kamzilla's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
raoul_g's review against another edition
2.0
Well... what can I say? I don't quite remember when I got this book, but is must have been in high school. It might have been our English teacher showing us a box of old books that would have been thrown away if nobody wanted them or some similar situation. Of course I had heard of Agatha Christie, and her name was on the cover of the book, so I took it. There's nothing to be said against a good crime story.
Well, truth be told, first this book spent some years collecting dust in my bookshelf. A few days ago I laid my eyes on it and thought, I might as well start reading it as it is a very thin book. I started reading and after two or three reading sessions I got kind of skeptical: the chapters seemed to be too short. After checking the book here on Goodreads, I saw that it should have almost 300 pages, while my edition had only 76. That was when it dawned on me: I have some kind of abridged, shortened or retold version of the book. Sadly this is really not made as obvious as it should be in this edition.
Anyway... at least that explained why the writing style was as plain and disappointing as it was here. Also I kind of knew who the murderer was halfway through the book. Surely this would not have been the case had I read the original book as it was written by Christie. Sooo... I kind of think I really missed out on a great book by reading this. But I will definitely have a look other books actually written by Agatha Christie.
Well, truth be told, first this book spent some years collecting dust in my bookshelf. A few days ago I laid my eyes on it and thought, I might as well start reading it as it is a very thin book. I started reading and after two or three reading sessions I got kind of skeptical: the chapters seemed to be too short. After checking the book here on Goodreads, I saw that it should have almost 300 pages, while my edition had only 76. That was when it dawned on me: I have some kind of abridged, shortened or retold version of the book. Sadly this is really not made as obvious as it should be in this edition.
Anyway... at least that explained why the writing style was as plain and disappointing as it was here. Also I kind of knew who the murderer was halfway through the book. Surely this would not have been the case had I read the original book as it was written by Christie. Sooo... I kind of think I really missed out on a great book by reading this. But I will definitely have a look other books actually written by Agatha Christie.
nova_26's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
5.0
blitzjess's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
josie95's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars.
I love me some Poirot.
I'm never sure how to rate Christie's books, because I've already seen all the movies so the plots are already known to me. I'm left with few surprises, if any at all, but that isn't the book's fault. With this one, I really enjoyed the story, and the fact that
I do tend to like
That being said, as per usual everything you read is of importance. You don't have time waster on the uninteresting life of the detective, but rather the focus is entirely on the crime itself, as is typical of Christie. This is why I love her books so much. I hate it when I pick up a crime and half of the book is focused on the detective's terrible and boring life. I don't read detective fiction for the detective. I read it for the crime and the criminal. Those are the interesting parts of crime novels. And Christie always has her focus on the crime.
But at the same time she manages to start fleshing out her characters in the few pages she uses. She gets to the point, and never beats around the bush. I love that.
Back to this book though. I can completely see why this is a favourite amongst Christie fans. A clever murder that's entirely feasible yet not straight-forward at all. Definitely one of her best.
I love me some Poirot.
I'm never sure how to rate Christie's books, because I've already seen all the movies so the plots are already known to me. I'm left with few surprises, if any at all, but that isn't the book's fault. With this one, I really enjoyed the story, and the fact that
Spoiler
it was narrated by the murderer, which is uncommon still today to find, I think.I do tend to like
Spoiler
it better when there are more than one murder, though, and this one only has that of Roger Ackroyd.That being said, as per usual everything you read is of importance. You don't have time waster on the uninteresting life of the detective, but rather the focus is entirely on the crime itself, as is typical of Christie. This is why I love her books so much. I hate it when I pick up a crime and half of the book is focused on the detective's terrible and boring life. I don't read detective fiction for the detective. I read it for the crime and the criminal. Those are the interesting parts of crime novels. And Christie always has her focus on the crime.
But at the same time she manages to start fleshing out her characters in the few pages she uses. She gets to the point, and never beats around the bush. I love that.
