Gaudy Night by Dorothy Sayers (again)

Reviewed by Sarah
Start Date: 9th ish
Finish Date: October 15th
Star Rating. We're going all the way to TEN STARS. YES INDEEDY. **********
"Movie" Rating: PG

"You have nothing to reproach yourself with--you didn't tell me this, I found it out for myself. I will admit defeat and say good-bye. Shall I?"
The club waiter set down the brandies. Harriet, with her eyes on her own hands, sat plaiting her fingers together. Peter watched her for some minutes, and then said gently:
"Don't look so tragic about it. The coffee's getting cold. After all, you know, I have the consolation that 'not you but Fate has vanquished me.' I shall emerge with my vanity intact, and that's something."
"Peter. I'm afraid I'm not very consistent. I cam here tonight with the firm intention of telling you to chuck it. But I'd rather fight my own battles. I--I--" she looked up and went on rather quaveringly--"I'm damned if I'll have you wiped out by plug-uglies or anonymous letter writers!"


Ok, so while I loved this book alot alot alot the first time, I was also rather frustrated with it. I wanted Lord Peter. He took a long time in showing up. Frustration.

This is why re-reading is so totally awesome. When you know what to expect (more or less), then failed expectations can't ruin your reading. And you can just... enjoy the awesome. Which is what this book is made of.

In its very shallowest layer, this is a detective story. Just below that, it's a romance. I enjoy both detective stories and romance. But... it's also more. A book friend of mine described it as "a treatise on marriage" in the form of a mystery/romance novel. Which is really a very good description of it. The Relationship between a man and a woman, balancing/compatibility of home/work lives, careers/education of women and its effects, heart versus brain, etc. etc. are all issues explored through the mystery, the romance, the characters... well, the entire book. It asks alot of questions, and in some ways answers some of them, but really, thinking through the questions asked in a book and coming up with one's own answers is the job of the reader.

And, when you're not horribly impatient for him to show up, it doesn't really take Lord Peter all that long to show his face. He's in about the last 200 of 500 pages, in addition to his appearances near the beginning. And, again when you're not focusing on the Absence of Lord Peter, Harriet becomes an extremely interesting (and in some ways more believeable) character in her own right. She's clever in a more quiet and slow-thinking way which I rather enjoy.

How fleeting are all human passions compared with the massive continuity of ducks.