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| (image from agathachristie.com) |
We are hard at work finishing this week's read Death on the Nile (spoiler alert: IT'S A GOOD ONE), but wanted to let everyone know that we will be reading Dame Agatha's supreme classic, And Then There Were None in just a few short weeks and would like to invite one and all to read along with us! To that end, we've gone ahead and put some thought into discussion ideas for the upcoming #YOAreadalong.
Per usual, let's use this post to add comments/discuss our thoughts and feelings. We know so many of you Agatha Christie fans have already enjoyed this one, so we can't wait to hear from more of you about it! We will not be having a giveaway with this particular readalong because we are waiting on a REALLY EXCITING surprise item for the next giveaway, which we hope to announce soon!
In the meantime, let's talk about And Then There Were None here! We will be posting our final recap/review on June 20th!
Characters:
>this book is PACKED with characters. Any of them stand out to you as particularly interesting?
>anyone seem particularly guilty or suspicious?
#MURDER:
>spoiler alert: people die in this book. Who do you think/did you think will be the first to go?
Story:
>beginning, middle, and end: what do you think is going on!?!
>Some of you may be familiar with the fact that this story has actually had different endings at different points in time. Any thoughts on which one you preferred, or which one seems more classically Agatha??
As always, be advised: everyone is reading at their own pace so spoilers may be inevitable! Post and read at your own risk! :)
Happy reading!
A. & E.
This is definitely one of if not my favorite Christie's! I am very much looking forward to a re-read. It is also the only Christie that to date, has actually scared me while I was reading it. I just finished watching the new BBC mini series adaptation last night and it was so good (and creepy!) Has anyone else watched it? What did you guys think?
ReplyDeleteOh #thenightisdarkandfullofterrors FOR SURE in that TV adaptation! It is so creepy AND great! We are about halfway through the book and, like you, need to stop reading it at night because ACK IS THERE SOMETHING BEHIND THE DOOR??
DeleteI am so glad I am doing this readalong with you. I haven't read this book for years and it is so great to revisit it. I have to say my favorite piece of writing so far are the thoughts of each character put in italics as they are all sitting around waiting to see what happens next. I liked trying to match each thought with each character.
ReplyDeleteWe are so glad you joined in as well! And you're so right - those later chapters are so brilliant because the inner thought process is so believable. I mean, HOW SCARY!
DeleteHope you'll read along with us more in the future! :)
I have to say that after reading this again Emily Brent actually creeps me out quite a bit. SPOILERS Given the order of how the victims were selected I really feel Miss Brent should have lasted longer. She is a cold woman!
ReplyDeleteIt is easy to pick Phillip Lombard as a favorite because he has such a (pardon my French) "screw you all and this situation" attitude. The casting in the most recent adaption (ahem) didn't hurt either ;)
That is a great point about Emily Brent! While many other characters seemed to have some sense of remorse, she had none.
DeleteAnd definitely agree about Lombard! In the TV adaptation, he is one of the best casting choices for sure! Here's an interesting article we found about alternate casting ideas for a potential future new adaptation:
http://www.thewrap.com/and-then-there-were-none-movie-who-should-star-in-agatha-christies-mystery-masterpiece/
I read the link you provided (thank you) and I feel like with the adaptation we just saw I don't think we need another one anytime soon. I love Christie's mysteries but I don't think the same ones need to be remade so close together. There are so many other great mysteries to choose from. I think something like "Destination Unknown" which has never been filmed to my knowledge would make a great current film.
ReplyDeleteI do like the alternate ending of the 1945 adaptation where the murderer is fooled into thinking he succeeded.
I finished this a while ago, for some reason I thought the discussion was going to be on Instagram (ooopsie!��) I really enjoyed the book. I had no idea what was going on; I was convinced they were going to find a secret passage or cave that housed a psychopath. I didn't find any of the characters dull; people with secrets are dangerous. I loved the ending, I did not see that coming at all. You mentioned above that there are alternate endings to the novel: could you tell me how to find them? Does the ending change as the titles were changed? This has been my favorite Agatha by a wide margin. I am very much looking forward to your next readalong! ��
ReplyDeleteSo glad you participated in the readalong!! The alternate ending was written by Christie for her 1943 play version of And Then There Were None, and subsequently many adaptations of the story on screen have gone with the alternate ending rather than the version in the original 1939 book! The title changes were made based on cultural sensitivity, and in America the nursery rhyme was known as Ten Little Indians, rather than the even more culturally insensitive version, ha, so that prompted that change.
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