Maslin Watch: One Bourbon, One Scot, One Beer

Today Janet praises the new Inspector Rebus thriller, and the opening grafs actually aren't that bad an articulation of the thesis that Ian Rankin, a wildly popular mystery writer in the U.K., is a swell "nouveau-noir" novelist who's "ready for a full-scale Atlantic crossing." Although one might argue that he's already had one, since Little, Brown managed to get the last book, Resurrection Men, onto some bestseller lists. Perhaps "full-scale" translates into "onto our bestseller list," which given that it's the Times, isn't necessarily an invalid point.

Nor am I particularly thrilled with cobbling together a "nouveau-noir pantheon" by listing a bunch of writers who apparently write in that mold as she (among others) sees it, but I understand that pantheon-building is a recognized critical technique and my own aversion to its widespread use is not a universal reaction, so I'll cut plenty of slack there.

But then there's the parenthetical explanation:

For those who came in late, Rebus has already been through a great deal by this juncture. Since Mr. Rankin began writing about him in 1987, this detective (whose name denotes a form of visual puzzle) has paid his figurative dues.

How many readers of the Times book reviews do you imagine don't know what a rebus is? Maybe we could explain that grid down in the corner with all the black and white sqaures in it next.

After that, she piles on the adjectives to describe Rebus ("a bulky, sardonic, highly charismatic figure" fighting crime in an Edinburgh that's already been described as "scabrous, panaromic") and his penchant for drinking, then drops hints about the dual-investigation plotline, including use of the cliché of the lamely obvious pun:

The second case — and of course they ultimately come together — is one in which Rebus has literally been burned.

Then it's more adjectives for the "knowing, jaundiced and popular" Inspector Rebus, a bit about the language... and then the last section actually does offer up the most insightful critique I've seen since launching the Maslin Watch (admittedly, all of two weeks ago). She gets into the plotting issues, makes a sustained comparison between Rankin and Peter Robinson, and gets into Rankin's use of musical trivia for detail-building. Though we'll see how many people actually pick up the allusion on which the review ends.