Simisola

Rating:
Summary: A tour de force
Review: As a tireless fan of Ruth Rendell who is continually surprised by her ability to juxtapose the traditional British police procedural framework with sharply discerning social criticism, I think Simisola bests even her usually high standard. Rendell has a gift for fleshing out a character in a single line that no other mystery writer (save PD James) can equal, but her writing evinces a nonjudgmental compassion for humanity that is truly unique. While some readers might fault her treatment of race here as mawkish or self-conscious, I think it mirrors the realization that Inspector Wexford continually forces himself to confront -- that we are all complicit in racism. I also applaud her for writing about race in this single book from so many different and nuanced perspectives. This is not simply a book about black v. white but rather a book about the multiple gradations of class and ethnicity that intersect so confoundingly with race -- and this from a woman who has been writing mysteries since 1963! Finally, at a completely visceral level, I was stunned by the last line of the book, which I thought pulled together all that had gone before with the skill of a well-realized musical cadence. I must say that I'm shocked to read comments that people found it difficult to persevere to the end. I've only found one other Rendell novel tough going (The Best Man to Die, and I've sometimes wondered whether it was ghost-written by an inferior writer), but Simisola was absolutely gripping.

Rating:
Summary: Wexford?s changing world
Review: I started this book and then put it aside to read some other books as I wasn't too impressed with it. Upon picking it up again I read it non-stop.

Was interested in the subjects of class and color and how they are such a part of the English culture. I have spent some time there and know.

As always, Inspector Wexford come thru as a wise gentleman. Like the parts about his family. Also like his partner Burden. A class act.

Rating:
Summary: A view of a copper's world
Review: Mystery novels are not a particular interest of mine, so i was surprised when someone virtually thrust this book into my hand. Having watched some of this series on the Goggle Box, i was only mildly interested in starting SIMISOLA. What a pleasant experience this book proved to be. The characters are superbly drawn, Wexford particularly so, but the Akande family was portrayed exquisitely. A sympathetic view into another culture is always welcome, since we ofays rarely have a proper glimpse into other worlds. This book strongly reflects the issues facing the UK's race relations today, the Stephen Lawrence murder case being a vivid example. Wexford's self confrontations are the highlights of this book. One hopes it's not a racist comment to request that someone from the Black community read and comment on this book for its accuracy.

This book, having led me to other Rendall works, led me to wonder just what the story behind its writing might be. SIMISOLA is so far superior to any of the other works i read that i can't help question who might have co-authored it. Rendall has a high reputation, which i can't judge having so little experience with the genre. No matter, this is an outstanding read and a fine addition to any bookshelf. The mystery is almost a minor matter set against some stunning revelations about race relations anywhere in the English speaking world. Buy, read and reflect on this book.

Rating:
Summary: A fine substitute for Unisom
Review: Rendell is undoubtedly one of the most brilliant novelists of our time, but frankly, I was neither entertained nor held on the edge of my seat by SIMISOLA. Although the book is well-plotted, it is extremely slow-paced and has very little action to propel the story forward. The author deals with a number of issues in this novel, including racism and slavery, and also explores and contrasts the extravagant wealth of the upper class with the poverty and poor conditions of the unemployed lower class. While Rendell is undeniably gifted both at constructing a story and discussing a number of social issues, SIMISOLA is dull and it took me a long time to finish.

Rating:
Summary: Vague Characters & Construction Undercuts Good Style
Review: Ruth Rendell is often admired for her elegantly sparse prose and her psychological insight; I, however, too often find her novels vague in both character and construction--and her solutions more a matter of deux ex machina that actual deduction. And such is the case with SIMISOLA, a novel that finds unassuming Inspector Wexford first in search of a missing girl and then in search of a vicious killer.

As usual, Rendell writes with a graceful touch and brings a certain amount of social commentary into her novel, in this instance elaborating on both racism and joblessness in England. This sounds a promising mix, but Rendell proves quite typical of herself: when all is said and done most of her social commentary seems to have little to do with the story beyond providing a foggy sort of background to a somewhat forced conclusion. The ultimate effect is that of a novel you read a bit of and then put down--and maybe you pick it up again and maybe you don't. Certainly not one of her more interesting efforts.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

Rating:
Summary: Another great Rendell read.
Review: When C.I. Reg Wexford pays a visit to his new doctor,Raymond Akande, the doctor confides in him that his daughter Melanie has been missing from home for a few days after supposedly staying the night with a girlfriend. Most of the characters in this book revolve around the local employment and benefits office and the off-beat customers who spend much of their time there.The body of one of the clerks at the employment office is discovered and Wexford establishes a link between her and the coctors missing daughter.The story is tightly written with the characters well defined--a good fast read.

Rating:
Summary: Murder, family and race keep Wexford hopping
Review: Winner of three Edgars and four Gold Daggers, Rendell is a master of tightly constructed plots, characters under pressure and heightened atmosphere.

Simisola, her 16th Inspector Wexford mystery, set in the fairly small town of Kingsmarkham, England, opens with Wexford's new doctor -an African immigrant - beseeching the chief inspector for help finding his daughter, Melanie, last seen at the unemployment center. Melanie's home life is strict and Wexford assumes she's shaking off the yoke until the claims adviser who helped Melanie at the job center is found murdered.

Meanwhile Wexford's whiny daughter Sylvia and ill-matched husband are both jobless and going on the dole. Wexford, fretted by guilt at his impatience towards his daughter, and knowing that he would not be making daily visits to Melanie's parents if they were not black, muses over social attitudes, ingrained prejudice and motives for murder until the body of a young black woman is discovered.

There are few blacks in Kingsmarkham and despite several small clues to the contrary, Wexford assumes it's Melanie. After a night of grief, the family arrives at the mortuary only to find a stranger.

Wexford, mortified, approaches the three-part investigation with new insight - re-examining every assumption, taking note of every tiny discrepancy.
Kingsmarkham is large enough to encompass slums, council flats and elaborate estates, allowing Rendell to involve a wealthy and flashy female politician, a surgeon and his lackadaisically privileged children, a petty thief, an adulterous businessman, unemployed youth and a hidden black underclass in a story that unwinds in dark twists and turns of grubby secrets.

Although the explosive ending may seem unrealistically grotesque to some, it's still vintage Rendell - suspenseful and wholly absorbing.