Sometimes people, have the same opinions as their friends so if you have a feeling perhaps a person like you will, that isn't to say there is anything wrong with you or your friend just that that Village or the people didn't suit you.
Good choice!! Towards Zero was dramatised rather well - I think by ITV. I think there is a lot in the novel which could be brought out well in a new dramatisation, if any director wanted to have a go at it, for a film. In a sense, some of the episodes and some of the themes are not given the impact they should have in the novel. A few of her books, Christie really ought to have worked on a bit more, making the description better, improving the dialogue,making characterisation sharper. Towards Zero is one of these. SPOILER, the creepy idea of this guy who has always been very warped lying undetected until a judge spots him again is a great one. They did the judge's 'hint at the dinner table' very well in the ITV drama. The way the murder was done is good. The characters in the novel fall flat, and seem like red herring fodder. Perhaps she should have kept the judge in the story for longer instead of killing him off too soon.
Just started Endless Night, I haven't read it in years and don't remember much about it. Thus far I like the narrator, a neat guy with some interesting views on life.
Just started Endless Night, I haven't read it in years and don't remember much about it. Thus far I like the narrator, a neat guy with some interesting views on life.
I have mixed felings abou it.Sometimes, I like it. Sometimes, I don't. But, you really don't remember it! That's an undeniable fact!
Sorry, I am being oblique, but I would like to explain after a while, eg, when you've had time to read and finish this book, if that's ok. So many interesting and complex characters in this novel. I agree with the poster on this forum who said a while back that it was a modern book and quite different in tone to other AC novels. I am astonished how AC can effectively take up the the characteristics and views of a character, and as another poster said, a while back, actually modify and shape the 'atmosphere' in an novel to reflect this. That poster said that they read AC novels for the atmosphere. I think that atmosphere is probably the element that most, in their own original works, or when trying to write a pastiche or modern version of an AC work would struggle with.
Sorry, I am being oblique, but I would like to explain after a while, eg, when you've had time to read and finish this book, if that's ok. So many interesting and complex characters in this novel. I agree with the poster on this forum who said a while back that it was a modern book and quite different in tone to other AC novels. I am astonished how AC can effectively take up the the characteristics and views of a character, and as another poster said, a while back, actually modify and shape the 'atmosphere' in an novel to reflect this. That poster said that they read AC novels for the atmosphere. I think that atmosphere is probably the element that most, in their own original works, or when trying to write a pastiche or modern version of an AC work would struggle with.
HI, no problem . So far I am enjoying it, however I still haven't reached the point where a murder has occurred.
Just started Endless Night, I haven't read it in years and don't remember much about it. Thus far I like the narrator, a neat guy with some interesting views on life.
I have mixed felings abou it.Sometimes, I like it. Sometimes, I don't. But, you really don't remember it! That's an undeniable fact!
I think it one of the First Christies I read....may years ago now .
@Agathasmykid, it's a very different story. Not a detective novel, I mean, not a typical A.C. and I think that's why I have mixed feelings about the book. But I hope you enjoy!
@Agathasmykid, it's a very different story. Not a detective novel, I mean, not a typical A.C. and I think that's why I have mixed feelings about the book. But I hope you enjoy!
Thanks @Tudes. Even though I am only about a third of the way through, I can see what you mean. Also, I am hoping someone dies soon (lol, this is one of the few internet forums you can get away with saying that).
Endless Night is easily the worst book she ever wrote. It's pointless and barely manages to stay focused. Many of the flaws readers like to attach to her later books are most significantly demonstrated in Endless Night, and it represents a failure in her creative genius and writing style.
Interesting comments Madame_Doyle, I think thus far at least, I couldn't possibly classify it as her worst, especially considering I previously read Bertram's and had a really hard time staying interested. Time will tell though, I am only a third of the way through, but a couple of positives come to mind;
-I like the narrator and his view of the world -I like that it wasn't a female marrying a wealthy man, which often occurs in mystery books, and is the other way around in that a male, who doesn't seem interested in holding down a job for too long, falls in love with and marries a wealthy woman. Mike and Ellie seem to have a fun and unique relationship and I am curious to see where it goes.
Endless Night is easily the worst book she ever wrote. It's pointless and barely manages to stay focused. Many of the flaws readers like to attach to her later books are most significantly demonstrated in Endless Night, and it represents a failure in her creative genius and writing style.
@Madame_Doyle, do you think Endless Night worse than Passenger to Frankfurt?
@Madame_Doyle, it's really a surprise! I mean, I've just read Passenger to Frankfurt once and I hated it. I don't hate Endless Night. Of course, I don't think it's her best work and the first time I read it, it was difficult to finish it. But, I don't think worse than Passenger to Frankfurt.
The introduction to Passenger to Frankfurt does the book a great service, and it you reread that and take it to heart before starting the book, you might actually appreciate it more for what it was she was trying to do. Then, going on to Postern of Fate, in which she continues in a similar vein, you might see that she was developing a theme that was quite interesting but unfortunately cut short by her own demise. Readers are so quick to sell some of these books short, but she was a fascinating writer and not so easily to be dismissed. She bombed out with Endless Night, and the books I just mentioned (Passenger to Frankfurt and Postern of Fate) are very much the antithesis of Endless Night. I don't know that she necessarily intended that, but creative genius will come out in its various forms. With her, it just went on for five decades!
I agree with you. The Postern of Fate's theme is very interesting, but the development goes wrong. Although, she was the queen of crime. At least in my opinion the best crime novelist of all time!
Yes, that's right, I remember. The murder doesn't kick starting the action as happens in many other AC novels. It gives it a different feel. I really enjoyed the whole vibe of the book, and I remember growing up watching 1970s films, and that whole sense of the existing social order breaking down, and everyone entering a brave new world. It is interesting about the property prices being cheap for big old mansions. The era Christie had written about for so long was ending - being wiped away, and many of the old attitudes becoming irrelevant. Although I remember the atmosphere, other parts of the novel are a blur. I certainly remember other of AC's books in greater detail.
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And fantastic choices! All of them are marvelous books! I love them! They're on my top ten!
But, you really don't remember it! That's an undeniable fact!
-I like the narrator and his view of the world
-I like that it wasn't a female marrying a wealthy man, which often occurs in mystery books, and is the other way around in that a male, who doesn't seem interested in holding down a job for too long, falls in love with and marries a wealthy woman. Mike and Ellie seem to have a fun and unique relationship and I am curious to see where it goes.