I can't recall whether it was The Black Tower or a different book by P.D.James which was recommended to me among a sea of other "crime" books that should absolutely be read by anyone who likes the genre.Perhaps it was a different book. I hope it was a different book. It's more than possible I was merely unlucky in picking up The Black Tower as my first book to read by P.D.James. I'd prefer it to be that way.You see, I wasn't overly impressed by The Black Tower. Indeed, I put down the book with a distinct lack of satisfaction. So, I'd done it, I'd finished it. Great. Sure. Whatever. Why had I even bothered? Why had I forced myself to read through to the very end?It's plausible I will never know the answer to that. See, as I was reading the book, my two major gripes were related to the writing. James seems to be fond of long chunks of description, to the extent that one wonders if there's more to it than mere fondness and instead more in the direction of meeting a word count.I hardly care to read several long descriptions about the appearance of a character(s), let alone by entreated to countless descriptions. If felt forced, and did absolutely nothing to speed up the pace of what was already a slow, pondering mystery.And then, too, James also seems to be fond of repeating things. Dalgliesh spends a good half of his time regretting mistakes, or debating with himself about whether there is a crime, and whether he should get involved. Without it the story would be a good lot shorter, and I wouldn't have felt like I was reading the same passage half a dozen times.Usually this would be enough for me to move on. There are too many books to read, and not enough time to read them all. But then something actually happened and it was just enough to make me continue on.Of course, it's the final outcome which seals this books two-star fate. It seems lacking, too clean, and too coincidental. There were probably clues, which I missed. I won't deny it. And not as to the who, but as to the why. But even if they were there (and no doubt they were), even if one can forgive how Dalgliesh finally realises the truth (and I can), the end still seems too coincidental.
I don't understand how anyone can like this book. Take the spitefulness of Melrose Place, add the sex appeal of Confederacy of Dunces, and sprinkle on the inanity of a Jane Austen heroine (none of it in a good way) and you've got The Black Tower. Who would ever do any of the things that the characters do in this book? And they do boring things, by the way, nonsensically boring - the worst kind of boring. Let's eat together every night in silence except for we'll take turns reading boring stuff aloud. Tonight is my turn, I'll read the phone book while you slouch in your wheelchair and masticate your food. Since half the potential suspects are in wheelchairs, the inspector has to keep the reader guessing by constantly speculating that this or that criminal act could not have been committed by a resident in a wheelchair EXCEPT if they had an accomplice - ooooh! The worst is at the climax...(spoiler alert)At the exact moment that the inspector finally figures out what is going on - not by good sleuthing but by having everything suddenly occur to him, it turns out that the bad guy has simultaneously figured out that he figured it out and disconnects the phone lines. The climatic confrontation is almost laughable. When the good guy tries to make the phone call, the bad guy pops out and with no other preamble, asks 'How did you know it was me?' It was like the start of a Laurel and Hardy routine: Um, how did you know that I know that it was you?? except it wasn't supposed to be funny. The writing was fine, but the characters, the narrative, the action - not so great.
What do You think about The Black Tower (2001)?
Continuing my investigation of a new author for me, I got a couple more PD James novels at the library. I'm beginning to come to the conclusion that James is not worth reading when she tries to be deep and thought-provoking and to elucidate Serious Themes. Because she just comes across as ponderous, self-important, and well, boring. The Black Tower is an okay mystery, I guess, but I had a really hard time getting into the story and as it progressed I wasn't particularly entertained. The writing is fair but James seems to be better at quick-sketch characterization than intensive studies. I don't find Dalgleish to be a very convincing detective hero, and none of the other characters were terribly sympathetic. Her style can work, as in the first James I read, if she has at least one sympathetic character and the rest are interesting if not likable. But it didn't work in this case. And what struck me as a minor flaw in the first novel I read, her obsessively detailed scene descriptions, are by now becoming irritatingly forced. I think I need to give James a break and maybe read one now and then when I'm in the mood. It all comes down to the fact that I prefer my mysteries to be entertaining, light, escapist reading, and James just isn't fitting the bill.
—Katharine
Have to remember this was written in the mid 1970s hence its decidedly 'dated' feel. The narrator's attitudes are a touch snobby, homophobic and racist - though the actual style is fluent and engaging. What was most disappointing was the ending - the patients (or their wheelchairs to be more precies) are unwittingly acting as heroin mules. Eh?! Where did that come from??? While the revelation of the culprit in the final denoument wasn't surprising (he was always a bit shifty) the whole of the cl
—Liza
The best I've read by James yet. Not sure if James or Inspector Dalgliesh are growing on me. Both are acquired tastes I'm convinced of that. The fact that James is a subtle writer and Adam is a not very charming sleuth don't really explain anything...or do they? In this story, we catch a few more glimpses into the mysterious character of our detective. I find myself liking Adam in spite of himself, or is it because I feel sorry for him? He's brilliant, cold, aloof, calculating and a born investigator, but a rather sorry human being. He solves his crimes but he doesn't always come out on top like Poirot or other serial detectives, which makes him and the stories more interesting.
—booklady
