Hi! I am new to the books, and blame dorinda for drawing me to them with stories of the wallet that Archie might trade for New York (MAYBE. If you throw in a couple good suburbs) and the ineffable depths of broccoli between Nero and Archie, and suchlike things. Sigh. It totally worked, too.
I've read a bunch of the early books and so far this is one of my favorites -- I love the humour and the settings, particularly the jail and the country fair, and I think you make some brilliant points about Lily as The Woman, and about Archie the almost entirely unreliable narrator, but I have to return to them later because right now I must quote this: Three men were standing in the office: Nero Wolfe, under self-imposed restraint, Frederick Osgood, scowling, and the warden, looking disturbed. I told them good evening. [snip] "Good. You came to question me. I was wondering what you came for."
"For one thing- " He hesitated, which was rare. He went on, "For one thing, I came to bring that package for you. The Osgood housekeeper kindly prepared it."
I looked and saw a four-bushel bundle, wrapped in brown paper, on a table. "Saws and rope ladders?" I demanded.
He said nothing. I went and tore some of the paper off and found that it contained a pillow, a pair of blankets, and sheets. I returned to confront Wolfe.
"So," I said. "So that's the way it is. I believe you mentioned wits a minute ago?"
He muttered ferociously, "Shut up. It has never happened before. I have telephoned, I have roared and rushed headlong, and Mr. Waddell cannot be found. Since I learned you were detained-he's deliberately hiding from me, I'm convinced of it. The judge won't set bail without the concurrence of the District Attorney. We don't want bail anyway. Pfui! Bail for my confidential assistant! Wait! Wait till I find him!"
"Uh-huh. You wait at Osgood's, and I wait in a fetid cell with a dangerous felon for a mate. By heaven, I will play spoon-bean with your money. As for the package you kindly brought, take it back to the housekeeper. God knows how long I'll be here, and I don't want to start in by getting a reputation as a sissy. I can take it, and it looks like I'm going to."
"You spoke of money. That was my second reason for coming."
"I know, you never carry any. How much do you want?"
"Well- twenty dollars. I want to assure you, Archie-"
"Don't bother." I got out the expense wallet and handed him a bill. "I can assure you that I shall come out of here with bugs-"
"Once when I was working for the Austrian government I was thrown into jail in Bulgaria-"
I strode to the door and pulled it open and bellowed into the hall: "Oh, warden! I'm escaping!"
I just love this SO MUCH. The bickering! I pretty much always love this kind of bickering between two people who know each other very, very well. The discussion about bugs! The fact that Wolfe has to come to Archie to get spending money! The "Oh, warden!"
And, of course, I love that Wolfe brings Archie blankets and a pillow in jail by way of apology for being unable to get him out of it. Oh, boys. And Archie refuses, because he doesn't want to look like a 'sissy' -- well. That's one of those things that can be taken both ways, and in any case, that's what he says the reason is. But then he also says he has a dangerous felon in his cell, which isn't exactly true either. I'm pretty convinced he just wants to make Wolfe feel guilty by piling it on a little more.
And then Lily comes to visit him, and not only does he spend half the conversation making her promise to play a phone prank on Wolfe, but he won't let her pay bail:"I wouldn't bother. It would make Wolfe jealous. Thanks just the same."
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Date: 2010-05-11 04:32 pm (UTC)I've read a bunch of the early books and so far this is one of my favorites -- I love the humour and the settings, particularly the jail and the country fair, and I think you make some brilliant points about Lily as The Woman, and about Archie the almost entirely unreliable narrator, but I have to return to them later because right now I must quote this:
Three men were standing in the office: Nero Wolfe, under self-imposed restraint, Frederick Osgood, scowling, and the warden, looking disturbed. I told them good evening.
[snip]
"Good. You came to question me. I was wondering what you came for."
"For one thing- " He hesitated, which was rare. He went on, "For one thing, I came to bring that package for you. The Osgood housekeeper kindly prepared it."
I looked and saw a four-bushel bundle, wrapped in brown paper, on a table. "Saws and rope ladders?" I demanded.
He said nothing. I went and tore some of the paper off and found that it contained a pillow, a pair of blankets, and sheets. I returned to confront Wolfe.
"So," I said. "So that's the way it is. I believe you mentioned wits a minute ago?"
He muttered ferociously, "Shut up. It has never happened before. I have telephoned, I have roared and rushed headlong, and Mr. Waddell cannot be found. Since I learned you were detained-he's deliberately hiding from me, I'm convinced of it. The judge won't set bail without the concurrence of the District Attorney. We don't want bail anyway. Pfui! Bail for my confidential assistant! Wait! Wait till I find him!"
"Uh-huh. You wait at Osgood's, and I wait in a fetid cell with a dangerous felon for a mate. By heaven, I will play spoon-bean with your money. As for the package you kindly brought, take it back to the housekeeper. God knows how long I'll be here, and I don't want to start in by getting a reputation as a sissy. I can take it, and it looks like I'm going to."
"You spoke of money. That was my second reason for coming."
"I know, you never carry any. How much do you want?"
"Well- twenty dollars. I want to assure you, Archie-"
"Don't bother." I got out the expense wallet and handed him a bill. "I can assure you that I shall come out of here with bugs-"
"Once when I was working for the Austrian government I was thrown into jail in Bulgaria-"
I strode to the door and pulled it open and bellowed into the hall: "Oh, warden! I'm escaping!"
I just love this SO MUCH. The bickering! I pretty much always love this kind of bickering between two people who know each other very, very well. The discussion about bugs! The fact that Wolfe has to come to Archie to get spending money! The "Oh, warden!"
And, of course, I love that Wolfe brings Archie blankets and a pillow in jail by way of apology for being unable to get him out of it. Oh, boys. And Archie refuses, because he doesn't want to look like a 'sissy' -- well. That's one of those things that can be taken both ways, and in any case, that's what he says the reason is. But then he also says he has a dangerous felon in his cell, which isn't exactly true either. I'm pretty convinced he just wants to make Wolfe feel guilty by piling it on a little more.
And then Lily comes to visit him, and not only does he spend half the conversation making her promise to play a phone prank on Wolfe, but he won't let her pay bail:"I wouldn't bother. It would make Wolfe jealous. Thanks just the same."
♥!