The most recent choice for my mystery book group was Ira Levin’s A Kiss Before Dying (Hobgoblin’s choice, in fact), and what a great book it was to discuss. Levin is an author I would happily read more of. The novel is hard to write about, though, because not only are there fun twists and turns of the plot that I don’t want to describe because it would give too much away, but even to describe the structure of the novel and to talk about issues like point of view risks giving too much away. I’ll just say about the beginning of the novel that it reminded me of The Talented Mr. Ripley in the way it creates a strong sense of dread: we are in the mind of a killer and are so close to him that we can’t help — or I couldn’t help — identifying with him, which is an uncomfortable situation to find oneself in. I found myself rooting for him and then berating myself for doing so, and then feeling horribly anxious about whether he — and I couldn’t help but feel that it was I — would get away with it.
But there is so much else to think and talk about as well. It was published in 1953, and World War II hangs over it in important ways, as does post-war economic issues and the idea of the American dream. The portrayal of the women characters is fascinating, as is the rather cavalier way Levin treats mystery genre conventions. The book boasts one of the most compelling unconventional detectives I’ve read in a while, but I can’t tell you who it is because that gives away more than I’d like. The very fact that I don’t want to write about who the detective is tells you something about the wonderful strangeness of this novel.
If you decide to read this, I’d recommend picking it up without reading anything about it beforehand. Just plunge in. It’s a real treat.
Of Books and Bicycles 
I’d never heard of this one but you make it sound very enticing! I’ll go search it out next time I’m at the library.
LikeLike
I’d love to know what you think of it. Levin seems like an unjustly neglected writer — we hear about movies made from his books much more often than his books themselves (Rosemary’s Baby, for example, and The Stepford Wives).
LikeLike
This book completely blew me away when I read it. I couldn’t get over how perfectly it was plotted and how well-executed the tricky parts are. I agree that it’s a book you don’t want to know much about before reading, but I also wonder how it would work if you know the trick of it ahead of time. Maybe I’ll give it another try someday to see!
LikeLike
I’m so glad you agree! After finishing it, I thought immediately it would be a good book to reread, and I hope I get around to doing that at some point.
LikeLike