tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post8433320717602246159..comments2024-03-27T22:32:02.739+01:00Comments on Beneath the Stains of Time: Death Throws a PartyTomCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-67122215955726368432011-12-19T15:56:51.918+01:002011-12-19T15:56:51.918+01:00Great review TomCat - so far I have utterly failed...Great review TomCat - so far I have utterly failed to read a seasonal book but I shall have to follow your example and remedy that. Like John, I often find myself preferring Stout in shorter doses though I always enjoy the Archie and Nero adventures anyway - of his novella collections, my absolute favourite is probably CURTAINS FOR THREE with three really well-plotted storiesSergio (Tipping My Fedora)http://bloodymurder.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-57969529169876973542011-12-17T11:16:36.474+01:002011-12-17T11:16:36.474+01:00The Germans were a resourceful bunch, once upon a ...The Germans were a resourceful bunch, once upon a time, but that didn't earn them any good behavioral points with the international community, now did it? ;)<br /><br />What I forgot to mention, the TV adaptation of "Christmas Party," with Maury Chaykin and Timothy Hutton, is excellent and shows, once again, how even the most weakly plotted stories from the corpus sparkle on the small screen – if they are faithfully adapted (e.g. <i>Death of a Doxy</i>). <br /><br />Stout's forte was dialogue, especially Goodwin's narrative voice is a work of art, and therefore perfect for a quality TV series. <br /><br />Unfortunately, I doubt any feature series/movies will be as faithful to their source materials as the A&E productions.TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-73955916032961933702011-12-16T22:52:48.598+01:002011-12-16T22:52:48.598+01:00We celebrate Swietego Mikolaja in Poland. No shoes...We celebrate Swietego Mikolaja in Poland. No shoes or anything, though-- but it's a nice little holiday.<br /><br />Ahem, as a representative of The Lending Libraries of Canada (I work at one, so it counts!), we are not evil. Just resourceful. :)<br /><br />I read the first of these stories, and it's fun. The solution isn't special, but the situation is so insane I can't help enjoying it.Patrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01844617192737950378noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-42984667592677364532011-12-16T10:04:22.941+01:002011-12-16T10:04:22.941+01:00John,
I'm the opposite, preferring the novel...John, <br /><br />I'm the opposite, preferring the novels to the novellas. Stout usually shows a lot more ingenuity and creativity, measured against his own standards, in his plotting when he was writing a full-length novel – and tended to disregard a lot of these things (especially clueing) in his shorter works. The biggest exception is <i>Not Quite Dead Enough</i>, which is absolutely brilliant and shows Wolfe and Archie functioning during wartime. It's probably one of the best books Stout ever wrote! <i>Black Orchids</i> and <i>Three for the Chair</i> (containing "Too Many Detectives") are also excellent. <br /><br />I can't tell openly, because Patrick might read it and call upon the Evil Powers That Be (a.k.a. The Lending Libraries of Canada) and beat me to it. ;) <br /><br />Thanks! I'm too old now for the shoe thing, but it remains a great kick-off of the holiday season. It would be unintentionally funny if America would start celebrating Sinterklaas, as well, if only to watch the hilarity of one half explaining Black Peters to other half. <br /><br />Yes, St. Nicholas Day is celebrated in other European countries, too, but not like we and the Belgium's do it. Just type <i>Intocht Sinterklaas</i> in YouTube.TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-38718303117316206302011-12-16T00:10:22.104+01:002011-12-16T00:10:22.104+01:00I need to dig into these Wolfe novellas. I think t...I need to dig into these Wolfe novellas. I think they'd be more my speed. I have attempted several novels and I always lose interest in them well before the halfway mark. But strangely his non-Nero wolfe books I can make it through with no problem.<br /><br />I'm eager to know which authors tempted you after poring over Adey's reference book. British? American? French?<br /><br />Speaking of Christmas and the holiday season: I forgot to wish you a Happy Sinterklaas Dag last week. Did you put your shoes out? ;^) I wish we had a version of Black Peter over here. I think that part of a European (specifically Dutch, I think, though the Germans have a version of him, too) Christmas is surreally wild.J F Norrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06473487417479127354noreply@blogger.com