Emily Dickinson Is Dead by Jane LangtonMy rating: 2 of 5 stars
Oofdah.
Let me start with this: I love Jane Langton's Homer Kelly mysteries--this is certainly not my first one. This was my first time listening to one on audiobook, which I'll address in a bit. The book itself was written in 1984, and that may explain the archaic use of the word "oriental" and it might even explain (not excuse) the sort of stereotypical portrayal of Winnie Gaw as the fat girl who eats her feelings. A stereotype would be annoying, but it is the utter and inexplicable fixation on fat-shaming as a source of humor that is really obnoxious here. Langton relies on a certain amount of parody in general, and there are the usual suspects: all variety of academics--the bumbling, the pompous, the sketchy--, and then there is the ingenue (of sorts) in Allison. Presumably Langton was going for some sort of overblown contrast between the two characters, but it does not land well. Really, it is to the point of distraction. In reading other reviews, I know it isn't just because I was listening to it on audiobook.
It is a real shame because there are several other elements of Langton's wonderful mystery at play--the tangled web of surprise connections, the subtler humor (e.g. Homer Kelly's "gourmet" meals for Owen Kraznik), and of course the historical/New England connections and peppering of Dickinson's poetry. The audio book, if I had to guess, was also recorded for "Books on Tape" back in the day (and I was alive then, so I'm not making assumptions about the 80s), so presumably folks might have found Derek Perkins' fake Japanese accent less offensive. Aside from that, however, Perkins reads the book well, subtly imbuing most characters with individual personas, but not to the point of farce.
Did I like aspects of the book? Absolutely--it has the cozy mystery aspect that I was looking for, but the misogynistic bigotry made it a sour read, sadly.
View all my reviews
No comments:
Post a Comment