During quarantine I had some more time to read, and I’d like to talk about some of the books I read. You should know first that my peak performance was during middle school. I used to study, read and do extracurriculars. I read an average of two books per week, while now I can barely read one per month. Go figure.
Anyway, during that period I read Agatha Christie for the first time. I liked it, but I went on to other books and never really thought back to it. Then some time ago I was reading more thrillers and at the bookshop there were these really cute editions, so I bought Nemesis and And Then There Were None. And during quarantine I was stuck at home so I decided to get some reading done and I ordered a couple of used copies online, The Mirror Crack’d and The Mysterious Mr. Quin. I absolutely love used books. When I was younger I didn’t like finding writings and stuff in books, and I would still never write in them myself, but now I do like finding traces of the previous owners.
Now, on to talking about Agatha Christie.
There’s probably no need for me to write it, but I will anyway: her writing is magnificent. Her style is sensational. And her characters are all realistic and well-rounded. Just wow.
The thing that struck me when I first read one of her books was how the ending was unexpected, maybe even surprising, and yet it was right. Going back to the story, you couldn’t avoid seeing all the signs that should’ve made you reflect on it and yet they didn’t because of how well they were mixed up with everything else.
Some time ago I was talking with a friend who also likes reading, and he said that he didn’t like Sherlock Holmes that much because he wasn’t always right, but the author made him right almost every time. At first I didn’t get what he meant. I used to be a big fan, so I was a bit offended, if anything. But after reading Agatha Christie I get it: in her books all the hints are there for the reader to pick up, if they’re smart enough. For the record, I’m not smart enough. I rarely get to it before the detective, although it may also be because I often read in one go so I don’t really stop to think about it.
Anyway, another thing that strikes me when reading her books are her characters. Miss Marple talks about human characters, and it seems like it may diminish people, make them stereotyped, but it’s so realistic. I can often connect a character she describes to someone I met in real life, and I believe it’s a really strong feature. It brings the book to life, makes you believe that what happened may have happened to someone you know. (Hopefully not, of course, there are quite a lot of homicides after all.)
At the start, I must admit I wasn’t really taken in by her detectives. I didn’t love the trope of the eternal spectator, the one who knew everyone but was never personally involved in anything. But as I grow older (lol) it gets more interesting, and maybe relatable? I’m not sure whether I’m just accepting that you’re not always the protagonist or something.
And talking about spectators, I can’t help but talking about the Mr Quin collection of short stories. I had my doubts about the book before starting, but I loved it, and I loved Mr Satterthwaite’s (someone teach me how to pronounce it please) evolution throughout the book. It felt gradual and just right – again, like a real person’s would’ve been.
In And Then There Were None Agatha Christie plays so well with characters’ points of view. I won’t say too much in case you haven’t read it yet — everyone deserves to read it at their own pace to find out the ending. But I’ll say this: she’s able to say just enough to make you contemplate what’s happening and keep just enough to leave you confused about it. And again, at the end you look back and think “I could’ve understood though”. I’m reading it for the second time, and I love coming across hints that I didn’t get the first time but that now mean so much.
Have you guys read any book from Agatha Christie? What did you think about it?