I'm just going to say it

[teaforlupin]

As much as I enjoy large chunks of Dorothy L Sayers' Peter Wimsey stories and novels, they annoy me to tears

because they force me to recognise that I am neither well-educated or intelligent enough to understand three-quarters of the literary/other references and various other subtleties

and THAT's not an experience I'm used to having

especially with detective fiction

@dorothy write like a normal person gdi

Comments

[violsva]

:(

I read them in high school, when I was pretty much used to that feeling and assumed I would Understand Everything once I got an English degree (ha, no).

[teaforlupin]

Lol nope

Maybe if we had the kinds of English degree that were in vogue in the early 20th century?

[aphilologicalbatman]

is this a reference to the musical stuff bc I feel like the musical stuff is always killing me slowly

[teaforlupin]

Literally all the stuff tbh

I give myself a pass on the bell-ringing in 9 Tailors because that's just esoteric but everything else drives me bananas

[aphilologicalbatman]

....bell ringing? I have to admit that it's been about a year since I was on my Sayers binge (mid-2017? possibly in Greece?), so I have happily scabbed over this weird peccadillo of hers. I stalled out at 9 Tailors because I really prefer to listen to them as audiobooks, and I can't find a digital copy of it that I have free, legal access to. Maybe I'll plop it onto my Kindle and see if that gets me reading again...

[teaforlupin]

Bell ringing is a WHOLE THING, you have no idea???? Apparently with just layers and layers of meaning that Sayers spent months researching just so she could write this book, apparently.

That said 9 Tailors is definitely a very enjoyable read--there are so many delightful characters, especially the vicar--and the ending is sensational; but ye gods, the bell ringing did my head in