tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post530638752510410534..comments2024-03-28T18:16:09.693+00:00Comments on Clothes In Books: Tuesday Night Club: John Dickson Carr’s Comic MasterpieceClothes In Bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-24776542213779943672017-04-05T10:42:24.891+01:002017-04-05T10:42:24.891+01:00I know -it all came together, and it didn't de...I know -it all came together, and it didn't descend into total slapstick, which sometimes happens when he is being funny. Right then, Arabian Nights is next on the list!Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-2796841301260286722017-04-04T20:34:15.672+01:002017-04-04T20:34:15.672+01:00The funniest Carr book to me is the Arabian Nights...The funniest Carr book to me is the Arabian Nights Murders, but this one is also good. The bickering scholars are also his best love story I think. Johanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14957635441637987216noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-48698379671167850422016-03-14T13:13:09.130+00:002016-03-14T13:13:09.130+00:00No, probably not, but you might enjoy the odd one....No, probably not, but you might enjoy the odd one....Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-79840385593477376952016-03-14T12:47:45.768+00:002016-03-14T12:47:45.768+00:00I'll try one eventually, but not going to beco...I'll try one eventually, but not going to become a favourite.col2910https://www.blogger.com/profile/06422138069939709043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-61430184983874109322016-03-10T10:43:25.610+00:002016-03-10T10:43:25.610+00:00I think it is - it has great momentum. I have no r...I think it is - it has great momentum. I have no recollection of To Wake the Dead at all!Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-58750421683209094802016-03-10T10:42:50.509+00:002016-03-10T10:42:50.509+00:00Oh yes, good call, they would have been a great ma...Oh yes, good call, they would have been a great match, with the combination of dark deeds and light-heartedness - hard to do well, but great when done properly.Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-21871611326817521882016-03-10T07:24:30.473+00:002016-03-10T07:24:30.473+00:00It sounds like the sort of story Powell & Pres...It sounds like the sort of story Powell & Pressburger would have done well.Shayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16527241089629026268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-26801830904842685242016-03-09T17:14:01.929+00:002016-03-09T17:14:01.929+00:00This is one of the two Carr books that I have, the...This is one of the two Carr books that I have, the other is To Wake the Dead. Is this a good one to start with? (Or did I already ask you that?)TracyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-68991358215667983402016-03-09T16:56:43.305+00:002016-03-09T16:56:43.305+00:00I know the feeling - hope you can find and enjoy t...I know the feeling - hope you can find and enjoy this one...Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-46490191613183030102016-03-09T16:56:27.575+00:002016-03-09T16:56:27.575+00:00I'm always astonished that there haven't r...I'm always astonished that there haven't really been film versions - you wouldn't think any problems were insurmountable, and they would make such good watching. And nowadays you'd think someone would enjoy making a lavish period version with great clothes and settings...<br />Yes, he has a lovely gentle, self-aware irony. Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-45825954422531361642016-03-09T16:54:06.726+00:002016-03-09T16:54:06.726+00:00I'm sure you are right - as I said to Kate abo...I'm sure you are right - as I said to Kate above, the right mood can help a lot. The Reader is Warned I read recently, and absolutely loved the setup but had a few problems with the ending. Emperor's snuff box I read probably 30 years ago, and remember nothing. I must seek it out - it may well be on a shelf upstairs....Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-76939920938919846072016-03-09T16:52:01.402+00:002016-03-09T16:52:01.402+00:00I was so glad to read it again, and am sure will d...I was so glad to read it again, and am sure will do so again in the future. Such an entertainment...Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-59055845618019142282016-03-09T16:51:35.989+00:002016-03-09T16:51:35.989+00:00I think a lot can depend on how and when you read ...I think a lot can depend on how and when you read them - it can vary with mood over whether I think something is ridiculous or creepy. I really liked your idea that it was a comedy of manners. And, I know I would probably object to slapstick and racial stereotyping in another book, but he totally got away with it...Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-17288889081398411682016-03-09T01:44:04.804+00:002016-03-09T01:44:04.804+00:00Thank heavens for Inter-library loan -- I have blo...Thank heavens for Inter-library loan -- I have blown my book budget already and it's only the 8th of March.Shayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16527241089629026268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-83592555902590651112016-03-08T17:35:54.213+00:002016-03-08T17:35:54.213+00:00It doesn't always get the respect that it dese...It doesn't always get the respect that it deserves, but I also think that it's one of his best, and certainly one of my favourites. Whenever Film/TV versions of Carr's books are discussed it is said that they are too complicated to easily adapt, but this does feel really cinematic. The story is told via a series of set-pieces--the bickering on the train, the drunken party, the murder. And the final explanations of the impossible crimes are really clever without being excessively complicated.<br /><br />The comedy is also much better integrated with the rest of the book. Some of his earlier books either have no humour, or else the jokes swamp the story. This is far more sophisticated, and you have to wonder whether Carr was responding to the Screwball Comedies that had recently been so popular. I also love the fact that the vision of Scotland is pure Hollywood, but not only does Carr know it, he knows that we know it too!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-71977825915579511302016-03-08T16:49:18.092+00:002016-03-08T16:49:18.092+00:00Yes, I didn't like it all that much. It could ...Yes, I didn't like it all that much. It could well been that I just wasn't in the right mood. I started skipping about half way through, always a bad sign. I have noticed though that JDC is one of those writers who doesn't always take with me. Have you read The Reader is Warned or The Emperor's Snuff-box, both of which really gripped me?Christinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16510409974009816550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-30675415337865530202016-03-08T12:20:14.304+00:002016-03-08T12:20:14.304+00:00Carr certainly did have a way of writing strong an...Carr certainly did have a way of writing strong and interesting female characters, didn't he, Moira? And I do like his ability to evoke even small detail, 'though his novels aren't long. Very glad you like this one so much.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-24138132635417579362016-03-08T11:33:56.428+00:002016-03-08T11:33:56.428+00:00Thanks for the mentions. Kathryn is one of Carr...Thanks for the mentions. Kathryn is one of Carr's better heroines in my opinion and I did love the comedy of manners style of the story. I think though that I tend to read more comic or light hearted crime novels. It's not often that a book from the GA period can give me the shivers or feel dread. Though Ethel Lina White's Some Must Watch Did that - do not finish reading it late on a stormy night home alone, is all I can say. Katehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05616800837907092489noreply@blogger.com