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Castafiore Emerald: not much of a plot?

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Ginger_Tuft
Member
#51 · Posted: 11 Dec 2011 06:38
It just proves Herge's greatness as a writer that he managed to spin a whole mystery and not ship Tintin and Haddock off to some other corner of the world. They stay at Marlinspike--and just like that, interesting stuff happens. Even if Tintin's not, to borrow a quote from the movie, 'looking for answers,' strange things still happen to him.
BlackadderFan
Member
#52 · Posted: 28 Nov 2012 17:50
I think that The Castafiore Emerald is probably the worst Tintin story Hergé has ever written. The plot is paper-thin and the mystery of the emerald is utterly predictable.

It may be very different from the others but I can live without this one.

I actually preferred Soviets to this.
Colonel Jorgen
Member
#53 · Posted: 29 Nov 2012 10:04
I actually think that The Castafiore Emerald is one of the very best Tintin books because it's so different from anything Herge did; it shows how willing he was to experiment with his character, which I think showed a large amount of bravery from him seeing as fans would've expected another adventure. I like the subtle comedy here and the red herrings' - it is in fact quite a complex book, with many different subplots running parallel. It's a true achievment that Herge manages to go seamlessly from one aspect of the story to another.

If you read Tintin in chronological order, you can see how the series grows and matures. It's clear that in the later books Herge wasn't interested in doing a straight adventure anymore. He wanted to get away from the rather listless affair of Land of Black Gold (especially listless when the politics are stripped away from it). He seemed to me than from The Red Sea Sharks onwards, Herge was seeking to (successfully) reinvent Tintin by doing something completely different with each book.
youtin
Member
#54 · Posted: 4 Aug 2014 04:50
The Castafiore Emerald is one of those books that I didn't appreciate much when I was younger but love now that I'm older. It ties with Tintin and the Picaros among the books I thought were "meh" at first.

It's like Herge switched genres in his later stories: from straight-up action-adventure to the more literary and thought-provoking style in his later works. I remember re-reading Picaros and being amazed by the genius of the social commentary by the last page.

The Castafiore Emerald is a "nothing of consequence happens" kind of story with lots of interesting stuff happening in between, interspersed with with commentary on social prejudices.
BlackIsland
Member
#55 · Posted: 7 Aug 2014 16:53
It's a fine book if you take it for what it is. Remember at this time his worked and especially artwork was very mature compared to previous adventures. You also have to remember there is only really 24 books and nothing after so take these adventures for what they are.

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