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Val McDermid, "The Grave Tattoo"
Jul. 21st, 2011 09:14 pmDon't ever ask me to tell you anything about William Wordsworth. What with this and 'Fair Exchange', my history is hopelessly confused.
In short: Fletcher Christian died shortly after the mutiny on the Bounty (or did he?); Jane Gresham is a respectable post-doc (or is she?); Tenille Cole is going nowhere fast (or is she?); there is more to William Wordsworth than you thought (or is there?)
'The Grave Tattoo' is a valiant attempt to incorporate Lake District legend, scholarly research and police procedural into the same novel, and I'm not entirely convinced by the result. Some of that may be down to the use of Lucida Handwriting or similar for Wordsworth's narrative; it adds a depressingly school-project touch. There were some irritating loose ends (what was the point of the TV crew?). Wise decision not to write Wordsworth's missing epic; there's quite enough Wordsworth in the world already.
All that is not to say that I did not enjoy this book. Certainly it was suspenseful, if not entirely credible. And it's quite fun to see some of the more esoteric areas of Eng Lit dissected. Overall, though, not a keeper.
http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/9896869
In short: Fletcher Christian died shortly after the mutiny on the Bounty (or did he?); Jane Gresham is a respectable post-doc (or is she?); Tenille Cole is going nowhere fast (or is she?); there is more to William Wordsworth than you thought (or is there?)
'The Grave Tattoo' is a valiant attempt to incorporate Lake District legend, scholarly research and police procedural into the same novel, and I'm not entirely convinced by the result. Some of that may be down to the use of Lucida Handwriting or similar for Wordsworth's narrative; it adds a depressingly school-project touch. There were some irritating loose ends (what was the point of the TV crew?). Wise decision not to write Wordsworth's missing epic; there's quite enough Wordsworth in the world already.
All that is not to say that I did not enjoy this book. Certainly it was suspenseful, if not entirely credible. And it's quite fun to see some of the more esoteric areas of Eng Lit dissected. Overall, though, not a keeper.
http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/9896869
