Murder in the Museum of Man

Rating:
Summary: A different who done it
Review: Everyone knows at least one Norman Abbot de Ratour. The museum world and academia seem to attract his type, so having him as the protaganist of this mystery was perfect. Norman is a middle aged, single, never married, fussy, prissy, pretentious man. He hides behind the barrage of memos over the "correct procedure" for everything from where the annual Christmas party should be held to meeting procedures, etc.

Norman's ordered life is assaulted at every angle by the modern world, the slovenly museum business manager, and the attempts by Wainscott University to take over the governance of his beloved Museum of Man. Into this mix, the visiting Dean from Wainscott University is murdered and his remains seem to have been feasted upon and prepared by a gourmet chef. The attending scandal on his beloved museum is more than Norman can stand, so he decides to solve the mystery himself.

The book is written as an unofficial Museum of Man journal by Recording Secretary Norman de Ratour. You feel the pain of this man as he tries to come to grips with the fact that his ordered "civilized" world doesn't really exist anymore. We also learn about his lost love, Elsbeth. One hears so much about her, that it isn't even a surprise when she appears in the last quarter of the book. Not a natural detective, Norman makes many false starts and wonders how best to proceed, trying to draw on the few detective stories he has read.

The book takes great joy poking fun at academia, museums, governing bodies, committees, etc. The meetings where the Wainscott oversight committee looks into the proposed exhibit on Neanderthal life is hysterical. My only complaint about the book is that it proceeds along at a leisurely, drawn out pace for 4/5 of the book then - bam we are rushed to an ending that makes sense but seems to come somewhat out of left field.

If you have worked in museums, academia, or similar environments you will enjoy this book. If you want a good, interesting and amusing read you will enjoy this book. However, if you are looking for a fast read, look elsewhere.

Rating:
Summary: A different who done it
Review: Everyone knows at least one Norman Abbot de Ratour. The museum world and academia seem to attract his type, so having him as the protaganist of this mystery was perfect. Norman is a middle aged, single, never married, fussy, prissy, pretentious man. He hides behind the barrage of memos over the "correct procedure" for everything from where the annual Christmas party should be held to meeting procedures, etc.

Norman's ordered life is assaulted at every angle by the modern world, the slovenly museum business manager, and the attempts by Wainscott University to take over the governance of his beloved Museum of Man. Into this mix, the visiting Dean from Wainscott University is murdered and his remains seem to have been feasted upon and prepared by a gourmet chef. The attending scandal on his beloved museum is more than Norman can stand, so he decides to solve the mystery himself.

The book is written as an unofficial Museum of Man journal by Recording Secretary Norman de Ratour. You feel the pain of this man as he tries to come to grips with the fact that his ordered "civilized" world doesn't really exist anymore. We also learn about his lost love, Elsbeth. One hears so much about her, that it isn't even a surprise when she appears in the last quarter of the book. Not a natural detective, Norman makes many false starts and wonders how best to proceed, trying to draw on the few detective stories he has read.

The book takes great joy poking fun at academia, museums, governing bodies, committees, etc. The meetings where the Wainscott oversight committee looks into the proposed exhibit on Neanderthal life is hysterical. My only complaint about the book is that it proceeds along at a leisurely, drawn out pace for 4/5 of the book then - bam we are rushed to an ending that makes sense but seems to come somewhat out of left field.

If you have worked in museums, academia, or similar environments you will enjoy this book. If you want a good, interesting and amusing read you will enjoy this book. However, if you are looking for a fast read, look elsewhere.

Rating:
Summary: This book is a riot!
Review: I love books that are so well-crafted that I want to read every sentence two or three times, and this is one of them. "Murder in the Museum of Man" can be read on a number of levels: the absurdity of academic life, Norman's position as Recording Secretary (writ large in Norman's mind), Norman's love life (or lack thereof), and of course the murder mystery itself. One of the funniest sequences is a departmental discussion on how to create a politically correct diorama of Neanderthal man (and woman). EVERYONE seems to be offended by at least one aspect of the proposal, from the color of the models' skin (the apparent compromise position is a tartan plaid) to the type of animal roasting on a spit (wild pig offends the Jews, cow offends the Hindus, etc.) to whether the food will be attended by a female model (stereotyping females as domestics) or a male (stereotyping great chefs as men). Norman faithfully records every hilarious detail, seemingly without cracking a smile of his own. This is Mr. Alcorn's first murder mystery. I hope he writes many more.

Rating:
Summary: Good story, tediously written
Review: I love nothing more than a good skewering of the intelligentsia. This novel is laugh out loud funny in its relentless and irreverent atttacks on academia in all its self-absorbed importance and megalomania. The discovery of a human corpse done up in a variety of gourmet dishes that apparently has been served or eaten by the murderer sets us off on a tour of creepy and absurd goings-on at the Museum of Man. As an added bonus, throughout the novel there are is hysterical puns and allusions to contemprorary fiction and great literature. Pay attention to the odd names of the characters and you may find a few anagrams. My favorite is the scene in the Skull Collection Room when Norman, while holding the skull of Rick Royrick (!), a deceased food critic, says: "I knew him, Alger. He was known to be a man of infinite digestion." ) This book was superb and often surprisingly poignant.

Rating:
Summary: Good story, tediously written
Review: I loved the idea of this book; there's nothing like a good send-up of the academic world. But it was the writing style that turned me off. While I'll admit my vocabulary expanded by leaps and bounds the further and further I read, it started to feel a little pretentious, and the story didn't move along quickly enough to keep my attention riveted. But, if you like extremely dry, prosaic humor, you'll enjoy this book.

Rating:
Summary: Wickedly amusing and very well written
Review: I read this book in December 1997 and have been lending it to friends and family ever since. Alcorn has a wicked sense of humor and a gift for creating oddball characters. A must for anyone who works in education or has any experience of anthropology, archaeology, or museums. It is also an excellent mystery in its own right.

Rating:
Summary: Great Plot falls flat
Review: while I loved the idea of this book I just did not enjoy reading it.

It was not the dry humor that turned me off but the dry writing style. The plot was clever but it did not move along quickly enough to keep my interest. It moved in quick jerks interspersed with long winded passages about nothing. I found it repetitive (as some "journal style" novels can be) but most of all I felt that it was a bit on the pretentious side.

The writing was very stuffy and verbose which is too bad because the creative plot would really attract more readers if the writing style was a bit more available to readers of all backgrounds.