The Nine Tailors by Dorothy L. SayersMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
“So I think I'd better go, said Wimsey. "I rather wish I hadn't come buttin' into this. Some things may be better left alone, don't you think? My sympathies are all in the wrong place and I don't like it. I know all about not doing evil tha good may come. I'ts doin' good that evil may come that is so embarrassin'."
"My dear boy," said the Rector, "it does not do for us to take too much thought for the morrow. It is better to follow the truth and leave the results in the hand of God. He can forsee where we cannot, because He knows all the facts.”
It was with this quote that I understood why Sayers designed such an "easy" mystery and places this book on my re-read list. I knew fairly early on the identity of the corpse, but continued reading to see why she would craft the story so and to see where she was taking me. She took me to a community that cares for its own, and to the church that stands high on a hill, whose ringing bells bring joy, comfort, and alarm in times of need. This church provided shelter during a flood and ensuing tragedy which occurs when warnings are ignored. I hear clearly echoes of the Old Testament story of Noah. In all of this, by crafting several sub-plots, she asks me to consider that the ways of our Lord are indeed the mystery bringing both sorrow and joy, sometimes with a paradoxical comfort that comes from leaving "the results in the hand of God." Masterly and subtly crafted, it is well worth re-reading.
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1 comment:
This book has been on my bookshelf for years, a recommendation from someone (or two) sometime. I can't remember who or where. I must bump it up in the queue!
I look forward to hearing what you think of H is for Hawk. I think it is a book my son-in-law would like and thought of getting it for him.
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