Skull Beneath the Skin (1 Viewer)

[mar-Teeni14]

I hate it. Then again... I'm not too keen on books in general. Cordelia is too annoying and slow and dull.

Geez.... Extension english was a great choice for someone who's "not too keen on books".

 

[mynameisemma]

I didn't like this book very much but I actually managed to read it all (only one other person in our class of 6 has finished it, lol). Anyone figured out what the hell actually happened? Was Ambrose actually responsible for everything or did Simon have a hand in Clarissa's murder? The ending was a tad confusing... and a little frustrating.

 

[amybaker1990]

omg i seriously j ust cant get into this book. i canusually read books in a few day .. ii have had this book for nealry 3 months... and i am supposed to have it read by tomorrow... cordelia isnt even on the island yet....
it is sooo boring...and im guessing it is going to be pretty predictable??
a summary if anyone has one would be wonderful

 

[keytee]

The plot of the novel is another area where James has subverted the traditional conventions of cosy crime fiction. The Skull Beneath The Skin is in contrast to the typical ending of Christies’ novels in which the guilty are punished and order is restored to the world. In this text, the most vulnerable is found guilty, and the solution of the puzzle does not suggest the restoration of an acceptable moral order and so the end of the novel is one of uncertainty. Nobody has been brought to justice, however Cordelia is safe, and her life, it seems, will continue on as before. This is a direct reflection of the change of context between novels and due to James’ late twentieth century perspective, particularly with the abundance of violence in the media, the audience had come to accept that the world can not be perceived as an orderly place. Indeed the murder in the novel has been solved but restoration of world order has not been achieved as a result. A main quality of James’ plot conventions is the intensified use of the ludic element. This is conveyed mainly through Clarissa’s mysterious death threats that come in the form of quotes from The Duchess of Malfi. These notes provide the readers with clues to the puzzle which allows them to play along and solve the crime at the same time or even before Cordelia. The use of intertextuality seen constantly throughout the text links to the ludic element of the novel and creates a more credible atmosphere. Conversely, James does not completely reject the plot conventions of traditional cosy crime fiction using subtle techniques such as when Cordelia discovers that Clarissa is dead, the novel describes Cordelia knocking on the door to Clarissa's room and that "there was no answer". This almost text book pattern to signify that a murder has taken place allows James to pay tribute to her ‘Golden Age’ predecessors.

 

[memadison]

anyone else find it hard to read because of... boringness?

yes. extremely. untill about the last chunk of chapters, but even then it all seemed so inevitable and contrived...

 

[metalheaven]

I actually really enjoyed this book. I thought it was very well written, characterisation was great, story progressed quite well imo. I personally didn't like Cordelia as a detective all that much... I prefer having either brilliant amateurs or successful professionals as the detective/s and in this case Cordelia was an amateurish amateur, and the police were unsuccessful professionals. Apart from that though I thouroughly enjoyed the book, even though I think I'm the only one in this entire forum who thinks so

 

[Annalysse]

i liked it too! i dont know why i think it was just because it was different to the usual novels we are given

 

[SSRabbitohs2009]

Well, I was reading Frankenstein at the same time, and I absolutely hated Frankenstein.
So, I turned to The Skull for comfort, and in comparison, I liked The Skull ten times better.
Frankenstein was making me cry with boredom...

 

[0hNivlek]

Too much details about victorian architecture...

 

[naisAtoN]

manda - here is your resume

... wtf?

 

[many-eyeshere]

I hate this novel. Gah screw crime fiction, they neglect the basic, universal obligation of writing:

SHOW DON'T TELL

Who else wants to write hate mail to P.D James?

*cough* Perhaps with some concealed antrax in the envelope...

 

[elliotkool]

ext eng in half an hour, going to die. tell my family i love them

 

[jotdan]

anyone else find it hard to read because of... boringness?

i liked the book =[

HAH too busy reading it to ever analyse it XD

 

[adidasyeah]

my trials for ext is in a few days and i havent read the book...

 

[xXIDPeace]

Wouldn't it be better to read the book than be on here then?

It's not that bad of a read and considering you've been studying the text all yeear, reading it now will just cement your understanding of the course work. Right?...you have been paying attention in class? xD

 

[posey-rose]

skull beneath the skin is a weird choice for the crime genre. Her other novels arent that bad. BUT skull is a try ahrd attempt to modernise the locked room mystery, the who dunnits and all the lovable conventions of the golden age... which should stay in the golden age.
we have arguements in class about it. some say its a parody others say its a piece of crap... In good time our teacher decieded to focus on our other texts so that we wouldnt argue about it.
Cordelia, frustrated me, i had no confidence in her, she practically stumbled along clues (a subversion to the conventional detective i know).