Emily Dickinson Is Dead

Oofdah.
Let me start with this: I love Jane Langton's Homer Kelly mysteries--this is certainly not my first one. This was my first time listening to one on audiobook, which I'll address in a bit. The book itself was written in 1984, and that may explain the archaic use of the word "oriental" and it might even explain (not excuse) the sort of stereotypical portrayal of Winnie Gaw as the fat girl who eats her feelings. A stereotype would be annoying, but it is the utter and inexplicable fixation on fat-shaming as a source of humor that is really obnoxious here. Langton relies on a certain amount of parody in general, and there are the usual suspects: all variety of academics--the bumbling, the pompous, the sketchy--, and then there is the show more ingenue (of sorts) in Allison. Presumably Langton was going for some sort of overblown contrast between the two characters, but it does not land well. Really, it is to the point of distraction. In reading other reviews, I know it isn't just because I was listening to it on audiobook.

It is a real shame because there are several other elements of Langton's wonderful mystery at play--the tangled web of surprise connections, the subtler humor (e.g. Homer Kelly's "gourmet" meals for Owen Kraznik), and of course the historical/New England connections and peppering of Dickinson's poetry. The audio book, if I had to guess, was also recorded for "Books on Tape" back in the day (and I was alive then, so I'm not making assumptions about the 80s), so presumably folks might have found Derek Perkins' fake Japanese accent less offensive. Aside from that, however, Perkins reads the book well, subtly imbuing most characters with individual personas, but not to the point of farce.

Did I like aspects of the book? Absolutely--it has the cozy mystery aspect that I was looking for, but the misogynistic bigotry made it a sour read, sadly. show less

The best of the Homer Kelly mysteries so far, plot-wise. Some outlandish things happen, but the portrayal of academics is hilarious, and as a Umie who spent four years in Amherst, I enjoyed reading about all the buildings where I studied at UMass, and the town of Amherst. Yes, the fat-shaming is not nice, and nowadays, I doubt anyone would write a character on the basis of weight, at least not in such an unsympathetic way. Still it was a good tale.

If you are looking for something so delightfully creative that you marvel at the twists and turns and insights, if you are looking for a book that makes you laugh right out loud, if you are looking for a book that is delightfully clever, intelligently written with a sly, witty sense of humor, then look no further.

Obtain a copy of this book, sit in a comfortable chair, open the first pages and feel the smile on your face as you are transported to Amherst Massachusetts. You will be surrounded and enmeshed in the poetry of Emily Dickinson, while at the same time laughing at the eccentric, stuffy characters who profess to know all there is to know about the brilliant, enigmatic, reclusive, introverted woman whose writing still inspires and show more captures the heart 124 years after her passing.

The cast of characters in this book are well developed and never boring. They collide when egoistic, arrogant Professor Dombey Dell holds a symposium to commemorate the 100 anniversary of Emily's death.

Highly recommended. show less

A conference of Emily Dickinson experts is gathered in Amherst. Shortly before the conference, a fire breaks out in one of the dormitories, killing two young sophomore men. The local detectives have only a small lead on the case. The reader, however, is privileged and knows who set the fire and sees the potential for another deadly encounter during the conference. Among those in attendance are several professors from University of Massachusetts and Amherst College, a recently kicked out university graduate student who serves as a docent at the Dickinson house, a favored graduate student who will have the honor of wearing Emily's dress, a professor from the University of Central Arizona, Homer Kelly (retired detective and visiting show more professor), a doctor from Northampton, and an expert on Emily's family history. In spite of the reader's knowledge of whodunit, this is an enjoyable venture into the world of academia. The reader wonders how long it will take the persons with the bits and pieces of knowledge to put the puzzle together. show less

Author Jane Langton (born in December 1922) didn't come to mystery novels in any traditional sort of way. She studied astronomy at Wellesley College and the University of Michigan and received graduate degrees in art history at the University of Michigan and Radcliffe College. But turn to writing, she did, in 1962, penning YA novels (her book The Fledgling is a Newbery Honor book) and 18 adult mysteries which won her Bouchercon's 2000 Lifetime Achievement Award.

All of her mysteries focus on the same two protagonists, Homer Kelly, a distinguished Thoreau scholar and ex-lieutenant detective for Middlesex County, and his wife Mary. As the author herself said, "Mary is the sensible one, but I confess I like Homer's rhapsodic flights of show more fancy." Most of the settings are in the author's own state of Massachusetts, although she's also sent them to more exotic places like Florence, Oxford and Venice.

Her 1984 Homer Kelly novel, Emily Dickinson is Dead was nominated for an Edgar Award and received a Nero Award that year. It was inspired, no doubt, by the author's own interest in Dickinson, having written a text about the poet for the collection Acts of Light. The action in Langton's novel takes place at a symposium celebrating the 100th anniversary of the death of poet Emily Dickinson, where one attendee disappears and another is found murdered in the poet's former bedroom.

Langton's trademarks are all here in the novel, her memorable and descriptive settings, eccentric characters, a sly humor that pokes fun at the pompous academics and Amherst townsfolk alike. As the New York Times Book Review added, "Miss Langton is a sensitive and even elegant writer, one who deals with literate, intelligent people..."

Homer Kelly is more of a peripheral figure in this particular novel, but he sums up the essence of his philosophy—and probably that of the author—and the book quite nicely: " Homer Kelly, too, was enchanted with the afternoon. It wasn't the justice of the women's cause that had diverted him; it was the everlasting melodrama of human souls in conflict. It was the handfuls of gritty sand that were forever being sprinkled into the machinery of daily life, grinding the ill-fitting cogs against each other, warping the sprockets, jamming the mismatched teeth. It was always so fascinating, the way people went right on being so outrageously themselves, and therefore so eternally interesting."

Although not so much a mystery as a wry study of human hubris and self-delusion, the book's character studies, snippets of poetry, Langton's illustrations, and even some details about the workings of dams and reservoirs, make Emily Dickinson is Dead is an entertaining read. show less

Amherst, Massachusetts is a quiet college town, but during the Emily Dickinson Centennial Symposium it was quite another vibe.

The symposium was to bring recognition to Amherst and Emily Dickinson, along with money. There would be lecture by well-known authorities of Dickinson’s life and writings, special tours of the Dickinson Homestead, slide shows, readings, the works! Unexpectedly there were other events that also came along.

In the early planning stages there was the fire at Coolidge Hall and the loss of two students’ lives. During the symposium another student went missing but later turned up in an unexpected manner. There was vandalism of Emily Dickinson’s bed chamber, the near death experience of Professor Krasnik and Dr. show more Oak, and the attempted takeover of the Dickinson Homestead by women of A.W.E.D.

Luckily a current Harvard professor, attending the symposium, is a former Boston detective and is glad to step in and try to make sense of what all is happening.

The characters all have their quirks and there are laughs to be had, while reading this book. There are also pen and ink drawings, scattered through the book, of places in the story. Seems life isn’t so stuffy in a college town… show less

I enjoyed the setting and descriptions, but most of the characters were caricatures, except for Owen and Ellen. The interspersion of Emily Dickinson poems bumped up the rating from two to three stars.