Narrative, the characters – I figured that I would just synthesize the things that I love most about the book, and hope that they make sense. Click on the image to be taken to the websource. Rather than go into explicit detail about the plot, the Ellen Raskin. In his will Sam Westing implied (he did not state, he implied) that (1) he was murdered, (2) the murderer was one of the heirs, (3) he alone knew the name of the murderer, and (4) the name of the murderer was the answer to the game. ![]() This ‘tricky, divisive Westing game’ has been succinctly summarized by Raskin: Problem: one of the sixteen people is Westing’s Murderer. What is even more odd is the fact that sixteen people from Sunset Towers have been identified as possible beneficiaries of a 200 million dollar inheritance from Old Man Westing. Not bad for a hobby, right? Little did Turtle know that instead of seeing ‘purple waves’ she would be seeing Old Man Westing’s deceased body instead (cue loud shrieks as Turtle tears out of the mansion). For twenty-five minutes she would be able to pay for a subscription to The Wall Street Journal. Turtle’s motivation: two dollars a minute she stays in the Westing Mansion. Her resolve was strengthened upon hearing that people who go to the mansion leave the place screaming their heads off, half-crazy, mumbling two words incoherently “purple waves.” Lake Michigan – the view from Sunset Towers – click on the image to be taken to the websource. This has become an urban legend around town, and naturally the 13 year old shin-kicking, braids-a-flying, stock-market genius Turtle Wexler took the dare (make that double dare) to stay in the Mansion. They say his body is sprawled out on a fancy Oriental rug, and his flesh is rotting off those mean bones, and maggots are creeping in his eye sockets and crawling out his nose holes” – from Otis Amber, the delivery boy (pp. They say his corpse is still up there in that big old house. Unbeknownst to them, they are all linked together through their unwanted or unlikely connection to old man Westing whose mansion is conveniently located close to Sunset Towers. And, oh yes, one was a bookie, one was a burglar, one was a bomber, and one was a mistake. A dressmaker, a secretary, an inventor, a doctor, a judge. Who were these people, these specially selected tenants? They were mothers and fathers and children. Were taken, and the perfect crime about to take place. Soon enough, all the apartments Click on the image to be taken to the websource. Barney Northrup, the real estate agent with the slick of the best beard oil on a black moustache, gave the families/individuals a deal that they could not resist. The Suspects. Six letters were delivered by a 62-year old delivery ‘boy’ to the would-be tenants of Sunset Towers (which faced strangely to the East). Yet despite the fact that I only managed to steal a few minutes of my time each night before going to bed to read the book – I was able to still follow the plot as it thickens – and surprisingly, the cast of characters managed to grow on me (Turtle Wexler in particular), without me realizing it. Imagine watching a fast-paced film, only to be rudely interrupted by phone calls, long email exchanges, the doorbell, the laundry, and so forth. I feel, though, that my enjoyment of the book has been constantly interrupted by lesson preparation, conference travels, and life in general. I just feel that our Bimonthly theme on Whodunit/Mystery/Suspense would not be complete without including this Winner of the Newbery Medal written by the incomparable Ellen Raskin. I am not sure if there is anything else that I can add to what has been written about the Westing Game that has not been said before.
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