Monday, February 11, 2013

Agatha Christie's Death on the Nile




http://games.softpedia.com/progScreenshots/
Agatha-Christie-Death-on-the-Nile-10-1-Trainer-Screenshot-
28443.html
     I was incredibly pleased to see Agatha Christie on the list for Pulp Fiction. My introduction to the Queen of Crime was not as glorious as I might hope. I found an interesting computer game called "And Then There Were None." A PC game based on Agatha Christie's novel And Then There Were None, a story where guests are trapped on an island and murdered one by one according to a children's rhyme. Actually, I failed the game quite horribly and have been hesitant to read that particular story. I did try another game "The Death on the Nile." This game was a hidden item genre with animated cut scenes. I enjoyed the game so much  that I found the original story. This is my second time reading Death on the Nile and I still enjoyed it. I went on to read the Short Stories of Miss Marple. I highly recommend Miss Marple since it has all the mystery and intrigue of a detective novel without the sense of arrogance and confusion.

     Agatha Christie is a well-known author of crime novels and short stories. Two of her most famous characters are the unusual detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple. Poirot and Miss Marple are considerably different than what one might expect from any detective genre story. There are a few stereotypes or landmarks of detectives novels that these stories skillfully allude and avoid.
Hercule Poirot.
http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/212740/
Poirot-beats-axe-to-solve-more-murders
One of the landmarks of the detective genre is, of course, the detective. Most of the time, the detective is a private investigator, trained detective on a government team or local police squad, or a genius. One immediately considers Sherlock Holmes or the Private Investigators of Noir films. Poirot and Miss Marple decide to take a different route. Agatha Christie confesses herself that she was influenced by Marie Belloc Lowndes, Frank Howel Evans, Arthur Conan Doyle, and A.E.W. Mason. Poirot is a Belgian with dark hair, a curled moustache, fastidious appearance, and rather fussy behavior. Miss Marple is an elderly spinster, who uses her personal life experiences from her village of St. Mary Mead as inspiration for solving crime. With quirky and endearing personalities, Poirot and Miss Marple are more reminiscent of unusual relatives than detectives.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Death_on_the_Nile
     Another landmark is the assistant or partner of the detective. Once again, I compare to Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes. Holmes was accompanied by his faithful companion, doctor, and veteran Dr. John Watson. The assistant is generally consistent throughout the story and acts as a guide for the audience. Occasionally, the assistant is a noticeable absence, such as the lone private investigator.  Poirot has a variety of companions and assistant, but one of his more regularly occurring friends is Colonel Race. In the story Death on the Nile, Colonel Race actually appears towards the end of the story due to his own investigation and joins Poirot. For another example of an interesting assistant, please read The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.  This story is a wonderful example of Agatha Christie's incredible plot twists. I would like to talk about the plot twist and would prefer not to completely spoil it. If you plan on reading the story, please skip to the next paragraph. If you do not mind a spoiler, please read the next sentence. The narrator of the story is Poirot's assistant and is, in fact, the murderer. I can't quote recall another story where the detective's assistant is the narrator and the murderer in one go. Do you?

     I enjoy reading detective novels, from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes to Agatha Christie's Miss Marple. I confess that I recommend Miss Marple more. I hope that you have a chance to read any story with Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple!

Do you really expect this to be the
face of a detective?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miss_Marple

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