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3.28 AVERAGE
3.28 AVERAGE
kikiandarrowsfishshelf's review against another edition
4.0
In case you missed it, Rush Limbaugh called a woman a slut simply because she had a different prespective on an issue. Of course to Limbaugh, the term feminist is a nasty word. I feel like I should send him a "Happy Women's History Month" card or something.
There is an actual point to my rambling here. Rendell's book deals with the question of what is feminism or to be more precise, can things go too far. At least in part. How she deals with it is rather interestingly and enjoyable. Nice to find a book that isn't preachy.
See, this guy disappears, and his wife his a bit well old fashioned. And then Wexford's Watson (whose name is Burden), his wife has issues because she is giving birth to a girl and feels upset that it is not a boy (and then feels upset that she is upset).
And disappering guy, boy, does he sound like a real winner.
There is an actual point to my rambling here. Rendell's book deals with the question of what is feminism or to be more precise, can things go too far. At least in part. How she deals with it is rather interestingly and enjoyable. Nice to find a book that isn't preachy.
See, this guy disappears, and his wife his a bit well old fashioned. And then Wexford's Watson (whose name is Burden), his wife has issues because she is giving birth to a girl and feels upset that it is not a boy (and then feels upset that she is upset).
And disappering guy, boy, does he sound like a real winner.
declanmoffit's review against another edition
3.0
Audio. First inspector Wexford I’ve read. Very gentle amble, interesting characters. Nice description of people and places and the town. Interesting setup with a bigamist with a clever twist. Sometimes wanders into a little too much exposition. I enjoyed it and would read more.
guypaul's review against another edition
4.0
The number of characters and the details of the feminist society's manifesto muddled this story a little. It's more of a three-and-a-half-star mystery for me, but its rating stands at 3.43 right now, so I thought I'd go up rather than down. It did keep me entertained.
andyshute's review against another edition
4.0
I really liked this one. The central mystery is compelling, getting more complex and sinister at the book progresses. The gender and sexual politics are perhaps somewhat dated now but Rendell portrays the radical feminist movement through the empathic and liberal interested lens of Wexford so it creates an interesting counterpart and frequently upsets expectation.
I'm not always a fan of the 'lets share a pint while I explain the whole plot' approach to thriller denouements but here it seemed to work and it's a genuinely intriguing solution.
Burden gets more to do here, becoming a father again and having more input into the plot. While Wexford has deepened as a character, it's Mike who's really developed.
Annoyingly the local library doesn't have all of the remaining audiobook versions so I might have to figure out where to get the rest.
I'm not always a fan of the 'lets share a pint while I explain the whole plot' approach to thriller denouements but here it seemed to work and it's a genuinely intriguing solution.
Burden gets more to do here, becoming a father again and having more input into the plot. While Wexford has deepened as a character, it's Mike who's really developed.
Annoyingly the local library doesn't have all of the remaining audiobook versions so I might have to figure out where to get the rest.
kuglar's review against another edition
2.0
The blame the victim / exonerate the pedophile theme running through this one was disgusting.
This series is well written and generally a pleasure to read. One does wish that the [female] author was able to write without so much animus against her gender. I’m sure there’s a thesis in there somewhere.
This series is well written and generally a pleasure to read. One does wish that the [female] author was able to write without so much animus against her gender. I’m sure there’s a thesis in there somewhere.
saareman's review against another edition
3.0
A Muddle of Clues
Review of the Arrow Books paperback edition (1986) of the Hutchinson original hardcover (1985)
I read An Unkindness of Ravens as part of my ongoing survey of classic crime writing. Ruth Rendell (1930-2015) is especially known for the psychological elements in her crime fiction. Ravens at No. 13 is exactly in the middle of the pack of the 24 Chief Inspector Wexford novels. Wexford is somewhat of an old fuddy-duddy who is set in his ways and often quotes from theatre or the classics to the befuddlement of his assistant DI Mike Burden. Most of the sources of those quotes or allusions are never explained, so it is flattering to the reader who recognizes them. An example in Ravens is when Wexford refers to a Bunbury alibi with Burden's confused reaction. Bunbury being Algernon's fictitious friend who he uses for excuses in Oscar Wilde's [b:The Importance of Being Earnest and Other Plays|92308|The Importance of Being Earnest and Other Plays|Oscar Wilde|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1260426623l/92308._SY75_.jpg|11094898] (1898).
At first you start to think that Ravens is going to be sympathetic to activist feminism which was beginning to rise to prominence in the late 1980s and early 1990's. The female characters though are almost all portrayed as unsympathetic with the final reveal of the murderer being quite diabolical. The red herrings of the case are mostly all related to a local feminist organization named after the rather contradictory historical suicide Arria in ancient Roman history. Then there are various curious Freudian and misogynistic subplots, Burden's wife is having a baby and fears that it will be born female etc.
So I can't really say that I enjoyed Ravens overall, except for Wexford's classical references and the twistiness of the plot.
Trivia and Link
I read An Unkindness of Ravens in its original 1986 paperback edition with its more evocative and theme appropriate cover art (pictured above) rather than the later 1990s edition which is used by Goodreads with a less specific cover art.
Review of the Arrow Books paperback edition (1986) of the Hutchinson original hardcover (1985)
I read An Unkindness of Ravens as part of my ongoing survey of classic crime writing. Ruth Rendell (1930-2015) is especially known for the psychological elements in her crime fiction. Ravens at No. 13 is exactly in the middle of the pack of the 24 Chief Inspector Wexford novels. Wexford is somewhat of an old fuddy-duddy who is set in his ways and often quotes from theatre or the classics to the befuddlement of his assistant DI Mike Burden. Most of the sources of those quotes or allusions are never explained, so it is flattering to the reader who recognizes them. An example in Ravens is when Wexford refers to a Bunbury alibi with Burden's confused reaction. Bunbury being Algernon's fictitious friend who he uses for excuses in Oscar Wilde's [b:The Importance of Being Earnest and Other Plays|92308|The Importance of Being Earnest and Other Plays|Oscar Wilde|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1260426623l/92308._SY75_.jpg|11094898] (1898).
At first you start to think that Ravens is going to be sympathetic to activist feminism which was beginning to rise to prominence in the late 1980s and early 1990's. The female characters though are almost all portrayed as unsympathetic with the final reveal of the murderer being quite diabolical. The red herrings of the case are mostly all related to a local feminist organization named after the rather contradictory historical suicide Arria in ancient Roman history. Then there are various curious Freudian and misogynistic subplots, Burden's wife is having a baby and fears that it will be born female etc.
So I can't really say that I enjoyed Ravens overall, except for Wexford's classical references and the twistiness of the plot.
Trivia and Link
I read An Unkindness of Ravens in its original 1986 paperback edition with its more evocative and theme appropriate cover art (pictured above) rather than the later 1990s edition which is used by Goodreads with a less specific cover art.
jaadhimalli's review against another edition
3.0
fish : shoal of fish
raven : unkindess of raven
20. A book you picked because the title caught your attention.
#PopSugarReadingChallenge2020
raven : unkindess of raven
20. A book you picked because the title caught your attention.
#PopSugarReadingChallenge2020
carolsnotebook's review against another edition
3.0
The good - characters and plot
The bad - the social commentary
The bad - the social commentary