PD James and deep pondering literary mysteries
I’d listened to the mystery writer ( Baroness) P D James being interviewed by the BBC a few times, and marveled at her illustrious career and intelligence, without having read her books.
( Except for Death comes to Pemberley which I hurried through at a time when I didn’t know much about the author and was reading on a kindle with the sole objectives of only wanting to know how Darcy and Elizabeth lived post marriage)
On a recent weekend cleaning activity, her Death in Holy Orders, landed itself in my hands, moth eaten, dust-mite ridden, but beguilingly asking for a reading. And, what a journey it turned out to be.
More multilayered than a Christie, whom I adore (and to whom she refers to in the novel in a lighthearted vein), it made for a slow read, one where you go back and read each paragraph for the joy of the sophisticated prose, the deep philosophical insights into the back story of each character and a peek into a theological college and the life of priests, ordinands and the community they live in. Not to mention the edge-of-the-world place their St Anslem’s college is located at — perched on a dilapidated cliff side that’s being eroded by the sea and beset by harsh and howling winds, with the only protection being black cassocks, brown cloaks and unlocked wrought iron gates.
The novel begins with a murder. The one who discovers the body is murdered. And, then a more grotesque one takes place. These murders could be linked, but the thrill of a whodunnit takes a backseat to the reader as the dramatis personae live, react and are interrogated by a Scotland Yard cop (Commander Adam Dalgleish) and his team, each of whom come with their own beliefs, personal integrity, showing how upbringing defines most of who we turn out to be.
The ethics and morality of the community stand out even as each one of them are suspected of the crimes; some of them are puzzled, some are sad and a few, crafty. Even the most innocent when deemed a suspect, responds with guilt, fear and anxiety, bringing all past human foibles minor or not, to the fore.
A college that is considered elitist with a mere 20 students, and home to precious relics like a papyrus that could be from Pontius Pilate, to jeweled chalices and medieval paintings, some that evoke horror, is heading towards its end. Located on an eroding precipice, its principles including “the food they offer students being too good” contradicting so-called modern values that a theological college is expected to epitomize, even as its owners, dead and alive, are fighting to keep it from inevitable closure.
The murders make things worse, naturally, for the college and its fate; and a dénouement when it happens, doesn’t jolt you as much as you are too busy lingering, and being a part of the rich, complex lives of its inhabitants and visitors, wanting to know what the future holds for each one of them, including the cops from the Yard.
