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3.29 AVERAGE
3.29 AVERAGE
I tried being quite objective in my rating of this book, despite my fairly strong distaste for it. Not distaste in the sense that it was bad. More distaste in the sense that it probably won't appeal to the same target audience as the other novels in this series.
I appreciate that Christie may have had an Ian Fleming-type inspiration for this novel - despite the anachronism in that sentence. But this novel is a far leap from the English country estate murder mystery with which she has built her readership on. This sort of action-packed international secret-agent plot line just doesn't work with Poirot (I can't even picture Poirot moving any faster than a brisk walk to be honest).
This may be a fascinating story for those interested in the aforesaid action-type genre. But it's not for me. I tried really hard to follow the conversations and events, but I felt myself glazing over and had a hard time absorbing all the info dumps enough to be able to predict the following reveals, or even fully understand them.
The one thing that this story had going for it was the character interaction between Poirot and Rossakov. It was nice to be able to see Poirot as being slightly less than emotionally distant. I know she doesn't recur in the series a lot, but any familiarity in an episodic series such as this one is refreshing.
Fortunately, the story picked up a little steam right at the end, but just in enough time for the story to be cut short.
The only thing that kept me reading (other than my completionism) was the Hastings-Poirot interactions.
Poirot: "Hercule Poirot might have been crushed out of existence! A terrible calamity for the world! And you too, mon ami! Though that would not be such a national catastrophe."
Hastings: "...Thank you."
Gold.
I appreciate that Christie may have had an Ian Fleming-type inspiration for this novel - despite the anachronism in that sentence. But this novel is a far leap from the English country estate murder mystery with which she has built her readership on. This sort of action-packed international secret-agent plot line just doesn't work with Poirot (I can't even picture Poirot moving any faster than a brisk walk to be honest).
This may be a fascinating story for those interested in the aforesaid action-type genre. But it's not for me. I tried really hard to follow the conversations and events, but I felt myself glazing over and had a hard time absorbing all the info dumps enough to be able to predict the following reveals, or even fully understand them.
The one thing that this story had going for it was the character interaction between Poirot and Rossakov. It was nice to be able to see Poirot as being slightly less than emotionally distant. I know she doesn't recur in the series a lot, but any familiarity in an episodic series such as this one is refreshing.
Fortunately, the story picked up a little steam right at the end, but just in enough time for the story to be cut short.
The only thing that kept me reading (other than my completionism) was the Hastings-Poirot interactions.
Poirot: "Hercule Poirot might have been crushed out of existence! A terrible calamity for the world! And you too, mon ami! Though that would not be such a national catastrophe."
Hastings: "...Thank you."
Gold.
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
I see that it has some poor reviews but I enjoyed it. It read like a series of connected short stories and I generally like that format.
Se dovessi scegliere un sottotitolo a questo libro, sarebbe "Non il solito Poirot". La scrittura è sempre quella della Christie, l'ometto con la testa a uovo, i baffi e le celluline grigie in movimento è sempre lui... però questa storia è un po' troppo spy-story per essere il caro buon vecchio Poirot. Questa volta, il nostro belga se la vede con una banda criminale internazionale e ne succedono di ogni... anche troppe, in realtà. Ci sono tante morti, inseguimenti, cose che saltano per aria, travestimenti. Poi ho fatto una piccola ricerca ed ho capito: questo romanzo in realtà è una collezione di episodi che l'autrice ha pubblicato - una specie di mini-serie - e da lì ho capito. In effetti, non il solito Poirot
***3.5 stars***
While this isn't one of my favorite Agatha Christie novels, I found it entertaining. It read like a spy thriller with a shady crime cartel pulling strings behind the curtain.
While this isn't one of my favorite Agatha Christie novels, I found it entertaining. It read like a spy thriller with a shady crime cartel pulling strings behind the curtain.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Kind of slow, the way Poirot got caught by the bad guys multiple times with little to no harm is kind of crazy. But that's just how good Poirot is I guess.
El menos Poirot de los Poirot qué he leído, no recomiendo
It was enjoyable but definitely a fractured reading experience. The conclusion was worth the meandering storied installments.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
read this almost three months ago but the book was very memorable, unlike some other poirots (sorry). it is so absurd and on an insane scale compared to every other poirot, to the point where it spans multiple countries. i was shocked by how silly it was at times, though that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. it was a fun time! because of the scale, there were multiple plot twists, again unlike most poirots i've read, which added to the unique feel. most fun i've had with poirot in a while!
also the audiobook was so good! i love when actors narrate audiobooks, because you can tell! i adore the variation in voices, it added a lot to the atmosphere. i hope to read poirot in audio form more often in the future.
also the audiobook was so good! i love when actors narrate audiobooks, because you can tell! i adore the variation in voices, it added a lot to the atmosphere. i hope to read poirot in audio form more often in the future.