this time is all about the illegal smuggling of Chinese into Bayport (which is on the Atlantic coast and therefore convenient for this) and a curious case of duplicate identities. Along the way Tom Wat, a young Chinese man whose life is in jeopardy may or may not be dressed up as a girl by the boys to avoid detection.
There is a mix of tone-deaf cultural depiction in here and outdated terms (read: Chinamen), but also a lot of racially charged associations that are a real problem. Language changes over time and I can't fault the author for trying to write in the, uh, "pidgin English" of the Chinese immigrant....well, maybe a little. However, when we're constantly reminded of the dusky or yellow cast of the skin of our villain, and reminders of the suspicious differences between our heroes and villains you know we're supposed to make certain associations.
Bad form Hardy Boys, bad form.
Speaking of bad form, our good friend Chet has a good-sized part in the novel, but Biff is on to my game and refused to make an appearance.
The revision of this 1934 novel came out in 1965 and involves the Hardy Boys investigating illegal immigration in a fictional island nation and stolen blueprints to a miniature spy camera. I'm sure laundry has something to do with it.
Hardy Boys
Next: 'The Mark on the Door'
Previous: 'While the Clock Ticked'
kristenm's review
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I actually really enjoyed this. Yes, the story is a bit silly, completely unbelievable and downright goofy at times but it was a fun and fast read. Chet is hilarious, and a great addition to the Hardy Brother's dynamic. There was a lot of action, maybe a little too much at the end, but still it was entertaining. Aunt Gertrude deserves her own series too! The language is a little dated, but I think the plot still holds up for a whacky teen adventure.
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