Customer Reviews

The Chinese Parrot

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Of late, Charlie Chan is viewed with disfavor, due to the fact that he is an Oriental stereotype. However, nobody can deny that he is smarter than everyone around him, as he proves in this, the second Charlie Chan mystery. The murder mystery revolves around a mysterious millionaire, a valuable necklace, and a parrot who speaks of murder before being killed. Chan is confined to supporting character status for the most of the book, as Bob Eden, the jeweler's son who tags along for the ride, takes the lead; while Chan disguises himself as a servent in the millionaire's house, Eden is out romancing, discovering clues and making friends. This leads for an EXTREMELY leisurely mystery - since Eden, not Chan is the main character here. Still, the book is charming, full of pleasant characters, witty lines ("Golf has ruined more good men than whiskey.") and an endearing, smoking-room atmosphere. And the ending is a doozy. A fully competent mystery.

In recent years it has become fashionable to decry Charlie Chan as distastefully stereotypical. In truth, at the time the character was a marked departure from Asian characters as typically depicted in both fiction and film, which tended toward a "Fu Manchu" point of view. And it may startle detractors to learn that Chan was loosely based on an actual person: the legendary Chang Apana (1887-1933), a Hawaiian police officer of Chinese heritage who preferred a bullwhip to a gun and was noted for his fearlessness in dealing with criminals engaged in the opium trade.

In the hands of Biggers, the character emerges as a considerably more thoughtful, more formal personality--and one capable of unraveling elaborate crimes. Originally published in 1926, THE CHINESE PARROT is the second of Bigger's Chan novels, and it finds Chan employed by aging and impoverished socialite Sally Phillimore Jordan to transport her last valuble possession from Hawaii to San Francisco: a string of remarkable pearls. When the Phillimore pearls are sold to the wealthy and powerful P.J. Madden, Chan agrees to deliver them personally... but upon arriving at Madden's desert home he finds the circumstances unexpectedly suspicious.

THE CHINESE PARROT pairs Chan with Bob Eden, son of the jeweler who has brokered the sale, and the result is more of a romantic adventure than a mystery per se--and modern readers will smile a bit over such impossibilities as a parrot that learns an entire string of words after hearing a single repetition. Even so, it has a considerable charm, Biggers writes with a light touch, and while some of the author's attitudes are clearly a bit naive, he never treats Chan with anything less than complete respect. An entertaining and generally enjoyable cultural artifact from a more innocent era; recommended to Chan fans everywhere.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

Sally Jordan is a Honolulu heiress who is forced to sell a valuable set of pearls. The pearls are sold to Wall Street financier P.J. Madden through a local jeweler named Alexander Eden. The plan is to deliver the pearls to Madden in New York City. Charlie Chan and the jeweler's son Bob are selected to make the delivery. Charlie and Bob learn en route that there has been a change of plans and the pearls will now be taken to Madden's ranch in the California desert. Charlie is suspicious and decides to send Bob ahead to the ranch without the pearls while he arrives later disguised as a Chinese cook. The Chinese Parrot was produced as a silent film by Universal in 1926 with the role of Chan played by Kamiyama Sojin, a Japanese actor.

This was the second Charlie Chan book I read. I thought it was interesting. Easy and quick reading.

I like Biggers style of narrating the story. He seems to focus on a main character other than Charlie Chan. Charlie is kind of a supporting character who helps the leading character solve the mystery.

In this, the second of the six Charlie Chan books that the author wrote, the enigmatic Detective Chan of the Honolulu police, undertakes a special mission for Honolulu heiress, Sally Jordan, now down on her luck. Ms. Jordan has just sold a string of valuable heirloom pearls through the venerable firm of an old friend, Alexander Eden. She entrusts Detective Chan, along with Mr. Eden's son, Bob, to deliver the pearls to its new owner, millionaire businessman, P. J. Madden, who has bought the pearls for his daughter, Evelyn. Along the way, things do not appear to be what they seem, so delivery is delayed and another mystery is thrust upon Detective Chan.

This is not one of the best of the Charlie Chan mysteries, but it is, nonetheless, still enjoyable. The problem with the book is simply that those hungry for Charlie Chan will find that in this book he plays more of a secondary role. The focus tends to be more on Bob Eden, who is busy doing some investigating himself, as well as falling in love with the lovely Paula Wendell, a location finder for the film industry. There is also a murder to be solved, but the question is whose?

This book was written in 1926, so the reader should keep in mind the historical context out of which it arose. Some of it is a little anachronistic, as well as politically incorrect, reflecting the social mores and customs of a bygone era. While fans of Charlie Chan may be disappointed at his somewhat secondary role in this book, they will still find it worth reading, as Charlie Chan is one of the best fictional detectives ever created.