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3.63 AVERAGE
3.63 AVERAGE
Deze blijft leuk. Niet elk verhaal is even sterk, maar de afwisseling is fijn en Hercule Poirot rules. Altijd.
I’m not a big fan of short stories in general, with a few exceptions (Ted Chiang, Ray Bradbury, Philip K. Dick) they mostly feels like unfinished drafts and ideas for discharged novels.
Unfortunately this Poirot collection confirms my dislike of the genre, all the meticulous build up of small (to others than Poirot) meaningless details and the cast of more or less suspicious side characters are left out and we only gets sketches of mysteries with a quick solution.
Some of these stories are adapted for television in altered and combined versions and I have to admit to using more time solving that puzzle than on the actual stories.
a group of Hercule Poirot short stories, some better than others, of course, but pretty entertaining overall. Love the Hugh Fraser audio.
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I can't remember when I first read this short story collection, but every time I reread it, it grows on me more. Christie's conceit has Poirot using his famed intellect to solve a series of cases that allude to his mythological namesake's physical labors. My favorites are the Nemean Lion, The Augean Stables, and The Stymphalean Birds.
A detective collection of short stories for myth lovers.
This is my second read (the first time I didn't finish it). The stories are so creative (although some are a bit of a reach to match the original labours) and well, short. Short but eventful. I like the parallel between the original labours and the ones Christie created, even subtly, like how in two labours Heracles was helped by his cousin, so Hercule was also helped by his men in two cases.
It's written quite a long time ago so I don't want to go deep into the writing style. I am indifferent about it. Even though there will be moments where I thought the thrill might not be sufficient, but it's also because me, a modern reader, had so much access to thriller genre, the bar had been raised since then. Nevertheless, Agatha Christie is one of my favourite female and thriller writers and this book really proves it. Her work stood the test of time.
This is my second read (the first time I didn't finish it). The stories are so creative (although some are a bit of a reach to match the original labours) and well, short. Short but eventful. I like the parallel between the original labours and the ones Christie created, even subtly, like how in two labours Heracles was helped by his cousin, so Hercule was also helped by his men in two cases.
It's written quite a long time ago so I don't want to go deep into the writing style. I am indifferent about it. Even though there will be moments where I thought the thrill might not be sufficient, but it's also because me, a modern reader, had so much access to thriller genre, the bar had been raised since then. Nevertheless, Agatha Christie is one of my favourite female and thriller writers and this book really proves it. Her work stood the test of time.
I wasn't in the mood for a short story collection, nor did I expect this book to read like a short story collection, but oh well. Agatha is still the queen of mystery and of my little bookish heart, so I loved it. I was also a huge fan of Greek mythology as a kid, so those parallels made me happy.
This is cheating a little as I actually read these in the collected short stories (though they were in order with the preface from the stand alone collection tying it all together).
They're a mixed bag of 12 short stories, loosely linked as Hercule aims to retire (again) after completing his own labours. Some of the associations and modern themes are quite subtle and clever (hydra = gossip) though a few are stretched pretty thin. Still, the same with any Poirot short stories, some good, some ok, a few poor. Probably my favourite was The Cretan Bull as it just felt different to any of the others though I liked the Girdle of Hyppolita and the return of an old flame (kind of) in the Capture of Cerberus (a slightly lovestruck Poirot is a situation of much entertainment).
Some of the other stories are pretty weak, almost skipping any form of deduction or processing, rather turning to a sudden brief explanation (The Apples of Hesperides in particular suffers). The biggest issue with the short stories is the lack of time, character and development you get with the novels. Drugs turn up quite a lot too in this collection.
Still, there's a lot to like for fans. Probably not a place to start if you're new to Poirot though.
They're a mixed bag of 12 short stories, loosely linked as Hercule aims to retire (again) after completing his own labours. Some of the associations and modern themes are quite subtle and clever (hydra = gossip) though a few are stretched pretty thin. Still, the same with any Poirot short stories, some good, some ok, a few poor. Probably my favourite was The Cretan Bull as it just felt different to any of the others though I liked the Girdle of Hyppolita and the return of an old flame (kind of) in the Capture of Cerberus (a slightly lovestruck Poirot is a situation of much entertainment).
Some of the other stories are pretty weak, almost skipping any form of deduction or processing, rather turning to a sudden brief explanation (The Apples of Hesperides in particular suffers). The biggest issue with the short stories is the lack of time, character and development you get with the novels. Drugs turn up quite a lot too in this collection.
Still, there's a lot to like for fans. Probably not a place to start if you're new to Poirot though.
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
slow-paced