Gambit - Revision history

Faterson at 14:23, 29 March 2014

2014-03-29T14:23:35Z

Faterson at 14:17, 29 March 2014

2014-03-29T14:17:15Z

Faterson: /* 5-Minute Review */

2007-10-08T09:24:11Z

5-Minute Review

Faterson at 11:48, 6 October 2007

2007-10-06T11:48:45Z

New page

{{TOC-right}}[[Category:Rex Stout novels|Gambit]][[Category:Nero Wolfe mysteries|Gambit]][[Category:Nero Wolfe novels|Gambit]][[Category:5-Minute Reviews|Gambit]][[Category:5-Minute Book Reviews|Gambit]]
<div style="font-size:1.6em; font-weight: bold; padding-bottom: .5em">by [[Rex Stout]] (1962)</div>

===== [[:Category:5-Minute Reviews|5-Minute Review]] =====
A late [[:Category:Nero Wolfe novels|Nero Wolfe novel]], written in 1962 by a 75-year-old [[Rex Stout]] trying to pretend he's still the 30-ish narrator of all [[Rex_Stout#List_of_all_Nero_Wolfe_.26_Archie_Goodwin_Mysteries|Nero Wolfe stories]], Wolfe's wisecracking semi-tough assistant Archie Goodwin. Stout is capable of pulling off that trick, but it does not quite succeed here in ''[[Quotations:Gambit|Gambit]]''. Stout was much more successful in some even later stories, such as the superb ''[[Quotations:A Right to Die|A Right to Die]]'' (1964), ''[[Quotations:The Doorbell Rang|The Doorbell Rang]]'' (1965), ''[[Quotations:Death of a Doxy|Death of a Doxy]]'' (1966), ''[[Quotations:Death of a Dude|Death of a Dude]]'' (1969), and the final ''[[Quotations:A Family Affair|A Family Affair]]'' (1975) written when Stout was 88. Unfortunately, ''[[Quotations:Gambit|Gambit]]'' cannot compare with the quality of those five even later novels.

''[[Quotations:Gambit|Gambit]]'' once again, similarly to (for example) ''[[Quotations:Might As Well Be Dead|Might As Well Be Dead]]'' (1956), marks Rex Stout's resignation in terms of the standard dénouement of a whodunnit as it is known in classic mystery novels. It's as if you could see Rex Stout throwing up his hands, saying in an apologetic voice to his readers: “Sorry, folks, I simply cannot think of any surprising resolution to this mystery. So, the name of the murderer is XY; and since we still have 30 pages or so left to go, let's just watch together how Nero Wolfe catches the culprit.”

Fortunately, the value of [[Rex_Stout#List_of_all_Nero_Wolfe_.26_Archie_Goodwin_Mysteries|Nero Wolfe mysteries]] does not lie in their mystery aspect – otherwise ''[[Quotations:Gambit|Gambit]]'' would have to be called a total failure. Archie Goodwin exaggerates a lot when he says Wolfe's charade at the end of ''[[Quotations:Gambit|Gambit]]'' is among the finest Wolfe ever concocted; not so – the charade is all too obvious and disappointing. What's even worse, the mechanism of catching the culprit (microphones in a restaurant) is the same as in an earlier [[:Category:Nero Wolfe novels|Nero Wolfe novel]], and both Goodwin and Wolfe unabashedly admit the fact, even seem to take pride in it. Unfortunately, all of that is at the expense of the fun a reader rightfully expects from the conclusion of a mystery.

At that, ''[[Quotations:Gambit|Gambit]]'' starts off promisingly: the murder of a chess player and a seemingly intricate plot. However, the excitement evaporates as the story progresses. The worst segment of ''[[Quotations:Gambit|Gambit]]'' are definitely its final few chapters; it's not just that they're not surprising or exciting – they're also too drawn out, with Nero Wolfe and others reiterating all over again everything the reader was already presented with on the foregoing pages.

So, is ''[[Quotations:Gambit|Gambit]]'' a totally worthless novel? Not at all. That's because, as already stated, what really matters in [[Rex_Stout#List_of_all_Nero_Wolfe_.26_Archie_Goodwin_Mysteries|Nero Wolfe mysteries]] is not the whodunnit. The important thing is the Wolfe & Archie microcosm, the (frequently humorous) relationships and tensions of people who inhabit it. The microcosm includes outsiders such as (most prominently) Inspector Cramer (in fine form in ''[[Quotations:Gambit|Gambit]]'') and the three helpers Saul, Fred, and Orrie. Through the microcosm, you also get a regular glimpse of the life and morals of New York's upper class. All of these crucial ingredients of [[Rex_Stout#List_of_all_Nero_Wolfe_.26_Archie_Goodwin_Mysteries|Nero Wolfe stories]] are well represented in ''[[Quotations:Gambit|Gambit]]''.

What's more, this particular story opens with one of the best chapters in the entire [[Rex_Stout#List_of_all_Nero_Wolfe_.26_Archie_Goodwin_Mysteries|Wolfe Corpus]], showing the Big Detective burning the Big (Merriam Webster) Dictionary in the fireplace of his front room; he continues to engage in this fascinating activity throughout the entire opening chapter.

Rated '''D+''' on a scale of ''A+'' to ''F-''.

