-- Wolfe fooling around with Paul Chapin's Box of Creepy Fetish Objects: Wolfe fingered the gloves some more, and held up a stocking to look through it at the light. To see him handling female hosiery as if he understood it gave me a new insight into the extent of his pretensions. Ahahaha, Archie. You've thought about this some, then? Wolfe's experience with women?
Of course Archie is totally right, because just a second later Wolfe says, ".... for years Dora Chapin, then Ritter, was Mrs. Burton's personal maid, and that she still attends her, to do something to her hair, at least once a week." The sheer vagueness of that phrase "do something" is just lethally adorable coming from Wolfe, who is always technically exact in his vocabulary. What does Dora Chapin's job entail? What do women hire other women to do to their hair? Wolfe doesn't know! They do something. They do stuff! *G*
I think I pointed this out in one of my earlier squee posts, but yeah, this is the book where Archie talks about his fancy ostrich-skin wallet that was a birthday present from Wolfe? And it is the WEIRDEST and possibly most creepily significant segue of all time, because it comes up right after they paw through Paul Chapin's creepy fetish treasure box, and Wolfe calls it the box that Paul Chapin keeps his *soul* in. And Archie says: I had a nice piece of leather of my own, not as big as Paul Chapin's treasure box, but fancier. IE, when it comes to things we prize beyond measure, possibly even to a point other people would think creepy and wrong, Paul Chapin has his box of stockings and *I have this*.
........... *raises one eyebrow!*
Later in Chapter 13: Fritz and Archie once again have an interaction that wouldn't be inappropriate between a patient mom and a twelve-year-old boy: Fritz, sitting there reading the French paper, giggled at me: "You drink milk looking like that, you curdle it." I stuck my tongue out at him and went back to the office.
Near the end of 13, Wolfe notices something significant:
He stopped himself; and said in a different tone:
"Mr. Goodwin. Hand me the glass."
I gave it to him. His using my formal handle when we were alone meant that he was excited almost beyond control, but I had no idea what about.
......................I'm just not even gonna say anything about this except "I don't even KNOW, man."
Chapter 15: I had about as much hope of finding Hibbard as of getting a mash note from Greta Garbo ....
I only mention this because in the early 70s Greta Garbo DID WRITE a mash note to Archie, so there. :D
Chapter 16 features my nominee for "most unintentionally suggestive sentence in this book" -- Archie looking at Hibbard in the office after they've unmasked him -- To me he was the finest hunk of bacon I had lamped for several moons. AAAAAHHHHH.
-- Also, can I just say, Hibbard's Great Undercover Adventure is so Sherlock Holmes it hurts.
Chapter 17 features one of the weirder Rex Stout "women are aliens" moments, when Mrs. Burton says that Paul Chapin's *actual* intolerable deformity is that he's a man with feminine cunning.
Chapter 20-- Okay, so I totally just skipped over the OMG ARCHIE DRUGGED AND OMG CRYING part, but really, what is there to say about it. It is absolutely perfect in every way. What I love is Wolfe's recap afterwards, cool as the wrong side of the pillow: "You know my fondness for talking. It was an excellent opportunity. She was calm from the outset. She and I have much in common-- for instance, our dislike of perturbation. .... After I had explained the situation to her, we discussed it. The moment arrived when it seemed pointless to continue our conference in that cold, dark forbidding spot, and besides, I had learned what had happened to you. She seemed so uncertain as to what she had used to flavor your coffee that I thought it best to reach a telephone with as little delay as possible." Sure, no biggie, just talked it over.
I would love to see *this* scene expanded in fic, actually. Maybe even from Dora Chapin's POV. Mostly I'm curious, what *else* does Wolfe think that he has in common with Dora Chapin, besides not liking a lot of fuss? Ruthlessness, coupled with a broad streak of romanticism? What else?
I already commented on the last chapter in my comments above, and like I said, I kind of go back and forth as to whether it's more or less of a stereotype for Paul Chapin to not actually be the real killer, but I have to say I still think he's a pretty cool character (except for the creepy fetish box about which the less said the better) and a pretty awesome villain. Archie clearly thinks the idea of Wolfe getting killed in a book is hilarious, but I wonder what he actually thought when/if the book came out and he actually read it. I can see it really bothering him!
