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The Private Patient (Adam Dalgliesh, #14)
by P.D. James
by P.D. James
This is another of P.D. James’ Adam Dalgliesh mysteries, the first I’ve read in a few years. I have found that they have always engaged me, although perhaps the more recent ones felt as if they were becoming a bit formulaic - maybe I’d simply read too many in too quick succession. At any rate, beginning The Private Patient I was again reminded of how perceptive James can be, how her interpersonal insights are often acute, especially regarding the subtleties of intimate relationships. And I was also impressed with how aware and sensitive she is to current political trends in the broadest sense, how she notices and reflects current movements in society, especially regarding the sense of the working class and lower middle class that they bear the brunt and burden of difficult societal trends, often being unappreciated by those above who either patronize them or hold them in contempt; these currents are not unique to the UK, by any means, and remind me greatly of what we can see in the US as well.
This mystery is convoluted enough to be highly intriguing and yet logical, complete, and satisfying in its outcome. James lays her trail and drops her hints and red herrings in masterful fashion, as is her custom. I always enjoy the fact that her psychological insights pertain as much to Dalgliesh and the members of his investigative team as to the suspects and peripheral characters. And her comments on death, crime, and grief are ones that she is not shy about generalizing to us all, making her work a mirror and commentary on all our lives.
James is also erudite enough to drop tantalizing allusions to the works of other writers and artists – T.S. Eliot, Jane Austin, Bach – doing so in a way that is refreshing and not heavy handed. I found this a most satisfying book to read, the kind of book to be read periodically as a change from my usual fare.
This mystery is convoluted enough to be highly intriguing and yet logical, complete, and satisfying in its outcome. James lays her trail and drops her hints and red herrings in masterful fashion, as is her custom. I always enjoy the fact that her psychological insights pertain as much to Dalgliesh and the members of his investigative team as to the suspects and peripheral characters. And her comments on death, crime, and grief are ones that she is not shy about generalizing to us all, making her work a mirror and commentary on all our lives.
James is also erudite enough to drop tantalizing allusions to the works of other writers and artists – T.S. Eliot, Jane Austin, Bach – doing so in a way that is refreshing and not heavy handed. I found this a most satisfying book to read, the kind of book to be read periodically as a change from my usual fare.
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Maria
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May 24, 2010 03:59pm
Hello, Bruce! I too enjoy P.D.James in general and this book in particular. My only complaint is that I find the relationship between Dalgliesh and his fiancee to be really cold and distant. It has no passion or "heart" to it.
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Hi Maria! Dalgliesh's relationship with Emma was rather peripheral to the core of the novel, to be sure, and may therefore have been hard for James to develop. Unlike your impression, though, I was moved by the subtle closeness and honesty of the relationship, the fumbling attempts they were both making to define how much of each other's lives to share, their fundamental intimacy even when they were unable to perfectly meet the expectations or needs of the other, their affirmation of each other and their love even when they were unable to see the world through identical eyes; I actually found the relationship rather touching. That said, I was also interested in the "summing up" that James was doing in what may be her last Dalgliesh movel (she will be, after all, 90 years old on August 3) - having Dalgliesh marry at last, having the investigative unit be about to disband.Do you think that people might respond differently to James' picture of their relationship based on the readers' own temperaments? Might a more passionate individual find their interactions cold and distant, whereas a more phlegmatic or non-demonstrative person not perceive that at all? Do you think that in any way your and my reactions are more typical of a man in contrast to a woman? Just questions that I wonder about.
Thanks so much for your comments; they have clearly set me thinking.
Bruce, you may be onto something with your remark about the readers' own temperaments affecting their perceptions of this relationship. I was initially very pleased that James had finally allowed Dalgliesh to become involved with Emma (that is her name, if I remember correctly?). They seemed well suited. And you may be right that what I'm reacting to as too disinterested and passionless is actually their sensitivity to the claims and commitments each had in his or her life and trying to sort that out. However, I found particularly in this novel, Emma too comfortable about being away from Dalgliesh...and perhaps this is my projections on to her character. Somehow, I would have expected her to want more of him. Perhaps, it's a little too English. I remember reading Andrea Cavallieri's Inspector Montalbano shortly after reading The Private Patient and thinking that the relationship between Livia and Montalbano as being more interesting. For one, they fought occasionally. They experienced "eros" as well as "agape." They struggled too to define the boundaries of their relationship but it seems to have more life to it. Now if this doesn't reveal this reader, I don't know what does.
A propos P.D. James' writing -- it is unsurpassed in contemporary writing, and not only among mystery writers. As you point out, she is both literate and knowledgeable of British literary history and her way with language makes her works a pleasure to read.
Interesting insights, Maria. Wouldn't it be fascinating to have James write a novel in which Dalgliesh and Emma's relationship had a more central role, just to see what she would do with it? But then again, maybe that just isn't James' strength as a writer, although I can't convince myself of that, since she is sensitive to and explorative of Kate's feelings and relationships (Kate is Dalgliesh's assistant, if you'll recall). I agree that James is highly literate, which is one of the reasons I find her work appealing.I've not read any of Cavallieri's work; what book would you recommend I start with?
I think the word I was looking for to describe their relationship is "cerebral." This is not to say that they might not feel deeply and that their commitment is any less; rather, emotions seem to get processed and "ordered" before they are either expressed or acted upon. This cerebral processing of emotions (which is both a result of temperament and of culture and upbringing) seems to diminish spontaneity and seems to lead to a certain level of caution which in turn can result in "distancing." Processing is both a strength in that it allows one time to be more considerate and sensitive to the other but it can also create opportunity for erecting protective walls. I think that Emma and Dalgliesh are very much P.D. James' children and even if they were more central to the story they would still be true to themselves as they are created in this series. I agree with you about James' treatment of Kate and her feelings. In some ways, Kate is a fuller character than Emma and more complex in that she is not so much a "cerebral" kind of woman. Her emotions are more raw and she is more vulnerable.I, too, enjoy James for her high art. It's so refreshing. You can really start anywhere with Cavallieri -- but if you look at the list of his book and you like order, you can select his first novel in the series (which I don't remember because I read them in random order). Cavallieri's Montalbano is not only Italian, but Sicilian. That should tell you something.
This may be a duplicate entry, Maria, since I tried to post a response and it seemed to disappear.Thanks for the suggestion about Cavallieri; I'll follow up on it.
I think "cerebral" is a good term and concept for what we're describing, and I agree with its potential consequences. I do think, though, that Kate is a fuller character not because of her not having a cerebral temperament but because James has more time in this novel and over a series of novels to develop her character. And, as someone more inclined to approach relationships cerebrally, I don't perceive this temperament as being less but rather perhaps more complex than its opposite, it being more difficult to navigate the rather labyrinthine paths to thoughts and feelings in this kind of character, both for people interacting with him or her as well as the character him or herself. I also don't think cerebral people are less vulnerable; in fact, I think the "style" is often a defense against intense feelings of vulnerability and raw and painful emotions.
What a rich and meaningful discussion! Thanks for pursuing it.
