Customer Reviews

Masquerade

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

It's not his best but it's still a lot better than most of the stuff out there, especially in the historical name-drop genre. If you haven't already, try the top of his form -- "Miss Lizzie" "Wilde West" (remember the cowboy at Wilde's grave?)-- and then see if you don't want to e-mail his publisher begging for another fix. Meantime, there's "Masquerade" an entertaining enough sequel to "Eascapade" and featuring the same characters but not quite up to the same level. With all that thorough research I know he does, I was a little disappointed at what Walter left out of his dance through the seamier side of Paris in the 20s. Oh yes, there's ex-Pinkerton, Phil and the gushingly ambiguous Jane and, oh yes, Walter nails the outrageous American ex-pats but what about the artists, the great lesbian hostesses, what about more pages? Is he saving all of this for the sequel? I hope so. And I hope it happens soon.

This a delightful historical piece, set in the 1920's in Paris. It is, in form, a murder mystery, but the mystery itself is really the least of the attractions of the book. Satterthwait obviously enjoys history, and can dig out the really neat stuff and present it in a delightful, funny and very readable style. I was completely engrossed by the charming characters, each of whom speaks in a unique voice, and all of whom say very funny things. Historical figures including Hemingway and Gertrude Stein (and an equivalent of Agatha Cristie) are encountered along the way, and their depictions are extremely interesting, and from I can tell, quite accurate. Somehow Satterthwait makes the appearance of these characters in his book seem entirely natural, and he makes them come alive with their own concerns and interests.

Satterthwait also provides an insightful and evocative characterization of Paris between the wars, a time that has always interested me. This is the time of flappers in America, and we meet their representative in France as the widow of one of the murder victim (oh yes, this is a murder mystery...) It is a time of desperate fun and vigorous intellectual life, but meanwhile the shades of Naziism are starting to descend on Europe. We learn about a Nazi fundraiser in France, and her friends, lovers, fellow-travelers and contributors. It is a time of relative social freedom, and the book takes us on an interesting side trip into the Parisian lesbian community.

One of the book's narrators is a classic hardboiled American Pinkerton, who is perfectly paired with an verbose and expressive Frenchman, who is a dilletante detective and an obsessive gourmet and bon vivant. Their dialogue is worth the price of the book. The other narrator is a vivid young Englishwoman, well educated but down on her luck and enlisted by the Pinkertons, and she writes of her adventures in delightfully crafted, witty letters to her best friend. You don't see much of the epistolary form of literature anymore, and Satterthwait has taken the opportunity to revive it and put it to his own uses.

Escapade (the predecessor of this book) is very good, but I think Masquerade is even better. I am waiting the next promised installment with bated breath, in which our narrators are scheduled to go to pre-war Germany and hob-nob with the Nazis.

Satterthwait does it again with this wonderful blend of historical characters and his own inimitable fictional creations. Step back in time to 1923 Paris as you meet such luminaries as Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, and Erik Satie. Satterthwait's wit and complex plotting will keep the most intelligent reader smiling and guessing until the very end. A taut, complelling page turner. Don't miss!

Being a big fan of the "lost generation" I was wary at first but I think the author did a fine job. This was really a fun read. I loved the descriptions of French food and we get one side of the story from letters written by Jane. That was a nice touch. I read this book before the first one in the series (Escapade) so now I can go back and have the pleasure of reading that one (and anxiously await the next).

In the sequel to Escapade, our yet-to-be lovers return as Pinkerton agents working on the suspicious murder-suicide of a wealthy American and his lover. Precocious letter writing Jane Turner is nanny to the brother's family, traveling in France. Dashing Phil Beaumont is assigned to a French detective, Ledoq who is the ultimate parody of Hercule Poirot. While tracking down clues, the pair run into Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, and a character who resembles Inspector Maigret. They are involved in a chase throught the sewers of Paris, only to be rescued by an English colonel and his wife on a cruise through said sewers. Meanwhile, Jane is touring France, dealing with the duties of a nanny, and fending off the amorous advances of a beautiful, young woman. Eventually, Phil and Jane run into each other and run the villain to ground. When you are finished gaining twenty pounds from reading of the cuisine of France, laughing ceaselessly, and exclaiming at the twisted end, you'll be wanting the as-yet-unwritten third in the series.

Where to begin? All right, first of all, the writer's adolescent fascination with sexuality, any sexuality, grossly mangles the plot. One likes to think of the protagonists' mentalities as somewhat more well-rounded that those of 14- year- olds. And isn't it convenient that almost every character they encounter has had an affair with at least one key figure in the book? Doesn't that seem a tad implausible?
Also, I thought the amount of description given was a bit excessive. It was thorough, maybe, but there is more to good description than the ability to enumerate every aspect of a situation minutely and indiscriminately. One doesn't catch Dorothy Sayers going off on a tangent and giving you every tiny detail of every character at once. She lets the description slip out bit by bit, gradually providing (in a comprehensible, logical sequence) the whole physical, psychological picture. In this work, it is all heaved at you at once; a steaming blob of drivelling, name-dropping minutiae.
Lastly, I thought the characters extremely two-dimensional and, for the most part, mind-puckeringly unintelligent. Satterthwaite takes the wit out of witty badinage, as he would probably term the banally dull exchanges of half-baked "subtle" repartee which so liberally stud this gem of masochistic reading. In the middle of the taxi chase in which the onion soup recipe is related, I found myself thinking, "I could put this book down right now and never pick it up again, and it wouldn't cause me a moment's anxiety." I don't think I ever cared, once, about the solution to the mystery, or the fate of the protagonists. All I can remember thinking is, "Pity Jane won't marry Neal in the end; even he'd be a better bet than this obtuse porcine so-and-so." But, in a characteristically debauched manner, they don't get married in the end after all, so I suppose there's hope for them.
In closing, in the words of the incomparable Dorothy Parker, "This is not a book to be tossed lightly aside. It should be thrown with great force."

First off, Escapade, the author's first book with characters Phil and Jane, is one of my favorite books of all time. So I looked forward to the follow-up. Sadly, I was very disappointed. The author has chosen to have Jane's entire interaction in the book take place through letters to her friend Evy. While it might be a clever idea, it leaves the reader with zero emotional involvement. We want to see Phil and Jane interact together! That never even happens until the end of the book (literally). Too little, way too late. And the loss of Houdini is a huge one. While Phil's new sidesick Henry may be slighly amusing, the character doesn't come close to the chemistry between Phil and Houdini. (At one point Phil wires Houdini, which I hoped would somehow involve him in the story, but Houdini never answers the wire! Did the author forget about this plot point??) Anyway, advice to the author -- next time forget Jane's clever letters. Put Phil, Jane and Houdini back together! I'll buy that one!

this book was definitly a waste of my time, energy and money. although it had good descriptions of the settings, the plot was confusing and the end stunk