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caramelbunny 's review for:
At Bertram's Hotel
by Agatha Christie
SO. Apparently this wasn't the book I should have read to introduce myself into the world of Agatha Christie. I was dragging my feet through this book. There's a lot of moving parts character wise- we are introduced to some people who will not matter in the book but I suppose it adds to the literary ambiance. I had to keep reminding myself that this book was written in a different time period, where people probably enjoyed Agatha Christie's narration- but I did not! Still, I kept reading because I was sure the book would pick up.
It does.. I'd say maybe around 60% into the story. Christie does that thing where they just throw you facts, rather than foreshadow or provide context to things that happen. I also couldn't understand Bess. She was so universally loved and adored but she literally pushed her daughter away from her so she could live her daredevil dreams out. There was not one word uttered about her actions or about her making the wrong decision in giving her child up and being an absentee parent. I just thought that was a little far fetched for the people at the time. Certainly that would have been some real juicy gossip, no? And then for Bess to just hop in her sports car and floor it to her death... that also made no sense. I just didn't understand any of this story. The characters aren't substantial enough to me. They are all so one dimensional that it made the whole story uninteresting. Even Elvira, I expected more from her. Even more of a storyline for her as well. As soon as we start making progress with one character, the narration switches to another character and all the interest we have been building up dwindles back down to zero.
Also.. Miss Marple is barely in this book?! Like she has probably 3-4 substantial scenes. Maybe like 2 or 3 chapters dedicated to her. She just comes off as a nosy old lady-which maybe is her shtick? IDK this book was overall a waste of time, with a forgettable story. If it was more focused on some of the interesting characters it would have been more enjoyable. A daring mother, a conniving daughter, an opportunistic racecar driver, it has great bones right there! But the story falls flat; especially in this day and age.
It does.. I'd say maybe around 60% into the story. Christie does that thing where they just throw you facts, rather than foreshadow or provide context to things that happen. I also couldn't understand Bess. She was so universally loved and adored but she literally pushed her daughter away from her so she could live her daredevil dreams out. There was not one word uttered about her actions or about her making the wrong decision in giving her child up and being an absentee parent. I just thought that was a little far fetched for the people at the time. Certainly that would have been some real juicy gossip, no? And then for Bess to just hop in her sports car and floor it to her death... that also made no sense. I just didn't understand any of this story. The characters aren't substantial enough to me. They are all so one dimensional that it made the whole story uninteresting. Even Elvira, I expected more from her. Even more of a storyline for her as well. As soon as we start making progress with one character, the narration switches to another character and all the interest we have been building up dwindles back down to zero.
Also.. Miss Marple is barely in this book?! Like she has probably 3-4 substantial scenes. Maybe like 2 or 3 chapters dedicated to her. She just comes off as a nosy old lady-which maybe is her shtick? IDK this book was overall a waste of time, with a forgettable story. If it was more focused on some of the interesting characters it would have been more enjoyable. A daring mother, a conniving daughter, an opportunistic racecar driver, it has great bones right there! But the story falls flat; especially in this day and age.