tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6327348657265652781.post6356178411819280878..comments2023-10-03T11:41:21.191+01:00Comments on The Truth About Lies: The Woman Before MeJim Murdochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12786388638146471193noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6327348657265652781.post-70498006311242585472010-09-23T10:30:32.188+01:002010-09-23T10:30:32.188+01:00Thank you, Sangu. I do hope you think the book was...Thank you, <b>Sangu</b>. I do hope you think the book was worth the time I put into the review. I certainly found it a noble attempt at infusing new life into a well-worn format.<br /><br>Jim Murdochhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12786388638146471193noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6327348657265652781.post-2126172362825939712010-09-22T17:07:44.769+01:002010-09-22T17:07:44.769+01:00This sounds so intriguing, Jim! You've portray...This sounds so intriguing, Jim! You've portrayed it so beautifully that I'm dying to pick it up! Thanks for this!Sangu Mandannahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09464061265952789628noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6327348657265652781.post-74079427858643521842010-09-21T10:00:12.677+01:002010-09-21T10:00:12.677+01:00Glad the book appeals to you, Jane. I always think...Glad the book appeals to you, <b>Jane</b>. I always think it's interesting when an author manages to take a format that we think we know so well and manages to add a new dimension to it. I've just actually received a nice 'thank you' from Ruth part of which I'd like to quote:<br /><br /><i>I struggled with the label 'crime writer' for a few years, as I was disillusioned with novels which seemed to want to `solve` crimes and leave the reader with a sense of the world order being restored. That just isn't how I see the world, or human behaviour. So, as you rightly pointed out, I borrowed the crime structure but really my interests lay elsewhere. Questions of nature vs nurture and also a need to say something about the damaging impact of institutional life - not just on the inmates. </i><br /><br />So, yes, give it a go. I certainly learned one or two things from reading it.<br /><br>Jim Murdochhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12786388638146471193noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6327348657265652781.post-64666779305379232252010-09-20T18:40:51.032+01:002010-09-20T18:40:51.032+01:00I enjoyed your review, but now I have to rush out,...I enjoyed your review, but now I have to rush out, buy the book, and quickly read to page 286 to find out who did it!Jane Kennedy Suttonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12519340747761460017noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6327348657265652781.post-21887509005458136752010-09-20T15:21:07.175+01:002010-09-20T15:21:07.175+01:00I'm just glad to see your name back in my comm...I'm just glad to see your name back in my comments, <b>Kass</b>. I was getting a little bit concerned there.<br /><br>Jim Murdochhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12786388638146471193noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6327348657265652781.post-3418354412902015252010-09-20T13:06:30.361+01:002010-09-20T13:06:30.361+01:00Quite a gripping review. I feel just as guilty of ...Quite a gripping review. I feel just as guilty of all the things on your long list. And this is a prison inandofitself.Kasshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05233330248952156754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6327348657265652781.post-72694762999518560982010-09-20T08:49:39.303+01:002010-09-20T08:49:39.303+01:00People can get hung up on genre, Lis. I remember w...People can get hung up on genre, <b>Lis</b>. I remember when William McIlvanney published <i>Laidlaw</i> in the seventies people were up in arms at this respected literary novelist writing a detective novel. The thing is it was a <i>literary</i> detective novel and it really wasn’t until my third reading of the book a couple of years ago that I started to realise why it was such an important book at the time. Where McIlvanney’s book differed from what had preceded it was that it wasn’t a whodunit – we know from page one who the guilty party is – it was a whydunnit and that’s far more interesting. <i>The Woman Before Me</i> is interesting because Rose has been found guilty. Guilt is far easier to determine than remorse. The book is structured like a crime novel but that’s just the container Dugdall uses to examine bigger issues. These issues could easily have been explored in a completely different setting but people will read this book because it’s a ‘crime’ novel that wouldn’t pick it up under other circumstances. <br /><br>Jim Murdochhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12786388638146471193noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6327348657265652781.post-12850494930696084602010-09-20T02:42:32.810+01:002010-09-20T02:42:32.810+01:00I love the sound of this book, Jim, despite your s...I love the sound of this book, Jim, despite your small reservations. <br /><br />I enjoyed the excerpts you include here and the interview wit Ruth D. <br /><br />I shall check out her blog. Her fifth novel she describes as a revenge story and although she is clearly a fiction writer and crime writer of sorts - not my preferred genre at all - I relish the way she talks about writing and I love the way she writes. <br /><br />So thanks so much, Jim, for another terrific review and for this introduction to an accessible and down to earth writer.Elisabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04015624747225433940noreply@blogger.com