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dennisfischman 's review for:
Brat Farrar
by Josephine Tey
It is not giving away anything to say that this book is about an imposter and whether he will be found out. What's unique about it is that by impersonating a man who died years ago, our titular hero is in a position to find out that he was killed, and who killed him. It's a unique position for an investigator to be in, and in that way, it's just as much of a tour de force as [b:The Daughter of Time|77661|The Daughter of Time (Inspector Alan Grant, #5)|Josephine Tey|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1394326949l/77661._SY75_.jpg|3222080], where Inspector Alan Grant is lying on his back in hospital for most of the book.
Our hero also finds out who he really is, and reveals who the members of the Ashby family really are, not least to themselves.
Yes, the book is historically implausible. Yes, it bears the stigmata of ethnic and class prejudice, although it wears them more lightly than books by [a:Agatha Christie|123715|Agatha Christie|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1589991473p2/123715.jpg], [a:Dorothy Sayers|29894135|Dorothy Sayers|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png], or [a:Margery Allingham|30748|Margery Allingham|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1364808928p2/30748.jpg], Tey's contemporaries. What made me enjoy every word of it is that Tey writes so beautifully, builds the suspense so artfully, and treats both male and female characters as well-rounded people. I can see why this is a classic, and I think it's only the funny title that kept me from reading it much earlier in life.
Our hero also finds out who he really is, and reveals who the members of the Ashby family really are, not least to themselves.
Yes, the book is historically implausible. Yes, it bears the stigmata of ethnic and class prejudice, although it wears them more lightly than books by [a:Agatha Christie|123715|Agatha Christie|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1589991473p2/123715.jpg], [a:Dorothy Sayers|29894135|Dorothy Sayers|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png], or [a:Margery Allingham|30748|Margery Allingham|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1364808928p2/30748.jpg], Tey's contemporaries. What made me enjoy every word of it is that Tey writes so beautifully, builds the suspense so artfully, and treats both male and female characters as well-rounded people. I can see why this is a classic, and I think it's only the funny title that kept me from reading it much earlier in life.