Scan barcode
A review by wonderwomantbh
The Case of the Missing Marquess by Nancy Springer
1.0
I picked up this one after seeing the Netflix banner for the movie, having not heard of it before (I was a senior in high school and a mystery fan even then this book was published so I can’t understand why). I haven’t watched the film but I now have far less interest in doing so because this book was insufferable.
Enola is not as clever as we’re supposed to believe, nor is she particularly interesting - there are plenty of female characters like her who have been done far better and without any need of inserting themselves into the universe of an already established, famous work. Also the book spends so much of its time being self-righteous in regards to the Social Rules of the time that I nearly rage-quit when, in spite of this, it derailed into racist stereotypes (particularly against Roma peoples) and very uncomfortable trauma!porn-esque territory (tw assault: there is a violent scene that starts with imagery that suggests Enola is about to be raped, but then it turns instead into a more harmless abduction at knife-point, and I have a hard time thinking it wasn’t intentional bait-and-switch, but even if not the scene is very unsettling - especially considering the ages this book is targeted to).
Overall, I have no intention of reading the other books and less intention of watching the movie.
Enola is not as clever as we’re supposed to believe, nor is she particularly interesting - there are plenty of female characters like her who have been done far better and without any need of inserting themselves into the universe of an already established, famous work. Also the book spends so much of its time being self-righteous in regards to the Social Rules of the time that I nearly rage-quit when, in spite of this, it derailed into racist stereotypes (particularly against Roma peoples) and very uncomfortable trauma!porn-esque territory (tw assault: there is a violent scene that starts with imagery that suggests Enola is about to be raped, but then it turns instead into a more harmless abduction at knife-point, and I have a hard time thinking it wasn’t intentional bait-and-switch, but even if not the scene is very unsettling - especially considering the ages this book is targeted to).
Overall, I have no intention of reading the other books and less intention of watching the movie.