English Mysteries Club discussion
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Buddy read an Inspector Morse?
I read that in later years the scriptwriters shaped the character more & more to fit Thaw, which doesn't speak well for his mental state, or at least his social skills.
But what I love about Morse is his uniqueness, intelligence, and class.
Mod
But John Thaw's portrayal of him, of course, is pure class! :)
Elizabeth wrote: "Does anyone know more about John Thaw? Suppose I could google him."Here is a very nice clip about John Thaw that incudes a comparison with his own life and the character of Morse.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIRZ2d...
I have a friend who has read all the books (she kindly passed the set to me) and she said she noticed when the TV programme was getting popular as she felt Dexter was changing Morse's character as it went on. I wonder if we will all notice this and if we all notice it at the same time. Am not sure when this might take place during the book timeline .
Mod
I do miss John Thaw :(
Ian Rankin said in an interview that Colin Dexter admitted to him that John Thaw's portrayal of Morse influenced had influenced his writing of the character, but this could only have occurred in the last four novels because most of the books (1975-99) were written or conceived before the TV series started (1987).Rankin also said that was why he has never watched any of the Rebus productions, but he has had drinks with John Hannah till 3AM- who wouldn't?)
That said, I also see a shift in narrative style in "Service Of All The Dead". We are given a lot of history about the characters. We feel we know something that Morse doesn't.
Very cunning, Mr. Dexter
Mod
And yes, SOATD is in 4 parts, the first part detailing all the characters. I liked the style and construction of this novel.
Leslie wrote: "Penny wrote: "is the Ruth Rawlinson character rather similar to a woman in the other books? I cant remember names but I thought someone else was stuck with an invalid mother. And the Morris guy se..."I couldn't agree with you more, Leslie. I hated the plot. It was so unrealistic and somewhat silly to me. But I love the evolution of Morse. He seems to be smoothing out his rough edges. In this one, he was interested in Ruth but didn't push it until the end. Remember the one where he was so aggressive with the women? I think it was the second one. Lewis seems the same to me. He's steady as a rock and seems so happy with his wife. He's such a good contrast to Morse.
One thing I've noticed is that when I'm reading the books I see John Thaw in my mind. In this one they were talking about Morse being young (like his 30's or 40's) and it was so hard to reconcile it in my mind.
Susan wrote: "One thing I've noticed is that when I'm reading the books I see John Thaw in my mind. In this one they were talking about Morse being young (like his 30's or 40's) and it was so hard to reconcile it in my mind. ..."I see Thaw and Whately in my mind as well. Especially, I hear Thaw's voice speaking Morse's lines! So I too find that difficult to reconcile with the written descriptions at times - I think my brain just refuses to register them :)
Mod
By the way, Dexter specifies in this book that Morse is 47. I too see those actors in the roles though, as many of us seem to :)
I have no problem with him poking at religion. I just found the plot overly confusing and the rationale unsatisfying. There was just too many twists and turns and it didn't make sense to me.
Susan wrote: "I have no problem with him poking at religion. I just found the plot overly confusing and the rationale unsatisfying. There was just too many twists and turns and it didn't make sense to me."Glad that I wasn't the only one! I am curious to see how the next book is - whether it continues in this direction or not.
Our next read is
as usual we will start our discussions after the 15th !
Hope you are all still up for this - we are coming along nicely - number 5 already!
Leslie wrote: "Penny wrote: "is the Ruth Rawlinson character rather similar to a woman in the other books? I cant remember names but I thought someone else was stuck with an invalid mother. And the Morris guy se..."I finally finished "Service of all the dead".. and I too didn't like it that much, the plot ok, too many dead bodies for my taste! However, was good to see much of Lewis in this one.. and Morse more refined!
Poornima, I am right behind you. Looking forward to doing a dedicated read of everyone's comments when I am finished.Oh, and since we all like mysteries, can some one help me discover where September went?
Portia wrote: "Poornima, I am right behind you. Looking forward to doing a dedicated read of everyone's comments when I am finished.Oh, and since we all like mysteries, can some one help me discover where Sept..."
The place of the missing socks?
Yes, of course. And as soon as I find my socks, I'll look for September 2004 :-)
I'm on The Way Through the Woods, and have loved every Morse novel so far.
