A Dish Taken Cold (Otto Penzler Book)

Rating:
Summary: Disapointing
Review: After reading this book, I had to check the photo on the jacket to make sure it was the same Anne Perry who writes such wonderful Victorian mysteries. I found the main character annoying and I didn't really care about what happened to any of them. I'm a big fan of Anne Perry, but this book was a major disapointment. If you are looking for a character like the Pitt or the Monk books, you won't find that here.

Rating:
Summary: an interesting historical novella
Review: Be forewarned: this novella is NOT a mystery; but rather is a short story dealing with the issues of loss and revenge. For fans of Anne Perry who appreciate her explorations of social issues in her Thomas & Charlotte Pitt and William Monk mystery novels, "A Dish Take Cold" will be an enjoyable read.

The social issue that Perry goes into in this novella is that of the French Revolution, the stage at which Marat is coming into power, and the blood bath is about to begin. What happens when the revolution you wanted sweeps away not only all that was wrong but also all that was right, the innocent as well as the guilty? We see things through the eyes of Celie, a young widow who works for the celebrated Madame de Stael; and through the eyes of Madame de Stael herself -- the chaos, the uncertainty, the bloodshed, and the betrayals. For Celie herself this period is proving all the more heart wrenching as her little baby boy has just suddenly passed away while in the care of Celie's good friend, Amandine. The loss is almost more than she can bear, and when another servant insinuates that Celie's baby probably died from neglect, the urge to avenge her dead child grows in Celie. How Celie plots her revenge and then tries desperately to undo the harm that she has wrought is what drives this novella.

I'm a history buff, and I've always enjoyed Anne Perry's ruminations on various social issues, so that I enjoyed this little novela very much. This is a very stark short story that deals primarily with the events that take place over a few days, so don't expect in depth characterisations and explainations. "A Dish Taken Cold" is mostly about Celie: what she feels and how she acts on her confused feelings. Madame de Stael, while she may be preceived as a more interesting person is only a secondary character who inspires Celie to try and undo her revenge scheme.

This is a truly stark but interesting novella, one that most history addicts will enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: An amazing trip
Review: In 1792, among the terror sweeping Paris, personal tragedy comes to Celie. Having left her baby with a friend, she returns to find the child dead. Her grief turns to thirst for vengeance, when her coworker, Therese, informs her that her baby was left alone while her friend dallied with her lover. With blood flowing in the streets of Paris it would be so easy to slip another soul into the human grinder. Is that what Celie really wants to do?

This short work (73 pages) is an amazing trip back to a startling time. Not a murder mystery, as I expected, this book is instead a gripping examination of a common human caught up in an entirely inhuman situation. I wish that I could say more, but I don't wish to give away too much. All I can say is that if you want a great short story that mixes humanity and inhumanity, then this book is for you.

Rating:
Summary: Disapointing
Review: Set against the backdrop of the French Revolution, this 73-page novella marks a departure from the Victorian era one has come to associate with British novelist Anne Perry. The story roughly covers the period from the storming of the Tuileries on 10 August 1792 to the the storming of the prisons (and massacre of those within) on 2 September 1792. (The Tuileries, for those unfamiliar with this period, was where the royal family had hitherto been "kept"--though with comparatively relaxed security to that which was to come.)

Being so short, there is of course less in the way of character development and the social and political issues are not fleshed out in nearly as much depth as we would otherwise get in a novel. However, the story itself (which is not a murder mystery, by the way) is an interesting one, of which I'll say no more than that it deals with the issue of revenge. Even though I (unlike Celie, the protagonist) had my suspicions of what was going on right from the beginning, I didn't find it spoiled my enjoyment of the story, as its real importance is in enabling us to witness the development of Celie's character, her guilt, her shame, and subsequently the choices she makes and the actions she takes.

Those who have read this little book may be interested to know that the story continues with a full-fledged murder mystery novel entitled The One Thing More (a 2000 UK publication), which by the way is my favourite Anne Perry novel so far (though I confess I've only read a few of her later Pitt novels). Those who've not read A Dish Taken Cold will not miss anything should they choose to jump straight into The One Thing More, for everything that occurs in the novella is provided to the reader by way of background information in the novel. But I did find A Dish Taken Cold served as a nice little appetizer; it introduces us to Celie (and a few other characters), and it helps us to understand her just a little bit better.

