Book Review: Three Agatha Christie books
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie
Evil Under the Sun by Agatha Christie
There are a few spoilers here.
I did not know until after I finished it that And Then There Were None was originally called Ten Little Niggers (the rhyme and the figurines were also "niggers" and it was called Nigger Island). Which was then later changed to Ten Little Indians (with "Indian" replacing all the references to "Nigger"). In modern printings, it is now Ten Little Soldiers. I must have been reading an older printing because everything was Ten Little Indians in the copy I read. Yes, yes, I know that Christie lived in a different time. It still surprised me and saddened me a little.
Nevertheless, I did enjoy the book. I kept going back to the rhyme to find out how the next person was going to die. But I never figured out the solution. Immensely entertaining and suspenseful, though. Less talky than some of the other ones I've read which was kind of nice. Any time the characters got a little talky, BAM! Another one down. And since they were all murderers themselves, I didn't have to feel too bad for them.
The Body in the Library was good. For a Miss Marple mystery, though, she is oddly absent. She says hi for a page and then disappears for 60 pages and then returns just in time to deliver the solution. Seekrit marriage! Body doubles used to throw off the time of death! FINGER NAILS AS PLOT POINT! I was thrown off by the whole thing with the old man wanting to adopt the 18-year-old Ruby Keene (great name BTW). Because it was made clear that the old guy might get jealous if he ever found out Ruby was dating someone. So it's almost like this daughter fetish thing going on which just made it uber creepy. Then again, my daughter and I have a movie version of Sleeping Murder (which I'd like to read someday) and there is an implication of incest in that story. Never let it be said that Agatha Christie wrote about safe topics.
Evil Under the Sun was also very good. I think I'm more fond of Hercule Poirot than Miss Marple. Maybe it's the random French exclamations or his sort of funny manner. And the mystery was good too. Lots of possible murderers and despite the fact that I had just read a body double story, it didn't occur to me that could be part of the solution. I think it was kind of impossible to figure out the solution, but that's okay. AND THEN IT WAS RUINED. Rosamund Darnley is a very successful businesswoman with a dressmaking business. She has the hots for Captain Marshall who isn't too fond of his wife. Then the rather foolish wife is killed (convenient!) and Marshall apparently has no problem with hooking up with Rosamund right after that. At the end of the book, the murderer is revealed to not be Marshall or Rosamund, so Rosamund asks Marshall if he is going to be "polite" and wait six months to ask her to marry him. They joke about it and decide to get married. AND THEN MARSHALL TELLS HER SHE HAS TO GIVE UP HER DRESSMAKING BUSINESS AND GO LIVE IN THE COUNTRY TO MAKE BABIES. AND SHE AGREES! Feminism FTL, Ms. Christie. Way to pick the right guy for you, Rosamund. Give up your business if you want to, but not because the man you're marrying tells you you have to if you want to marry him. BAD FORM.
The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie
Evil Under the Sun by Agatha Christie
There are a few spoilers here.
I did not know until after I finished it that And Then There Were None was originally called Ten Little Niggers (the rhyme and the figurines were also "niggers" and it was called Nigger Island). Which was then later changed to Ten Little Indians (with "Indian" replacing all the references to "Nigger"). In modern printings, it is now Ten Little Soldiers. I must have been reading an older printing because everything was Ten Little Indians in the copy I read. Yes, yes, I know that Christie lived in a different time. It still surprised me and saddened me a little.
Nevertheless, I did enjoy the book. I kept going back to the rhyme to find out how the next person was going to die. But I never figured out the solution. Immensely entertaining and suspenseful, though. Less talky than some of the other ones I've read which was kind of nice. Any time the characters got a little talky, BAM! Another one down. And since they were all murderers themselves, I didn't have to feel too bad for them.
The Body in the Library was good. For a Miss Marple mystery, though, she is oddly absent. She says hi for a page and then disappears for 60 pages and then returns just in time to deliver the solution. Seekrit marriage! Body doubles used to throw off the time of death! FINGER NAILS AS PLOT POINT! I was thrown off by the whole thing with the old man wanting to adopt the 18-year-old Ruby Keene (great name BTW). Because it was made clear that the old guy might get jealous if he ever found out Ruby was dating someone. So it's almost like this daughter fetish thing going on which just made it uber creepy. Then again, my daughter and I have a movie version of Sleeping Murder (which I'd like to read someday) and there is an implication of incest in that story. Never let it be said that Agatha Christie wrote about safe topics.
Evil Under the Sun was also very good. I think I'm more fond of Hercule Poirot than Miss Marple. Maybe it's the random French exclamations or his sort of funny manner. And the mystery was good too. Lots of possible murderers and despite the fact that I had just read a body double story, it didn't occur to me that could be part of the solution. I think it was kind of impossible to figure out the solution, but that's okay. AND THEN IT WAS RUINED. Rosamund Darnley is a very successful businesswoman with a dressmaking business. She has the hots for Captain Marshall who isn't too fond of his wife. Then the rather foolish wife is killed (convenient!) and Marshall apparently has no problem with hooking up with Rosamund right after that. At the end of the book, the murderer is revealed to not be Marshall or Rosamund, so Rosamund asks Marshall if he is going to be "polite" and wait six months to ask her to marry him. They joke about it and decide to get married. AND THEN MARSHALL TELLS HER SHE HAS TO GIVE UP HER DRESSMAKING BUSINESS AND GO LIVE IN THE COUNTRY TO MAKE BABIES. AND SHE AGREES! Feminism FTL, Ms. Christie. Way to pick the right guy for you, Rosamund. Give up your business if you want to, but not because the man you're marrying tells you you have to if you want to marry him. BAD FORM.