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shewritesinmargins's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.75
rachel_abby_reads's review against another edition
3.0
Originally printed in 1940, this is apparently a classic example of the hard-boiled/noir novel written by a woman.
It was interesting and I read through it pretty obsessively, but there was a questions running through my mind almost the entire novel: What makes Con worth this obsessive loyalty? Every choice Griselda makes is for a determined loyalty to Con, despite the price to the people around her. There is no explanation for who Con is, what he does, or why Griselda would be so dogged on his behalf. We know they married and divorced, eventually we understand that Griselda is the one that sought the divorce - but we don't know anything about why.
Con doesn't seem worth the price: I still don't understand what shadowy government branch he works for or with; he was willing to let all of this happen, without telling her ANYTHING, to catch the twins and another mystery bad dude, and seems to have been more worried about his missing friend than his ex-wife, but she lives for him - a look, a touch, a word. It feels pathetically obsessive.
The twins were frightening in their seemingly psychic ability to be always on scene. Missy was horrifying in her enthusiastic forays into psychosis. Ann was pathetic in her ability to overlook a dangerous situation in exchange for some social fun.
This was different than the stuff I usually read, and a fun find on the library shelf.
It was interesting and I read through it pretty obsessively, but there was a questions running through my mind almost the entire novel: What makes Con worth this obsessive loyalty? Every choice Griselda makes is for a determined loyalty to Con, despite the price to the people around her. There is no explanation for who Con is, what he does, or why Griselda would be so dogged on his behalf. We know they married and divorced, eventually we understand that Griselda is the one that sought the divorce - but we don't know anything about why.
Con doesn't seem worth the price: I still don't understand what shadowy government branch he works for or with; he was willing to let all of this happen, without telling her ANYTHING, to catch the twins and another mystery bad dude, and seems to have been more worried about his missing friend than his ex-wife, but she lives for him - a look, a touch, a word. It feels pathetically obsessive.
The twins were frightening in their seemingly psychic ability to be always on scene. Missy was horrifying in her enthusiastic forays into psychosis. Ann was pathetic in her ability to overlook a dangerous situation in exchange for some social fun.
This was different than the stuff I usually read, and a fun find on the library shelf.
hpuphd's review against another edition
4.0
An odd novel that I ended up liking. Hughes’s first novel, it was published in 1940, set in Art Deco New York, and it blends the slang of a hardboiled novel with a surreal-like development. The central character Griselda is strangely menaced by two identical twins and others demanding a blue marble. At one point she looks pleadingly at her sister Missy, who has just denied wanting to poison Griselda. We then read: “Something licked in Missy’s eyes.” People who don’t like the book will find remarks like that too weird; people who like it will feel an eerie vibe.
bev_reads_mysteries's review
4.0
The So Blue Marble (1940) was the debut novel for Dorothy B. Hughes. It is a bit thriller, a bit noir, and just a tad bit off-the-wall. The protagonist is Griselda, former actress, current fashion designer for the rich and famous in the glittering world of Hollywood. She has come back East for a rest and has taken advantage of her estranged husband's offer of his apartment for her stay. Con (the husband) is away on assignment and the apartment is conveniently empty.
She hasn't been there long when her nightmarish journey begins. A pair of dashing twins--identical in every way save that one is golden blond and the other dark-haired--in top hat and tails walk her home and begin to invade her life. And her younger sister, Missy, is involved with them as well (and quite the little psychopath, by the way--this is no spoiler, you know it from the moment you meet her). They insist that they will leave her alone if she will only hand over a very important object. The so blue marble. We learn later in the book that the marble is rumored to contain secrets leading to riches untold as well as the "secrets of the greatest lost civilization, of the day when the sun was harnessed, as we would like to harness it, when gravitation was controlled as we haven't dreamed of controlling it." They don't believe her when she says she doesn't have it (and doesn't even know what it is) and before she knows it she's caught up in a web of terror and there are dead bodies littered everywhere.
On the one hand, there is a lot of suspension of disbelief required by the book. That a map to such treasures could fit in a "marble" that somehow opens up. That dead bodies can appear and disappear all over New York. That the twins can kill indiscriminately without being caught. That Grisleda's other sister Anne could have no clue about the sinister undertones in every meeting with the twins and Missy. On the other, this is one page-turner of a book. I read it in two sessions (two, only because I absolutely had to go to bed last night) and could not put it down during either session. Very compelling narrative and description...and even though it all seems unreal, it becomes quite believable while you're reading it. It is easy to see why this book is considered a classic in the field. Four stars.
{This review is mine and was first posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting any portion. Thanks.}
She hasn't been there long when her nightmarish journey begins. A pair of dashing twins--identical in every way save that one is golden blond and the other dark-haired--in top hat and tails walk her home and begin to invade her life. And her younger sister, Missy, is involved with them as well (and quite the little psychopath, by the way--this is no spoiler, you know it from the moment you meet her). They insist that they will leave her alone if she will only hand over a very important object. The so blue marble. We learn later in the book that the marble is rumored to contain secrets leading to riches untold as well as the "secrets of the greatest lost civilization, of the day when the sun was harnessed, as we would like to harness it, when gravitation was controlled as we haven't dreamed of controlling it." They don't believe her when she says she doesn't have it (and doesn't even know what it is) and before she knows it she's caught up in a web of terror and there are dead bodies littered everywhere.
On the one hand, there is a lot of suspension of disbelief required by the book. That a map to such treasures could fit in a "marble" that somehow opens up. That dead bodies can appear and disappear all over New York. That the twins can kill indiscriminately without being caught. That Grisleda's other sister Anne could have no clue about the sinister undertones in every meeting with the twins and Missy. On the other, this is one page-turner of a book. I read it in two sessions (two, only because I absolutely had to go to bed last night) and could not put it down during either session. Very compelling narrative and description...and even though it all seems unreal, it becomes quite believable while you're reading it. It is easy to see why this book is considered a classic in the field. Four stars.
{This review is mine and was first posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting any portion. Thanks.}
bendrix's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
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