tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37186638.post2554778751863984672..comments2024-03-25T16:08:26.197-07:00Comments on Spinster Aunt: In A Lonely PlaceAndrea Janeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00489014081664216407noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37186638.post-2509275675588812872012-08-05T18:44:01.964-07:002012-08-05T18:44:01.964-07:00The movie is amazing! Nothing like the book, reall...The movie is amazing! Nothing like the book, really, but incredible in its own right. Bogart and Grahame are sublime.Andrea Janeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00489014081664216407noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37186638.post-78057339752396104312012-08-05T00:19:08.827-07:002012-08-05T00:19:08.827-07:00I'll type a few comments before I head for bed...I'll type a few comments before I head for bed (the twins get up early, so I must not stay up all night, even on Saturday). I haven't read Mr. Ripley so can't comment on that, though doubtless you're right about the connection.<br /><br />In book groups you're never supposed to say "I liked/didn't like the book," and yet, often that's the easiest place to start. Although I appreciate all the interesting things that Dorothy B. Hughes does in the book, and I read it quickly and avidly, I didn't love it. I think one reason is that she's doing too many things at once. If it were just a story about a loser stealing his friend's identity, that would be one thing -- it sounds like that's what The Talented Mr. Ripley is. And I wouldn't read it because books like that make me cringe. But instead you've got this whole serial killer angle which seems kind of unbelievable to me -- would a serial rapist/murderer ALSO be parading around in his friend-that-he-killed's clothes, using his charge cards, attracting the attention of the authorities for that too? This guy just seems to have too many problems.<br /><br />Of course, he does have a lot of problems, that's the point of the book. So maybe I'm being too fussy. <br /><br />Did it seem odd to you that the last two books we read both had main female characters named Laurel? NOT a common name at the time! My mother's name was Laurel (and she would have been about the age of these characters) and she never knew anyone with her name. But I digress. I wondered if there was anything to the two main female characters having such "woodsy" names -- Laurel and Sylvia -- but I couldn't do anything with the idea. And then we have Brub (???), Brucie, and of course dear Dix (that's a funny one).<br /><br />What I'm wondering now is where this book fits in Dorothy B. Hughes' canon. I don't know anything about the type of books she wrote, except that I thought they were standard mysteries (but I could be wrong). I'd like to read more of her books, because she is an interesting, thoughtful writer. I just didn't love this book. I would like to see the movie now, though. I'll add it to our Netflix queue.Flickerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09109623161658164079noreply@blogger.com