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49th out of 187 books
—
30 voters
Emily Dickinson Is Dead (Homer Kelly Mystery #5)
by
Jane Langton
Emily Dickinson noted "death's tremendous nearness" in one of her poems. Of course, she'd been dead 100 years when her admirers came to Amherst to celebrate her at a memorial symposium.
Among them was Homer Kelly, distinguished Thoreau scholar and ex-detective, who had himself dealt with murder -- a form of death -- in the past. To his amazement he finds himself once again
...morePaperback, 256 pages
Published
July 2nd 1985
by Penguin Books
(first published 1984)
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If you are looking for something so delightfully creative that you marvel at the twists and turns and insights, if you are looking for a book that makes you laugh right out loud, if you are looking for a book that is delightfully clever, intelligently written with a sly, witty sense of humor, then look no further.
Obtain a copy of this book, sit in a comfortable chair, open the first pages and feel the smile on your face as you are transported to Amherst Massachusetts. You will be surrounded and...more
Obtain a copy of this book, sit in a comfortable chair, open the first pages and feel the smile on your face as you are transported to Amherst Massachusetts. You will be surrounded and...more
This is really better than three stars, yet it doesn't make four. Again, a book I never would have discovered without my sister-in-law, Deb, having gifted it. It's quite an amusing little book. Some decent characters. A bit of suspense. Good setting. Tad of humor. Fun to see how things play out. Read it when you're in the mood for a not terribly suspenseful suspense with a lot of fitting lines from Emily Dickinson's poetry thrown in. Don't you find yourself in such a mood often? Anyway, though s...more
Dying is one way to celebrate death. Certainly not the method of choice, especially when death comes by way of arson in Amherst. Amherst, MA is where Emily Dickinson lived and died herself- a shutaway of her own volition in the home of her parents- Dickinson still managed to speak her sentiment on living and dying to the world through her classic poetry. When the hundredth - year anniversary of her death approaches, Amherst once again becomes a place to contemplate mortality, especially after c...more
Have you ever noticed how many mysteries written by female authors conflate negative images of big women with negative characteristics? I first noticed this in Elizabeth Peters _Die for Love_, and it popped up again in the _Booktown_ series, and Langton really dwells on it in this mystery. Perhaps she intended to create a commentary on how society treats unattractive women, but the constant conflation of the woman's body with hatred, hysteria, and homicidal rage tend to swamp any thoughtful comm...more
I found this book on a free/discard shelf at our library, and the title intrigued me. While I do agree with what Angie wrote about one of the characters extreme overweightness being equated with her unpleasantness, I read it more as she's-overweight-because-she's-awful, and not she's-awful-because-she's-overweight. However, that is a delicate balance when it's a main characteristic of a main character.
I did really like the local color and the outlandish characters, including the bachelor-pad cui...more
I did really like the local color and the outlandish characters, including the bachelor-pad cui...more
"The guests at the Emily Dickins9on Memorial symposium are all passionately devoted to the poet. Professor Peter Wiggins is eager to revitalize her image (and his own career) by exposing a very controversial photograph. Winifred Gaw, an obese graduate student, feels compelled to make public the special bond she shares with Emily Dickinson -- the awful pain of unrequited love. And even Professor Tom Perry's new girlfriend, pretty Alison Groves, finds that her indifference to poetry undergoes a su...more
I'm giving it 2 stars for its campiness (otherwise I'd give it 1). Most of the characters are flat. Too often I was told why they were a certain way rather than showing me. The plot seems to have one thing happen after the next. Events don't build from characters or from past actions.
Dull, long-winded and tenuously linked by Emily Dickinson poetry. Not enjoyable as a detective novel or as an ode to Emily.
An amusing light mystery, with a clever plot line. It would not be enjoyed by someone who is heavy or sensitive about obesity.
Got taken in. Read it fast. Even though fiction, I liked also learning a little more about Emily as a person.
One of the best Homer Kelly mysteries. Great use of Dickinson's poetry as well.
Not worth reading. Started out ok, but got repetitive and annoying fast.
Fun, quick read
It's not really a good mystery--too many coincidences--yet it was still a great read. Langton writes great characters, a great setting, and threads Emily Dickinson history and poetry throughout. So in the end, it's one of my fave Langtons.
All sorts of people running around impulsively considering killing other people. Only one certain murderer in the group, but my goodness. I'm not sure I will ever be able to comfortably attend a literary symposium. Altogether a really fun book.
This is such a random book, but it's SO good. I came upon it by chance (Goodwill?) but I absolutely LOVED it and it's one of the few books I've read passively where I can vividly remember almost the whole story.
Thought this would be interesting since it revolved around Amherst and Dickinson but it was very average.
Arson and muder take place at an Amherst Emily Dickinson symposium. A most entertaining read.
Once I started I realized that I read it before. It fun because I know the location.
May 14, 2013
Jaime
marked it as to-read
May 14, 2013
Jenn M
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May 12, 2013
Andrea
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Apr 02, 2013
Denni
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Mar 31, 2013
Igraine
marked it as auf-gar-keinen-fall
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Langton was born in Boston, Massachusetts. She studied astronomy at Wellesley College and the University of Michigan, receiving a bachelor's degree in 1944. She received an M.A. in art history from the University of Michigan in 1945, and another M.A. from Radcliffe College in 1948. She studied at the Boston Museum School from 1958 to 1959.
In 1961 Langton wrote and illustrated her first book for ch...more
More about Jane Langton...
In 1961 Langton wrote and illustrated her first book for ch...more
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