February's Book of the Month: Nemesis

admin

February's book of the month is dedicated to Geraldine McEwan who played Miss Marple between 2003 to 2007. Nemesis was the last Miss Marple novel that Agatha Christie wrote and the last TV adaptation that Geraldine McEwan played the much loved role of Miss Marple in. 

Leave your comments and questions on the story here. Was this your first Miss Marple mystery? If not, how did it compare to the others you've read?

Read more about the story.

Tommy_A_Jones

I love The Book, I know someone said n here that There is a Finality to this book in the MM Canon but I think that about The Mirror Crack'd, Anyway I love everything about this book, The Plot, The Characters, I love The Joan Hickson version.

It is a shame IMHO that the Book Of the Month isn't 4.50 From Paddington, Mursder t The Vicarage or A Murder Is Announced, as the ITV versions of those with Geraldine McKewan were Brilliant and Unfortunately Nemesis wasn't, I would have thought The people in charge of the site would know most people would agree with that and so make the Book of the Month one of those, even if those Adaptations are not considedred by others as Brilliant It should be known that this adaptation isn't considered highly, perhapsthe people in charge of the site don't read the Posts.

tudes

It wasn't my first Marple's mystery and I liked a lot of the book, although I think it's a bit sad.
I usually very fond of Marple's mysteries as 4.50 to Paddington, A Murder is Annonunced and so on.
And I agree with Tommy_A_Jones about the ITV adaptions with Geraldine McEwan. I don't think they were brilliant, but they were in general quite nice, except Nemesis and At Bertram Hotel. These were distasteful. It's a shame such a good actress has played a role in such movies!

Tommy_A_Jones

What was Distasteful about them tudes? I would just call Nemesis Tabloid just like the ITV versdion of Sleeping Murder, I nearly watched At Bertram's Hotel the other day and then I realised I should have been doing something worthwhile and Constructive.

tudes

Nemesis and At Bertram's Hotel, they have so many secondaries plots that don't exist in the original, they're confused and very very very boring! They don't seem Agatha Christie! It seems that someone wrote something very very very bad and put her name on it (based on AC novel).

glalonzo0408

tudes...i do have to disagree with you.....i truly enjoyed the movie, i just watched it yesterday.  At Bertram's HOtel, i watched a long time ago...will have to watch it again.

Tommy_A_Jones

If an Issue is highlighted in an Adaptation which isn't originally in That Adaptation I would call that Distasteful, Homosoxuality and abuse is raised in Her Novels but if Issues like that are put in Adaptations of different Novels that don't have them I would agree That IS distasteful although Those issues are important and as Agatha Christie had them in some of her work they should be there but In the right Adaptations not in Adaptations of other Books. In Appointment With Death The Victim was Psychologically abusive but in the Adaptation it was Physical as well as Psychological to make the Victim Physically abusive was wrong and distateful

tudes

I agree wth you, Tommy_A_Jones. I think it's ditasteful an adaption that presents a lot of things or issues that aren't even mentioned in the book.Besides the examples already mentioned, Cards on the table. I think it's another good example.

Tommy_A_Jones

That is the only Poirot Adaptation I refuse to watch ever again tudes but would rather not watch Apoinment with Death Again

tudes

Yes, Tommy_A_Jones, I think what they have done to Cards on the Table is even worse than Nemesis and Bertram's Hotel, because the last two (Nemesis and Bertram), at least in my opinion, the stories are good, but not outstanding, marvelous, excellent, a masterpiece. But the book Cards on the Table is out of this world! It's certainly one of her best stories! Everything is perfect in this book. They could have done an excellent tv adaption if they had copied the story without  any "creative work".

ginestra

I loved the book, a well constructed plot. Not so good the movie .The two nuns are not credible characters in my opinion.

Tommy_A_Jones

Nemesis would have been better if they had had 3 Nuns and 2 Solicitors, perhaps Broadripp could have been played by Matt Lucas and Shuster played by the man who played the Compere on Charlotte Church's Chat Show, The Nuns were a Neat play on words as Sisters, that bit was not the hugest crime Commited by ITV but the amount of Nuns and Solicitors was worse.

Cards On The Table is an EXCELLENT book and I was hoping or so hopeful about the Adaptation but No Battle, No Race, The Motives UNNEESSARILY Changed, Battle's Replacement and his circumstances were unnecessary and silly, the ludicrous swap over of women all made up a HORRIBLE Adaptation.

GKCfan

Getting back to the book, what do you think of the fact that it is the last Miss Marple novel in the fictional chronology?  It's clear from the presence of a character who's alive in Sleeping Murder but dead in Mirror Crack'd that Sleeping is set before Crack'd.  Is this a good ending to the Miss Marple saga?  What do you think Miss Marple will do with her new financial windfall?

mike1410

GKCFan

Well, Sleeping Murder was written during the war as an insurance policy even though it wasn't published until over 30 years later so in my chronological ordering of the Marple stories I place it very early, between The Murder at the Vicarage and The Body in the Library. The Thirteen Problems being first in the list and of course Miss Marple's Final Cases really aren't final at all are they, since those stories were written between 1934 and 1954 whilst Nemesis was 1971.

