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A review by robotswithpersonality
The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side by Agatha Christie
2.5
Stay with me, because this one has a personal caveat against rating it fairly, and also a doozy of a caveat against rating it highly.
I cannot find any information in the book itself, however, possibly because no one else has gone looking for a copy of this Miss Marple in my library system in many years (probably for an understandable reason we'll get to in a moment), the only version available was a literacy copy - where they grade the book, explain bigger words, which, hey, great resource, but considering every edition I look up is at least 200 pages, and this one tops out at just over 100, either the print is VERY big in those editions, or they abridged this version and didn't see fit to indicate that anywhere in the text. So have I read the whole book or not? Who can tell? ๐คท๐ผโโ๏ธ [Yes, I'm choosing the pretty cover for social media, the literacy people obvious do not waste money on cover design and it shows.]
This, however, is partial support for my ongoing theory that I do much better with mystery novellas, than mystery novels. I don't like thrillers, where they drag out the tension and want to delve deep into the ugly secrets of a bunch of unlikeable characters, if you strip away the drama of interpersonal relationships between unreasonably melodramatic people, and dragging out the reveals, you really are left with a limited amount of pages to tell an engaging mystery, especially within the predictable framework of a Miss Marple.
From a structure point of view, this book did feel like it was the bare bones of a mystery, (which for the most part I like) you get few character asides, though there was one personal development with Marple I was glad to see, related to her in-house help. I appreciate that Christie, now writing this character in a later decade, acknowledges the impact that advancing age would have on the character, her faculties, mobility, while still making her sharp and involved in her community.
I'm honestly wondering if what may have got cut out of this version is just that old standard of somebody stonewalling/lying/not getting up the nerve to come forward that delays the action, in which case, my impatient self is glad I missed it!
On to what is inexcusable from a modern reader perspective: this book hinges, plot wise, on the idea that a woman is eternally disappointed, prone to hysterics at the mention of children, had a nervous breakdown, in fact, because her child was born with a learning disability. Yeah. Just, ableism from first to last. I want to feel bad that she so desperately wanted children and is struggling with her mental health but it's written as a tragedy akin to the child having died. The investigation involves trying to track down the children she'd previously adopted, but aside from using it for the plot, makes no real mention of the life or welfare of the child born with a disability. Not surprising it's not among the popular books in the Marple series - kind of wish the literacy imprint had chosen a different one to turn into a teachable text. ๐
By my count I only have a few left in this series, here's to hoping the last couple go better, though the fact that the only copy of the next one my library has is in Spanish, and I needed to request an interlibrary loan for an English copy, again doesn't suggest it's in high demand. I'm going to be peeved on behalf of the Spanish readers in my library network if it turns out this one's a dud, too. Non-English language books are already a smaller part of the library collection, at least get 'em the good stuff! ๐๐ผโโ๏ธ
โ ๏ธAbleism
I cannot find any information in the book itself, however, possibly because no one else has gone looking for a copy of this Miss Marple in my library system in many years (probably for an understandable reason we'll get to in a moment), the only version available was a literacy copy - where they grade the book, explain bigger words, which, hey, great resource, but considering every edition I look up is at least 200 pages, and this one tops out at just over 100, either the print is VERY big in those editions, or they abridged this version and didn't see fit to indicate that anywhere in the text. So have I read the whole book or not? Who can tell? ๐คท๐ผโโ๏ธ [Yes, I'm choosing the pretty cover for social media, the literacy people obvious do not waste money on cover design and it shows.]
This, however, is partial support for my ongoing theory that I do much better with mystery novellas, than mystery novels. I don't like thrillers, where they drag out the tension and want to delve deep into the ugly secrets of a bunch of unlikeable characters, if you strip away the drama of interpersonal relationships between unreasonably melodramatic people, and dragging out the reveals, you really are left with a limited amount of pages to tell an engaging mystery, especially within the predictable framework of a Miss Marple.
From a structure point of view, this book did feel like it was the bare bones of a mystery, (which for the most part I like) you get few character asides, though there was one personal development with Marple I was glad to see, related to her in-house help. I appreciate that Christie, now writing this character in a later decade, acknowledges the impact that advancing age would have on the character, her faculties, mobility, while still making her sharp and involved in her community.
I'm honestly wondering if what may have got cut out of this version is just that old standard of somebody stonewalling/lying/not getting up the nerve to come forward that delays the action, in which case, my impatient self is glad I missed it!
On to what is inexcusable from a modern reader perspective: this book hinges, plot wise, on the idea that a woman is eternally disappointed, prone to hysterics at the mention of children, had a nervous breakdown, in fact, because her child was born with a learning disability. Yeah. Just, ableism from first to last. I want to feel bad that she so desperately wanted children and is struggling with her mental health but it's written as a tragedy akin to the child having died. The investigation involves trying to track down the children she'd previously adopted, but aside from using it for the plot, makes no real mention of the life or welfare of the child born with a disability. Not surprising it's not among the popular books in the Marple series - kind of wish the literacy imprint had chosen a different one to turn into a teachable text. ๐
By my count I only have a few left in this series, here's to hoping the last couple go better, though the fact that the only copy of the next one my library has is in Spanish, and I needed to request an interlibrary loan for an English copy, again doesn't suggest it's in high demand. I'm going to be peeved on behalf of the Spanish readers in my library network if it turns out this one's a dud, too. Non-English language books are already a smaller part of the library collection, at least get 'em the good stuff! ๐๐ผโโ๏ธ
โ ๏ธAbleism