--[[User:Faterson|Faterson]] 13:48, 6 October 2007 (CEST)<br>
<span style="font-size: 0.9em; font-style: italic">[original writing time between 12:04:30 & 12:36:35 (CET) on Wednesday, 16 May 2007]</span>

===== [[Quotations:Gambit|Quotations from This Work]] =====

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===== Additional Resources =====

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@@ Line 2: / Line 2: @@
 <div style="font-size:1.6em; font-weight: bold; padding-bottom: .5em">by [[Rex Stout]] (1962)</div>
-===== [[:Category:5-Minute Reviews|5-Minute Review]] =====
+===== [[:Category:Slapdash Reviews|Slapdash Review]] =====
 A late [[:Category:Nero Wolfe novels|Nero Wolfe novel]], written in 1962 by a 75-year-old [[Rex Stout]] trying to pretend he's still the 30-ish narrator of all [[Rex_Stout#List_of_all_Nero_Wolfe_.26_Archie_Goodwin_Mysteries|Nero Wolfe stories]], Wolfe's wisecracking semi-tough assistant Archie Goodwin. Stout is capable of pulling off that trick, but it does not quite succeed here in ''[[Quotations:Gambit|Gambit]]''. Stout was much more successful in some even later stories, such as the superb ''[[Quotations:A Right to Die|A Right to Die]]'' (1964), ''[[Quotations:The Doorbell Rang|The Doorbell Rang]]'' (1965), ''[[Quotations:Death of a Doxy|Death of a Doxy]]'' (1966), ''[[Quotations:Death of a Dude|Death of a Dude]]'' (1969), and the final ''[[Quotations:A Family Affair|A&nbsp;Family Affair]]'' (1975) written when Stout was 88. Unfortunately, ''[[Quotations:Gambit|Gambit]]'' cannot compare with the quality of those five even later novels.

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:17, 29 March 2014
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−	{{TOC-right}}[[Category:Rex Stout novels\|Gambit]][[Category:Nero Wolfe mysteries\|Gambit]][[Category:Nero Wolfe novels\|Gambit]][[Category:~~5-Minute~~ Reviews\|Gambit]][[Category:~~5-Minute~~ Book Reviews\|Gambit]]	+	{{TOC-right}}[[Category:Rex Stout novels\|Gambit]][[Category:Nero Wolfe mysteries\|Gambit]][[Category:Nero Wolfe novels\|Gambit]][[Category:Slapdash Reviews\|Gambit]][[Category:Slapdash Book Reviews\|Gambit]]
	<div style="font-size:1.6em; font-weight: bold; padding-bottom: .5em">by [[Rex Stout]] (1962)</div>		<div style="font-size:1.6em; font-weight: bold; padding-bottom: .5em">by [[Rex Stout]] (1962)</div>

@@ Line 7: / Line 7: @@
 ''[[Quotations:Gambit|Gambit]]'' once again, similarly to (for example) ''[[Quotations:Might As Well Be Dead|Might As Well Be Dead]]'' (1956), marks Rex Stout's resignation in terms of the standard dénouement of a whodunnit as it is known in classic mystery novels. It's as if you could see Rex Stout throwing up his hands, saying in an apologetic voice to his readers: “Sorry, folks, I simply cannot think of any surprising resolution to this mystery. So, the name of the murderer is XY; and since we still have 30 pages or so left to go, let's just watch together how Nero Wolfe catches the culprit.”
-Fortunately, the value of [[Rex_Stout#List_of_all_Nero_Wolfe_.26_Archie_Goodwin_Mysteries|Nero Wolfe mysteries]] does not lie in their mystery aspect – otherwise ''[[Quotations:Gambit|Gambit]]'' would have to be called a total failure. Archie Goodwin exaggerates a lot when he says Wolfe's charade at the end of ''[[Quotations:Gambit|Gambit]]'' is among the finest Wolfe ever concocted; not so – the charade is all too obvious and disappointing. What's even worse, the mechanism of catching the culprit (microphones in a restaurant) is the same as in an earlier [[:Category:Nero Wolfe novels|Nero Wolfe novel]], and both Goodwin and Wolfe unabashedly admit the fact, even seem to take pride in it. Unfortunately, all of that is at the expense of the fun a reader rightfully expects from the conclusion of a mystery.
+Fortunately, the value of [[Rex_Stout#List_of_all_Nero_Wolfe_.26_Archie_Goodwin_Mysteries|Nero Wolfe mysteries]] does not lie in their mystery aspect – otherwise ''[[Quotations:Gambit|Gambit]]'' would have to be called a total failure. Archie Goodwin exaggerates a lot when he says Wolfe's charade at the end of ''[[Quotations:Gambit|Gambit]]'' is among the finest Wolfe ever concocted; not so – the charade is all too obvious and disappointing. What's even worse, the mechanism of catching the culprit (<span style="color:purple; font-weight:bold; font-size: 1.2em">4-word SPOILER:</span> microphones in a restaurant) is the same as in an earlier [[:Category:Nero Wolfe novels|Nero Wolfe novel]], and both Goodwin and Wolfe unabashedly admit the fact, even seem to take pride in it. Unfortunately, all of that is at the expense of the fun a reader rightfully expects from the conclusion of a mystery.
 At that, ''[[Quotations:Gambit|Gambit]]'' starts off promisingly: the murder of a chess player and a seemingly intricate plot. However, the excitement evaporates as the story progresses. The worst segment of ''[[Quotations:Gambit|Gambit]]'' are definitely its final few chapters; it's not just that they're not surprising or exciting – they're also too drawn out, with Nero Wolfe and others reiterating all over again everything the reader was already presented with on the foregoing pages.