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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Christie is always a cure-all for me. Perfect comfort, can always pick one up and read right through. Loved Jerry and Joanna though any romances were handled a bit clumsily. Miss Marple doesn’t show until about 75% of the way through and still features minimally, but Jerry and Joanna are a good old time. Didn’t see it coming, as always, and the intrigue of the small bucolic town and its idiosyncratic little characters make Christie always enjoyable. Good times were had by all. Besides the deceased, of course.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicide, Murder
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Medical content
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
maybe is more like a 3.5
i really enjoyed it, but the thing is that miss marple doesn’t appear until almost the very end, and i loove her so for me: more jane Marple = higher raiting
and also the resolution wasn’t my favorite by any means, it was good but not christie’s level
i really enjoyed it, but the thing is that miss marple doesn’t appear until almost the very end, and i loove her so for me: more jane Marple = higher raiting
and also the resolution wasn’t my favorite by any means, it was good but not christie’s level
A whodunit that kept me on my toes throughout. Exactly what I expected of an Agatha Christie classic!
No sé por qué olvidé registrar esta lectura pero juro que no es porque no me haya gustado.
Creo que es de mis novekas favoritas que involucran a Miss Marple, sale lo justo y los personajes son lo suficientemente interesantes para sostener la historia.
Tan simple como es, The Moving Finger es muy interesante, tan interesante como un chismecito a las cinco de la tarde con un café y pan.
Creo que es de mis novekas favoritas que involucran a Miss Marple, sale lo justo y los personajes son lo suficientemente interesantes para sostener la historia.
Tan simple como es, The Moving Finger es muy interesante, tan interesante como un chismecito a las cinco de la tarde con un café y pan.
adventurous
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Brilliant murder mystery with a great plot.
I should mention that the narrator for this story was not the appropriate choice - it should have been a younger man since that was the first person narrator of the story. The elderly lady who narrated was didn't have a a good voice range and her slow intonation didn't match the tone of the story!
I should mention that the narrator for this story was not the appropriate choice - it should have been a younger man since that was the first person narrator of the story. The elderly lady who narrated was didn't have a a good voice range and her slow intonation didn't match the tone of the story!
Can't find my physical copy to check the publishing information at the moment, but for clarity's sake, it's a paperback edition, DELL #15861, from maybe the 1970s? It's a smaller, almost pocket-sized copy and the outer edges of the pages are green, which I find rather charming. Picked it up from a small business called Nevermore Books.
Anyway... the story has its issues, of course, and there are many valid criticisms to be made regarding the biases in the writing (as well as the fact that Miss Marple doesn't appear until more than two-thirds of the way through the book; I didn't even know it was part of a series or that it was one of hers when I picked it up!) but I have to say, this was a really fun read for me personally and certainly a good experience as my first Agatha Christie novel.
The book is written in first person (using I/me statements) from the perspective of Jerry Burton, who has temporarily moved with his sister, Joanna, to the small and reportedly sleepy rural village of Lymstock in order to recover in peace from an accident he'd recently been in. Nowadays I will typically avoid stories written in first person as a matter of personal preference, but as I'd been meaning to check the author out for some time, I decided to stick with it and quickly found myself drawn into the writing despite myself. I picked this book up around ten o'clock at night hoping to read just a bit of it before bed (having low confidence in my attention span after many years of not reading physical books anymore) and contrary to my expectations, I couldn't put it down until I finished it at about half past midnight. Then, after finishing it, I strongly recommended it to my best friend and proceeded to voluntarily reread it to them chapter-by-chapter over the course of several weeks on Discord voice calls— which, for context, I am rarely one to reread or rewatch things, but I enjoyed myself so thoroughly that I couldn't resist making it the subject of our two-person book club.
