A mildly entertaining mystery, made fascinating by local color and its four centuries of age.
Reviewed by David on October 06, 2003
Genre: Mystery (Police Procedural, Historical, China)
Synopsis: This is an unabridged recording of The Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee. Judge Dee was a historical character in T'ang China, fourteen centuries ago. As a district magistrate, he was said to be an excellent investigator of crimes, a Chinese Sherlock Holmes, as it were. This novel, originally written in the seventeenth century, describes some of the more puzzling cases attributed to the famous magistrate and his leutenants.
Three nearly simultaneous cases tax Judge Dee's intelligence and persistance. A double murder, apparently with a robbery as the motive, has the court looking for a perpetrator amonf several suspects. An old death, once believed natural, is now suspected—but the proof of the murder is thin. And finally, a young bride dies of poison on her wedding night—and there are all too many people with the opportunity, but few with motive.
The judge, and his assistants, work hard at solving the crimes while keeping public order.
Full Review: Van Gulik is actually the translator rather than the author here, although had it not been for him, it's unlikely that this book, much less his subsequent ouvre of fictionalized Judge Dee mysteries, would have ever been able to bring pleasure to the western readers.
While many of the elements of this novel are clearly visible in Van Gulik's own later work (the laws, personages, and so on), the tone here is much less assured. Van Gulik strives for the vernacular to indicate the speech of the common folks, and does not entirely succeed. In many cases, a more formal and consistent style would have worked much better—and does in his later books.
However, this book has the distinction of authenticity, having being written furing the Ming Dynasty. The cases, despite the stylistic strain, appeal to the modern reader, and provide a look into a genuinely exotic mileau. It's amazing to see how well the stories aged, and their awkwardness to the modern ear is compensated for by the unusual setting.
Van Gulik also provides an appendix describing many aspects of the ancient Chinese judiciary and culture in general, and although not strictly required to appreciate this novel, it adds to the background for both this and Van Gulik's own Judge Dee mysteries.
Overall: 4.5; Plot: 5.5; Characters: 5.5; Style: 4; World-building: 7; Originality: 7;
Copyright date 1949, Recorded Books, 1989, Audio cassette, 6 cassettes
Order from: Recorded Books