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wonderwomantbh's reviews
134 reviews
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie
4.0
The only words I need to sum up this book are Poirot's own words:
"It is that there are moments when a great longing for my friend Hastings comes over me."
It is an amazing book, certainly, and I quite understand why Hastings needed to be shelved for this particular story to have the affect AC desired (and I can undestand that desire from the POV of a writer myself), but there were moments when I greatly wished it were Hastings instead of Doctor Shepherd narrating just the same. After all, Hastings has a conceited, and slightly foolish, presence which fits well with Poirot's own. But no matter. Even without Hastings, this is the book that should be adapted to movie outside of Murder on the Orient Express, in my opinion.
Also, I guessed the murderer very early on, so I will pat myself on the back.
"It is that there are moments when a great longing for my friend Hastings comes over me."
It is an amazing book, certainly, and I quite understand why Hastings needed to be shelved for this particular story to have the affect AC desired (and I can undestand that desire from the POV of a writer myself), but there were moments when I greatly wished it were Hastings instead of Doctor Shepherd narrating just the same. After all, Hastings has a conceited, and slightly foolish, presence which fits well with Poirot's own. But no matter. Even without Hastings, this is the book that should be adapted to movie outside of Murder on the Orient Express, in my opinion.
Also, I guessed the murderer very early on, so I will pat myself on the back.
Lord Edgware Dies by Agatha Christie
3.0
Look okay. Nobody can convince me that Poirot's affection for Hastings (or men in general, but that's another subject of discourse) was completely platonic. Observe:
And a few paragraphs later:
(And, you know, for that matter I think Hastings, the daft thing that he is, doesn't even recognize his own more-than-platonic feelings for Poirot, let alone that the little man seems, at the least, infatuated with him.)
The book itself is not one of my favorites, but still good. I think it's too similar to Peril At End House which, in my subjective opinion, handles the similarities far better overall (the only exception being that I guessed the murderer nearly right away in the latter and this book did a better job of offering plausible red herrings).
Then, as we sipped our coffee, Poirot smiled affectionately across the table at me.
“My good friend,” he said. “I depend upon you more than you know.”
I was confused and delighted by these unexpected words. He had never said anything of the kind to me before. Sometimes, secretly, I had felt slightly hurt. He seemed almost to go out of his way to disparage my mental powers. Although I did not think his own powers were flagging, I did realize suddenly that perhaps he had come to depend on my aid more than he knew.
“Yes,” he said dreamily, “you may not always comprehend just how it is so — but you do often and often point the way.”
And a few paragraphs later:
“Si cher, Hastings," he murmured. “I have indeed much affection for you.”
I was pleased but embarrassed and hastened to change the subject.
(And, you know, for that matter I think Hastings, the daft thing that he is, doesn't even recognize his own more-than-platonic feelings for Poirot, let alone that the little man seems, at the least, infatuated with him.)
The book itself is not one of my favorites, but still good. I think it's too similar to Peril At End House which, in my subjective opinion, handles the similarities far better overall (the only exception being that I guessed the murderer nearly right away in the latter and this book did a better job of offering plausible red herrings).
Poirot Investigates by Agatha Christie
3.0
Some of these short stories were new to me and some of them were not. My favorites in this collection are The Tragedy at Marsdon Manor, The Adventure of the Cheap Flat, and The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb, the common denominator being that Poirot and Hastings behave far more domestically. There's a touch more tactility, Poirot is open with his affection for Hastings, and Hastings his impatience with Poirot's conceit. Overall, their relationship is far more like that of a married couple. Another commonality is that these are a bit more melodramatic, with ridiculously fun elements like playing around with superstitions, staging outrageous rouses, stakeouts, a sick Poirot, etc. She might not have agreed with me, but I find it quite entertaining when Christie writes these characters in situations that read more like someone writing fanfic in her imagined universe. If you can't have some fun with your own characters - especially if you write as many installments as Christie did - then I'm not sure what the point is.
Dumb Witness by Agatha Christie
5.0
In summary, Hastings sneaks away from his wife in the Argentine to do "business" yet again, and goes straight back to Poirot where he can resume their domestic partnership of sharing nearly every meal together out and about, strolling about together in gardens, bantering, calling each other 'my stubborn Poirot' and 'Mon Cher' (without an 'Ami' or 'Hastings' after that, I should add), and, of course, solving murders. Oh, and they adopt a dog.