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absireads 's review for:
The Big Four
by Agatha Christie
After a few disappointing Agatha Christie's, I decided to return to some of the earlier Poirot's I had missed in hopes of a bit more enjoyment. This definitely felt more true to form! It was not her best, but I loved all the twists and turns and disguises. I also laughed out loud multiple times at the expense of poor Hastings; Christie really does write some humorous bits around his intellect. Inevitably, there are a few racist caricatures, especially of Chinese people, but they didn't feel especially malicious -- just, unfortunately, what people thought and how people wrote at the time. But something to be prepared for going into the novel. I was, actually, pleasantly surprised by the fact that she had a Chinese character as the smartest tactical brain in the world (next to Poirot, of course) and a woman as the preeminent scientist. Americans, alas, are only good for the money, which, fair. The almighty dollar. Sigh.
MILD SPOILER:
The denoument of the novel includes a reference to atomic energy, which in 1927, of course, had not been seen in the large scale, and oof. It all felt a bit too real. Like Pixar's The Incredibles or Dr. Evil from Austin Powers mixed with actual headlines in a weird kind of supervillain but also look-what's-happening-in-Ukraine and years-of-conspiracy-theory-nuts kind of way. A little less fun, given everything.
MILD SPOILER:
The denoument of the novel includes a reference to atomic energy, which in 1927, of course, had not been seen in the large scale, and oof. It all felt a bit too real. Like Pixar's The Incredibles or Dr. Evil from Austin Powers mixed with actual headlines in a weird kind of supervillain but also look-what's-happening-in-Ukraine and years-of-conspiracy-theory-nuts kind of way. A little less fun, given everything.