Reading the Detectives discussion
This topic is about
The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches
Buddy reads
>
The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches - SPOILER Thread - (March/April 22)
date
newest »
newest »
Thoroughly enjoyed this episode. I was slightly apprehensive about how the mother, Harriet, would be portrayed. Flavia has not had a normal upbringing, as we know it, and I was pleased that her character had not been changed in any great way. Although this is a sad book in some ways, the author hasn't played on this too much, and there was still a relief from the sadness that kept the atmosphere light. The mystery was still there to be worked out, but as usual it is Flavia's character and actions that keep the book flowing. I think she was very brave to open the coffin, both from what she may have seen, and the trouble it would cause if she was found out.
Same here - and the addition of Undine, which annoyed me when I first read it years ago, I realize now was masterful. It keeps the family dynamic on edge for the foreseeable future, and we have yet another diabolically smart young girl on hand to ruffle Flavia’s feathers, keep her on her toes!This one to me had a melancholy air underlying the humorous bits, and Flavia’s desperate and brave attempt to thaw, reanimate and present her dead mother as a gift to her father showed the loving, generous little girl inside the precocious preteen. Just as well that got nipped in the bud, but sad all the same. Also shows us how damaging all of these years living in a crumbling mausoleum to her departed mother with her emotionally frozen father has been for the daughters, especially Flavia. She loves her father so much, seeing that film she restored, showing the smiling, carefree young parents in the years before the war, almost seems like a cruel joke.
This one felt different, also, in that Inspector Hewitt and whatever spy-hunting denizens the government, or Aunt Felicity (or perhaps they are one and the same) had working behind the scenes managed to elude Flavia and catch the character (I presume) who killed Harriet years previously. As an omniscient reader it seemed fairly obvious, but the funeral scene seems to make clear that for once, the authorities were ahead of Flavia!
Yes I found Undine and her mother most annoying, but I think we did need them. Although Undine is very similar to Flavia, I think we know Flavia has a loving side to her, but Undine has yet to show anything like it.
Mod
I have added the short story to next month:
April/May
The Private Wound by Nicholas Blake
Murder on the Lusitania (Ocean Liner Mysteries #1) by Edward Marston (previously published as by Conrad Allen, one of the author's pen names)
Suspects - Nine (Bobby Owen # 12) by ER Punshon
Henrietta Who? (Sloan and Crosby #2) by Catherine Aird
The Curious Case of the Copper Corpse (2014) (Book 6.5 in the Flavia de Luce Mystery series) by Alan Bradley
It's only short.
Mod
Has anyone read on? Can you reassure us, who haven't, that it works for Flavia to be outside of her beloved chemisty lab?
What I liked about this book is that there was no romantising of grief. Flavia's feelings towards a mother she didn't know seem authentic for someone of her age. And yet the story isn't depressing or sad. The pacing of the book is also good, something is always going on. Flavia seems an interesting and resourceful child and I really liked her independent attitude. However, this book just didn't work for me. I don't know if it's becuase I joined the series in the middle, but there were just some odd things.
The Family:
I'm not sure how I feel about a child being groomed to be some kind of spy. This isn't one of those spy stories where precocious children discover their parents secret life and choose to join. With Flavia, we're told that her aunt has been manipulating her whole life to push her in this direction. It doesn't seem fair.
Also, I couldn't understand why her sisters behave that way towards her.
The House:
How can the family have real estate problems when they know Winston Churchill? I can't believe that they can't have this problem sorted out, especially as the family and the house is in service to the government.
The mystery: It was obvious who the villian was from the begining. It's the new suspcious character.
I was actually glad when I read that poor Flavia would be sent to boarding school. She needs a break from that awful family and to find herself.
Mod
Has anyone read on? Can you reassure us, who haven't, th..."
The next book, with Flavia in Canada, was my least favorite. But don't worry, she returns to Buckshaw by the following book.
Sandy wrote: "Susan wrote: "By the way, what did people feel about the new direction of the series? Was anyone as sad as I felt about Flavia being sent away to school?Has anyone read on? Can you reassure us, w..."
Yes, and fear not, the school has a chemistry lab - (view spoiler)I think Flavia was told this as an enticement to go, but spoilered just in case.
I remember from the Amazon comments on publication of the school in Canada book, that one was quite unpopular with many readers. They missed the Buckshaw regulars.
I've just, belatedly, finished this and loved it. I thought it was wholly involving, very touching and beautifully done. Bradley captures Flavia's state of mind superbly, I think - her sweetly misguided attempts to reanimate her mother, retreating into chemistry as a way of avoiding dealing with the reality of grief, for example. It's different in tone from its predecessors, but I think it's the best so far: superbly balanced, with a good deal of the humour and charm we expect but with real depth as well.My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I also found this an emotive episode though I have to admit I struggled with Flavia's naive attempts to bring her mother's dead body back to life - I know she's only 11, but the childishness struck me as out of character. Interesting backstory and I'm a little disappointed that Flavia is being sent away to school.
Mod
I originally jumped into this series with one of the later books, maybe around 9 or 10, and Flavia's definitely back home with her family then.
Sid wrote: "I've just, belatedly, finished this and loved it. I thought it was wholly involving, very touching and beautifully done. Bradley captures Flavia's state of mind superbly, I think - her sweetly misg..."I agree, great points about it being touching, I found it sweet and melancholy- reminded me of when my grandfather died when I was 10. He had been a very popular, outgoing Irish charmer, connected in Chicago politics and police circles, and the wake went on for 5 nights! Being an obtuse kid, I can’t imagine or remember the devastating emotional strain on my grandmother, mother and aunts (they idolized and adored their larger-than-life father). But he had always been such fun, always with a song and smile, I couldn’t believe he was gone. Stiff upper lip and brave smiles, dark humor and lots of coffee and cigarettes at the funeral parlor every night - yikes there were a lot of people! Kids are often lost in such busy times, have to deal with grief in their own way.
Roman Clodia wrote: "I originally jumped into this series with one of the later books, maybe around 9 or 10, and Flavia's definitely back home with her family then."I kind of enjoyed the Canada book, didn’t hate it as much as others, it was entertaining to see Flavia among her own age group. But I found it a bit jarring after that book when (view spoiler)
Two deaths, ten years apart, give Flavia de Luce the distraction she needs at a time when her family are more remote and dysfunctional than ever. Especially when a bizarre series of deadly events is casting a long shadow over everyone at Buckshaw.
For Flavia, a gruesome crime to solve is only one of the mysteries confronting her, as she begins to unravel the shocking revelations surrounding the mysterious disappearance of her mother. And as she starts putting the clues together, she discovers an extraordinary tale of espionage and betrayal that may also be the key to her own destiny.
Please feel free to post spoilers in this thread.