octavia_cade's Reviews (2.64k)

This is a quiet opening to the next mini-series within the wider universe, and it's an effective one, though it's still clearly mostly set-up. And for all that the bulk of the comic is set in the American West, in a callback to the western influence that was so much a part of the first story in this series, it's fairly obvious by the end that the focus has shifted to the trenches of WW1 France. And the trenches is where the art starts to get really interesting, with great tentacles of red spread across the pages. I've read this before, so I'm waiting for the chlorine green to turn up... 

I loved this - every single thing about it was enjoyable for me. It's the sort of tonal mix I really enjoy, being both grim, sad, kind, and whimsical all at once. The plot, it must be said, is not at all complicated, and the murderous culprit is obvious long before they're unveiled. This is, however, not a book to be read for plot, I think. It's not even really a book to be read for character, as even though the kids here are all well-drawn, there's not sufficient length or attention on each to produce more than sketches for most of them. The overwhelming strength of the book is that tone I already mentioned, and even though I borrowed an ecopy of this from the library, I already know that I'm going to have to buy it in hardcover so that I can experience it again. 

Coming out as trans is difficult enough, I expect, without a childhood heavily influenced by a fundamentalist religion. There's a heavy focus on that childhood here, and I think it's fair to say that in many ways it remains, for Brady-Davis, a strong influence. One of the most striking aspects of this book for me - it's not a major focus, more a minor element - is that she is occasionally coming up against her own unexamined prejudice against members of her own community... hangovers from that religious upbringing, basically. It says a lot for her character that she realises this and works to combat it; not everyone is so self-aware and willing to question their own beliefs. 

It's an interesting journey from that childhood through college, performing as a drag queen, and then building a career out of activism. Brady-Davis comes across as kind, intelligent, and sympathetic, and the book's worth reading. I will say, though, that the pacing didn't quite work for me. This is a relatively short book (the edition I got from the library is under 250 pages) but it felt quite slow and waffled a bit, and as a result came across as being a bit longer than it actually was. 

This doesn't happen that often, but in this particular story it was blindingly clear to me what had happened, and how. Don't get me wrong: I didn't guess the backstory. I assumed that this was a crime of opportunism, but the method and the culprit are the same either way.

I don't know if I'm particularly clever this evening, or if Christie just wrote a short that was a little more obvious than most of hers. To be perfectly honest, I suspect the latter. Doesn't matter, I still enjoyed it. 

I've come to the conclusion, reading these short stories, that there are two kinds of Miss Marple mysteries: those that Miss Marple solves because of her knowledge of domestic activity, inspired by her experience of village life, and those that she solves because of Christie's knowledge of medicine and/or chemistry.

This is one of the latter. Oh, there's lip service to the village solution, but picking the culprit isn't exactly hard. (I did it, and I hardly ever get it right!) I suspected that the blue flowers were being caused by something sciencey, but I didn't guess what. So, half right, but honestly... while it initially seems a clever method, I can't help but think that had anyone bothered to make a genuinely close examination of the flowers in question, they would have quickly seen the trick. 

This was outstanding! It's been very hard to put it down over the past few days, and my own writing has been suffering in consequence. I don't care. I've been a fan of Angela Carter for years - many of her books are on my shelves - and so when I came across this in the local library I knew I had to read it. It's very dense, very well-considered, and deliberately attempts to skirt the mythologisation of Carter, who died relatively young, from cancer, and who became more lauded after her death than she was before it. As Gordon points out early on in the biography, the people around her recalled her in ways that were not always accurate, constructing memories from their own experiences that were influenced more by what they thought Carter was like than they were how she actually was.

That happens to everyone, of course. Memory is a mutable thing, and it does seem as if the closer the person interviewed was to Carter, the less this occurred - unsurprising, given that the more time you spend with a person, the better sense you generally have of their character. It's only through amalgamating all the disparate experiences that people had with Carter, as well as her own interviews, journals, and records, that Gordon is able to produce a complete picture... or at least a picture that approaches on complete. Some people, such as Carter's first husband, refused to be interviewed - as is of course their right - and so those perspectives, valuable as they might be, have been lost.

This was still fascinating to read. Gordon's prose is lucid and compelling, his sympathies engaged, and his research exhaustive but not pedantic. It's one of the best biographies I've ever read, and I want my own copy now. 

I've never actually felt sorry for Miss Marple before, but she's stuck with the whiniest, most annoying niece here, so all credit to the old lady that she didn't just smother Mabel or, you know, leave her to her suspicious neighbours. Then again, Mabel didn't actually murder her husband, so her far-too-patient aunt very likely felt a duty.

That being said, while I enjoyed this mystery, it feels a little out of place compared to some of the others in this collection. The majority of the ones I've read have been solved because Miss Marple has a domestic perspective not often considered by the other sleuths, and while that's on show here a little, the solution relies more upon a rather sophisticated knowledge of medicine and chemistry. I don't mean to say that Miss Marple shouldn't know these things; it's more that her knowledge of them is not the central appeal of her character for me. 

The fraudulent, opportunistic protagonist of this story is called Eurydice Spragg, and instantly I am reminded of Narnia's Eustace Scrubb, who almost deserved his name. I suppose when you're as prolific as Christie was, you start to get pretty desperate trying to find names you haven't used before, and Spragg, who is a fake spiritualist exploiting a grieving grandfather, certainly deserves that particular monstrosity.

I didn't pick the ending at all, but I continue to be entertained, if slightly baffled, by the sheer number of random stories that Miss Marple can even more randomly connect to various mysteries. That said, while it's a bit of an off-the-wall solution, it's also one that any child would be familiar with, so little Tommy earned his mention here, I suppose. 

What an excellent adaptation this is! It's been a while since I read the novel, which was another five star read for me if I recall correctly, but my initial impression is that the graphic novel is particularly cohesive and focused when it comes to the plot. Of course, there's less space to work with, so Nault has to be extremely focused in her narrative, but overall I think I prefer it this way. You won't hear me say this often, but if I had to pick between the two on my shelves (and why should I, when I can have both?) I think I'd plump for the adaptation over the original.

Admittedly, a lot of that is down to the visuals. The illustrations here are amazing, and make fantastic use of colour - particularly red, as it bleeds over pages. I'm just really pleased with it. I got it from the local library, but I think I'm going to have to track down a copy for myself, because I really want to own this. I can see myself reading it over and over again...