Back to this book though. I can completely see why this is a favourite amongst Christie fans. A clever murder that's entirely feasible yet not straight-forward at all. Definitely one of her best.
nourhan09's review against another edition
5.0
!!.. يالله ماهذه النهاية
نهـاية صادمة خفق قلبي لهـا,, وشعرت بـألم شديد عندمـا أصر "مسـيو بوارو" على الحقائـق وعلى ان يُدين القاتل بكل مايمتلك من الأدلة.
كنت واثقة بـأنني عرفت من هو القاتل, وكنت مترقبة للنهاية التي من المفترض انها لن تصدمني, ولكن يالها من نهاية ويالها من صدمة, شهقت بقوة عندما ظهرت الحقيقة.
نحن نجتهد لتشغيل "الخلايا السمراء" التي نمتلكها, لعلنا نتمكن من الأقتراب من المجرم الحقيقي. ولكن "أغاثا" العزيزة لاتسمح لنا بـأن نهزمها في لعبتها المشهورة.
هذه القصة كانت مميزة منذ البداية, الشخصيات والأسرار, والغموض وكل شيء اخر يجعل منها قصة مذهلة ورائعة للغاية,
لاوجود للمـل او الضجر معها.
.
.
.
عتبي الوحيد على دار النشر والمترجم,, الطبعة لم تكن جيدة والعنوان كان مخالف للعنوان الحقيقي والمشهور ,
وكانت ترجمة"أحمد حسن" غير جيدة,, اذا تناسينا الأخطاء الأملائية التي كانت تحيرني ,, لم يعجبني ابداً اختياره للكلمات,, المعروف ان "اغاثا" تستخدم لغة سلسلة بسيطة لكي يستمتع القارئ بالحبكة والقصة ولاينشغل بصعوبة الكلمات,
نجد هنا المترجم اختار كلمات غير سلسلة وغير مناسبة في منتصف الأحداث,, فكـانت الترجمة ركيكة نوعاً ما وثقيلة في اغلب الاحيان.
ندمي الوحيد أنني اشتريت بالفعل 5 مؤلفات لـنفس المتـرجم والدار. >_<
نهـاية صادمة خفق قلبي لهـا,, وشعرت بـألم شديد عندمـا أصر "مسـيو بوارو" على الحقائـق وعلى ان يُدين القاتل بكل مايمتلك من الأدلة.
كنت واثقة بـأنني عرفت من هو القاتل, وكنت مترقبة للنهاية التي من المفترض انها لن تصدمني, ولكن يالها من نهاية ويالها من صدمة, شهقت بقوة عندما ظهرت الحقيقة.
نحن نجتهد لتشغيل "الخلايا السمراء" التي نمتلكها, لعلنا نتمكن من الأقتراب من المجرم الحقيقي. ولكن "أغاثا" العزيزة لاتسمح لنا بـأن نهزمها في لعبتها المشهورة.
هذه القصة كانت مميزة منذ البداية, الشخصيات والأسرار, والغموض وكل شيء اخر يجعل منها قصة مذهلة ورائعة للغاية,
لاوجود للمـل او الضجر معها.
.
.
.
عتبي الوحيد على دار النشر والمترجم,, الطبعة لم تكن جيدة والعنوان كان مخالف للعنوان الحقيقي والمشهور ,
وكانت ترجمة"أحمد حسن" غير جيدة,, اذا تناسينا الأخطاء الأملائية التي كانت تحيرني ,, لم يعجبني ابداً اختياره للكلمات,, المعروف ان "اغاثا" تستخدم لغة سلسلة بسيطة لكي يستمتع القارئ بالحبكة والقصة ولاينشغل بصعوبة الكلمات,
نجد هنا المترجم اختار كلمات غير سلسلة وغير مناسبة في منتصف الأحداث,, فكـانت الترجمة ركيكة نوعاً ما وثقيلة في اغلب الاحيان.
ندمي الوحيد أنني اشتريت بالفعل 5 مؤلفات لـنفس المتـرجم والدار. >_<
sav_22's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Sexism, Blood, Alcohol, Murder, Mental illness, Death, Stalking, Gaslighting, and Death of parent
Moderate: Toxic relationship and Misogyny
dragonwriter's review against another edition
challenging
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0