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A review by lisahowe27
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
The classic psychological story of And Then There Were None is an extremely crafted mystery where ten people are brought to island and, in the end, are all killed. How can this happen? That is the mystery readers need to solve and it is a good one. This is the mystery of all mysteries and one that other writers have tried to reach ever since. How can you beat such a story of mystery perfection?
That being said, I can’t give Christie all praise as the original poem, which is interwoven, repeated throughout, and integral to the story was not originally called “Ten Little Soldier Boys.” In lieu of “Soldier” was first the N-word and then later became Indians or “Injuns.” When I first read this novel as a child, the title was Ten Little Indians. There are also other racist comments made within the story that are not changed in the modern text such as one character who had killed fifteen people, if I remember correctly, simply because of the colour of their skin. To this character, they were expendable.
This novel is often taught in schools - myself included when I taught grade 8 English many years ago. I revelled in adding exciting activities such as finger print analysis and mystery riddles. What I didn’t know at the time was the historical references I just mentioned. Sometimes this book is also translated into other languages and it has come to my attention that these translations often do not include the updated changes. I can’t imagine reading this poem once, let alone over and over and over again in its two former formats.
I love classics and I know that some things that are written are written from the perspective of the time period - mostly from places of privilege, white, British, male, and/or colonial. I’m not saying don’t read this book. It would be a shame to avoid this book or ban any book, for that matter. That’s NOT what I am interested in at all. There’s also a difference between banning books and curating them for educational purposes. For teaching this as a core text, I would skip this one. For reading for personal use, what I am saying is come to this novel (and any novel from any other era for that matter) with open eyes and knowledge of the time period and to think critically while reading. And open yourself up to reading beyond just these classics. Read diverse books from all diverse authors. Although, do you really need an excuse to read?!
That being said, I can’t give Christie all praise as the original poem, which is interwoven, repeated throughout, and integral to the story was not originally called “Ten Little Soldier Boys.” In lieu of “Soldier” was first the N-word and then later became Indians or “Injuns.” When I first read this novel as a child, the title was Ten Little Indians. There are also other racist comments made within the story that are not changed in the modern text such as one character who had killed fifteen people, if I remember correctly, simply because of the colour of their skin. To this character, they were expendable.
This novel is often taught in schools - myself included when I taught grade 8 English many years ago. I revelled in adding exciting activities such as finger print analysis and mystery riddles. What I didn’t know at the time was the historical references I just mentioned. Sometimes this book is also translated into other languages and it has come to my attention that these translations often do not include the updated changes. I can’t imagine reading this poem once, let alone over and over and over again in its two former formats.
I love classics and I know that some things that are written are written from the perspective of the time period - mostly from places of privilege, white, British, male, and/or colonial. I’m not saying don’t read this book. It would be a shame to avoid this book or ban any book, for that matter. That’s NOT what I am interested in at all. There’s also a difference between banning books and curating them for educational purposes. For teaching this as a core text, I would skip this one. For reading for personal use, what I am saying is come to this novel (and any novel from any other era for that matter) with open eyes and knowledge of the time period and to think critically while reading. And open yourself up to reading beyond just these classics. Read diverse books from all diverse authors. Although, do you really need an excuse to read?!