Death on the Nile

Now, normally I would never, ever critique a genius like Agatha Christie. Her book And Then There Were None is one of my top 3 favorite books of all time (see all my favs here), with Murder on the Orient Express also being close to the top of the list. I thought Kenneth Branagh and the cast did a great job with the movie adaptation in 2017, and with Death on the Nile due out in December 2020, I decided to read this book before I saw the movie. (I know, I can’t believe I haven’t read it before either).

While I enjoyed reading it, I’ve decided that this book was very “neutral” for me, if that makes any sense. I didn’t love it, but I certainly didn’t hate it. Let’s start with the love:

Like most Christie novels, I thought her character development was extraordinary. By mid-way through the book, I felt like I personally knew each of her characters. And there were a lot of them to keep straight, but she spelled out how each related to one another in a way that was as simple and uncomplicated as a story like this could be. Her descriptions of the boat, Egypt, and the tourist attractions were stunning. It’s like I could see the movie unfolding before my eyes while I read.

But now to the less-than-love:

With all Christie’s characters’ and environmental descriptions came the inevitable length and wordiness. I think this is just a change in writing styles between 1937 and 2020. We are all in a hurry-up world, and I felt like I wanted to yell “hurry up and get to the mystery already!” at poor Poirot several times. But it’s not his fault that life (and I’m assuming, reading preferences) moved at a much slower pace back then. And unlike other books, I didn’t just skip to the end to solve the whodunit. I actually wanted to read the whole book, I wanted the descriptions and the delicious mystery, but I wanted it all faster! And if that isn’t a commentary on society today, I don’t know what is…

For a book that is 83 years old, I can definitely understand how it stood the test of time! I’m not going to be re-reading it anytime soon, but I’m glad that I did before the movie came out. Miss Marple is still my favorite Christie detective, but Poirot and his distinguished moustaches are growing on me. :0)