I just realised, There hasn't been an Adaptation, I didn't like the Book, I thought it was slow, I didn't find it intrigueing or satisfying, for a lot of the Book it felt like words put together to make sentances unlike Passenger To Frankfurt which was like Random words put together for no reason whatsoever.
Perhaps an adaptation might be difficult to stage, with such a vast and inextricably linked cast of characters and settings, and a plotline that is difficult to fit into either of Miss Marple's or Poirot's TV series (you will notice that novels such as Towards Zero and the Sittaford Mystery were given Miss Marple as the detective in the Geraldine McEwan adaptations).
On thinking back about "Death comes as the end" I think one of the reasons for its unpopularity is that in a way it is like a pantomime - most of the characters are one dimensional: "the dutiful son" "the boaster" "the spoiled brat" "the acidic grandmother" "the malicious servent" "the charming suiter" etc. The only characters who really stand out are Renisenb - and that is partly because we follow the whole story through her eyes, and Nofret - the femme fatale. However there is a deeper reason. Renisenb has been away, and come back to a home that is stagnant - nothing changes, people only sank deeper into their ruts. She rebels against this, and against fitting back into that kind of role - and therefore she stays alive and complex for the reader. And therefore, also, she chooses Hori over Kameni, so she can continue to move forward. So that the pantomime effect serves the main core of the story.
I don't like it because I find it slow, it is set in an era I have no idea about and I have difficulty with most of the Novels set abroad, I also think Death Comes As The End is a cross between ATTWN and MOTOE and set in Ancient Egypt, The Ambitious decision to set the Book in Ancient Egypt makes me put it higher than Endless Night and Passenger to Frankfurt but I still will never read it again.
Interesting idea, Tali. I never saw it from that angle! I also found the spectrum of mothers in the novel very interesting. Nofret, as a stepmother, was vain and indifferent to her stepchildren. Kait was almost desperately attached to her children, clinging onto them as almost the last relic of her sanity. Esa, as a mother to the family patriarch, chided him and advises his children. Renisenb, as a mother, is concerned for her child - not as the last reminder of her sanity, but as a souvenir of her husband, and her own little girl…
REALLY??? I didn't like it, I read it once, never again, I applaud Agatha Christie writing a Book in That era and in that respect it is better than Endless Night and Passenger To Frankfurt (I couldn't work out what that one was about but I don't like it and will never read it again.
Death Comes as the End is the next BBC adaptation to go into production. This one won't be adapted by Sarah Phelps. Gwyneth Hughes will the adapting it.
I found out yesterday online that the next 3-part TV adaptation will be Death Comes as the End. Also found out that Sarah Phelps will not be doing this adaptation but someone named Gwyneth Hughes who did an adaptation of Charles Dickens' the Mystery of Edwin Drood some years ago. I'm sure there are those out there who are relieved that Sarah Phelps won't be adapting this Christie mystery that has never been done before. Incidentally, this is one of my personal favorites of her stand-alone novels.
I found out yesterday online that the next 3-part TV adaptation will be Death Comes as the End. Also found out that Sarah Phelps will not be doing this adaptation but someone named Gwyneth Hughes who did an adaptation of Charles Dickens' the Mystery of Edwin Drood some years ago. I'm sure there are those out there who are relieved that Sarah Phelps won't be adapting this Christie mystery that has never been done before. Incidentally, this is one of my personal favorites of her stand-alone novels.
I'm VERY happy that Sarah Phelps will not be covering Death Comes As The End, but I wonder what Gwyneth Hughes will do with it. Will it be faithful to the book or will there be unnecessary liberties? What will the production values look like in terms of depicting ancient Egypt 2000 BC? Will character development be amplified and exaggerated to prove that people are just as dark and perverted as today as Phelps did? This book was never adapted into a film and I hope it adhere's to Christie's plot. It deserves to be adapted faithfully. It took hard work, effort and plenty of research for Agatha Christie to write that book and Ms. Hughes and the BBC should apply those same elements as well.
We have two similar threads on this topic. The BBC has announced it will be adapting a new Agatha Christie murder novel next year [2019]. After the success of the retelling of The ABC Murders and Ordeal by Innocence earlier this year, the channel has said the next book from the famous crime writer to be turned into a prime-time watch will be Death Comes as the End.
It’s going to be all change behind the screen too, as Vanity Fair writer Gwyneth Hughes will be taking over from the current screenwriter, Sarah Phelps, for this particular adaptation.
I can watch it without fear of being annoyed as I didn't enjoy the book and IMHO the only thing that makes it better than Endless Night or Passenger To Frankfurt is that Agatha Christie was brave to write a Book set long time before she was ever thought of.
I found out a couple of weeks ago that after this year's three part adaptation of Death Comes as the End next year Sarah Phelps will do a 3-part adaptation of the Pale Horse
I just finished reading this book and I really did love it! It isn't my favourite, but the originality was refreshing. I found that once the story hit the fist death, I was hooked. The continuation of murder was captivating.
Comments
I just realised, There hasn't been an Adaptation, I didn't like the Book, I thought it was slow, I didn't find it intrigueing or satisfying, for a lot of the Book it felt like words put together to make sentances unlike Passenger To Frankfurt which was like Random words put together for no reason whatsoever.
The BBC has announced it will be adapting a new Agatha Christie murder novel next year [2019]. After the success of the retelling of The ABC Murders and Ordeal by Innocence earlier this year, the channel has said the next book from the famous crime writer to be turned into a prime-time watch will be Death Comes as the End.
It’s going to be all change behind the screen too, as Vanity Fair writer Gwyneth Hughes will be taking over from the current screenwriter, Sarah Phelps, for this particular adaptation.