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jwmcoaching's review against another edition
2.0
2 1/2 stars. If Quentin Tarantino didn't draw inspiration for Kill Bill from this, I'll eat my shoe. That's what I kept thinking of while reading this. Unfortunately, unlike Kill Bill, the repetitive nature of this isn't nearly as entertaining. The plot (minor spoilers) involves the killing of five different men and as each one as killed, there follows a post mortem analysis by the cop who's on the trail of the killer. There is good writing here and it wasn't that I didn't enjoy this; it was just way too repetitive. The nature of the cop's sections, in particular, felt more like a screenplay than a novel.
wittyandsarcasticbookclub's review against another edition
2.0
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest opinion. This will be available on January 21st, 2021.
I’ve heard Cornell Woolrich being spoken of as the father of the crime novel, so I jumped at the chance to read The Bride Wore Black. The plot is fairly simple: there are several murders that seem unrelated, except for the appearance of a mysterious woman, whom no one seems to recognize. It falls on Detective Wanger to solve the series of cases and stop the body count.
Unfortunately, this book was more problematic than enjoyable for me. The issue is, things that are unacceptable now (or at least, they should be) were commonplace when this book was written. Things have changed a lot since 1940. Nowhere is that more evident than in The Bride Wore Black. Racism and sexism were both very much a part of this book, in the casual sort of way that shows just how “normal” it was. For example, several men “good-naturedly” (the author’s word) tried to break down a dressing room door while a woman was changing. It was written as a natural, totally okay occurrence, which immediately put me off the book. Now, I know what some of you might be thinking: it’s an older book, and I need to assume these things will be there and take it in stride. Fair point. If I were able to get past the content (which was pretty much impossible for me), my review would be pretty much what follows.
Woolrich made some odd choices. Throughout the book, the reader is given both the who and the how of the murders; the only unsolved part is the why. I’m used to reading books where the identity of the killer isn’t known right away, so this was new to me. I felt a little cheated with so much information being already given. I like the tricky aspect of trying to solve the whodunnit. That being said, the why ended up being a doozy, completely unexpected and rather sad.
If the excess of freely given information seemed odd, the methods of the killings were downright bizarre. The oddest one involved a killer disguised as a kindergarten teacher: the victim thinks it’s absolutely normal for his child’s kindergarten teacher to show up uninvited to cook him dinner while he puts his feet up and reads the paper (see what I mean about the book being problematic?) . I found myself wondering how someone who was so lacking in common sense managed to live so long in the first place. I couldn’t view the murderer as diabolical, smart, or even as much of a threat because the way the murders were committed were so incredibly weird.
I was bummed that we saw so little of Detective Wanger. There would be several chapters involving the killer, then a small aside featuring the detective. There is no opportunity to get to know the character, which was rather disappointing. At least he didn’t immediately discount the idea of a female killer based on gender.
As I’ve mentioned, the ending was surprising and creative. I could see a little bit of why the author is seen as one of the original driving forces in the detective novel genre. It felt like the precursor for later books in the genre. Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough to make this book enjoyable for me.
Needless to say, I definitely don’t recommend this book, although it could just be an issue of the reader not matching the writing. It happens.
I’ve heard Cornell Woolrich being spoken of as the father of the crime novel, so I jumped at the chance to read The Bride Wore Black. The plot is fairly simple: there are several murders that seem unrelated, except for the appearance of a mysterious woman, whom no one seems to recognize. It falls on Detective Wanger to solve the series of cases and stop the body count.
Unfortunately, this book was more problematic than enjoyable for me. The issue is, things that are unacceptable now (or at least, they should be) were commonplace when this book was written. Things have changed a lot since 1940. Nowhere is that more evident than in The Bride Wore Black. Racism and sexism were both very much a part of this book, in the casual sort of way that shows just how “normal” it was. For example, several men “good-naturedly” (the author’s word) tried to break down a dressing room door while a woman was changing. It was written as a natural, totally okay occurrence, which immediately put me off the book. Now, I know what some of you might be thinking: it’s an older book, and I need to assume these things will be there and take it in stride. Fair point. If I were able to get past the content (which was pretty much impossible for me), my review would be pretty much what follows.
Woolrich made some odd choices. Throughout the book, the reader is given both the who and the how of the murders; the only unsolved part is the why. I’m used to reading books where the identity of the killer isn’t known right away, so this was new to me. I felt a little cheated with so much information being already given. I like the tricky aspect of trying to solve the whodunnit. That being said, the why ended up being a doozy, completely unexpected and rather sad.
If the excess of freely given information seemed odd, the methods of the killings were downright bizarre. The oddest one involved a killer disguised as a kindergarten teacher: the victim thinks it’s absolutely normal for his child’s kindergarten teacher to show up uninvited to cook him dinner while he puts his feet up and reads the paper (see what I mean about the book being problematic?) . I found myself wondering how someone who was so lacking in common sense managed to live so long in the first place. I couldn’t view the murderer as diabolical, smart, or even as much of a threat because the way the murders were committed were so incredibly weird.
I was bummed that we saw so little of Detective Wanger. There would be several chapters involving the killer, then a small aside featuring the detective. There is no opportunity to get to know the character, which was rather disappointing. At least he didn’t immediately discount the idea of a female killer based on gender.
As I’ve mentioned, the ending was surprising and creative. I could see a little bit of why the author is seen as one of the original driving forces in the detective novel genre. It felt like the precursor for later books in the genre. Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough to make this book enjoyable for me.
Needless to say, I definitely don’t recommend this book, although it could just be an issue of the reader not matching the writing. It happens.
dadoodoflow's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
relaxing
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
abookishtype's review against another edition
2.0
Originally published in 1940, Cornell Woolrich’s The Bride Wore Black is interesting (at least to me) more as a study of mid-century mysteries and how much the genre has changed in the last 80 years. This twisty mystery is all about creating seemingly impossible murders than it is about psychological depth, fair play, or realism. This book is very much in the vein of Golden Age mysteries that readers inhaled by the thousands until mystery writers started adding layers to their characters; exploring the psychology of perpetrators, victims, and investigators; and hewing much closer to reality...
Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley, for review consideration.
Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley, for review consideration.
vesper1931's review against another edition
4.0
Who is the beautiful female that enter these men's lives for such a short period, but leaves when they are dead. Ken Bliss is one of them and his death is investigated by policeman Lew Wanger. Are they random killings or does she have a motive, and if she does is it acceptable.
An entertaining and well-written historical mystery
Originally published in 1940
An ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
An entertaining and well-written historical mystery
Originally published in 1940
An ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
lilirose's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Un noir molto particolare, dal taglio cinematografico (non a caso Truffaut ne ha tratto un film nel 1968).
Il ritmo viene scandito da cinque delitti, ognuno dei quali strutturato allo stesso modo: preparativi dell'assassina, poi introduzione della vittima ed esecuzione del delitto, infine conseguenze e relative indagini. Ciascun omicidio però si svolge in ambienti e con modalità sempre diverse, quasi a rappresentare un racconto a se stante: starà a noi e al detective Wanger trovare il fil rouge. A dir la verità non sembra un'impresa così difficile, riusciamo quasi immediatamente a farci un' idea del movente (la colpevole invece è chiara sin da subito, non è un "whodunit"), ma non sarebbe un vero giallo se il capitolo finale non ribaltasse la prospettiva, facendoci rivalutare tutto quel che pensavamo di sapere. Forse le coincidenze sono un po' forzate Il vero assassino è l'unica altra persona con cui la protagonista abbia interagito in tutto il romanzo, ad eccezione delle vittime, e non c'è un motivo logico dietro se non la casualità, ma il risultato è comunque abbastanza convincente.
Il fulcro della narrazione è ovviamente lei, "la donna", figura enigmatica e camaleontica con cui è impossibile empatizzare ma da cui non si può non rimanere affascinati. Lo stile rispecchia un po' la personalità della protagonista quindi è freddo e quasi asettico, funzionale all'obiettivo.
Certo risente dello scorrere del tempo perché alcune trovate sono decisamente superate o già viste, ma nel complesso è un buon noir, che appassiona ma non fa gridare al capolavoro.
Il ritmo viene scandito da cinque delitti, ognuno dei quali strutturato allo stesso modo: preparativi dell'assassina, poi introduzione della vittima ed esecuzione del delitto, infine conseguenze e relative indagini. Ciascun omicidio però si svolge in ambienti e con modalità sempre diverse, quasi a rappresentare un racconto a se stante: starà a noi e al detective Wanger trovare il fil rouge. A dir la verità non sembra un'impresa così difficile, riusciamo quasi immediatamente a farci un' idea del movente (la colpevole invece è chiara sin da subito, non è un "whodunit"), ma non sarebbe un vero giallo se il capitolo finale non ribaltasse la prospettiva, facendoci rivalutare tutto quel che pensavamo di sapere. Forse le coincidenze sono un po' forzate Il vero assassino è l'unica altra persona con cui la protagonista abbia interagito in tutto il romanzo, ad eccezione delle vittime, e non c'è un motivo logico dietro se non la casualità, ma il risultato è comunque abbastanza convincente.
Il fulcro della narrazione è ovviamente lei, "la donna", figura enigmatica e camaleontica con cui è impossibile empatizzare ma da cui non si può non rimanere affascinati. Lo stile rispecchia un po' la personalità della protagonista quindi è freddo e quasi asettico, funzionale all'obiettivo.
Certo risente dello scorrere del tempo perché alcune trovate sono decisamente superate o già viste, ma nel complesso è un buon noir, che appassiona ma non fa gridare al capolavoro.
gretel7's review against another edition
3.0
I received this from Netgalley.com.
A police detective seeks the rationale between seemingly-unrelated murders, connected only by the appearance of a beautiful woman each time. "The really clever woman is all things to all men. Like the chameleon, she takes her coloring from his ideal of her." She is written in such an incrediblely cunning and crafty way.
Good story. The mystery is immediately presented, so we know 'the who'. The story is then worked backwards as we figure out 'the why'.
Originally published in 1940.
3.25☆
A police detective seeks the rationale between seemingly-unrelated murders, connected only by the appearance of a beautiful woman each time. "The really clever woman is all things to all men. Like the chameleon, she takes her coloring from his ideal of her." She is written in such an incrediblely cunning and crafty way.
Good story. The mystery is immediately presented, so we know 'the who'. The story is then worked backwards as we figure out 'the why'.
Originally published in 1940.
3.25☆
whatmeworry's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0