#34: And Then There Were None

Christie, Agatha: And Then There Were None. New York: Berkeley Books, 1993. Print. 204 pages.
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SETTING: Indian Island, a fictional island off the Devon coast (South West England).
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SUMMARY: A random, mismatched group of ten individuals are invited, each for a very different reason, to Indian Island by the illusive Mr. U. N. Owen.  Once there, they quickly realize that all is not as it seems, and a fortuitous chance at an all-expense-paid escape from reality is actually bringing them closer to realities that they would rather forget.
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FAVORITE QUOTE: "They were five enemies linked together by a mutual instinct of self-preservation." - Chapter 13, page 143.
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A friend came to visit me in DC last week, and during the shutdown, unfortunately, which crushed her plan to visit the Smithsonians.  But she was still able to check a substantial amount off the trip's to-do list, including a trip to New York City.  Luckily, this was a fairly free weekend for me compared to most, and I was able to accompany her!  I decided I needed a slimmer and less involved book to occupy my time during the trip there and back so when I took her to Dupont Circle, my favorite neighborhood in DC, we stopped by my favorite secondhand bookstore where I found this little gem!  I've been wanting to read another Agatha Christie book for a while, and I have a vague memory of reading this one once before when I was very young.  However, since I didn't remember the story, and more importantly the ending, I figured it wouldn't hurt to reread it.
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Things I liked about this book:

1. Agatha Christie!  Enough said.  I've loved every book I've ever read authored by the Queen of Crime.
2. Short, quick, fun, stress-free read.  It took me all of 6ish hours to read it.
3. Varied group of characters that the reader is able to get to know well in a short period of time.  I was able to grasp the salient points of each character's person within the first few pages, and by the time I finished the book I had a very clear idea of each character's personality.
4. You're kept guessing the entire time as to who the culprit is.
5. The poem that is the basis for the events in the story.
6. The murderer's reason for committing the crime.  A disturbing reason, but interesting nonetheless.  And it gives an incite into just HOW varied people's personalities are.  Completely sane individuals who are acting within social boundaries could actually have very horrible and nefarious reasons for their actions.  A troublesome thought...

Things I didn't like about this book:

1. The racist undertones (against all non-European, non-Christian groups).  Whether or not Christie was racist or some of the language is just the norm from that time, I cannot say.  I read her biography a long time ago for a grade school book report, but I've forgotten everything I learned from that project, and a quick Wikipedia search didn't shed any light on the topic.
2. No Hercule Poirot!  No detective at all until the end, actually.  In my book, a Hercule Poirot-centered novel is always preferable.

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I absolutely love Agatha Christie's writing style.  It's simple, to the point, and perfect for those times when I want a purely entertaining read.  Because the novels are usually relatively short, I also don't feel guilty when I take out chunks of studying time to read, because I know it'll be over fairly quickly.  On a different note, I also like that after finishing each of her novels, I'm usually left with some type of important reminder about human nature.  In this novel's case (and many of her other novels), the reminder is that nothing is as it seems, that trust must be earned and is not something to be handed out lightly to strangers.  Especially in present times where social media makes it incredibly easy to become "friends" with people without actually having any quality interactions, this is a necessary concept to keep in the back of our minds.
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Recommend?  Yes!  Fun, easy, light reading will always be recommended by me.