For this week´s alphabet meme I considered titles with the word death in them, but there are far too many.
Instead I decided to call attention to the very best twentieth century D: Colin Dexter, the author of thirteen novels (correct me if the number is wrong) about Chief Inspector Morse, plus some short stories.
Here is my review of Colin Dexter´s debut: Last Bus to Woodstock.
Here you see my heterogeneous collection of Dexter´s novels. Yes, I am a collector. No, I won´t pay a penny extra to get them all from the same publisher.
And now it is your turn: what is it that makes us love the old, grumpy and querulous detective so much?
.jpg)
14 kommentarer:
Dorte - What a fabulous choice for "D!" I'm a real Dexter fan, so this was a treat. I love Inspector Morse for a few reasons. One is that I'm a linguist, so his literary allusions really appeal to me. I also love (probably for the same reason) how purist he is about the use of language. He's also flawed, which has its own appeal. Sleuths with no faults aren't as interesting as those with quirks, flaws and foibles. He also has just enough mystery about him to keep him interesting without being tiresome about it.
Your question includes the answer: Morse is loved because he is old, grumpy, and querulous. Dexter's Morse is one of my most highly rated favorites in detective fiction. The BBC's series featuring John Thaw as Morse was superb. BBC now has Morse's assistant (Lewis) taking center stage in a series of made-for-TV mysteries, and the spectre of Morse is "alive and well" in the form of frequent allusions. Are you able to view these in Denmark? They are wonderful.
I read the first of these books (Last Bus to Oxford) while working at Blackwell's bookstore, when the book first came out. I did enjoy them largely because of the local aspects. Living in the same town, it is so fascinating to read about locations and processes you know well. I think (it's a long time ago that I read these now) that I sometimes found the plots a bit wanting, but I did like the character of Morse just because he was solitary (like me) and did not go along with the mores of the day. I suppose nowadays detectives like Morse are more standard, but I think he was a lot less usual as a "crime fiction type" when the first books were published.
I love Morse -- I've read only one of the books, but I've seen most of the TV shows! I'll have to get back to this series in print.
Margot: fine point with the linguist! I think Morse appeals to many different readers for several readers.
R.T.: I am glad you see it the same way. And while so many other TV productions of one´s beloved series disappoint you, Morse is one of the few that lived up to my expectations. And it is amazing that they have been able to give Lewis his own series without destroying it all. They might have tried to ´Morsify´ Lewis, which no one would ever have believed; instead they have added Hathaway who is quite colourful (and perhaps more like Morse than he cares to know).
Maxine: as I said to Margot, I think there are many different reasons why readers enjoy Morse. I also love the Oxford aspect, and whenever I visit Oxford, I think of it as Morse´s haunt :D I even visited a pub once, because Morse frequented it (and that is not really my style).
He's brilliant and prickly. And Oxford is a fantastic setting.
I think Morse COULD have been a writer. He was such an avid reader and linguist. That may be why so many mystery writers are drawn to him. :)
Elizabeth
Mystery Writing is Murder
Good choice Dorte. As you know I am a Morse fan too. I love your collection! Thanks for taking part.
Beth: oh, you have some good reading experiences ahead of you!
Elizabeth: more good reasons why we like Morse!
Kerrie: oh, I really enjoy it. This meme is so much better for me than the other one.
I feel a bit disappointed that I never read one of the Morse books prior to seeing the TV Morse because I think I might have reacted differently if I had. I've tried a couple of the books but found both to be less vibrant than the TV shows.
Bernadette: the TV series is wonderful (for a change), but I also love the books. I am not absolutely sure, but I think I also watched it on TV before reading any of the books.
Long time I read a Morse book!
Here is my Crime Fiction Alphabet: D post!
Hi Gautami.
I hope you liked meeting him again :D
Send en kommentar