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Sunday, September 14, 2008

The reading week and a wee review

Here we go again ... I finally, finally finished Artists in Crime yesterday. It took me far longer than I expected it to. And, unfortunately, I didn't greatly enjoy it. Apparently Ngaio Marsh's books get better later on, and I hope so.

Artists in Crime was just so slow! The middle part seemed to really drag and there were a couple of continuity issues that really bugged me:

In one part, Inspector Alleyn asks what the time is, and is told it's after midnight; about 12.20am. Then, a few short paragraphs later, someone mentions that it's after 11.

In another scene, one of the minor policeman characters was there, then he'd gone to do a job, then someone asked him a question (not mentioning whether he'd come back) then Alleyn said they'd better see how he was getting on.

It really brought my enjoyment level down, which wasn't particularly high to begin with. It probably didn't help that I seemed to have less reading time last week _ I worked two 12pm-8pm shifts, which really isn't conducive for doing anything and I read very little those two nights. But I made a concerted effort yesterday and finished it. The book did get better towards the end _ it picked up as they came closer to finding out whodunit, and apparently it's of interest because it's in this book that Inspector Alleyn meets his wife.

I'd like to read more of Ngaio Marsh's books, but I think next time, I'll pick up one of the later ones.

Now, the reading for this week is (finally) A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway, my classic for September. I started it today, and so far I'm loving it. It's so descriptive, and evocative. And it makes me want to time-travel to Paris in the 1920s.

I'm also hoping to start ... maybe The Vintner's Luck, by Elizabeth Knox. We'll see. :)

1 comment:

Bybee said...

I want to read A Moveable Feast as well.