Queenie's best line
Nov. 24th, 2008 10:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
threemonkeysWriters get attached to their characters. Its almost a given - especially when the characters are part of an ongoing series. You find recurring characters in series in most genres, but never more so than in the detective crime novel. From Poirot to Stephanie Plum, these characters can go on forever. Which brings me to the latest PD James novel The Private Patient featuring, of course, the character of Adam Dalgliesh and his little team.
I have always liked James' work for its grimness. The characters are not happy - they are ordinary people living lives of quiet desperation. Even the superman Dalgleish is deeply troubled. Somehow it add a depth and texture to otherwise fairly standard format murder mystery stories. But things are a bit different in The Private Patient.
The characters don't seem so unhappy in this book. They are more at peace with themselves. Even the murderer achieves a kind of peace. Why - well this may well be the last Dalgliesh book that James writes. She is 88 and perhaps the years are catching up. I don't know for certain, I haven't read any announcements but when the main character actually has an internal monologue speculating on whether it is the last case then you may well speculate. Even more of a giveaway is the happy endings manufactured for the recurring characters Dalgleish and Miskin. There is a sentimentality on display here. James feels for her characters and at the end wants them to be happy. Then again perhaps she is pandering to the fans. Or perhaps its a big misdirect. But I don't think so.
But is it a good book? No not really. Not by the usual PD James standards. You see this type of sentimental ending time and time again in long series either of books, TV shows or whatever. They rarely work as a stand alone piece and that is the case here. But then again, endings and goodbyes are important too. Sometimes this type of affectionate goodbye is essential to the characters and their fans. Somehow, this time it just does not fit. Too many sad and dysfunctional people over too many books - happiness just isn't an option.
Damn, that's bleak isn't it. I'll say that it isn't a statement of general principle. Nevertheless in this case I really wanted the nasty ending.
I have always liked James' work for its grimness. The characters are not happy - they are ordinary people living lives of quiet desperation. Even the superman Dalgleish is deeply troubled. Somehow it add a depth and texture to otherwise fairly standard format murder mystery stories. But things are a bit different in The Private Patient.
The characters don't seem so unhappy in this book. They are more at peace with themselves. Even the murderer achieves a kind of peace. Why - well this may well be the last Dalgliesh book that James writes. She is 88 and perhaps the years are catching up. I don't know for certain, I haven't read any announcements but when the main character actually has an internal monologue speculating on whether it is the last case then you may well speculate. Even more of a giveaway is the happy endings manufactured for the recurring characters Dalgleish and Miskin. There is a sentimentality on display here. James feels for her characters and at the end wants them to be happy. Then again perhaps she is pandering to the fans. Or perhaps its a big misdirect. But I don't think so.
But is it a good book? No not really. Not by the usual PD James standards. You see this type of sentimental ending time and time again in long series either of books, TV shows or whatever. They rarely work as a stand alone piece and that is the case here. But then again, endings and goodbyes are important too. Sometimes this type of affectionate goodbye is essential to the characters and their fans. Somehow, this time it just does not fit. Too many sad and dysfunctional people over too many books - happiness just isn't an option.
Damn, that's bleak isn't it. I'll say that it isn't a statement of general principle. Nevertheless in this case I really wanted the nasty ending.