Monday 19 September 2016

Mini-Review! (Classics Edition!) - And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie










Title: And Then There Were None

Author: Agatha Christie

Genre: Classics, Crime


Amazon: UK - USA





Verdict:

I read this for the Mystery-a-thon hosted by the lovely Ely @ Tea & Titles, which was last week. I decided to only read one book for it because it was my birthday on Thursday and BIRTHDAY BOOKS ;)

Firstly, to the big, galumphing, heffalump in the room (yes, I say heffalump not elephant. Blame either Disney or my mother - both are equally valid,) - I had some major moral/ethical dilemmas with this book.

Largely, this was because of the history of the book's title, and some anti-Semitism and disparaging comments about indigenous peoples (within POV of not-very-nice people.)

I've already talked extensively about my befuddled feelings on the subject, so I won't repeat myself here: let's just say I had some issues with this book that can't be easily dealt with.

So, putting said heffalump back in his corner, having been acknowledged: this book is exceptionally well written and sooooooo atmospheric!

I also liked that there were depths beneath the surface of each and every one of our ten main characters.

They aren't nice people. None of them are nice people. But, all the same, Christie tricks you into a certain level of uncomfortable investment in them.

And it's the interplay of characters, the sense of things unsaid, and the atmosphere of the prose, that will keep you reading.

The writing is truly masterful, and I can only thank the BBC adaptation for inspiring me to read it, despite my muddled feelings on some of the distasteful aspects.















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4 comments:

  1. I'm so happy you liked this! I've spent over a year wanting to read this book but never acting on it and I really need to get to it lol!

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  2. I can understand your issues with some of the themes and the original title of the novel. Although I knew about it, I set it aside while reading and just went for the enjoyment of the book. And it seems like you really did like that part of the book and that you enjoyed the mystery elements :D

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    Replies
    1. It's a really great book! But I felt it was also important to not ignore the issues that there are with it. :)

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