I'm in two minds as to wether Nemesis is a fitting epitaph or not. I like the book, and it's good to see Miss Marple still in top form at the end of her sleuthing career, rather like Dame Agatha herself, but like you I have wondered about what she would have done with all that money. Maybe we could have had a short epilogue supposedly written by Cherry after Miss M's death  to fill in some of the details?

Tommy_A_Jones

I always think of The Mirror Crack'd as The end of Miss Marple's sleuthing Career, SPOILER ALERT!!! Cherry Goes to take care of her and she can't do as much as she would like to do which means it isn't really practical for her to go Gadding about looking at Old Houses on her own, I imagine Nemesis happens in a Dream after Cherry has tucked Miss Marple up in Bed, I think Miss Marple would have bought a Partridge and spent a lot on herself and Given to Charity and left some for Bunch's Son and any possible Grandchildren realising Raymond didn't need it as he us a Successful Writer and she probably left Cherry Some Money and Dermot too hopefully.

GKCfan

"Well, Sleeping Murder was written during the war as an insurance policy even though it wasn't published until over 30 years later"

That's what I and everybody else thought for years, but then John Curran did some research and found that Sleeping Murder probably wasn't written until the 1950's.

youngmrquin

If I may play some moderator here (that nobody has asked for, I know), the topic is the book itself, not the tv/movie adaptations (tough they are mentioned as some kind of motive to choose the book).

I don't remember anymore if this was my first MM or it was Murder at the Vicarage. Funny and ironic at the same time that both possibilities highlight the lifespan of someone's adventures.

I really enjoyed it, and yes, I think it was MissQuin who said that it has a certain sense of finality and I agree with this idea (but I agree that Mirror Cracked is similar in this aspect).

Our lady is sent away in a strange mission to solve a crime from the past with almost no clues, to meet a variety of characters that, most of them, are not connected with the past time in question. Maybe it was because I was a teenager, but I could have never figured out who the murderer was. 

While the concept of the book is interesting and is linked with later AC interest in digging into the past (3 little pigs, sleeping murder and By the pricking), it is much more flawed than those in different aspects. The same information is repeated many times, and there is one murder in the middle of the story that is completely unnecesary from the point of view of the villain. It seems to be a contrived event to move forward the plot.

There are also some questions that I believe are subject to debate. Why wasn't MM granted with more "information" about her journey? Did the person who sent her know or at least suspect who may have been the villain?

All in all, a great book and a marvelous ending for my favourite AC detective.

Tommy_A_Jones

I am sure we all realise the topic is the Book and not the Adaptation but It is usual for people to mention the Adaptation(s) when Judging the Book of the Month, and I for one do not see anything wrong with that and if It is wrong then alot of people are wrong.

It says In The Book I think that Jason doesn't give Miss Marple more information as he wants her to investigate without having he mind couded, I thought that he could have given her more information then Realised he couldn't without influencing her and now I am not sure.

tudes

As I said before, it's a good book, but not excellent.
I don't like the ending.
But I think it was a good ending to MM, it's full of references to others books, of course there are much more to The Caribbean Mystery and I appreciate this. Moreover, it has a nostagic atmosphere in the whole book. While you read it, you feel a kind of farewell moment, as if this book would be the last one.
Besides, I agree with Toomy_A_Jones. I think it's quite natural you talk about the adaptions when you comment the book of the month. You like to compare the adpt to the book and it's a way to write about the book. There are some of us that just watched the film and didn't read the book yet. You're suppose to have fun here. It's not a school paper.

SPOILER:
I think it's very logical the murderer be Clotilde, but I didn't consider very plausible the "bodyguards" and the whistle. I think the  "exposure of the murder scenario" a bit too much dramatic. I don't buy it.

Tommy_A_Jones

Jason Raphiel knew he was giving the Mission to an elderly lady and he wouldn't want her to come to harm although like Miss Marple he in The Moving Finger he would see that people ar not put on this earth to shy away from Danger but even so gave Miss Marple Protectors, how else were they expected to come to her Rescue, There had to be a Cupboard and a whistle involved

tudes

SPOILER:
I understand that it's necessary a bodyguard or a protector watching Miss Marple. She is an eldery lady that faces a murderer and she doesn't have (at begining) any clue about what happened, who did it etc.
My "problem" is the scene. When I read and picture the scene of "expousure of the murderer" in my mind, it doesn't work. Maybe if there was a nurse (a bodyguard/ protector disguided as a nurse, for instance) with her and she was in the next room watching all the movements of the house.... I don't know. I just thought it was too theatrical for my taste.

Tommy_A_Jones

I think a lot of times in Agatha Christie Books yo have to use your imagination and and let it run riot, I don't think it is a bad thing but as It happens I do think the scene works.

tudes

I agree. A lot of times, I was able to imagine the scene. But in this case, for me, it didn't work at all.

youngmrquin

Yes, the scene was maybe a bit too theatrical, but if you place close attention, most MM endings are, either because she plans a trap for the villain directly or due to the fact that she indirectly lets them show themselves.