To address a common and accurate complaint: yes, the narrator (Jerry, as previously mentioned) is often saying, thinking, or doing things that will have you wincing, cringing, or wanting to smack him upside the head— in particular, the antiquated, objectifying, and at times dehumanising or infantilising way he regards women— but, in my opinion, the interplay between the characters of the world is tangibly real and holds up to a modern audience. In particular, the sibling bond between the narrator and his sister, Joanna, is richly portrayed, not just believable but recognisable to anyone who isn't an only child, and it also provides for an interesting view of the cognitive dissonance Jerry seems completely unaware of holding with regard to his ability to highly respect, support, and appreciate a "strong, modern, independent woman" like his sister while simultaneously narrating with reductive and critical sentiments for other women, most notably in his first impressions of Ms. Elsie, the governess (whom he essentially describes as being incredibly desirable until the moment she opens her mouth) and in his various encounters with his eventual love interest, Megan, whom he regularly compares to an animal (specifically a horse on at least one occasion, and a dog on so many more that it becomes a teasing callback from his sister at the end of the book) and also describes as child-like at least a few times. There are other examples as well, but those are what stood out most to me.
The mystery itself is interesting enough, though I was very concerned it seemed to be implicating Megan at various points throughout... and it didn't feel like the readers were given enough information to put together the answers, which is fine, especially since the narrator wasn't any kind of investigator and realistically might not have noticed those details. It isn't my favorite way to experience a mystery plot, but it wrapped up neatly enough and within the scope of belief that I still felt satisfied at its conclusion.
Do I love the narrator's every habit, thought, and action? Not even a little bit. Was it exceedingly entertaining to read anyway? Absolutely, without a doubt. Five stars.
Anyway... the story has its issues, of course, and there are many valid criticisms to be made regarding the biases in the writing (as well as the fact that Miss Marple doesn't appear until more than two-thirds of the way through the book; I didn't even know it was part of a series or that it was one of hers when I picked it up!) but I have to say, this was a really fun read for me personally and certainly a good experience as my first Agatha Christie novel.
The book is written in first person (using I/me statements) from the perspective of Jerry Burton, who has temporarily moved with his sister, Joanna, to the small and reportedly sleepy rural village of Lymstock in order to recover in peace from an accident he'd recently been in. Nowadays I will typically avoid stories written in first person as a matter of personal preference, but as I'd been meaning to check the author out for some time, I decided to stick with it and quickly found myself drawn into the writing despite myself. I picked this book up around ten o'clock at night hoping to read just a bit of it before bed (having low confidence in my attention span after many years of not reading physical books anymore) and contrary to my expectations, I couldn't put it down until I finished it at about half past midnight. Then, after finishing it, I strongly recommended it to my best friend and proceeded to voluntarily reread it to them chapter-by-chapter over the course of several weeks on Discord voice calls— which, for context, I am rarely one to reread or rewatch things, but I enjoyed myself so thoroughly that I couldn't resist making it the subject of our two-person book club.
To address a common and accurate complaint: yes, the narrator (Jerry, as previously mentioned) is often saying, thinking, or doing things that will have you wincing, cringing, or wanting to smack him upside the head— in particular, the antiquated, objectifying, and at times dehumanising or infantilising way he regards women— but, in my opinion, the interplay between the characters of the world is tangibly real and holds up to a modern audience. In particular, the sibling bond between the narrator and his sister, Joanna, is richly portrayed, not just believable but recognisable to anyone who isn't an only child, and it also provides for an interesting view of the cognitive dissonance Jerry seems completely unaware of holding with regard to his ability to highly respect, support, and appreciate a "strong, modern, independent woman" like his sister while simultaneously narrating with reductive and critical sentiments for other women, most notably in his first impressions of Ms. Elsie, the governess (whom he essentially describes as being incredibly desirable until the moment she opens her mouth) and in his various encounters with his eventual love interest, Megan, whom he regularly compares to an animal (specifically a horse on at least one occasion, and a dog on so many more that it becomes a teasing callback from his sister at the end of the book) and also describes as child-like at least a few times. There are other examples as well, but those are what stood out most to me.
The mystery itself is interesting enough, though I was very concerned it seemed to be implicating Megan at various points throughout... and it didn't feel like the readers were given enough information to put together the answers, which is fine, especially since the narrator wasn't any kind of investigator and realistically might not have noticed those details. It isn't my favorite way to experience a mystery plot, but it wrapped up neatly enough and within the scope of belief that I still felt satisfied at its conclusion.
Do I love the narrator's every habit, thought, and action? Not even a little bit. Was it exceedingly entertaining to read anyway? Absolutely, without a doubt. Five stars.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
mysterious
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:
Complicated