Approaching Nero Wolfe

[cimorene]

I haven't abandoned my plans to read Leckie, but I haven't bought the book yet and I have a whole pile of books already in my possession which I will be reading until I've got extra money to waste.

And as part of that reading, I've just read the first Nero Wolfe book.

• Archie is such an unusual name within my lifetime that I can't help literally picturing comics Archie, in flat color newspaper format.


• The unfortunate signs of its era are surprisingly few, and it's arguably so far less sexist than Christie, but the male ensemble cast is extremely wearing.


• Given what I've seen so far I'm astonished at the quantity of fanfic on AO3 (which I haven't examined in more detail, however). Maybe the male ensemble explains it alone, but it doesn't seem very shippable and there's already been some subtle homophobia. Apparently there was a TV show, which I'd never heard of. Was it a cult favorite maybe? It's got nearly 2/3 as many works as Poirot!

Comments

[stranger]

I read all the books in my teens-20s, and refreshed some of them later. The all-male household is distinctly homosocial, though I didn't pick up a slash vibe from the series at the time. Mostly between the lines, it's evident that Wolfe had an eventful life in his youth, in war-torn Montenegro and Europe, and that he fell in love with... gourmet cuisine. The connections between him and the others in the house are expressed in orchids, food, and logical detecting, in all cases so intensely that I could imagine slash that symbolizes those relationships, but in canon the relationships are shown as so cerebral that it's hard to see them as sexual. Maybe it's that whiff of homophobia you mentioned.

Rex Stout, like some other mid-century writers, depicted the sexist culture of the time that had restricted roles for women, but also showed the women as capable, having minds and motives and agency. It's just that they often aren't in the framework at all.

[cimorene]

Yes, and they also have a tendency to insult each other affectionately. Toxic masculinity and all that.