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A review by michael5000
The Nine Tailors by Dorothy L. Sayers
2.0
Between an interminable opening act that seems determined to pack in as much information about English bell-ringing as Moby Dick does about whaling, and an ending that wanders in from "Mill on the Floss," there's a pretty good parlor detective novel here -- although the lingering doubt about cause of death puts all of the characters in the preposterous position of failing to notice the single most striking aspect of the situation.
Sayers is probably the strongest stylists of the classic detective writers, and much of her technique here comes from the more accessible reaches of the "Ulysses" arsenal. For many folks, her mashup of the literary novel and series detective fiction makes Sayers the bee's knees. The combination leaves me a bit cold, however; I generally feel that she has failed to be successfully either fish or fowl. I feel like I SHOULD like Lord Peter, but I just haven't warmed to him.
2025: I was looking forward to revisiting The Nine Tailors, which is after all one of the most beloved works from the mystery canon. It's a classic that the "The Greatest Books" list compiler ranks as the 599th best book (of any kind) of all time.
Unfortunately, I still find the long opening act about bell-ringing stultifying, and the crime and detecting setup is still contrived and dumb. The writing is terrific, but seems wasted on the content. Fortunately for me, there are 598 better books in the world.
Sayers is probably the strongest stylists of the classic detective writers, and much of her technique here comes from the more accessible reaches of the "Ulysses" arsenal. For many folks, her mashup of the literary novel and series detective fiction makes Sayers the bee's knees. The combination leaves me a bit cold, however; I generally feel that she has failed to be successfully either fish or fowl. I feel like I SHOULD like Lord Peter, but I just haven't warmed to him.
2025: I was looking forward to revisiting The Nine Tailors, which is after all one of the most beloved works from the mystery canon. It's a classic that the "The Greatest Books" list compiler ranks as the 599th best book (of any kind) of all time.
Unfortunately, I still find the long opening act about bell-ringing stultifying, and the crime and detecting setup is still contrived and dumb. The writing is terrific, but seems wasted on the content. Fortunately for me, there are 598 better books in the world.