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"But what you don't seem to realize is that [no spoilers!] is mad! And a madman has all the advantages on his side. He's twice as cunning as any one sane can be."
And Then There Were None, p. 213
The Sum of It:
We were so happy to see so many of our Instagram friends are huge fans of our latest read, And Then There Were None. Our summary this week will be fairly brief, because, to be quite honest, you really have to read this book and it is best read if you've avoided spoilers! So, in a sentence: And Then There Were None follows a group of ten strangers as their weekend getaway (for various reasons) to a posh mansion on a secluded island turns terrifying when guests start dying one by one…in ways that eerily follow an ominous poem framed on the wall about "ten little soldier boys"…
The YOA Treatment:
We dare say, if you are going to read ONE Agatha Christie novel, this is the one to read. It has been hailed by fans and critics alike as Agatha Christie's best novel, and we can certainly see why. Even Agatha Christie herself wrote in her Autobiography of how proud she was of the work she put into ATTWN, and its final result:
I had written this book because it was so difficult to do that the idea had fascinated me. Ten people had to die without it becoming ridiculous or the murderer being obvious. I wrote the book after a tremendous amount of planning, and I was pleased with what I had made of it. It was clear, straightforward, baffling, and yet had a perfectly reasonable explanation; in fact it had to have an epilogue in order to explain it. It was well received and reviewed, but the person who was really pleased with it was myself, for I knew better than any critic how difficult it had been.
This mystery is so engrossing that we've had several friends report that they finished it in just a day or two. Since we have both read this one before, and recently watched the awesome new adaptation of it from the the BBC/Lifetime, some of the initial confusion and amazement at the mystery's resolution wasn't there for us in this reading, but we certainly can't help but admire the deft crafting of characters, atmosphere, and straight up #TERROR in this short novel.
One of our favorite things about recommending this book to folks who are new to Agatha is that it's a great hook. People get a great feel for how fun it can be to devour one of her brilliant mysteries, and what a truly fantastic writer she really is. Several folks have already asked for a list of other Agatha books they should track down and add to their summer reading list, which we are so pumped about, since bringing more converts into the Agatha fold was the whole goal of our project here at the Year of Agatha! Incidentally, if you or someone you know is looking for a short list of Agatha's to get started with, take a gander at our first quarter favorites! Soon we'll be updating the blog with our second quarter favorites as well.
- A. & E.
I got the copy of the book and the print, by the way... thank you!!! :D
ReplyDeleteI'll be contrarian on one point-- like many people, this was the first Christie book I read, and although it is certainly brilliant, it (of course) terrified me and gave me the impression that Christie wrote thrillers that always had loads of dead bodies killed in many gruesome ways. It was YEARS before I picked up a second Christie! For that reason, I don't recommend it as a first read for those looking for "typical" Christie. On the other hand, I have no doubt that it does hook readers-- maybe those who like thrillers better than I do!-- to explore more Christie books. I don't argue that it's a great book and one of her very best. So I guess it depends on the audience!! :)
YAY Kelly we're so glad you received your Agatha mail :) We hope you enjoy the print and book!
DeleteYou make a great point about this book as it differs from many of her others. Though she's written some great thrillers (like this one), she really specializes in the who-dunnit style mysteries Poirot and Miss Marple are so adept at solving. Maybe we can recommend this as part of a set along with Murder at the Vicarage or Roger Ackroyd so an early reader can get a feel for both styles!
Like many other fans, this was my first Christie and the one that hooked me in. I remember reading it in high school and being so scared but not being able to put it down!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that your blog is introducing people to Agatha Christie's works, keep up the good work!
On a similar note to what you mentioned in your post about having a list of your favorite Christies so far: I've noticed that your posts occasional mention supplementary non-fiction works about Agatha Christie such as her autobiography and other literary analysis works. They sound super interesting and a great way to learn more background info.
Would you consider doing a post on your favorite Christie-related non-fiction reads so far?
Thank you once again for your wonderful blog! It's always fun to read and keep up with :)
Thanks so much for your kind words!! We are having a great time doing this, so it's good to know others are having a good time reading our thoughts as well :). Terrific idea! We've so enjoyed learning more about Agatha's work from all the great Agatha scholars out there, including the lady herself! We'll get to work on such a post.
DeleteThis was the first Christie I (Emily) read as well, somewhere around eighth grade, and it certainly hooked me! We love bringing Agatha to new people, and whether they prefer the thrillers or the crafty mysteries, we hope we'll be able to keep adding folks to the ranks :)
ReplyDeleteMy favourite Agatha book so far! Just catching up with reading your blog (I'm still working my way from the very beginning post too 😆)
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