One final thing, for those interested in background reading of the period leading up to and covering the early years of the French Revolution (ie. the period covered in these two books), I strongly recommend Antonia Fraser's captivating book entitled Marie Antoinette: The Journey. It's not mandatory reading, of course, but I always find historical novels all the more interesting when one has familiarised oneself with the period in question. I find this to be especially true with Anne Perry's books, as her characters (at least in the novels I've read) usually engage in debates and discussions of various contemporary issues.

Rating:
Summary: No suspense, no mystery, no characterization...
Review: The only reason I read this book is because it's by Anne Perry, whose earlier fiction I greatly admire but whose writing has let me down IMMENSELY over the past few years. I'd hoped this "novella," a departure from her two mystery series, would represent a return to the compelling story-telling I used to associate with Perry. Alas, it does not.

This is a short story, not a novella (barely 70 pages with large print, wide margins, and small pages). The characters are like stick figures, with no past or personality to explain their actions. The plot careens around and through historical figures and events without touching them--Perry seems to have chosen to set the story in 1792 Paris because the time period interested her, not because it has much to do with the plot. In fact, without the description of historical events, this wouldn't even pass muster as a short story.

As a reader extremely familiar with Perry's thought process, I saw the "surprise" ending coming miles away. The only saving grace to this story is that you can read it and be done with it in one sitting.

Rating:
Summary: Fast food
Review: This book is a super-quick read with a powerful dose of horror that stays with you. For sheer chaotic bloodletting nothing beats the reality of the French Revolution, and Perry does a good job of conveying the paranoia of the times in a few short pages. The story relies on the main character's leap to a conclusion, a life-and-death decision based on nothing more than a few words of gossip. This is not the first time Perry has resorted to such a flimsy plot device, but it's easier to swallow when it's not the foundation for an entire novel. Here, the action barely begins before we cut to the chase, and with danger closing in on all sides, who's got time to quibble?

Rating:
Summary: Interesting tale of revenge with several twists
Review: This story is a departure from the usual Anne Perry novels in several ways. It is not set in Victorian England (story is set in revolutionary France, August-September 1792), the pace of the story moves much more quickly, and, given that it is only 73 pages long, there is naturally much less character development and attention to detail than I usually associate with Anne Perry's novels. None of this detracts from the novella in any way because it focuses only upon one event in Celie's life and how she reacts to it, with the beginning of the Reign of Terror in the backdrop. This makes the novella all the more intriguing because it provides a vehicle in which to carry out plans of revenge that were not available earlier. It is also all the more dangerous because once set in motion, there is no way to stop it. Anne Perry manages to convey Celie's deep hurt, sorrow, anger, gullibility, jealousy, thoughts (helped here by a less-than-well-meaning "friend"),plans, & acts for revenge, second thoughts, actions to remedy what she has done before it is too late, redemption, forgiveness, and love for her fellow human beings in what was possibly most terrifying period in French history. It is a story of revenge, but the revenge is carried out by different people for different reasons. Although there is not as much character development of Celie compared with Charlotte Pitt or Hester Latterly, I think readers still learn what kind of a person Celie is by her actions. If you are looking for the standard Anne Perry novel, then you will be disappointed (it is NOT a mystery), but if you are willing to take a chance on a different kind of story, you will not be disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: Left Cold
Review: This was my first Anne Perry book. It may be my last.

My impressions:

1) The story plays too many head games with it's characters for a story less than 75 pages. I can't imagine what her longer stories might be like.

2) I never felt comfortable with Celie, the main character. Then again, I don't feel comfortable being around unstable people in the 'real world'.

3) This story could have taken place during any time in history. The back drop simply made a [bad] story, [a bad] story with a morbid setting.

Rating:
Summary: A Very Nice read!
Review: Three years after the storming of the Bastille, Celie's baby is found dead in his crib at the home of her friend Amandine. When Celie finds out that Amandine had in fact left the baby so that she may bed with her lover Georges, she plots revenge to repay the couple for their negligence. She sets out to have Georges arrested and guillotined as a traitor. Her plans seem to be going well until they completely backfire on her placing everyone including herself in mortal danger.

This is my first experience with Anne Perry, and contrary to some opinions here, I quite enjoyed it. I don't think it is healthy to box a writer into a corner when they produce something different. So what if this is not vintage Perry. Her writing is still flawless. I felt as if I were transported to 18th Century Paris and learned quite a bit about life during this chaotic and terrifying time.

She's is obviously a very gifted and talented writer who had something different to share with us this time. I don't think that in and of itself makes her writing less efficient.

I definitely feel confident now about buying her other books.

Cris