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Killing time with Agatha Christie

newcriterion.com

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Re: Killing time with Agatha Christie

#2

Post by umvi »

For anyone who has never read Agatha Christie, I highly recommend the following:

- And Then There Were None

- The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

- Murder on the Orient Express

- The A.B.C. Murders

The books are usually "slow burns", meaning they slowly build up to the big reveal at the end of the book. Agatha Christie is the master of making great payoffs though, so despite the initial slog, by the last page you are usually awash in dopamine/adrenaline (okay maybe that's a little exaggerated, but these books really do have good payoffs).

Re: Killing time with Agatha Christie

#3

Post by taeric »

umvi wrote: post #2

For anyone who has never read Agatha Christie, I highly recommend the following: - And Then There Were None - The Murder of Roger Ackroyd - Murder on the Orient Express - The A.B.C. Murders The books are usually "slow burns", meaning they slowly build up to the big reveal at the end of the book. Agatha Christie is the master of making great payoffs though, so despite the initial slog, by the last page you are usually…

In addition to these, there is a great collection of Marple stories where each chapter is a guest trying to trick her with a story. I can't remember the name of it, but it is very good.

For the ones you listed, too, there are great audio versions. Dan Stevens did a very good job on the ones he read, to my ears.

Re: Killing time with Agatha Christie

#4

Post by snarf21 »

umvi wrote: post #2

For anyone who has never read Agatha Christie, I highly recommend the following: - And Then There Were None - The Murder of Roger Ackroyd - Murder on the Orient Express - The A.B.C. Murders The books are usually "slow burns", meaning they slowly build up to the big reveal at the end of the book. Agatha Christie is the master of making great payoffs though, so despite the initial slog, by the last page you are usually…

And three were recently turned into streaming series. Great stuff!

Re: Killing time with Agatha Christie

#6

Post by nineplay »

umvi wrote: post #2

For anyone who has never read Agatha Christie, I highly recommend the following: - And Then There Were None - The Murder of Roger Ackroyd - Murder on the Orient Express - The A.B.C. Murders The books are usually "slow burns", meaning they slowly build up to the big reveal at the end of the book. Agatha Christie is the master of making great payoffs though, so despite the initial slog, by the last page you are usually…

- Murder on the Nile with the bonus that a beautiful-looking movie version is soon to be released.

Re: Killing time with Agatha Christie

#9

Post by taeric »

This essay's main accusation at crime fiction, captured in the callout that these particular books are "not entirely a waste of time", is kind of insulting. Does anyone actually know the parts of reading that make a book a non-waste of time?

This is the kind of arrogance in criticism that would lead parents to be ashamed that their kids are reading Pokemon fan fiction. Heaven help you if they are writing it?!

Do I sympathize that sometimes I feel like I want some time back from something I have read? Yes. But do I truly know what is a good use of my own time? Probably not.

Take this article, as an example. I find the conceit in it wholly unwarranted and it casts scepticism in how I read the rest of it. That said, it does have me thinking on it. And while I can't help the lyrics, "a dangerous past time, I know" from entering my head, I have a suspicion that is a great use of my time.

Re: Killing time with Agatha Christie

#10

Post by Jaruzel »

nineplay wrote: post #6
umvi wrote: post #2

For anyone who has never read Agatha Christie, I highly recommend the following: - And Then There Were None - The Murder of Roger Ackroyd - Murder on the Orient Express - The A.B.C. Murders The books are usually "slow burns", meaning they slowly build up to the big reveal at the end of the book. Agatha Christie is the master of making great payoffs though, so despite the initial slog, by the last page you are usually…

- Murder on the Nile with the bonus that a beautiful-looking movie version is soon to be released.

I'm not sure I'm on board with Kenneth Branagh's 'Action Poirot' - The bridge scenes in Orient Express were decidedly not in character.
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