Well, I have finally arrived in the world of Agatha Christie. This was my first of her many, many novels and it took a major motion picture coming out this month to finally kick my booty into gear. I'll be honest: Agatha Christie has never been a real high priority of mine. Despite her status as the best-selling novelist of all time and the fact that her works trail only the Bible and Shakespeare as the world's most widely published books, I have never at any point in my life been dying to read her. But what with the aforementioned movie coming out, Christie shot up to the top of my Life List and into the murder mystery pool I dove.
Murder on the Orient Express was first published at the beginning of 1934 and features Christie's popular Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot. (Somebody please school me on the pronunciation of that name. To the best of my knowledge, it comes out sounding something like "air-kyul pwarrow"....am I close?) Our famous detective finds himself stuck on a train that has gone straight into a snowbank, but to make matters worse, one of the passengers turns up dead in his bed having been stabbed 12 times sometime in the middle of the night. The killer has to be on the train because of their unexpected stop in the snow. Can Hercule Poirot figure this out?
Oh he can, y'all. Because apparently, he is the smartest, most clever detective you ever did see.
What I liked most about this book was the way all the facts, evidence, and testimonies were laid out had me trying to solve the mystery right along with Poirot. I mean, I almost got out my own little notebook to start taking my own notes on the case, but I'm just not that dedicated. And I DID figure part of it out. But the conclusion was so intricate, masterful, and outrageous that it left me sitting with a stupefied grin on my face. Literally. I just sat in my rocker for a good 3 minutes grinning like an idiot and trying to decide how I felt about the ending. I also appreciated the humor in this novel as Christie had Poirot's cronies jumping to conclusions all over the place and getting more and more exasperated at the seeming impossibility of the case.
If you're looking for cons, Murder on the Orient Express was not as unputdownable as I was expecting it to be. Every Christie fan talks about how engrossing her novels are, and I would not quite put this one in that category. If you are trying to solve it along with Hercule, the details start to get a little overwhelming as there are so many suspects.
Overall though, I thoroughly enjoyed this one, and I look forward to reading more of Christie's work. Not all of it, mind you, but definitely more. I purchased Murder on the Orient Express in a box set of "The World's Favourite Agatha Christie" which also included And Then There Were None and The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. Both of those come highly recommended by friends of mine so I'm psyched to read them. I would also like to read one of her Miss Marple novels at some point.
So let me have it: what are your favorite novels by Agatha Christie? What can I not miss? Have you read any of the Miss Marple mysteries? Which one(s) should I read? Bring it on. I can handle it. Did any of you see the movie over the weekend? No spoilers, please, but what did you think? I plan to see it this coming weekend, and I'll definitely let you know what I think.
well done! Christie is great. I'm pleased that you were stupefied and grinning by the end. it is quite clever. also, points for the pronunciation of Poirot's handle--he would have corrected you nonetheless.
ReplyDeletei did get a chance to see Branagh's adaptation. it was good, if, of course, a little cluttered. Branagh himself and the rest of the cast were excellent--all of them; very excited to see Daisy Ridley branching out. and i really do think they stuck the ending, even if getting there was a bit muddled. i'll be interested to hear your thoughts.
you must read "And Then There Were None", if nothing else by Ms. Christie. you will not be able to put it down.
as for Miss Marple, I'd recommend "the body in the library" or "nemesis".
great post for this Christie fanboy.
Of course he would. Belgians, amiright?
DeleteI'm psyched for the movie, especially since you thought it was good! The whole fam is going. Wish you and Oak and Caroline could be with us!!
Well, obviously I'm going to read the other two that I bought so no worries. Although I'm conflicted about which one I should read next. I kindof want to save And Then There Were None for last since you and Jess have talked it up so much. I don't want to read that one next and then feel let down when I read Ackroyd. Decisions, decisions.
And I will definitely be taking you up on your Miss Marple recs. In fact, if you're up a creek about what to get me for Christmas......... ;)
Love you!
you guys will have a great time. noted about Christmas (ps keep in mind we're gonna need to see "Greatest Showman" together").
DeleteHannah. Read And Then There Were None first. you could die tomorrow.
Yes! I can't wait!
DeleteAnd if I die tomorrow, I'll be happily immersed in the world of Anne Shirley. #comeandgetme
Yes! We read the same book at approximately the same time, lol!
ReplyDeleteI'd probably try to pronounce his last name Pwah-row, but as French sounding as possible.
As I went through the evidence, I was surprised by his basically Dr. House philosophy - everybody lies. I figured out part of it, too, but not all. I got through it in less than a week, so that's pretty un-put-downable by my standards, though that standard's gotten loose. I'd say it starts slow, but I hit a tipping point where I HAD TO KNOW. And Then There Were None didn't take me more than 3 days, I think. It's amazing.
I've read two other Poirot stories, with The Mysterious Affair at Styles being recommendable as the first Poirot. Murder on the Links did not impress me and made me kind of angry actually, so I don't recommend it.
Like you, I wanted a Marple, so I read The Mirror Crack'd, but I think it was a mistake. Good, but sad. It shouldn't be your first Marple because it's so late in her career. I think Reagan's suggestion of The Body in the Library is better, since I think that one was alluded to as a much earlier case in the one I read.
I've never read Roger Ackroyd, but I probably should as it seems to be among the most famous of her works. Witness for the Prosecution was a play of hers (I think) that got turned into a movie, which they played for us in high school, and I didn't understand at all at the time. I'd probably appreciate it a lot more now. It was black and white. What can I say?
I'm in the process of talking Ean into seeing the movie with me, since we haven't gone to one in months, so I'm excited about that.
Yes! Our book goals are syncing! Haha!
DeleteSPOILERS: I figured out that the Armstrong sister was on the train, but I couldn't decide if it was Mary Debenham or the Countess, and I knew that more than a few of them were in cahoots, but WOW I was not expecting everything to be connected like it was!! So good.
I would definitely agree with your assessment that it starts slow, but then you come to the point where you HAVE TO KNOW. The whole book took me about 3 days so it was not, by any means, a struggle. My comment about it being "unputdownable" had more to do with me needing to put it down and digest the evidence rather than keeping me up at night.
My brother has said that I will read And Then There Were None in one sitting, so I guess we'll see.
I think Jessie Weaver said in one of her blog posts that The Murder of Roger Ackroyd was her favorite Agatha Christie, so I'm definitely looking forward to that one. The only question is which to read next.
Let me know if you end up seeing the movie!