I recently dipped my toe into the pool of Agatha Christie novels. How has it taken me this long to "discover" them? Here's the whole and complete answer to that question. Yes, the one I asked myself and will also answer myself. It is with great delight that I find the older I get, the more I discover "stuff" that I just have not gotten around to appreciating earlier in life. Maybe I was too busy or formed opinions based on here-say without fully experiencing them for myself? Now, as I look forward to all the things I may have missed earlier in life, I am filled with gratitude for all that awaits me in this decade and the ones to follow.
OK, with that out of the way, let me tell you about this book. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by the one and only Agatha Christie.
First of all, I listened to this book, and I highly recommend you do so, but only if that's a way you can get into. The dialogue is snappy and smart and wonderful, with a first-rate reader. The whole experience was filled with atmosphere which took me back to when we lived in Spain in the mid 1960's. We were on a base and did not have TV. We did however have a console stereo/radio gizmo - you know the kind that was like a piece of furniture with one side on the top that opened up so you could play records or tune the radio. Speakers were in front. We listened to Gunsmoke on this contraption. I was just a kid, but recall our family sitting around listening and remember (in my mind at least) how much we loved it. Each of us, individually imagining what the places and characters looked like, based on the sounds and voices. But back to the book!
In this mystery there is a murder, a whole host of suspects, a quaint English village, a butler, a housemaid, a country doctor, and a Belgian detective of great renown. This was quite good listening and the ending was not what I expected. Now I need to have a conversation with an Agatha Christie expert ... I want to know how she came up with the Hercule Poirot character and her method/approach when piecing together the complex puzzle that was this story. I will look forward to integrating more of her writing into my rotation of listening. Not a steady diet of one after another, more of a sprinkling in a few times a year.
Recommended!
P.S. A billiards room is part of the story but no candlesticks or Colonel Mustard.
I have most of her books. Bought and read them over 40 years ago and still have them. If you get a chance, read the first Poirot. I have been watching them on Masterpiece. Love Miss Marple and Tommy and Tuppennce. Enjoy!!!
Posted by: Deneise S | 01/21/2022 at 10:15 PM
Thanks for the suggestion to read the first Poirot Deneise! I will try to get that next.
Posted by: carol | 01/22/2022 at 05:02 PM