tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post8050293593905107145..comments2024-03-18T11:01:42.459-05:00Comments on Pretty Sinister Books: NEW STUFF: A Talent for Murder - Andrew WilsonJ F Norrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06473487417479127354noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-18465994379909337882017-07-13T10:45:57.583-05:002017-07-13T10:45:57.583-05:00I sort of wished it had been more of a traditional...I sort of wished it had been more of a traditional whodunit. Kurs often came off too cartoonish, like one of Christie's master criminals in her early career. He seemed to be like an occult mesmerist with his easy sway over everyone. Maybe that was also part of Wilson's point -- that Agatha was meeting a man in her real life who was worse than the characters she had created.<br /><br />I didn't really buy into Nancy Neele confiding in Kurs about her personal life. Even though I was willing to accept his skill in extorting everyone he meets I found that bit the most outlandish part of the plot. It really seemed way too much like a Highsmith novel much of the time. She's clearly one of his influences.<br /><br />Have you read his first novel, one most definitely inspired by Highsmith: <i>The Lying Tongue</i>? Though very derivative and familiar I liked it much more because it focused almost exclusively on two characters. It also deals with writers.J F Norrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06473487417479127354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-53411335886905729352017-07-13T08:53:59.678-05:002017-07-13T08:53:59.678-05:00I didn't really get on with this book. I did a...I didn't really get on with this book. I did admire the way he wove in all the details from Christie's own life, and her books, and autobiography. But I had big problems with the plot, which didn't make sense to me at various points. And yes, the long chapters about the wasted investigation down south, and the encounters with Archie Christie, seemed repetitious and pointless, as we all knew there would be no results...Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-6483524795445808322017-07-13T00:53:24.342-05:002017-07-13T00:53:24.342-05:00Hahaha, you remind me of a time when, in my callow...Hahaha, you remind me of a time when, in my callow youth and still reading living authors, I emailed one to say how much I had enjoyed their book...and to enquire about the use of alternating first- and third-person narration, something I'd not seen before. The reply I got was pretty much "I did it that way because that's the way I wanted to do it" and I remember thinking <i>Yeah, but that doesn't really address the issues, does it?</i>. I'm with you: pick a lane, dude!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-38100339591570689002017-07-12T16:00:57.451-05:002017-07-12T16:00:57.451-05:00The good -- and there is lots of it here -- far ou...The good -- and there is lots of it here -- far outweigh my nitpicking at its faults. Una is a fascinating foil for Agatha. IWilson is merciless with his characters. Be prepared for what m might be some jawdropping surprises. Maybe not a masterpiece, but I'd give it a sold 8 out of 10.<br /><br />One complaint I didn't write about: the mix of first person narration (Agatha) and third person narration when focussing on Una or anyone else. The traditional literature student in me balks at this kind of "modernism." Make up your mind, I say! Multiple viewpoints are fine in any novel, but why not use first person for everyone? Or third person for the whole book?J F Norrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06473487417479127354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-25230077860395584522017-07-12T14:41:50.611-05:002017-07-12T14:41:50.611-05:00Thanks for this, John. I saw this title advertise...Thanks for this, John. I saw this title advertised online and my curiosity was piqued if not exactly at fever pitch, so I thought I'd wait to see what someone else thought of it first. I've never really had any interest in <i>Agatha</i> -- not sure why, possibly it just seems a little...sensation-grabbing to me, I suppose -- but your comments here make me think this is a little more focused and clear in its intent. So, as I say, thanks for a review that addresses most of the problems that I expected to have with this and largely comes away making me feel more positive about its chances!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com