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Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee (Dee Goong An) cover art

Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee (Dee Goong An)

By: Robert van Gulik
Narrated by: Mark Bramhall, Stefan Rudnicki, Lorna Raver, Yuri Rasovsky
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Summary

Long before Western writers had even conceived the idea of writing detective stories, the Chinese had developed a long tradition of literary works that chronicled the cases of important district magistrates. One of the most celebrated of these was Judge Dee, who lived in the seventh century.

This book, written anonymously in the 18th century, interweaves three of Judge Dee's most baffling cases: a double murder among traveling merchants, the fatal poisoning of a bride on her wedding night, and the suspicious death of a shop keeper with a beautiful wife.

The crimes take him up and down the great silk routes, into ancient graveyards where he consults the spirits of the dead, and through all levels of society, leading him to some brilliant detective work.

Public Domain (P)2009 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

What listeners say about Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee (Dee Goong An)

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

So awful it was almost good!

Well, this is listed as illustrating 'some brilliant detective work' .... well the judge seems to be ruled by what he 'felt' about the particular accused - no logical evidence shown - in fact it was so 'naff' that I almost enjoyed it! He was guided to his judgements by an explicit dream - which had to be explained to him by his sergeant.

One REALLY irritating point though - the narrator would insist on talking about the 'constipals' rather that 'constables' and I found this really annoying.

I bought this as part of an offer - thank goodness I didn't go to town using up my valuable credits. I really wouldn't recommend this to anyone!

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • DC
  • 21-09-19

Misleadingly described reading of an integrating and entertaining book

The first thing to say is that the book itself is interesting and entertaining. The text I would give four stars. Regarding the audiobook, the description "Read by Mark Bramhall and a full cast" is completely misleading. Bramhall (I assume it is he) reads basically the entire text of the novel. It is a straightforward reading of the novel, and he uses various vocal characterisations when it comes to the various characters' speech. Some are more successful than others. On the whole the reading is adequate. Some odd mispronouncations jar a little, some of the voices seem too close to stereotypes for comfort; but it's adequate. I found his voice a little soporific, so that at times concentrating on the narrative was difficult (and this is a book I know well and like), but that may just be a personal thing.

This is a translation of an 18th Century Chinese novel, so in the middle there is a brief interlude in which some unnamed characters act out a scene as if in a play, elliptically alluding to the events of the novel and giving some insight into what's happening. This is where the "full cast" comes in, just for this one short passage alone. It really doesn't justify the description given.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great book great narration.

judge dee books are a great read. They capture a China echoes of which can still be seen today.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Jk
  • 15-01-24

Of its time and period

The story/stories is very much a typical Judge Dee classic. It might be helpful if readers/listeners understand that the setting of the story is several hundred years ago and that the Chinese legal system of that period generally required confessions and put little or no restrictions on how confessions were obtained. The stories are not detective stories as we have become accustomed, nor are they whodunnits, they are more about tactics.

I read a lot of these stories many years ago but this is my first audio version. The accents and voices in this example are not great and the performances were wooden and lacking any nuance or subtlety.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent

Very clever, and an accurate depiction of traditional Chinese social, legal and judicial practices. All bound up in three intriguing cases.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent study of Judge Dee. recommended

Definitely worth a listen. This collection on intertwined stories is well read and very entertaining

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A Case study into Chinese detective writing

The charm of the book comes from the way it gently introduces a western reader for the old Chinese tradition of detective writing. The end contains a long epilogue by van Gulik which describes the genre as a whole and the ancient Chinese penal code. Therefore a certain level of interest to the subject is necessary in order for the book be entertaining.

I stumbled across this book having read van Gulik’s own fictional adventures of judge Dee. This book, being actually +200 years old text, gives a nice reference point to van Gulik’s own stories.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

tremble and obey

a really fascinating book as it takes you out of your comfort zone into an entirely different culture. this had the effect of making me take a look at our own traditions and also the literary conventions of our own detective fiction. this book does not conform in any way.

the narration was a little irritating at first but perfect for the content as many audios are 'performed' which would not be appropriate in this case, bear with it, the book itself takes over very quickly.

the three cases are all worked at the same time but are separate and Judge Dee has to face many challenges both from his superiors and of public opinion. the three plots are quite different yet combined in the time-frame give the book it's strength.

the cherry on the cake is the commentary at the end which had so much information that I would have preferred it to have been at the start.

I paid full price for this book and it was worth every penny. so, for those with open minds, go ahead you won't regret it. shame this is the only one.

tremble and obey!

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