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Dr. Grace Severance #4
The Beaded Banana
186 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1978
About the author
Margaret Scherf
48 books4 followersMargaret Scherf is best known for her many humorous murder mysteries. Scherf's writing career spans from 1940 to 1978.Margaret Scherf's writing career came to an abrupt end in 1979 when she was killed by a drunken driver, south of Kalispell, Montana.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
June 27, 2013
A friend of mine spotted 'The Beaded Banana' in a charity shop. The title and cover art intrigued us both. Why, we wondered, would anyone stick beads to a banana? And what possible connection could this have to murder? We were also delighted by the name of the sleuth, Doctor Grace Severance. With a title like that, you know she means business.
I am genuinely unsure whether this novel is meant to be tongue-in-cheek, but I enjoyed it in that fashion. It is a wonderfully absurd, fast-paced murder mystery, enlivened by the completely surreal touch of a character who habitually attaches beads to fruit. It wasn’t until about eighty pages in that I discovered [slight spoiler] that the fruits were plastic. I had envisioned beads being sewn onto fresh fruit that then rapidly decayed, requiring further feats of craft to replicate them! Plastic simulacra seem like cheating, somehow.
What I found especially notable in this book, in contrast to similar murder mysteries that I’ve read, was the fantastic representation of women. Female characters were numerous, competent, proactive, and independent. Women weren’t just love interests and/or victims, as so often seems to be the case. Considering that the book was published in 1979, I hadn’t dared to expect as much. Here, they all had their own agendas, helped each other out, and were not subsumed into romance subplots. Meanwhile the male sheriff, name of Nordquist, did nothing useful. The age range of female characters was also notable. Retirement-age Grace, who refused to take any shit from anyone, was backed up by her friends Mae and Louise (who bickered hilariously about politics). The investigation also involved an elderly lady called Eileen (likewise badass) and two younger ladies named Laura and Kate (who were friends). In short, I was delighted by the unexpected feminism. On the other hand, the only character of colour, Fable, was not drawn nearly as sympathetically.
The crime and its investigation were pretty formulaic, but remained entertaining as Dr. Grace Severance made such an appealing point of view character. Plus, there were some great one-liners. Here are a selection:
In short, this book that I bought as a joke turned out to be unexpectedly feminist and entertaining. I particularly enjoyed all the accusations of arson. As an absurd noir-ish murder mystery, I’d certainly recommend it. I can’t end this review without quoting the most shocking line in the whole book, though:
Let that image sink in.
I am genuinely unsure whether this novel is meant to be tongue-in-cheek, but I enjoyed it in that fashion. It is a wonderfully absurd, fast-paced murder mystery, enlivened by the completely surreal touch of a character who habitually attaches beads to fruit. It wasn’t until about eighty pages in that I discovered [slight spoiler] that the fruits were plastic. I had envisioned beads being sewn onto fresh fruit that then rapidly decayed, requiring further feats of craft to replicate them! Plastic simulacra seem like cheating, somehow.
What I found especially notable in this book, in contrast to similar murder mysteries that I’ve read, was the fantastic representation of women. Female characters were numerous, competent, proactive, and independent. Women weren’t just love interests and/or victims, as so often seems to be the case. Considering that the book was published in 1979, I hadn’t dared to expect as much. Here, they all had their own agendas, helped each other out, and were not subsumed into romance subplots. Meanwhile the male sheriff, name of Nordquist, did nothing useful. The age range of female characters was also notable. Retirement-age Grace, who refused to take any shit from anyone, was backed up by her friends Mae and Louise (who bickered hilariously about politics). The investigation also involved an elderly lady called Eileen (likewise badass) and two younger ladies named Laura and Kate (who were friends). In short, I was delighted by the unexpected feminism. On the other hand, the only character of colour, Fable, was not drawn nearly as sympathetically.
The crime and its investigation were pretty formulaic, but remained entertaining as Dr. Grace Severance made such an appealing point of view character. Plus, there were some great one-liners. Here are a selection:
”All he had from his first marriage was a dozen oyster forks and a dog,” Mae confided.
“This is a family picture - six murders and a rape.”
She threw a nightgown, a toothbrush, and a pint of Bourbon into a travelling case, locked the house, and got into her car.
“How’s the coffee?”
“You take about five refills you’ll have a real cup, Doc.”
“You’re annoying a murderer, you damned fool!”
“She thinks walking is a religious ceremony.” [This one makes no sense in context either.]
“His beaded fruit has disappeared.”
“He can’t maintain his sanity under that blow.”
“You know I almost lost my teeth in that damned fire.”
In short, this book that I bought as a joke turned out to be unexpectedly feminist and entertaining. I particularly enjoyed all the accusations of arson. As an absurd noir-ish murder mystery, I’d certainly recommend it. I can’t end this review without quoting the most shocking line in the whole book, though:
When they came out of the Café a man in chartreuse slacks and a pink jacket was getting into a Continental parked next to Mae’s car.
Let that image sink in.
October 28, 2020
Quirky, fun and fast-paced!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews