Review #9: Poirot (A Collective Review)

I’m not afraid of death. It’s the stake one puts up in order to play the game of life. 
– Jean Giraudoux

I started reading Poirot because my boyfriend at the time really enjoyed the books, and I trusted (okay, still trust) his taste. I found that we had a collection of 5 Poirot novels in one leather bound book sitting on a bookshelf in the house, so I started there. In that book was Thirteen at Dinner, Murder on the Orient Express, The ABC Murders, Cards on the Table, and Death on the Nile. In addition, I picked up a copy of Curtain, which is the story of Poirot’s last case.

These books deserve all the renown they have. Well written, intriguing, and just plain fun adventures, I spent much of my March Break reading these.

However, I can’t say I like Poirot as a person. He’s kind of a self-centered douche. I could laugh at him, but he’s not someone I’d ever want to meet. Captain Hastings, on the other hand, is a wonderful character whom I would love to meet. Loyal and kind, he had all the traits that Poirot lacked. Which is why they lasted so long together – complementing each other perfectly.

My favourite of the 6 I read was probably Murder on the Orient Express, for the fantastic ending. A very close second is Cards on the Table for the character of Ariadne Oliver, who seemed a wonderful meta-commentary on Christie’s life as a crime novelist. All of the other books had elements I enjoyed, as well as elements that were a little less than satisfactory to me, but one must expect that from all books. In all honesty, I likely won’t purchase any more of the books, opting to borrow them from the library. They aren’t books I’m terribly likely to reread.

The next book I’m reading is This Book Has Feelings by doctors Neil Scott and Sandi Mann.