The Affair of the Mysterious Letter

My favorites list here is very long and also pretty idiosyncratic. But this book is something else. I really enjoyed it, but beyond that, it gave me the rare feeling of encountering something that felt like a piece of myself. It's very hard to put this feeling into words. I don't mean it as an endorsement of the book's quality or even as a comment on my own enjoyment of it. But over the years, as I've watched TV shows, played games, read books, etc., I've often felt, “I like this a lot, but I would like it more if there were queer characters, or if the humor was sillier, or if there was (or wasn't) a romance,” and so on. I had none of those thoughts about this book. The humor is absurd, every major character is queer, and the (low) romance content is perfect. Even though there was a section I didn't love (the visit to Carcosa), I could see how it worked as part of the whole. So, just in terms of my own preferences, I wouldn't change anything. I don't get this feeling often, even though I enthusiastically enjoy a lot of books; the last book I felt this way about was [b:The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet 22733729 The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers, #1) Becky Chambers https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1405532474i/22733729.SY75.jpg 42270825]. These two books are very different, but they do have something major in common, which is that they're both episodic in nature. But there's really only one point-of-view character in this book, John, except for one chapter, so it isn't a multi-person character study. Instead, the investigation feels like a trip around the bizarre world John lives in, and it's almost all wonderful. I know there were a lot of references to other works that I didn't pick up on; I'm pretty familiar with the original Sherlock Holmes stories, but otherwise, I've never read much 19th-century fiction. But I didn't feel like I was missing out on anything.But wow, I loved John Wyndham, even though I really can't think of a character I have less in common with, in a superficial sense. Although he is a gay trans man, he hasn't rejected his strict religious upbringing in any way except what was necessary to live as himself. He doesn't swear, he prefers not to eat dessert, he thinks paisley is garish, and he's appalled at the idea of spending a (chaste) night with someone he's not married to. He's also brave and noble to a fault. I signed my soul over to him about halfway through the book, even though I know a gesture like that would offend his sensibilities too.I love the style of the book, too. I'm sure every sentence was carefully crafted, but it gave the illusion of being indulgent and verbose. It's like no word that would fit was left out. I never felt like anything was under-explained or under-described. I know a lot of readers prefer just the opposite style of writing, so I guess this is one of those details in a positive review that might drive people away from a book. The chapters themselves are very short, if that changes your mind! In a few ways, this book also reminded me of [b:The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy 386162 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #1) Douglas Adams https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1559986152i/386162.SX50.jpg 3078186]. Like Arthur Dent, John Wyndham is disoriented in a strange environment, while spending all his time with Ms. Haas, who knows (or pretends to know) pretty much everything. But this is a much more character-driven book. Mostly, I thought of Hitchhiker's Guide because there are digressions and references to in-universe books, etc., as well as a lot of humor, and wildly creative concepts.I would call this an adventure novel with a mystery. Neither main character has a romance plot; there are only some mentions of John's future husband, and some flirting that seems like it might continue in a future book. John and Shaharazad both have sex (with other people), but it isn't explicit. As much as I've shipped other versions of Holmes & Watson, I think I do prefer it when they're friends with nothing romantic or sexual between them. I found the resolution of the mystery (this is only a mild spoiler) both completely unexpected and very satisfying.I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Nicholas Boulton (it was my first time listening to one of his narrations, and he was excellent) and also read the text, which was a very good experience. I really hope there will be more books because I need to know who John married: the sweet little necromancer or the gruff but kindly detective? I was cheering for the necromancer, but we didn't see too much of him. Or maybe it's someone else! I also thought there would be more of a resolution of the conflict between John and the Eyan myrmidon, but maybe that will happen in a future book.