SEPTEMBER 2015 BOOK OF THE MONTH

TuppenceTuppence City of London, United Kingdom
To celebrate And Then There Were None being voted the World's Favourite Christie, we've decided to make it the Book of the Month once again.

Over 15,000 people voted from all over the world, and And Then There Were None was the clear favourite to win. Do you agree that it rightfully became the World's Favourite Christie?

Leave your thoughts, theories, questions and queries about the book below.

Comments

  • It is too bleak and scary for me, Tuppence. The idea of seeking justice, not to save an innocent person from the gallows, nor to stop repeat killings, is slightly stomach churning. It don't like being in the presence of undiluted evil, and Agatha Christie surely knows how to evoke a presence as few other writers do.
  • Retribution for its own sake is unedifying!
  • AnubisAnubis Ontario, Canada
    Griselda, you are paying a high compliment to AC, with your reluctance to read the book. There is a somewhat similar circumstance in Five Little Pigs, in which a character says he does not like Amyas Crale's painting, yet can't stop looking at it, and HP says something to the effect that that is the artistry of the painter. I completely understand your situation though, there are plenty of movies and books that I have no intention of ever watching, because I know they would upset me. 
    As it happens, I don't feel the same reluctance with ATTWN. So, I can remark that I would put Roger Ackroyd ahead, because I think it contains more psychological acuity and interesting social observations than ATTWN, which is essentially just a puzzle — albeit a really good puzzle. (If it took place in a convent, you could call it "And Then There Were None Nuns.")
  • Yes, the convent setting would have a bit of spiritual light, perhaps! But, I hadn't thought about the Amayas Crale painting and HP's comment. Perhaps that comment explains why I should read the novel again - to marvel at how AC creates the tension and fear, and to enjoy the artistry. I shall be really interested to find out if the big screen adaptation ( if it is big screen) manages the suspense as effectively. I absolutely agree with both your observations on The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. There is very fine description and attention to detail.
  • tudestudes Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
    edited September 2015
    I think it's one of the best crime novels ever written! The best A.C!
    I just love it!
    It gets me so involved that I think I'm there!
    Yes,@Griselda, it's scary to see someone taking justice into his hands. Scary and dangerous, it's against all rules and our feelings of right and wrong, but as work of art, it's marvelous!
  • Tommy_A_JonesTommy_A_Jones Gloucestershire, United Kingdom
    I don't find it bleak, I think it is enjoyable, The Radio version is very scary though.
  • MarcWatson-GrayMarcWatson-Gray Dundee City, United Kingdom
    Starting it tonight....... Isn't it funny that no matter how many times you have read a particular story,there is still the feeling of happy anticipation before reading it again !!!!
  • Tommy_A_JonesTommy_A_Jones Gloucestershire, United Kingdom
    I totally agree Marc.
  • This book is fantastic. No matter how many times I read it, I never get tired. It's always amazing. And the ending still astonishing.
  • I just finished it for the fourth time today, and something struck me as a bit of a weak point.
    When the judge is apparently killed, the only person who can be ruled out as his murderer is Vera, since she is being attended to by at least one of the men the entire time they are all absent from the room the judge is in. Lombard would have noted that, being the observant type that he was, and should have remembered that when they discovered Armstrong's body on the beach.
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