nicanical
The characters here are gifted with convincing psychological motivations that accrete to form the plot, as you go along, until the ending finally reveals the gnarled shape of the thing.
This psychological dimension gives the story's ending a weight that alone makes The Wycherly Woman a worthwhile read. The problem is the ending is the only payoff. There's no satisfaction for the reader on the way. Not from accompanying Archer chasing clues, and not from the scenes or style of the prose either—Ross Macdonald is a skilled weaver of plots and psychology but his prose is perfunctory. The writing only shows signs of a pulse in the last two chapters with the timely lucidity of a victim, and the confession of a dying man.
The characters here are gifted with convincing psychological motivations that accrete to form the plot, as you go along, until the ending finally reveals the gnarled shape of the thing.
This psychological dimension gives the story's ending a weight that alone makes The Wycherly Woman a worthwhile read. The problem is the ending is the only payoff. There's no satisfaction for the reader on the way. Not from accompanying Archer chasing clues, and not from the scenes or style of the prose either—Ross Macdonald is a skilled weaver of plots and psychology but his prose is perfunctory. The writing only shows signs of a pulse in the last two chapters with the timely lucidity of a victim, and the confession of a dying man.