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A review by kjboldon
The Complete Stories by Dorothy L. Sayers
3.0
I would say this book is for Peter Wimsey completists (of which I guess I now am) only. The Lord Peter stories aren't great, though I did finally get what I wanted, out of The Haunted Policemen and Talboys, which was the surrounding life of Harriet and Peter. Talboys, I think, is worth the price of admission. It's funny and human and layered in a way that many of these dark and clever stories are not.
In their favor, they are devourable, but even the better ones I found not quite satisfying. Perhaps this is me. I love the long sprawl of a novel over a short story. Then again, there is a dark, rather nasty edge to some of them that is perhaps why I favor the Wimsey/Vane escapades, for their common thread of decency.
It also could be that just getting through all 800+ pages of this was just a bit much. Perhaps reading the stories in littler chunks, as released, would've felt more manageable. In any case, I'm settling on 3 stars. My advice is to know that they're not great, and to read the shorter collections rather than this big honkin' one.
In their favor, they are devourable, but even the better ones I found not quite satisfying. Perhaps this is me. I love the long sprawl of a novel over a short story. Then again, there is a dark, rather nasty edge to some of them that is perhaps why I favor the Wimsey/Vane escapades, for their common thread of decency.
It also could be that just getting through all 800+ pages of this was just a bit much. Perhaps reading the stories in littler chunks, as released, would've felt more manageable. In any case, I'm settling on 3 stars. My advice is to know that they're not great, and to read the shorter collections rather than this big honkin' one.