So I read my first Agatha Christie (Death on the Nile) a few weeks ago and blew through that in a day/thoroughly enjoyed it, so I figured her next novel I’d go for would be the infamous Orient Express. Unfortunately my library didn’t have it in stock yesterday, so I snagged And Then There Were None instead.
An influencing factor to choosing this book was because I had seen a stage production of this story when I was in middle school? idk, decades ago for sure, so my memory of it was fuzzy but I still remembered elements of it. Even still, reading the book today was its own journey!
Main reason why I’m making this post is because that second to last paragraph at the end describing how Wargrave killed himself with the revolver and elastic cord attached to it, his bedroom door, and his glasses had me cracking the hell up! It’s absolutely ridiculous and— to be clear— I am not hating it! I am purely delighted by it! Only Agatha could!
PS Please do not spoil Murder on the Orient Express for me in the comments. I’ve miraculously made it 33 years without knowing anything about it besides TRAIN and MURDER, and I fully intend to read it asap.
by SplintersApprentice
5 Comments
TRAIN and MURDER and also >!ORIENT!<.
Christie single-handedly invented many of the possible twists for mystery novels. She was also quite good at suggesting or implying entire characterizations by referencing common stereotypes of her place and time; this both gives interesting insights into Great Britain’s culture between the Wars and severely dates the works.
Still, exploring the alien worldview is as much fun as trying to figure out the mysteries.
I do think the paragraph you’re referring to is a bit silly but I love it. It’s the first Christie mystery where I successfully guessed the culprit!
Orient Express was either my first or second Christie book ever and I read it when I was maybe 13? Really loved that one and it’s a great wintertime read.
You might also like the ABC Murders if you end up liking Poirot! That was my actual first Christie and it blew my middle school mind lol.
Happy reading!
I have never consumed Murder On The Orient and even I know how it ends. Not knowing is like a magic trick!
It’s not just your memory being a bit fuzzy: the play and novel versions of And Then There Are None have different endings! >!In the play, the final two turn out to be innocent and survive. !<
This was the first Christie I ever read! Blew my little 10-yo mind, haha. Still my favourite to this day!