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adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
While I was fermilur with the set up/premise, I somehow managed to not have the ending of this book spoiled dispite it being published over 80 years ago. The version I listened to had been updated and did not have the original title nor the original form if the nursery rhyme, but did still contain plenty of racist, sexist, classiest and other insensitive dialog that was commonly used in the 1930's. That being said the mystery itself was quite interesting and I enjoyed listening to how it played out.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Sexism
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder
Moderate: Child death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Sexism, Suicide, Violence, Car accident, Colonisation
Minor: Gore, Racism, Toxic relationship, Blood, Antisemitism, Medical content, Medical trauma, Alcohol, War, Classism
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This might be one of the scariest Agatha Christie novels. It was just so well written and the ending really took me by surprise. Spoiler: I just never imagined that it was Wargrave. But it makes so much sense. Some people wrote reviews saying they knew after the first 60 pages who the murderer was, but I wasn't able to put all the pieces together. It also presents the reader with an interesting ethical question, about "murder" and "justice".
I am glad that the newer editions have been edited to change the racist title and poem. This doesn't change the overall plot and makes the book accessible to all.
Still, fair warning: all of the characters are overtly racist, sexist, and/or anti-Semitic. But they are meant to be assholes.
I am glad that the newer editions have been edited to change the racist title and poem. This doesn't change the overall plot and makes the book accessible to all.
Still, fair warning: all of the characters are overtly racist, sexist, and/or anti-Semitic. But they are meant to be assholes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Murder
Moderate: Racism, Sexism, Suicide, Blood, Antisemitism, Medical trauma
Minor: Child death, Xenophobia, Stalking, Colonisation
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I must preface this spiel with this: I am a certified ELA teacher who also tutors many students. I have used this for tutoring.
Moving on.
What more is there to say? I think knowing the landscape of England in the time of 1900s pre-WWII helps tremendously, as the novel is more nuanced and intricate that way, making this novel act as a judge and jury of the culture at the time. (I would recommend looking into social classes relations regarding gender, race, wealth, and orientation at the time, most notably post-WWI.) However, that information is not necessary to appreciate quite possibly the greatest mystery novel of all time, at least in the literary canon.
As far as the quality of writing, Christie herself wanted to write a murder that was nearly impossible to solve. (Personally, I deduced the murderer quite easy to solve, but that's beside the point.) Her use of an omniscient narrator works well, as many times, the narrator focuses on one character at a time, expressing their thoughts, feelings, fears, and motives as if a first person narrator. The regression of the characters from a space of superiority, as part of urban society, to one of survival instincts (I hate using the terms "civilized" to "uncivilized") is quite intriguing, as it highlights the strengths and weaknesses of not just all classes of English society but also English (and to a similar degree, American) culture as a whole.
Out of their own mouths, my kids love this book: They admitted that it was slow in the beginning, (and they don't like how it took 3-4 chapters to set everything up), but once things started rolling, they were hooked. They have argued, debated, researched information to try and lock down who the killer is and motives; this is includes literally having a cork-board with pictures and string, mapping out the characters and their arcs.
We have looked at the 1945 and 2015 adaptations of this book. They talked about their favorite/least favorite characters, (Vera was the hands down favorite,) how the adaptations have changed what they've read, why they felt the book was better, etc. (Mind you, I had to do very little prompting. I merely would ask who their favorite/least favorite character was, what they thought of XYZ and why, and to pick a character and look up these two topics surrounding them. They went the distance.)
So yes. This is one of my favorite novels of all time. I may have a lot of opinions of the literary canon, but this novel is by far the first one I would argue to keep in its pedestal.
Moving on.
What more is there to say? I think knowing the landscape of England in the time of 1900s pre-WWII helps tremendously, as the novel is more nuanced and intricate that way, making this novel act as a judge and jury of the culture at the time. (I would recommend looking into social classes relations regarding gender, race, wealth, and orientation at the time, most notably post-WWI.) However, that information is not necessary to appreciate quite possibly the greatest mystery novel of all time, at least in the literary canon.
As far as the quality of writing, Christie herself wanted to write a murder that was nearly impossible to solve. (Personally, I deduced the murderer quite easy to solve, but that's beside the point.) Her use of an omniscient narrator works well, as many times, the narrator focuses on one character at a time, expressing their thoughts, feelings, fears, and motives as if a first person narrator. The regression of the characters from a space of superiority, as part of urban society, to one of survival instincts (I hate using the terms "civilized" to "uncivilized") is quite intriguing, as it highlights the strengths and weaknesses of not just all classes of English society but also English (and to a similar degree, American) culture as a whole.
Out of their own mouths, my kids love this book: They admitted that it was slow in the beginning, (and they don't like how it took 3-4 chapters to set everything up), but once things started rolling, they were hooked. They have argued, debated, researched information to try and lock down who the killer is and motives; this is includes literally having a cork-board with pictures and string, mapping out the characters and their arcs.
We have looked at the 1945 and 2015 adaptations of this book. They talked about their favorite/least favorite characters, (Vera was the hands down favorite,) how the adaptations have changed what they've read, why they felt the book was better, etc. (Mind you, I had to do very little prompting. I merely would ask who their favorite/least favorite character was, what they thought of XYZ and why, and to pick a character and look up these two topics surrounding them. They went the distance.)
So yes. This is one of my favorite novels of all time. I may have a lot of opinions of the literary canon, but this novel is by far the first one I would argue to keep in its pedestal.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Torture, Violence, Stalking, Murder
Moderate: Homophobia, Racism, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, War
Minor: Racial slurs, Terminal illness, Alcohol
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I’m not gonna lie I ate this story up and got so frustrated at the end until I realized there was more! It really got me the one person I swore it wasnt it was. I really enjoyed this story but have a hard time giving it a 5 star rating simply because of the offensive language and negative connotations with the old racist titles the book has.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicide, Murder
Moderate: Antisemitism
Minor: Child death, Sexism
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Suicide, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Car accident, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Infidelity, Pregnancy, War
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Antisemitism, Medical trauma
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Suicide, Murder
Minor: Racism, Sexism
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Murder
Moderate: Racism, Sexism
Minor: Racism, Sexism, Suicide
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I honestly had no idea who the killer was until the very end of the epilogue. Ten people are invited to this mysterious island by a U.N. Owens, for different reasons. The doctor was to attend to the owner's wife's health. One was hired for a job. The one thing all of the characters have in common is that they are all guilty of murder, but cannot be convicted by the law. Following the pattern of deaths laid out by a children's poem, one chokes to death, one never wakes up, one went crazy, one was cut by an axe, one was stung, one was in trouble with the law, one fell for a red herring, a bear killed one, another freaked out and was killed, and the last went mad and killed themselves. There were only 10 people on the island, and all of them are dead by the end. However, the last person kicked over a chair to kill themselves, and the detectives found the chair upright, standing orderly by the wall. So who could have killed everyone? There was no place to hide from the inhabitants, and no one was left alive on the unreachable island when the detectives showed up. So who could have killed them? The only person who was truly innocent of the supposed murder they committed and wanted to take justice into their own hands.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Car accident, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting