Pulp Fiction discussion

Barbara Vine is the winner of our Ruth Rendell vs Barbara Vine Celebrity Deathmatch!

Vine, of course, is a pen name for Rendell and this talented English author has found plenty of success under both names.

Rendell was born in 1930 in South Woodford, Essex as the child of two teachers. Her mother Elsa was born in Sweden to Danish parents and, as a result of visiting relatives on holidays, Rendell learned to speak Swedish and Danish.

After high school, Rendell became a writer for the local paper but was forced to resign when she wrote about a sports club dinner that she did not attend. Apparently her lapse in judgment was uncovered when it was learned that the after-dinner speaker died halfway through the speech and Rendell failed to report it.

Rendell's first published novel became one of her most successful as well. In 1964 she made her debut with From Doon With Death, introducing the character of Chief Inspector Wexford whose adventures would subsequently grow to encompass 24 entries in the series.

Rendell also wrote more than two dozen books under the name Barbara Vine, including this month's group read selection, the Edgar Award-winning 1986 novel A Dark-Adapted Eye.

In 1996, Rendell was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) and a life peer as Baroness Rendell of Babergh in 1997. She sat in the House of Lords for the Labor Party and was later named in a list of the Party's biggest donors.

Rendell died in 2015 a few months after suffering a stroke. According to Wikipedia (my source for all of the above information) "Her Crime Writer’s Association Dagger wins (four Gold, one Silver and one Cartier Diamond) remains unmatched, as does her record of being the first author to be nominated and win under multiple names."

I think I’ve read every Barbara Vine book. Love them.

I’m in, love ms rendell’s books but haven’t read the barbara ones and thanks for all the historical background too!

I’m in too. Waiting for a copy to be transferred to my library.

this will be my first lecture from the catalogue of Rendell / Vine. I hope to start soon.

I started reading Thursday. It's very well written, so I've been taking my time picking through her excellent prose. The narrator starts right away telling us about the death of her aunt Vera, then slowly drips out more information while she drops references to people and events that we know nothing about. That reminds me a bit of another well-written suspense book I recently read, The Other by Thomas Tryon.

Has anyone else started? What do you think so far?

Let's keep comments non-spoilery (tag anything you think could be a plot spoiler) until Sept 15th.

the very definition of a tangled web , but such a gripping journey when the weaver is as talented as Ruth Rendell. I liked it a lot for the way the reveals were drip fed to the reader in order to focus on the character of the players [whydone it instead of whodunit] and on the social millieu in which they moved: that very British caste system of the Victorian era that endured well into the 1950s.
Rendell makes it a point that this tragedy would not have happened to a younger generation less concerned about status and less obsessed with proper behaviour.
For me, the title might even refer to the eye of the modern reader, so well-adjusted to the darkness of the human psyche that it will know what these women are hiding right from the start (view spoiler)[ I actually thought initially that Eden was a daughter of Vera when I read about the 15 year difference between siblings (hide spoiler)]

Algernon (Darth Anyan) wrote: "the very definition of a tangled web , but such a gripping journey when the weaver is as talented as Ruth Rendell. I liked it a lot for the way the reveals were drip fed to the reader..."

Very well said, and I completely agree. I'm almost halfway through and hope to finish next week. I'm really glad we picked this one.

How is everyone else doing?

Spoiler comments start tomorrow.

I just received my copy from library so I will be a little late to reading this but I hope to start it this week sometime. I'll come back and post some thoughts. From some of the comments and reviews, this seems to have some strong psychological overtones.

I gave it a try, but wasn’t able to get into it. Perhaps a case of right book, wrong time 🤷🏼 I’ll try again with next month’s selection.

Sara wrote: "I gave it a try, but wasn’t able to get into it. Perhaps a case of right book, wrong time 🤷🏼 I’ll try again with next month’s selection."

Same. Got to chapter 3. Obviously, quality writing, but I fell asleep more often than I wanted to. On to the next.

I found it to be a slow start. However, by the time I got to chapter 6, where it details a brief subplot with a rector's maid, I became hooked. At that point, it really started getting under my skin. The Francis character was very creepy. He doesn't do anything utterly awful (at least as far as dysfunctional family psychodramas go), but he's enough of a malevolent presence that anytime he shows up you know it'll get dark.

Overall, I'd say it has a very dark, gothic vibe. British Country Home Noir. While dark and with a brutal moment, it is also quite restrained. Don't expect VC Andrews level nuttiness. Ultimately, I really enjoyed it, but I took a while to get there.

I’m glad it not just me. I’m having a devil of a time getting into it. I had the same thing happen with a Simenon book we were reading a couple of years ago.

Wonderful !!! This, along with Newton Thornburg's To Die in California, is my favorite novel from the group's reads in the last 5 or 6 years.

I'd call this not a Whodunit, but a Shedunittowho, because we don't know whose murder she was executed for until late (Eden is mentioned early in connection with the murder, but not specified then as the victim.).

I love Vine's style of extreme realism. She is masterful at describing feelings, thoughts, relationships and at setting scenes. I find Vera, Eden and especially Francis amazingly vivid characters.

If you read Irish crime writer Tana French, I think you will feel that she writes very much in the style of Vine. Many will probably disagree with me, but for my money A Dark-Adapted Eye rivals Rebecca in flavor and quality.

If you read Irish crime writer Tana French, I think you will feel that she writes very much in the style of Vine. Many will probably disagree with me, but for my money A Dark-Adapted Eye rivals Rebecca in flavor and quality."

Thank you for a recommendation. I'll have to give French a go. I watched the first television series of Dublin Murders a few years back and really enjoyed it.

Angie wrote: "If you read Irish crime writer Tana French, I think you will feel that she writes very much in the style of Vine. Many will probably disagree with me, but for my money A Dark-Adapted Eye rivals Reb..."

She's so good !

I feel the pain of those who dropped out. This book was long, slow at times, and featured a detailed character examination of the entire family along with some hangers-on. Nevertheless, I enjoyed it a lot. Rendell's writing is excellent, although she demands patience of her readers. The patience is paid off at the end for those who endure. Still, at the 60-70% mark there were times where I felt like yelling "GET ON WITH IT!"

Algernon and Brian shared some excellent observations above, so if you did read the book please don't miss their posts.

Also, I didn't notice it until just now, but doesn't the picture in the first post of this thread look like Rendell accidentally crazy-glued her hand to the side of her face? ;-)

RJ - Slayer of Trolls wrote: "Also, I didn't notice it until just now, but doesn't the picture in the first post of this thread look like Rendell accidentally crazy-glued her hand to the side of her face? ;-)"

I am more curious about what the blurred out statue behind the writer is? It looks a lot like the Egyptian scribe from the Louvre or British Museum collections. I visited both, so I'm not sure which one has the original

I'm in the "hard time getting into this book" camp. I think there are way too many characters (Someone in the reviews suggest a family tree or something at the beginning of the book. I agree.) and it is way too detailed with the backstory/ family dynamics. I get that the author is establishing context for what happened, but it is too much and too many sidebars by Faith. I feel like skipping over sections and passages at points. I do agree though that it is a well written in terms of prose.