Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by robinwalter
Murder at the ABA by Isaac Asimov
mysterious
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
0.0
This book was DISGUSTING. I read and enjoyed the original Foundation trilogy in my teens and really enjoyed the Elijah Bailey/R. Daneel Olivaw series, so was looking forward to this, but it was sickening. The author comes across as utterly OBSESSED with physical appearance, especially that of women.
Right at the very beginning of the story, the 'narrator' dwells at length on how one woman's choice of dress ended up contributing the the murder:
she was faced with a dilemma. On the one hand, she was young and good-looking and had a body in which all parts fell smoothly into place, so that she had the natural desire to display said body to the world. On the other hand, she was a feminist, and the book she was pushing was feminist, and there was the possibility that to use the lure of the body to promote the book would be a non-feminist thing to do.
I don't know whether she hesitated at all; or if she did, how long. I don't know if she tried on different dresses or settled the matter by pure reason in her mind.
The point is that she ended with a white dress which, above the waistline, was made up of generous swatches of open network, and under it she had above the waistline nothing at all but her own gorgeous self. When she remained in repose, her breasts remained safely behind the small, strategically placed opaque sections. When she raised an arm, as she might, the dress hiked up on that side and one nipple went peek-a-boo.
And it went downhill from there, with phrases like these
Teresa wasn't a bad object for embracing.
How do I describe Roseann? She is not exactly ugly or grotesque, but I think they invented the word "unattractive" for her.
Being among the most 'printable' examples. Every female character without exception is described at length specifically in terms of their physicall attractiveness or lack thereof, and the narrator's louche lasciviousness reminded me of the delightful Spanish expression "viejo verde" Since the who shtick of the book is that it's "meta" because of being written by Asimov and featuring him as a character in the story, I have nocpmunctions in attributing the lecherous misogyny and slurs against everyone from gay people to vegetarians as being reflective of the authors own unpleasant personality. That Asimov acquired a reputation as a gropy old man is one thing, that he wrote a book in which that was on display on almost every page is quite another.
Because of the sheer "ugh" factor, I couldn't focus on the mystery and skimmed this book for two reasons (1) to complete a prompt in the 2023 Onboarding challenge, and (2) to find out whodunnit. What I learned was that a DNF should DEFINITELY be allowed to count for TSG reading challenges.
Right at the very beginning of the story, the 'narrator' dwells at length on how one woman's choice of dress ended up contributing the the murder:
she was faced with a dilemma. On the one hand, she was young and good-looking and had a body in which all parts fell smoothly into place, so that she had the natural desire to display said body to the world. On the other hand, she was a feminist, and the book she was pushing was feminist, and there was the possibility that to use the lure of the body to promote the book would be a non-feminist thing to do.
I don't know whether she hesitated at all; or if she did, how long. I don't know if she tried on different dresses or settled the matter by pure reason in her mind.
The point is that she ended with a white dress which, above the waistline, was made up of generous swatches of open network, and under it she had above the waistline nothing at all but her own gorgeous self. When she remained in repose, her breasts remained safely behind the small, strategically placed opaque sections. When she raised an arm, as she might, the dress hiked up on that side and one nipple went peek-a-boo.
And it went downhill from there, with phrases like these
Teresa wasn't a bad object for embracing.
How do I describe Roseann? She is not exactly ugly or grotesque, but I think they invented the word "unattractive" for her.
Being among the most 'printable' examples. Every female character without exception is described at length specifically in terms of their physicall attractiveness or lack thereof, and the narrator's louche lasciviousness reminded me of the delightful Spanish expression "viejo verde" Since the who shtick of the book is that it's "meta" because of being written by Asimov and featuring him as a character in the story, I have nocpmunctions in attributing the lecherous misogyny and slurs against everyone from gay people to vegetarians as being reflective of the authors own unpleasant personality. That Asimov acquired a reputation as a gropy old man is one thing, that he wrote a book in which that was on display on almost every page is quite another.
Because of the sheer "ugh" factor, I couldn't focus on the mystery and skimmed this book for two reasons (1) to complete a prompt in the 2023 Onboarding challenge, and (2) to find out whodunnit. What I learned was that a DNF should DEFINITELY be allowed to count for TSG reading challenges.