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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
A reread.
An interesting solution to the murder mystery - but it reads more as a recording of the tradition of change ringing. As such, it's pretty impressive that it contains so much detail without being deadly dull - but it's definitely not my favorite of the Sayers books. Once again, I found myself shouting at the characters to just make their intuitive jumps a little faster and more efficiently, skimmed over most of the explanations on the change ringing, longed for *some* kind of character development, or even just more Bunter.
If you're a mystery or a Sayers fan, yes, read this. But probably it won't be an enjoyable read for most.
An interesting solution to the murder mystery - but it reads more as a recording of the tradition of change ringing. As such, it's pretty impressive that it contains so much detail without being deadly dull - but it's definitely not my favorite of the Sayers books. Once again, I found myself shouting at the characters to just make their intuitive jumps a little faster and more efficiently, skimmed over most of the explanations on the change ringing, longed for *some* kind of character development, or even just more Bunter.
If you're a mystery or a Sayers fan, yes, read this. But probably it won't be an enjoyable read for most.
The bells, the bells...or Nine Tailors Make A Man, in which Miss Sayers sets out to furnish the common reader with more information about change ringing of church bells than he could reasonably want for, whilst concealing under the guise of a simple work of detective entertainment a most amusing and seditious social comedy. Sorry, but after almost 400 pages, the style gets to you.
If Agatha Christie was queen of the golden age of detective fiction, then Dorothy Sayers was its laureate. A blue stocking, and one of the first women to be awarded a degree by Oxford, she rarely wears her learning lightly. As well as extensive quotations from works on bell ringing, scripture, Poe and Lefanu are pressed into service by way of reference with the expectation that no introduction to the reader is necessary.
The period setting - contemporary of course to Sayers - with the social mores of its interwar setting intact is a mildly diverting backdrop. The idea of a whole village, even one in the middle of the Fens, being so uniformly, homogenously white, devout, sexually uptight and rigidly class stratified, seems quaint and faintly ludicrous to modern sensibilities. More compelling is the sense of unease, of a world recovering from one conflagration but hurtling unstoppably towards another - at the time this was written Hitler had already begun to marshall his forces in preparation for war and whip up hatred against the Jews. The story ends with a conflagration of another kind or rather inundation - a massive flood which both destroys and renews (there is reference of course to Noah), revealing the truth about the killing and offering at the same time a sense of community and hope for the future.
It's an enjoyable read - Lord Peter, never my most favourite literary sleuth, is at times almost a stereotypical upper class twit and you catch a glimpse of Sayers behind the scenes, gently mocking. But he redeems himself, as does the Rector, who, despite an almost maddening tendency to witter on, proves to be more than a match for the crisis at hand. It has many of the standard elements of the golden age - the bloody corpse discovered early on, the isolated setting with its closed society complete with attractive heiress and village idiot, the multiple suspects and the numerous clues and red herrings. Enjoyable, and brimful of confident writing, but not quite great literature - she doesn't quite know whether to focus on the grim business in hand or meander down a byway to show off a sample of her huge and eclectic knowledge, so it loses focus too often. And were the yokels really that oo-arr even in them days? Perhaps.
These are minor grumbles in a compelling and entertaining work with a fine though not totally unexpected twist. Christie she isn't when it comes to legerdemain, but there's room for more than one queen in this kingdom.
If Agatha Christie was queen of the golden age of detective fiction, then Dorothy Sayers was its laureate. A blue stocking, and one of the first women to be awarded a degree by Oxford, she rarely wears her learning lightly. As well as extensive quotations from works on bell ringing, scripture, Poe and Lefanu are pressed into service by way of reference with the expectation that no introduction to the reader is necessary.
The period setting - contemporary of course to Sayers - with the social mores of its interwar setting intact is a mildly diverting backdrop. The idea of a whole village, even one in the middle of the Fens, being so uniformly, homogenously white, devout, sexually uptight and rigidly class stratified, seems quaint and faintly ludicrous to modern sensibilities. More compelling is the sense of unease, of a world recovering from one conflagration but hurtling unstoppably towards another - at the time this was written Hitler had already begun to marshall his forces in preparation for war and whip up hatred against the Jews. The story ends with a conflagration of another kind or rather inundation - a massive flood which both destroys and renews (there is reference of course to Noah), revealing the truth about the killing and offering at the same time a sense of community and hope for the future.
It's an enjoyable read - Lord Peter, never my most favourite literary sleuth, is at times almost a stereotypical upper class twit and you catch a glimpse of Sayers behind the scenes, gently mocking. But he redeems himself, as does the Rector, who, despite an almost maddening tendency to witter on, proves to be more than a match for the crisis at hand. It has many of the standard elements of the golden age - the bloody corpse discovered early on, the isolated setting with its closed society complete with attractive heiress and village idiot, the multiple suspects and the numerous clues and red herrings. Enjoyable, and brimful of confident writing, but not quite great literature - she doesn't quite know whether to focus on the grim business in hand or meander down a byway to show off a sample of her huge and eclectic knowledge, so it loses focus too often. And were the yokels really that oo-arr even in them days? Perhaps.
These are minor grumbles in a compelling and entertaining work with a fine though not totally unexpected twist. Christie she isn't when it comes to legerdemain, but there's room for more than one queen in this kingdom.
A basically interesting story, although very slow moving. If I knew more about English bell ringing, I might have enjoyed it more. I felt like I might have appreciated the cleverness of the plot (and the cypher) more if I'd understood it better.
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
mysterious
slow-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
Enjoyable mystery, some interesting facts about bell ringing
This was my first re-reading in decades and I've upped the rating to 5 stars.
informative
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced