Escapist Reading
Last night, I watched one of those recycled BBC murder mystery programs on PBS. It was set in the 1930's. The protagonist was super sleuth, Hercule Poirot.
And, I got to remembering ...
Flying helicopters in Viet Nam had a lot of interesting and challenging moments, but there was a lot of down time, when we just sat around waiting to be called out. It was impossible to go anywhere or get involved in any activity that couldn't be suspended on a moment's notice. So, I read.
I read the Tolkein "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, and all of the James Bond novels that had been written to that point, but some of the most widely circulated paperbacks were the classic "whodunit's". I got hooked.
As per Wikipedia, whodunit or whodunnit (for "Who done it?") is a complex, plot-driven variety of the detective story in which the puzzle is the main feature of interest. The reader is provided with clues from which the identity of the perpetrator of the crime may be deduced before the solution is revealed in the final pages of the book. The investigation is usually conducted by an eccentric amateur or semi-professional detective.
My favorite writers were Rex Stout, who created the fat man detective, Nero Wolfe, and the prolific Agatha Christie who's 80 some detective novels featured Miss Jane Marple and Hercule Poirot. I think I read them all.
And, I got to remembering ...
Flying helicopters in Viet Nam had a lot of interesting and challenging moments, but there was a lot of down time, when we just sat around waiting to be called out. It was impossible to go anywhere or get involved in any activity that couldn't be suspended on a moment's notice. So, I read.
I read the Tolkein "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, and all of the James Bond novels that had been written to that point, but some of the most widely circulated paperbacks were the classic "whodunit's". I got hooked.
As per Wikipedia, whodunit or whodunnit (for "Who done it?") is a complex, plot-driven variety of the detective story in which the puzzle is the main feature of interest. The reader is provided with clues from which the identity of the perpetrator of the crime may be deduced before the solution is revealed in the final pages of the book. The investigation is usually conducted by an eccentric amateur or semi-professional detective.
My favorite writers were Rex Stout, who created the fat man detective, Nero Wolfe, and the prolific Agatha Christie who's 80 some detective novels featured Miss Jane Marple and Hercule Poirot. I think I read them all.
posted by Crotchety Old Fart at 8:35 AM
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