Location: United States
Member Since: Dec. 10, 2013

susan rostan

Smashwords book reviews by susan rostan

  • The Ingenious Judge Dee on Dec. 16, 2013

    Hock G. Tjoa’s play, The Ingenious Judge Dee, is an adaptation of Robert van Gulik’s detective stories set in Imperial China and featuring Judge Dee, a district magistrate. Tjoa faithfully portrays Judge Dee as a master-detective whose vigilance, curiosity, and effective supervision of his assistants results in his solving unrelated overlapping crimes. Tjoa’s engaging dialogue, peppered with reflections on the morals and social graces of the traditional Chinese culture, reveals the thinking of an idealized magistrate, whose responsibilities include those of prosecutor and jury. The judge’s keen intellect and critical reasoning in solving crimes brought before him, as well as those he uncovers in random encounters, highlight his superior intellect and generous spirit toward the cross-section of Chinese society Tjoa’s play emphasizes the content of conversations over the context in which they occur. Thus, the descriptions of the settings offer little visual information about the narrative being played out, providing the reader with few, if any visual clues. Interestingly, it is the direction taken in the judge’s thoughtful conversation and purposeful questioning and the instructions he gives his assistants that color the scenes, leaving the reader to imagine the particulars of each of the settings. Engaged in three simultaneous crimes, each with its own background, Tjoa’s cast of characters are surprisingly easy to follow. By not revealing the criminal in the beginning and providing only the material germane to the plot, Tjoa keeps the reader’s attention focused, playfully anticipating what might happen next. It is a thoroughly enjoyable play! Susan M. Rostan