Monday, February 26, 2018

Becoming an Agatha Christie fan, unexpectedly

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (Hercule Poirot #4)The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Turns out, I like Agatha Christie.

It was the movie of "Murder on the Orient Express" that made me think I might. I enjoyed watching it, and then wondered about the original novel. I read it, liked it, and now read this one. Huh. Didn't expect to become a fan. I thought I would never be an Agatha Christie reader.

One of the great pleasures of reading an older novel, a novel on the edge of being a classic, depending on how you look at it, is that you know something about it already from cultural references, but like so many other bits of culture, it remains a gray area. I expected it to stay that way forever. Now I know something about the author and Hercule Poirot, satisfyingly filling in much of the gray, and I have joined the fraternity of readers who over time who have enjoyed these novels. (Hello, fellow reader! You knew something I didn't!)

I had to work a little to keep characters and their relationships straight, but the author does well to help one accomplish that. There is an expectation, of course, that a murder mystery reader will try to keep up, pay attention, but it is not a chore or like homework. The prose is brisk and pleasant, and the inevitable surprises are a delight. (Trying to think of a better word; only delight seems to capture it.) So my main expectation for a novel--namely, to have fun while I'm reading it--is met, and it was met more fully than I thought it would be. What a nice surprise.

Four stars because I liked it very much.

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