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woolfy_vita's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
vstewart76's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
tomasthanes's review against another edition
5.0
What an amazing book. It helps that I love scholars and wished I could go to Oxford but I'm too far through my life for that to be a realistic goal. The words in this book are a 40 course dinner. My problem now is that I now need to read all of Dorothy Sayers "Lord Peter Wimsey" books (in order).
sailor_marmar's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
thepaperbackplanner's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
5.0
And I thought I had fun with the last one!!! Everything I liked about “Strong Poison” and “Have His Carcase” were present here but turned up to eleven. I’m starting to realize I love an academic setting, and this one (and the characters who filled it) really delivered. But obviously the stand-out element of this book was the ~romance~ between our main characters. No spoilers but that’s some good shit. As esteemed literary critic Gordon Ramsay would say, “finally, some good fucking food!”
reb_kka's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
thenovelbook's review against another edition
5.0
Re-read, November 2021: There’s so much to take in with this book, and even though I’ve read it 3 or 4 times now, every time it still feels like a fresh peeling back of the layers and trying to understand. It’s a bit more complex than what I can competently parse, but I do love it so.
——————————
Original review:
The dialogue and prose in Gaudy Night is some of the richest I have ever read. It's very dense and it takes time to understand it, but that's what creates such a connection between me and this book. Hours after finishing the last page, phrases from it still roll around in my head to be savored.
This volume contains the resolution for a romantic relationship three books in the making, and, incidentally, one of the most thoughtful adult relationships I can recall in fiction. Much as I enjoy reading about the Mr. Darcys and Mr. Rochesters of the literary world, you can have them all and leave me Lord Peter Wimsey. He's the one with the real power of mind, heart, and words.
I have heard that Dorothy Sayers, having created her detective and slowly endowed him with great complexity, more or less fell in love with him, and created a match for him in "Harriet Vane," a stand-in for herself. It wouldn't surprise me at all. His blend of intelligence, compassion, wit, honesty, affectation, nervous energy, and control is unique, contradictory, and hardly imaginable in the real world, but very appealing.
I also love Harriet Vane a lot. Her honest analytical mind is only enhanced by her all-too-relatable emotions as she tries to work out whether it is possible to balance the demands of brain versus heart.
Favorite passage:
"I suppose one oughtn't to marry anybody, unless one's prepared to make him a full-time job."
"Probably not; though there are a few rare people, I believe, who don't look on themselves as jobs but as fellow-creatures."
——————————
Original review:
The dialogue and prose in Gaudy Night is some of the richest I have ever read. It's very dense and it takes time to understand it, but that's what creates such a connection between me and this book. Hours after finishing the last page, phrases from it still roll around in my head to be savored.
This volume contains the resolution for a romantic relationship three books in the making, and, incidentally, one of the most thoughtful adult relationships I can recall in fiction. Much as I enjoy reading about the Mr. Darcys and Mr. Rochesters of the literary world, you can have them all and leave me Lord Peter Wimsey. He's the one with the real power of mind, heart, and words.
I have heard that Dorothy Sayers, having created her detective and slowly endowed him with great complexity, more or less fell in love with him, and created a match for him in "Harriet Vane," a stand-in for herself. It wouldn't surprise me at all. His blend of intelligence, compassion, wit, honesty, affectation, nervous energy, and control is unique, contradictory, and hardly imaginable in the real world, but very appealing.
I also love Harriet Vane a lot. Her honest analytical mind is only enhanced by her all-too-relatable emotions as she tries to work out whether it is possible to balance the demands of brain versus heart.
Favorite passage:
"I suppose one oughtn't to marry anybody, unless one's prepared to make him a full-time job."
"Probably not; though there are a few rare people, I believe, who don't look on themselves as jobs but as fellow-creatures."
wordswithjustine's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.5
bhnmt61's review against another edition
4.0
I read this years ago when I was an undergraduate and loved it, mainly for Sayers' blatant love of literature (I was a very snotty english major at the time), the strong female lead character, Harriet Vane, and the interesting romance between her and Lord Peter Wimsey. This time I found it fascinating, but for different reasons-- it's fascinating to see Sayers try to work out a relationship between equals in the 1930s when it was written, when the idea of women getting university degrees and holding professional-level jobs was still controversial. It's beautifully done.
The other thing that interested me is that it's one of the very few mystery novels I've ever read that doesn't have a murder in it. In fact, at the moment, I can't think of another one, although I confess I don't read many so maybe there are plenty out there. If it were written now, it would be edited into a much tighter, less literary conventional mystery, which would both make it a better read and also lose a great deal of its charm. Save it for a moment when you want a book that will transport you back to another time and place.
The other thing that interested me is that it's one of the very few mystery novels I've ever read that doesn't have a murder in it. In fact, at the moment, I can't think of another one, although I confess I don't read many so maybe there are plenty out there. If it were written now, it would be edited into a much tighter, less literary conventional mystery, which would both make it a better read and also lose a great deal of its charm. Save it for a moment when you want a book that will transport you back to another time and place.
calfaile's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5