Book Log #42: The Body in the Library, by Agatha Christie

[annathepiper]

Not too terribly long ago (though independently of the Doctor Who episode "The Unicorn and the Wasp", it must be said), solarbird got into the mood to read some good ol' fashioned Agatha Christie. Since I had never actually read a word of hers, I thought it was high time I gave one of her books a shot. The one that Dara had bought is the second of the Miss Marples: The Body in the Library.

And it's certainly an interesting little mystery, I'll give it that. Miss Marple didn't do much for me as a character, though. Most of the scenes don't even involve her, and in those that do, she's not much of a presence. She offers some pithy observations that guide the police in solving the mystery, sure--but other than that, she doesn't really do much. I'll definitely credit Christie with an intriguing scenario to solve, though this particular character doesn't seem much my cup of tea. Maybe she improves in later Miss Marple novels?

I'm sure I'll read more Christie at some point, though I have to admit that so far I'm still more of a Peter Wimsey fangirl. For this novel, though, two and a half stars.

Comments

[waysofseeing.livejournal.com]

I prefer Hercule Poirot to Miss Marple, myself.

Though her best mystery IMHO is a standalone, now called "And Then There Were None." (It had a different and amazingly racist title when it was first published, and still has a couple of stomach-churning moments, but it's been edited.)

Aside from the old John Dickson Carr novels, it's probably the classic "locked room" mystery story.

[technoshaman.livejournal.com]

I agree with preferring the little Belgian to Christie's other characters. I haven't read too many of the novels, but I definitely enjoyed the BBC's version of various of his exploits, as portrayed by David Suchet...

I remember Mother would always get exasperated at ABC for stuffing Peter Ustinov in the role... While the big Russian was a good actor, he was far too physically *large* to play the fussy little Belgian. It would be like asking Harrison Ford to play.... Gimli.

But, anyway. Definitely on the Poirot... but save Curtain for last. Not that it's not good... it's just that she specifically wrote it to be Poirot's last story, and to say more would be spoilerage.

[annathepiper]

It would be like asking Harrison Ford to play.... Gimli.

Well, undoctored by any Peter-Jackson-style magic, anyway. John Rhys-Davies is NOT a small guy, and he played Gimli just fine; Harrison is, as far as I can tell, not nearly as substantial of build as he is.

Noted about the books, though! :)

[annathepiper]

Yeah, this one gets recommended elsewhere on this thread, I see, and I've heard of this one. Interesting note about its title... *looks it up on Wikipedia* OH MY. Wow. Yeah, I can see why they changed that, then!

[janne.livejournal.com]

One more for the Hercule Poirot vote. Whether book or BBC!

[annathepiper]

Hee, thanks! Sounds like I'll definitely have to read some of those at some point. Turns out Dara actually has one; I'll probably check that one out first after I make more of a dent in my own To Read shelf.

[lisa-marli.livejournal.com]

Add me to the Hercule Poirot voters. Although I love Jane Marple, she is an acquired taste.
If you like Lord Peter, you'll like Hercule much better.

[annathepiper]

Duly noted and thanks! :)

solarbird actually owns at least one Poirot novel, it turns out: An Overdose of Death. Perhaps I'll read that at some point.

[bloody-keri.livejournal.com]

Body in the Library is probably my least favorite of all the Marples, honestly. It just...sits. I don't know. I MUCH preferred "Sleeping Murder" and others, but for truly classic Christie you can't beat the Poirot novels, and for some reason I have a feeling you might enjoy those more. There are so many it's hard to choose, but The Murder of Roger Akyroyd is a classic because it introduced a certain type of plot mechanism (I won't give away) that was controversial at the time. Sad Cypress is another great one, as are the classic Death on the Nile and Murder on the Orient Express. The best Christie novel of ALL time, though, is a stand-alone called And Then There Were None. It's held up as the classic locked-room mystery to outdo all others!

[annathepiper]

I'm getting a lot of votes for checking out Poirot, yeah. solarbird actually owns a Poirot, it turns out: An Overdose of Death. I may read that at some point! But I'm pretty much honorbound to read Murder on the Orient Express, too; it's really rather my duty as a Remington Steele fan. :)

[mamishka.livejournal.com]

Give one of the Poirot's a try. Death on the Nile is pretty clever. So is Murder on the Orient Express. :-)

[annathepiper]

I feel like I ought to at least read Murder on the Orient Express, yeah--it's rather my duty as a Remington Steele fan. ;)