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litbrett's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.75
kerliaz's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
atruthuniversallyacknowledged's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
suvata's review against another edition
3.0
#MMD Book Club September 2018 pick
My first Dorothy Sayers. Guaranteed it won’t be my last!
My first Dorothy Sayers. Guaranteed it won’t be my last!
book_concierge's review against another edition
2.0
Book on CD read by Ian Carmichael
2.5***
Book # 10 in the Lord Peter Wimsey series focuses not on Peter, but on Harriet Vane.
Harriet arrives at Shrewsbury College, Oxford, for the annual celebration known as Gaudy Night. She is one of the alumnae, though hardly typical, remaining single and earning her living as a mystery writer, while keeping company with Lord Peter Wimsey, whose proposals of marriage she keeps declining. But what promised to be a pleasant, if sometimes awkward, homecoming, turns decidedly ominous with a series of destructive “pranks” and malicious, vile graffiti.
This seemed very slow and plodding for a mystery, and I wasn’t terribly interested in much of it. Lord Peter is off on some secret assignment, and difficult to reach, though Harriet does manage to get him to come to her aid when she’s unable to capture the “poltergeist” on her own.
There were times when I was ready to applaud Sayers’ efforts at focusing the story on the women – not just the students and staff of Shrewsbury, but the alumnae who were also present. There certainly were plenty of suspects and the perpetrator seemed able to vanish without a trace. But the series is focused on Lord Peter Wimsey, after all, so he had to make an appearance. Still, I was irritated that it was HE who finally solved the case. And the speech the culprit gave once caught, a diatribe on “women’s place at home, caring for her man and not taking jobs as should be his,” just set my teeth on edge.
Ian Carmichael is a talented actor, and he plays Lord Peter in the BBC series based on these books. But with the focus on Harriet and the women of Shrewsbury, I think the audiobook would have been better if narrated by a woman.
2.5***
Book # 10 in the Lord Peter Wimsey series focuses not on Peter, but on Harriet Vane.
Harriet arrives at Shrewsbury College, Oxford, for the annual celebration known as Gaudy Night. She is one of the alumnae, though hardly typical, remaining single and earning her living as a mystery writer, while keeping company with Lord Peter Wimsey, whose proposals of marriage she keeps declining. But what promised to be a pleasant, if sometimes awkward, homecoming, turns decidedly ominous with a series of destructive “pranks” and malicious, vile graffiti.
This seemed very slow and plodding for a mystery, and I wasn’t terribly interested in much of it. Lord Peter is off on some secret assignment, and difficult to reach, though Harriet does manage to get him to come to her aid when she’s unable to capture the “poltergeist” on her own.
There were times when I was ready to applaud Sayers’ efforts at focusing the story on the women – not just the students and staff of Shrewsbury, but the alumnae who were also present. There certainly were plenty of suspects and the perpetrator seemed able to vanish without a trace. But the series is focused on Lord Peter Wimsey, after all, so he had to make an appearance. Still, I was irritated that it was HE who finally solved the case. And the speech the culprit gave once caught, a diatribe on “women’s place at home, caring for her man and not taking jobs as should be his,” just set my teeth on edge.
Ian Carmichael is a talented actor, and he plays Lord Peter in the BBC series based on these books. But with the focus on Harriet and the women of Shrewsbury, I think the audiobook would have been better if narrated by a woman.
bookishfelix5's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
5.0
lelia_t's review
4.0
This is definitely more meaty than my usual detective fiction fare. Typically, I read mysteries in the last hour before bed, since they don’t require a ton of thought, but Dorothy Sayers doesn’t let the reader off the hook that easily. Lots of nuanced conversations embellished with literary quotes. I found the romance more interesting than the mystery as Harriet Vane tries to come to a rational decision about her relationship with Peter Wimsey. Should she follow head or heart and if she follows her heart, will it require that she sacrifice her mind/intellect, which is such a fundamental part of her self? It might sound outdated, but I think many women still have to navigate their way through the demands of relationship, fulfilling work and motherhood. (Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder being an example of recent fiction about the conflict between motherhood and the desire for engaging/fulfilling work.)
The standout moment in this book is its very frank treatment of the female gaze. Harriet is a passionate woman and she hasn’t figured passion into her reckoning of head/heart. She always notices a man’s looks and physique, and she’s caught in the act of letting her eyes take in the sensual details of Peter’s face and neck, only getting to “the little hollow above the points of the collarbone” before Peter catches her and unspoken desire blots out rational thought for an instant. It’s a powerful moment and I’d be curious to know which, if any, earlier books offer such a frank depiction of female desire.
The standout moment in this book is its very frank treatment of the female gaze. Harriet is a passionate woman and she hasn’t figured passion into her reckoning of head/heart. She always notices a man’s looks and physique, and she’s caught in the act of letting her eyes take in the sensual details of Peter’s face and neck, only getting to “the little hollow above the points of the collarbone” before Peter catches her and unspoken desire blots out rational thought for an instant. It’s a powerful moment and I’d be curious to know which, if any, earlier books offer such a frank depiction of female desire.
shareen17's review
3.0
I found this book a little tedious. I figured out the mystery by halfway through the book, but still had to read long, long descriptions and discussions of every tiny piece of evidence anyway. I wasn't especially interested in all the long philosophical discussions either. I still gave it three stars though because I did like the characters and setting.