Murder on the Orient Express: Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie makes me break my own rules.
Rule 1 is a recent rule. I have been making myself cross by reading too quickly (for which read, scoffing whole) and missing out on things. I made a personal resolution to slow down and enjoy things more.
I started out with ‘The Common Reader’ by Virginia Woolf, which can only be read deliberately and with relish. (Not the literal kind.) But I can’t take Virginia on the bus: she doesn’t respond well to jolting. Also, she’s heavy. Aha, I thought, Agatha is the answer: one for commute, one for home. With the added benefit that if you are reading two books, you must be reading them at half speed.
CRUCIAL MISTAKE: forgot that Agatha is addictive. Once picked up, she magnetically attaches to your hand and cannot be put down until you have reached the end. Ooops.
Second rule: Do not watch the adaptation of any book before reading the book itself.
To be fair, the fact that I broke this rule isn’t my fault. David Suchet as Poirot is so ubiquitous, that it is not really possible to have ever lived and not had a rainy Sunday afternoon watching Poirot. Actually I shouldn’t have said ‘David Suchet as Poirot’ – David Suchet IS Poirot. I cannot think of a single actor who embodies a literary creation to such an extent. It’s not possible to think of Poirot without thinking of David Suchet: his voice, his accent, his eyebrows, his mannerisms, his moustache, his leetle grey cells.
I have just asked the boys I sit with whether they can think of any other characters who are indistinguisable from the actors who play them. They said, Bertie Wooster, Mr Darcy, and Lara Croft. Umm, ok.
Any others you can think of?
Also, wikipedia says that Poirot is the only fictional character ever to have an obituary in the New York Times. Anyone know if that’s true? Because that is an excellent fact.
Oh, right, the book. Yep, that’s good. Wild 193o’s dialogue too: stereotypes about classes and nationalities a go-go – the British have stiff upper lips, the Italians like to stab people in fits of wild passion. The solution is absurd, but whatever.
My copy was published in 1980, when it apparently cost 90p. Book inflation is a national scandal, people.
Posted on August 19, 2010, in Uncategorized and tagged agatha christie, book reviews, books, david suchet, films, murder on the orient express, poirot, reading, television, transport. Bookmark the permalink. 7 Comments.
I loved Murder On The Orient Express. I know it’s full of stereotypes, but I don’t care. I thought it was fun. I have three Agatha Christie books reviewed on my blog, but somehow, Murder On The Orient Express isn’t one of them.
Harry Potter = Daniel Radcliffe?
I have never seen or read Agatha Christie stories (she ducks before someone throws something at her). But you have me incredibly interested now.
I second the Harry Potter/ Daniel Radcliffe reference… they did a pretty good job there. With that whole trio actually as well as Hagrid.
I was watching PBS just last weekend – and they mentioned the fact that Poirot was the only fictional character to have had his obituary printed in the New York Times!
So I’ve never seen an Agatha Christie movie. And I just read my first Agatha Christie novel back in the spring – And Then There Were None. I liked it, and you’re right, it just sucks you in and you can’t put it down!
This is my second planned book by Christie, though I’m not a mystery sort of girl and only get cravings for those things every few months, so it might be a year before I get to it. I’ll make sure not to watch the movie beforehand!
@Wallace, @Loni – Daniel Radcliffe IS a good one, though I can still picture the wizard on the front of the books, who is a bit skinnier and with floppier hair than Daniel
@Bharati – hooray!
@Amanda – shhhh, this was my first one too
Actually I shouldn’t have said ‘David Suchet as Poirot’ – David Suchet IS Poirot. I cannot think of a single actor who embodies a literary creation to such an extent. It’s not possible to think of Poirot without thinking of David Suchet: his voice, his accent, his eyebrows, his mannerisms, his moustache, his leetle grey cells.
Actually, I can think of two – David Suchet and Peter Ustinov. In fact, I had just recently read two Poirot novels and was surprised to discover that his character reminded me even more of Ustinov’s interpretation than Suchet’s.
Good call! Funnily enough, I’ve never seen a Peter Ustinov version.