A Mastery of Mystery

Ok, hear me out. "The Westing Game" may not be the novel everyone is looking for. It's relatively short for a novel, and comes off as a book geared towards a younger audience. Also, being a book originally published in 1978, some of the language and references used may fly over a younger reader's head, especially today in 2021. However, do not let any of these things fool you. "The Westing Game," despite its short length, is a meticulously crafted experience of a story for all ages that will have you in the dark the entire time you first read it. Even re-reading it will have you find new foreshadowing and little nuances each and every time. This is from personal experience too. I've read this book over ten times since I first found it and it still astonishes me how detailed it is and how hidden the answers to the mystery are. If a good mystery isn't to your tastes however, you can simply sit back and enjoy the world and characters that build around you as you read, after all, you aren't the only one that has no idea what is going on behind the scenes, they are in the same boat.

First, the story and the mystery. I won't explain the synopsis of the story here, that can easily be found on its own and I don't want to give anything away. I also won't go into specifics here because story is best experienced first-hand and not all at once. However, I will say that every single detail in this story matters. Like Chekhov's Gun, anything specifically detailed or explained in the story has a purpose, you just won't know until after you've finished the book. "The Westing Game" doesn't lead you around by the nose, you will either know everything or nothing at all with only little revelations or guesses by the characters in between. Though, for a majority of the book, until the final climax, you will mostly know the latter. This works in the story's favor as it keeps you wanting more, wanting to know if you've figured out the mystery, wanting to see what happens next, or even just wanting to know what happens next in the character's lives. No stone is left unturned in this book. Every possible solution you can think of, and even some you'd never have thought of, will be addressed at some point by at least one of the characters and your desperation for answers will be reflected in them and their efforts. You as the reader will be just as surprised as they are during every reveal, and that I believe is the mark of a well written mystery. Honestly it's very hard to sell this story to you without going into too much detail so as to not spoil anything but I assure you, "The Westing Game" is one of the most well written and well thought out pieces of literature you will ever read and is most definitely worth your time. I can't express enough how amazing this story's mystery is and I hope you find as much enjoyment in reading it as I do. Also, don't worry, everything gets wrapped up nicely by the end of the story, no loose plot strings left behind.

Secondly, the characters. None of the characters in this story are perfect, and that's the point. Each character has their own meaningful journey of growth to go on during the story, whether it be finding themselves, bettering themselves, or even moving past old wounds, all of these somehow smoothly find their way back to either relating to, or directly interacting with, the main story. Through this, the book does a very good job of showing how every character is important to the story with their own role and purpose to the over-arching mystery. This story also technically has no main character as it swaps through many different character's minds and points of view, even during the same scene, further showing how important every character's thoughts are. While it may be overwhelming at first with so many characters, the book easily makes each character distinct and unique from one another and, by the end, you will have no problem differentiating them and finding your favorite. Thankfully, just like the story, no characters are left unloved by the end of the book. Every character's growth and storyline is wrapped up neatly and satisfactory by the end leaving no bad tastes in your mouth and allowing you to re-read the book without dreading what comes at the end for your favorite characters. While some characters may seem more important than others, and that is true from a story perspective, at the very least every single character means something and impact one another's growth.

On a note aside from characterization, the diversity in this book is simply amazing. Ellen Raskin worked at length to ensure as many people as possible felt included in her writing. Being a sibling and a primary guardian to a disabled child, "The Westing Game" has one of the most accurate and true to life descriptions of a disabled person both in how they, themselves act and how others around them may treat them, and they aren't the only character like this. Just to list a few, this book includes: an African American judge, Greek immigrants, Chinese immigrants, a disabled man, female doctors and entrepreneurs, and overall people who live very different lives from each other. Every character, setting aside their growth through the story, is incredibly distinct and challenge the stereotypes and beliefs of the time period. It's refreshing to me to finally see a disabled person done justice in a story, just as it may help you, or a child you know, to see yourself accurately represented. The problems of the world aren't hidden in the story, nor are your eyes averted from them. They are faced head on and show change in those who perpetuated them.

This may seem a bit biased of me to say, but I honestly don't see many problems or faults with "The Westing Game". The book is crafted in such a finely detailed and meticulous fashion that doesn't leave much room for fault, which in itself can honestly be seen as a fault as it leaves little room for imagination. However, being a mystery, the book doesn't really have this problem because you, as the reader, are constantly using your imagination to figure out what could be happening. This is not to say "The Westing Game" is a perfect book; I, personally, love it, but others may not. The only problem I could foresee is, if mystery isn't your cup of tea, you may not like that aspect of the book. Though, you probably shouldn't be reading a mystery novel if you don't like mystery novels.

"The Westing Game" is an amazing mystery novel for anyone who loves to be stumped by a good mystery. The story, world, and characters all come together to create an enjoyable experience for readers of all ages that you won't forget for years after you've read it. That is not to mention how good it is to re-read and see all the clues and details you missed the first time around. I give this book a 10/10 which you should take with a gain of salt because it's my favorite book of all time... Jokes aside though, I do highly recommend this book to anyone, even those that may be unsure about mystery novels. It's a short read, but even after reading I bet you'll want to go back and see what you missed.

On a more personal note, thank you for reading my first review! I hope to review more novels, light novels, and manga in the future, as well as writing some stories of my own. Please look forward to it and I hope you enjoyed the read!