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-- Wolfe fooling around with Paul Chapin's Box of Creepy Fetish Objects: Wolfe fingered the gloves some more, and held up a stocking to look through it at the light. To see him handling female hosiery as if he understood it gave me a new insight into the extent of his pretensions. Ahahaha, Archie. You've thought about this some, then? Wolfe's experience with women?
Of course Archie is totally right, because just a second later Wolfe says, ".... for years Dora Chapin, then Ritter, was Mrs. Burton's personal maid, and that she still attends her, to do something to her hair, at least once a week." The sheer vagueness of that phrase "do something" is just lethally adorable coming from Wolfe, who is always technically exact in his vocabulary. What does Dora Chapin's job entail? What do women hire other women to do to their hair? Wolfe doesn't know! They do something. They do stuff! *G*
I think I pointed this out in one of my earlier squee posts, but yeah, this is the book where Archie talks about his fancy ostrich-skin wallet that was a birthday present from Wolfe? And it is the WEIRDEST and possibly most creepily significant segue of all time, because it comes up right after they paw through Paul Chapin's creepy fetish treasure box, and Wolfe calls it the box that Paul Chapin keeps his *soul* in. And Archie says: I had a nice piece of leather of my own, not as big as Paul Chapin's treasure box, but fancier. IE, when it comes to things we prize beyond measure, possibly even to a point other people would think creepy and wrong, Paul Chapin has his box of stockings and *I have this*.
........... *raises one eyebrow!*
Later in Chapter 13: Fritz and Archie once again have an interaction that wouldn't be inappropriate between a patient mom and a twelve-year-old boy: Fritz, sitting there reading the French paper, giggled at me: "You drink milk looking like that, you curdle it." I stuck my tongue out at him and went back to the office.
Near the end of 13, Wolfe notices something significant:
He stopped himself; and said in a different tone:
"Mr. Goodwin. Hand me the glass."
I gave it to him. His using my formal handle when we were alone meant that he was excited almost beyond control, but I had no idea what about.
......................I'm just not even gonna say anything about this except "I don't even KNOW, man."
Chapter 15: I had about as much hope of finding Hibbard as of getting a mash note from Greta Garbo ....
I only mention this because in the early 70s Greta Garbo DID WRITE a mash note to Archie, so there. :D
Chapter 16 features my nominee for "most unintentionally suggestive sentence in this book" -- Archie looking at Hibbard in the office after they've unmasked him -- To me he was the finest hunk of bacon I had lamped for several moons. AAAAAHHHHH.
-- Also, can I just say, Hibbard's Great Undercover Adventure is so Sherlock Holmes it hurts.
Chapter 17 features one of the weirder Rex Stout "women are aliens" moments, when Mrs. Burton says that Paul Chapin's *actual* intolerable deformity is that he's a man with feminine cunning.
Chapter 20-- Okay, so I totally just skipped over the OMG ARCHIE DRUGGED AND OMG CRYING part, but really, what is there to say about it. It is absolutely perfect in every way. What I love is Wolfe's recap afterwards, cool as the wrong side of the pillow: "You know my fondness for talking. It was an excellent opportunity. She was calm from the outset. She and I have much in common-- for instance, our dislike of perturbation. .... After I had explained the situation to her, we discussed it. The moment arrived when it seemed pointless to continue our conference in that cold, dark forbidding spot, and besides, I had learned what had happened to you. She seemed so uncertain as to what she had used to flavor your coffee that I thought it best to reach a telephone with as little delay as possible." Sure, no biggie, just talked it over.
I would love to see *this* scene expanded in fic, actually. Maybe even from Dora Chapin's POV. Mostly I'm curious, what *else* does Wolfe think that he has in common with Dora Chapin, besides not liking a lot of fuss? Ruthlessness, coupled with a broad streak of romanticism? What else?
I already commented on the last chapter in my comments above, and like I said, I kind of go back and forth as to whether it's more or less of a stereotype for Paul Chapin to not actually be the real killer, but I have to say I still think he's a pretty cool character (except for the creepy fetish box about which the less said the better) and a pretty awesome villain. Archie clearly thinks the idea of Wolfe getting killed in a book is hilarious, but I wonder what he actually thought when/if the book came out and he actually read it. I can see it really bothering him!