Books I read
This was very short (at 34 pages, less if you don't include the biography), essays that sort of offer a little insight into the author's mind and life. Then there is a mini biography which I wish I hadn't read. I didn't want to know how Montgomery nor that it might be suicide which you can either believe it or not since there is different opinions which I read elsewhere I can't remember. I think I prefer not to know the how at all.
Slightly spooky, supernatural short stories with a few with Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. It wasn't scary but certainly lots of unhappy things.
The Secret of Chimneys (Book 1) - I read the eaudio narrated by Hugh Frasier who played Hastings in the tv series. He was quite good and he made various voices. This was enjoyable but probably because I was doing a jigsaw puzzle (see below) while listening.
The Seven Dials (Book 2) - This was okay with a bit of humor.
Murder Is Easy (Book 3) - Again, eaudio with Hugh Frasier. This was a bit boring to me.
Toward Zero (Book 4) - Not the usual murder first and then find the murderer, it's the reverse which I sort of didn't like. Too many characters and too many directions to guess who the murderer was. And the silly romance at the end was just too unbelievable.
This was just okay. I didn't quite like the way it kept going in circles until the end.
The murderer was a surprise to me but then again, I didn't much care and I also didn't care for the main male character. It's very odd but he annoyed me, can't figure out why. The appearances of Mrs. Oliver was kind of odd but at least she added some element of humor.
Somewhat boring even with a murder mystery.
This was good in the beginning and then somehow it's more of a romance which I don't really like. Heck, it even have a sort of love triangle going on. I really liked the main female Anne but then she said at the end that she was rather glad the murderer got away and that she might love him even though he tried to kill her a few times and even though she is with the other guy - that certainly remove my liking of her quickly.
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Puzzle I finished
This puzzle came in a Long, triangular cardboard box which would have been fine except it's too big for the content with lots of empty space and this caused damaged to the box and I can't use it to store the puzzle as it's too cumbersome. They included a poster which is necessary as the art on the box is bended and cropped and in no way useable as a reference.
The size is 38 x 27 inches which is quite large. I would show you a photo except I don't have a table large enough to fit the whole puzzle and I had to do this in four sections. The puzzles pieces were colorful and thick with no odd shapes and quite a good quality but they fit a bit too loose together. If you try to move even three pieces together, they'll just fall apart - that's not a horrible thing. There were puzzle dusts which is expected but not a lot. The art is quite fun and cute although it really looked like chaos as a whole but closeup, you see a lot of fun things going on. Overall, a decent puzzle but I wouldn't buy another with this type of packaging.
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Mini-series I have watched
This mini series (3 episodes, about 3 hours) is moody, slow, grim and very dark. Dark not just for being depressing but dark as in every scene is set in darkness or half darkness as if daylight has no existence here. Okay, there is daylight scenes but you get the feeling it's night all the time.
If you're waiting to see the Hercule Poirot like the book, you will not. Here, he's a depressed Poirot still with his gray cells working but with no humor, no sidekick, no relationships with anyone and the only friend he got just drops dead in the first episode. Nobody knows who he is nor do they respect him. He tried hard to solve a case that supposedly related to him but most of the time, he looked kind of bored or maybe depressed. To say he's the most miserable man in the world is probably not exaggerating, certainly, they tried very hard to make sure he's always miserable. John Malkovich isn't a bad actor but somehow I just couldn't think of his character as Hercule Poirot in any way.
And Rupert Grint as a detective is almost unrecognizable but when I did (He played Ron Weasley in Harry Potter), I wish he would crack a joke or two just to break up the monotony. Frankly, his face seemed to say it wants to tell a joke but was restrained somehow.
It's hard to care about any of the characters as none of them seemed like they enjoy life or hope to enjoy life. It's like no one's allowed to be happy here. There's this guy getting stepped on by a woman in heels and they go in for a close up of the wounds on his back - why? Gross! Then there's a bunch of people that I've already forgotten since they didn't make much impression on me. The only character I think worth watching is the sister of one of the murdered victims but in this world, she also doesn't get to be happy either but it did seem like she might escape the gloom but they probably kill her off screen or perhaps some miserable fate will befall her.
At least they didn't change the ending, well, there is some added background about Poirot that seemed a bit odd or perhaps fit for the character's depressed state? Who the heck knows? Did this guy need more reasons to be unhappy?
Summary: They did say it was 'loosely' based on the Christie book but I guess I should have expected that to mean it's nothing like the book aside from the central murder plot. What were the directors/writers thinking anyway? I only watch the whole thing so I can maybe, complain about it. If you're a fan of the books, you will hate this, I do.
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New to me music
I don't listen to new music often but I have always enjoyed Del Amitri's music. This album and its b-sides is enjoyable, the usual Del Amitri music, to me at least. I will have to listen more to truly enjoy it.
How is your day today? I hope you're having a lovely March.
My sister and I both watched "The ABC Murders" and thought it was crap. No way is it consistent with Poirot characterization or stories.
ReplyDeleteL.M. Montgomery had a very sad and hard life once she married and had children. It's quite depressing to read about. She probably would have had a much better and fulfilled life if she had defied societal norms and remained single.
Debra She Who Seeks: I guess this what people considered a new sort of Poirot because it certainly did not represent him in any way.
DeleteI guess in those days, it was harder for Montgomery to do go against the norm but I also kind of believe she wanted a family of her own. It's just too bad she picked the wrong man to marry.
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I love looking at all those Christie covers. They're so evocative! You almost get a story from the covers.
ReplyDeleteGreg: Those Christie covers are great. They are well designed and the designers knew what the book is about for sure.
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good job on the puzzle
ReplyDeleteChristine: That took awhile, so many pieces.
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"And the silly romance at the end was just too unbelievable."
ReplyDeleteHa! It's a while since I read that one, but yeah...Christie didn't really believed romance was needed in her mysteries, so I guess she was just trying to throw her readers a bone. Sorry you didn't enjoy this batch of Christie books more.
That puzzle looks like a nightmare, albeit a cute one.
Why all the doom and gloom in the ABC series? and how dare they strip Poirot of all his core characteristics and still call him Poirot? I hate adaptations. I wish there was a way to protect the original books from being savaged.
Roberta R.: The romances in her books are just so quick and someone marrying another after a few minutes of meeting is just so ridiculous. Actually, there are a lot of romances in her book but they are overshadowed by the murders. Poirot even set up some couples.
DeleteThat puzzle does look like chaos but on closeup, the images are fun.
I guess that ABC series was someone's interpretation of a book. There are lot of movies and series that are quite faithful to the book and then you get these. Who knows what they were thinking.
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I haven't read any Agatha Christie but I have seen a few movies long ago, I prefer the Miss Marple ones to the Hercule Poirot.
ReplyDeleteRiver: I like Miss Marple but the adaptions are another thing. But as a character, I do prefer Miss Marple over Poirot.
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Though I watch basically any adaptation with Agatha Christie's name in it, I haven't read any books by her. Someday I should because the movies/series I've seen are all quite entertaining! :)
ReplyDeleteRissi: There are plenty of adapation of Christie's and I have seen most of them and some are quite entertaining but I do find the books better slightly.
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