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Sunday, February 15, 2004

Dorothy Sayers & the Da Vinci Code

I've been reading a lot of fiction the past two months. I made an impulsive decision in december, and decided to use the majority of my book giftcard Christmas gifts to purchase the murder mysteries of Dorothy Sayers. I consider it money well spent. I'm not much into the murder mystery genre, but the Lord Peter Whimsey novels (which later include as fellow detective Harriet Vane) have me hooked. Book #1, Whose Body?, is a good starting point, because you get a lot of Lord Peter Whimsey's charcter and demeanour.

My two favorites so far are Murder Must Advertise and The Nine Tailors. Here's why- Sayers worked in the advertising profession for a few years, and her descriptions of intra-office dynamics are pitch perfect, and seem so modern. Murder Must Advertise is wonderful for this reason alone. The Nine Tailors is a novel centered around campanology. I'll leave it to my readers to find out for themselves what that is. Once you learn, you'll want to read the book just out of curiosity. The murder and its solution are particuarly interesting in this novel.

So have fun. It's much better reading than the Da Vinci Code. Which, btw, we're hosting a discussion of here at church March 5th at 7 p.m. Look for Sandra Miesel's article in reply to the novel, http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/persecution/pch0058.html

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