Hi Ray - yes I'm just about to start - as soon as I can get old Smiley's gang out of my head!! (just finished Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy)
OK - here we go again - Morse and his women!!! this is becoming a bit repetitive!!!!
Mod
Penny, I thought Morse was a little subdued in this book. Even though he flirted, he didn't pursue. Such self restraint.Did everyone think he aged a lot between the two books? I was thinking he was in his mid thirties in the last one and in this one he is 50. Is it just me?
I am about halfway through (for some reason, I have been slow in reading this), but I did notice that Morse was given the age of 50. It surprised me because I too had the impression he was younger in the previous books.@Jean - I think that your indulgence will only be needed at the very beginning.
Mod
Susan and Leslie, it was stated in the previous book that Morse was 47, so not too big a leap really. I mentioned that fact in my review
I'll be starting the next one tomorrow :)
In one of the earlier ones it seemed like he was in his late 30's. I don't know which one it was but I got that idea somewhere. I don't remember reading his age last month. I'll have to pay better attention.
I have finished this one - yes Morse does seem a bit more subdued and crotchety! He has a right rant at Lewis at one point but at least Lewis gets his egg and chips regularly!!(view spoiler)
I liked this one more in some ways as Morse seemed more likeable to me!!! and yet the repeating of a trick used in a previous book seemed slightly below standard.
Penny, I absolutely did spot that. It really gave me a big indication of what was going to happen.I did find Morse more likeable and more professional. He didn't hit on women and his drinking seemed more subdued. I think it was a good personal growth book.
I agree that Morse seemed more professional overall in this book (view spoiler)I feel like Dexter had finally hit his stride with this one in terms of the characters of Morse and Lewis. And although ultimately incorrect, I liked Morse's theory (view spoiler)
Yes Morse gets away with all sorts of antics at the crime scene - which at first isnt even his case. I noticed less literary allusions in this one as well - he always does the classics stuff but I usually pick up one or two quotes from poems etc that he just stuffs into the prose without anyone noticing - this time I really didnt notice!
Mod
I didn't expect the switch as some of you did though - missed a trick there since as you point out, Penny, Dexter had already done that in "Service of all the Dead"!
Just finished Dead of Jericho yesterday. Liked this better than SoAD.. Morse was much more dignified in this and I liked that he appreciated Lewis and told him that too! I thought the twist with the brothers in this was good and was done better than in Service of all the dead.
But you can still look out for the pattern how the story spans – all the extra marital affairs, the attractive women here and there, the red herrings. I must confess I did not like the Oedipus theory, and was so glad it wasn’t the right one! That would have spoilt the book for me.
Mod
Yes its
next.
I seem to have forgotten all the episodes of TV - the only one I can remember is Last Bus to Woodstock - I suppose thats good though as I cant remember the one 'who done it'.
We're doing quite well here - onto number 6 and still sticking with it!
Mod
I remember this episode and SoAD, but had no memory of Nicholas Quinn... I find it odd that in the TV version of The Dead of Jericho, Anne Scott was in the same chorale group that Morse was in. It made Morse's attraction & interference somewhat more reasonable but seems like a significant change to go from Morse meeting her once to being fairly close acquaintences (that must be spelled wrong!).
I thought so too. He meets her at a party and is infatuated right away. Still Morse seems to be quite a lothario.
Susan wrote: "I thought so too. He meets her at a party and is infatuated right away. Still Morse seems to be quite a lothario."Is he though? Despite his thoughts, he doesn't actually connect with the women that often... The lusting after women suspects is beginning to have a sad feeling to it as if Morse never meets any women except through his work.
Mod
That's true but I remember at least one book he ended up with somebody in bed. Of course, it was connected to his case.
Mod
English Mysteries Club
Books mentioned in this topic
The Jewel That Was Ours (other topics)The Wench is Dead (other topics)
The Remorseful Day (other topics)
Death Is Now My Neighbor (other topics)
Death Is Now My Neighbor (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Colin Dexter (other topics)Colin Dexter (other topics)
Colin Dexter (other topics)
Elizabeth George (other topics)
Ruth Rendell (other topics)
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A very talented man, in my opinion. I remember him from much earlier, sometimes doing Shakespeare as well as popular TV roles. He came from Manchester originally - a very ordinary sort of lad.