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A review by ravenousbibliophile
Fer-de-Lance by Rex Stout
adventurous
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Blurb: Best consumed slowly
If the book reads like a 'first-novel' that's because it is. My fascination with Nero Wolfe began by listening to the Radio-Dramas with the incomparable Sydney Greenstreet playing Nero Wolfe. While the Dramas are a heady mix of humor and wit, the book goes heavy on the wit & and exposition. Second to the mystery, the most gripping aspect of this book has been its prose and in particular, the diction and wordplay of Nero Wolfe.
The narrator of the story (as with all of Nero Wolfe's stories moving forward) is his trusty companion and business associate, Archie Goodwin. A hard-boiled, ruggedly handsome gumshoe, it would be easy to mistake him for the protagonist in the opening chapters since he's the one who does all the legwork. However, the story soon proves that when it comes to making investigative leaps which require a potent mix of knowledge and imagination, Nero Wolfe is well and truly the man in-charge. Archie's own banter and penchant for observation are shown in his narrative style. A detail-oriented humor which adds much needed respite while reading through particularly dense moments of environmental descriptions and body-language.
The star attraction of the story, however, is the murder. In a way Rex Stout was ahead of his time for the method is revealed quite early in the story but it is the execution that leaves one baffled. The story utilizes characters and character-tropes which are very much the mainstay of pre-WWII America and even in that, Stout manages to slip in the odd plot-twist which one would expect to see in the murder-mysteries written in more modern times and not in the 1930s.
I shall be eternally grateful to the late Sydney Greenstreet for introducing me to the character to which he lent his unmistakable voice and diction, and I also thank the modern invention of Kindle/E-Books which have made accessing the Nero Wolfe collection possible in this day and age.
If the book reads like a 'first-novel' that's because it is. My fascination with Nero Wolfe began by listening to the Radio-Dramas with the incomparable Sydney Greenstreet playing Nero Wolfe. While the Dramas are a heady mix of humor and wit, the book goes heavy on the wit & and exposition. Second to the mystery, the most gripping aspect of this book has been its prose and in particular, the diction and wordplay of Nero Wolfe.
The narrator of the story (as with all of Nero Wolfe's stories moving forward) is his trusty companion and business associate, Archie Goodwin. A hard-boiled, ruggedly handsome gumshoe, it would be easy to mistake him for the protagonist in the opening chapters since he's the one who does all the legwork. However, the story soon proves that when it comes to making investigative leaps which require a potent mix of knowledge and imagination, Nero Wolfe is well and truly the man in-charge. Archie's own banter and penchant for observation are shown in his narrative style. A detail-oriented humor which adds much needed respite while reading through particularly dense moments of environmental descriptions and body-language.
The star attraction of the story, however, is the murder. In a way Rex Stout was ahead of his time for the method is revealed quite early in the story but it is the execution that leaves one baffled. The story utilizes characters and character-tropes which are very much the mainstay of pre-WWII America and even in that, Stout manages to slip in the odd plot-twist which one would expect to see in the murder-mysteries written in more modern times and not in the 1930s.
I shall be eternally grateful to the late Sydney Greenstreet for introducing me to the character to which he lent his unmistakable voice and diction, and I also thank the modern invention of Kindle/E-Books which have made accessing the Nero Wolfe collection possible in this day and age.