Christie, Agatha: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. New York: Berkeley Books, 2004. Print. 358 pages.
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SETTING: King's Abbott, England (a fictional village).
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SUMMARY: The deaths of Mr. and Mrs. Ferrars approximately one year apart (evidence pending, they are believed to be a murder and suicide, respectively) have brought more intrigue and life to the little village of King's Abbott than it has ever felt before. However the death of Roger Ackroyd, a wealthy individual known to have had a romance with Mrs. Ferrars after her husband's death, brings the famous detective Hercule Poirot out of his newfound retirement to solve this baffling case. Dr. James Sheppard, a friend to all of the recently deceased, serves as our narrator and Poirot's unofficial assistant.
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FAVORITE QUOTE: "'Now that you remind me of the fact, it is true that there is one more thing. It would be unwise on your part to attempt to silence me as you silenced Mr. Ackroyd. That kind of business does not succeed against Hercule Poirot, you understand.'" - Chapter 26, page 353.
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First off, HAPPY SPRING!!! The weather in DC is finally beautiful and the birds are chirping, even on the gloomy days (like today)!
I gave this book to a friend as a present, but seeing as he was not going to read it anytime soon, I quickly took the chance to borrow it. I've been looking for a lighthearted, quick read, and this was a most convenient acquirement! Not to mention it took me approximately six hours over two days to finish the book (it's very short and the font is fairly large), so I don't feel too bad taking it away from his company. Before heading to my likes and dislikes of this novel, I have one thing to say: This is THE MOST BRILLIANT NOVEL I HAVE READ IN MY LIFE THUS FAR. And I'm not saying this from my biased stance of loving all things Christie. This book is just fabulous.
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Things I liked about this book:
- The narrator. He will blow your mind into the depths of space, and open it up all at the same time. But not until the very end of the novel, mind you, so you'll have to be patient while reading. I don't want to give away too much, so apologies if this is vague. I will forever be thankful for having read this novel because it gave me an entirely different perspective on narrators, narration, and who to trust when being told a story.
- It is a great display of how storytellers have the ultimate power to manipulate what is being related to the listener(s). Speech, sentence formation, grammar, etc. are dangerous tools in the right hands. Enough can be said without giving anything away at all, while just the right words can put you on the entirely wrong track. Again, absolutely brilliant.
- Hercule Poirot. He is my favorite out of all of Christie's detectives.
- The ending. IT IS GREAT.
- Poirot's characteristic step-by-step method of revealing the criminal at the end of the novel. It never gets tiring.
Things I didn't like about this book:
- The unnecessarily long Mahjong scene. It could have been cut in half, maybe even one-third.
- Not necessarily something I didn't like about the book, but Mrs. Ackroyd (Roger Ackroyd's sister-in-law) is incredibly incredibly incredibly annoying. I wanted her to go away every time she started speaking.
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I LOVED THIS NOVEL! Hands down my favorite mystery out of all of the Christie novels I have read. I always enjoy her novels, but I can't ever remember being this excited and so ready to recommend one of her novels to others as I am right now. It's been a long time since I've finished a book with a new perspective on how to read books, and I loved that it is a great reminder of the importance of being a critical reader. As a reader, you must always analyze and be skeptical of every word you read, even in fiction. True, it can be argued that fiction is fiction and thus not reality, but we learn a lot about our reality from fiction (at least I do), so why not look at it with the most critical eye possible? You'll finish the book having learned more, and, as Poirot says, your "little gray cells" will probably thank you for it. And you'll hopefully find yourself a tad bit smarter as a result.
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Recommend? YES!!! Very short and quick read, so no excuses will fly!
Mantel, Hilary: Wolf Hall. New York: Picador, 2010. Print. 604 pages.
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SETTING: 1500 to 1535 England, during the reign of Henry VIII.
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SUMMARY: Thomas Cromwell, born to a low-class family with an abusive, alcoholic father, finds himself working his way up the bureaucratic and bourgeois ladders in 16th century England. His hard work, dedication, and friendly charm raise him to the status of King Henry VIII's right-hand man, a dangerous position to have at the time.
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FAVORITE QUOTE: I couldn't decide between the following two:
- "For what's the point of breeding children, if each generation does not improve on what went before?" - Part 1, Chapter 3, page 40
- "'And look, Gregory, it's all very well planning what you will do in six months, what you will do in a year, but it's no good at all if you don't have a plan for tomorrow.'" - Part 6, Chapter 1, page 519
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This novel was a gift from a very dear friend who quickly picked up on my favorite genres! The Tudor period, particularly the reign of Henry VIII, has always fascinated me, so much so that the first time I went to England as a teenager, I made sure to take a trip to Hampton Court Palace, one of Henry VIII's many homes. The palace has an incredibly rich history, and I encourage you to give Wikipedia a quick browse through at your convenience and read up on it (there are obviously better sources, but who can deny the convenience of Wiki?). The palace itself is wonderful, but the gardens are where the true beauty lies. It was absolutely breathtaking, and if I ever find myself in a home with a garden and landscape with even a fraction of Hampton Court's garden's magnificence, it will be a true accomplishment.
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Things I liked about this book:
- TUDOR PERIOD! (And no, I haven't watched The Tudor's yet. Shocking! I know. But I will get hooked so I've been cautious and waiting for a time when I will have a few days to do nothing but dedicate endless hours to watching all four seasons.)
- The narration. It's in third person via Thomas Cromwell, but it reads like a 1st person narration in the sense that you really feel all of Cromwell's emotions and are left with a thorough understanding of his thoughts.
- The history. I am by no means an expert in this field, but the story stayed very true to everything that I have learned thus far about the Tudor period and Henry VIII.
- Piggy-backing on #3: I learned a lot of new historical information. It's always great to finish a book having learned something new.
- Gives a true picture of how quickly loyalties changed during that time, and leaves the reader with an appreciation for the fact that this fickleness of stance is not always the result of loose morals and beliefs. Rather, not doing so would lead to ostracism, and most likely death. As is still the case in modern society, staying on the "good" and popular side of any issue would result in ease, benefits, and a comfortable life, even if the good and popular side is blatantly wrong and corrupt. Sticking to values and thoughts that are against the mainstream would only lead to trouble.
The only thing I didn't like about this book:
- Tooooooooo many characters! I had a hard time keeping a few names straight, mostly because all the characters were named Mary, Jane, Thomas, John, or Richard -__- Of course, this isn't the author's fault (it's not like she can go back in time and rechristen all of her characters), and, to her credit, the author does give a list of all the characters, organized by house, at the beginning of the book. Still, it's a pain in the patookas to keep referring back to the list while reading. There were multiple times where I just made an assumption as to which Mary was being referred to (and I think I was usually right...).
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I love love love love love love love books from this time period. A lot of my summer 2011 was spent reading books taking place in 16th century England, and I forgot just how much I enjoyed them! This book is a trilogy, and so a new project has been added to this upcoming summer: read the other two books! I'm already excited :D
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Recommend? Yes!
