The Thirteen Problems

Tommy_A_Jones

I have just read The Thirteen Problems and have concluded that I prefer the 2nd Gathering to the 1st and I realise Jane Hellier is not so unfair as I previously thought as Raymond didn't know the solution to Ingots of Gold did he and nor did Joan/Joyce with The Bloodstained Pavement, What to others think of this book?

taliavishay-arbel

I feel more about individual stories than about the cycles. I liked The bloodstained pavement, not just for the plot (who's main "twist" is repeated in reverse in one of the most famous Poirot books) but for the fact that Joyce took the initiative and went to the police station when she came across the same situation for the second time - braving ridicule to do the right thing and protect the wife. A lot of tragedies and sadness in this world could be prevented if people acted "in scorn of consequence", 
On the other hand, I liked "The herb of death" because of the different format.

Tommy_A_Jones

I liked both of those stories, I preferred The Herb of Death though, "FIRST BOY"

katiebowenblog

You can find my thoughts here: https://katiebowenblog.wordpress.com/2017/03/12/the-thirteen-problems-by-agatha-christie-book-review/ enjoy 

WereAllMissMarple

I really Enjoyed the Herb of Death as Well

Tommy_A_Jones

The only one that really irritated me was The Bungalow

taliavishay-arbel

Me too. It was messy (which made sense, since the narrator was rather flaky) but didn't make for good reading.

Tommy_A_Jones

No, I am glad that one isn't the last in the Book, Am I the only one who wants to slap Raymond when he is narrating Ingots of Gold? Mind you I want to slap him I'm every story he is in.

taliavishay-arbel

He is a real pain in the back***e!

Tommy_A_Jones

He has all the attributes I hate in a Man who hasn't broken the Law, he is Patronising,  Pious and Egotistical and I bet he does things just for show.

taliavishay-arbel

Tommy_A_Jones said:

He has all the attributes I hate in a Man who hasn't broken the Law, he is Patronising,  Pious and Egotistical and I bet he does things just for show.

All of that, and he also comes across as sneering at Miss Marple and less "intellectual" people (like Gwenda in Sleeping Murder). However, his one saving grace is that he does take care of Miss Marple, paying for caretakers when she needs them (Lucy Eylesbarrow and Miss Knight) and for vacations (Bertram's Hotel and the Caribbean holiday). However, my feeling is that Miss Marple is very tolerant of him - I would sock him one!

HerculeAndAchille

Ha ha! I agree - he sounds often like he mocks Miss Marple. In The Caribbean Mystery, Raymond assumes (to some extent) that his fluffy Aunt Jane knows nothing of homosexuality. I also found the ideas mentioned in his novels rather dreary - reminiscent of Edmubd Swettenham's play in A Murder is Announced. Altogether too peculiar and pompous for me! As a narrator in 'The Thirteen Problems' he struck me as extremely stupid, since the answer was at once obvious to me.

Tommy_A_Jones

I don't think that is a saving grace as he obviously does it because he knows one day he will inherit the Cottage and I wouldn't be pleased if when my Family found someone to help me found the Patronizing Miss Knight but I can understand why Raymond found such a Horrible woman.

taliavishay-arbel

Certainly - since he didn't respect his aunt's intelligence, he had no problem with sending her someone who was a good housekeeper but treated her like a half-witted child! But I don't think the cottage is much of an inheritance for a rich man - he could probably have afforded to buy one for himself. He sees Miss Marple's cottage as a "Period piece" (he says as much in the first story) and probably sees her as part of the décor.

HerculeAndAchille

taliavishay-arbel said:

Certainly - since he didn't respect his aunt's intelligence, he had no problem with sending her someone who was a good housekeeper but treated her like a half-witted child! But I don't think the cottage is much of an inheritance for a rich man - he could probably have afforded to buy one for himself. He sees Miss Marple's cottage as a "Period piece" (he says as much in the first story) and probably sees her as part of the décor.

What a very interesting perspective, Tali! Of course Raymond wouldn't want the cottage - not with a wife, and certainly not with his considerable wealth.

Tommy_A_Jones

But Raymond is a Novellist, who thrives on Atmosphere and people to base Characters on and he could hire the Cottage out to other Artistic people.

HerculeAndAchille

@Tommy_A_Jones, I don't think atmosphere mattered to him very much - his novels sound rather dreary and commonplace, and most of them seem to be set in the City. A place like St Mary Mead, teeming with gossip, might not appeal to him in such a case.

Tommy_A_Jones

He might have been thinking of a change in style, he might have been thinking he has more talented than he actually is and so he would be nice for the Villagers to meet such a celebrity, he might be wanting to observe the Villagers in their natural habitat as if living there would be a social Experiment.

GKCfan

I always found it interesting in 4:50 from Paddington that by the 1950's, the avant-garde of the literary and artistic world now find Raymond and his wife Joyce/Joan old hat.  Raymond's still making a really good living– by the 1950's and 1960's he can afford to send Miss Marple on luxury vacations to the Caribbean and Bertram's Hotel. Apparently he went from being a niche "arty" writer to being a popular author.

HerculeAndAchille

@GKCfan, that is quite interesting - it could also be a reflection of Christie's take on the quick-moving literary world, of which she was a vivid part. Christie's novels, however, differed enormously from those of Mr West. Even her first attempt - Snow on the Desert's Face - a non-crime novel (gasp!) was much more coloured and passionate than Raymond West's drab, trudging novels. In a way, like Mrs Oliver was Christie's way of representing herself, West was almost an anti-thesis of her.