--- In rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com, "Brian Thornton"
<bthorntonwriter@...> wrote:
>
> I could not disagree more on the part about watching Shakespeare with
> subtitles.
>
But some people simply don't understand what is being said... they
can't help it. Or somebody might understand, say, Gielgud but not some
other actor playing the same part.
And getting back to our subject matter, I am fascinated by the
enormous homegrown vocabulary of Australian English. A few years ago I
bought myself a big dictionary with thousands upon thousands of words
and meanings I couldn't possibly have guessed. It has helped me with
Australian novels.
But while reading stuff that is English, there is something else that
can put one off, namely, the style. Not long ago I reread Josephine
Tey's The Man in the Queue (1929), her first mystery, and I found
myself slightly vexed by the prolixity. Very interesting story, in
fact more so than I remembered, but at times the telling vexed me.
There are also some blatantly racist remarks, common in that era. I
think that this novel could be updated and made into an excellent
contemporary noir movie. It has the right bones.
Best,
mrt
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