Re-living the past: the Agatha Christie books that have scarred me for life :P

[dweomeroflight]

I've loved AC ever since I picked up The Murder of Roger Ackroid at my grandmother's house when I was in about yr 5. Sure the ending gave me the creeps for years afterwards but I soon became addicted and devoured her books with a passion, though I was possibly too young to be reading them.

After reading soneone else's livejournal page, reviewing another one ofhers that has disturbed me for life, I give you the list of AC books that have stayed with me since I first read them, because they are just that good and just that creepy.

1. Endless Night: I still remember finishing this one- and it was one of the first I read. My heart nearlly stopped beating when I realised who Endless Night refered to, and the poem has never been the same since. I think this is possibly AC at her most pshycologically disturbing

2. And then there were none: gees this one was terrifing. Each day, a new person dead until only the murderer and the last victim remain. The deneument of this one is unforgettable. I think it may be AC's best!

3. Death comes as the end: only AC could make Ancient Egypt a place of betrayal and murder and create such an unexpected plot twist, whilst still sounding believable. This one scarred me second only to Endless Night

4. Destination Unknown: A thriller, not a mystery this time, but heck I was still terrified

5. Crooked House: Only AC could make "there was a crooked man and he walked a crooked mile" etc frightening. The ending was hideous and tragic

Comments

[brendanpodger.livejournal.com]

Great selections! Endless Night is always one of the ones I recommend to people. Such a great story and fantastic ending. I was able to find a copy of Ten Little Niggers with the Hanging Golliwog cover before it was altered for PC reasons.

Have you read The Mysterious Mr Quin? This is a firm favourite of mine and when I am in a lighter mood a Tommy and Tuppence story from Partners in Crime.

[dweomeroflight.livejournal.com]

yay a fellow AC lover! I sometimes wonder at myself as I've read nearlly every single one of her books and im 19, which means that I first read her books when I really was too young(hence the emotional scarring :P but in a good way)
I love Endless Night- AC introduced me to William Blake too with this one. That ending is just mind boggling. I was in about yr 7 when I read it and I felt the after effects for weeks.
Yes I have a copy of ten little niggers too but I figured i'd best go the politically correct route for safety reasons.
I have The Mysterious Mr Quin too but I havn't read it in awhile. It's actually on my re read list as I can't remember if I liked it or not. (as I said I started reading Ac at far too young an age with the result of me not understanding some of her themes lol)
I've only just started reading the Tommy and Tuppence ones lol. I refused too read them for ages because I loved Marple and Poirot so much. I have read Postern of Fate and it sucked lol, but then I read The Secret Adversary (first Tommy and Tupence one and I absolutely loved it) I have yet to read N or M? but its on my list
What are you AC faves? Some of my other favourties are Cat among the pigeons (silly and fun, Hickory, dickory, dock (this one was a contender for most disturbing ending), The Body in the Library or Nemesis

[brendanpodger.livejournal.com]

Yay, another William Blake fan!

My Mum owns the AC collection so it is a while since I have read many of them, but I do like Partners in Crime for it's very light feel, and Mr Quin for the mystical nature that AC had to be so careful to keep under wraps at other times but she lets loose here and weaves it seamlessly into her traditional story telling style.

I mentioned EN and TLN above and I would have to add The Murder of Roger Ackroyd(the original of the ultimate plot twists), Curtain(how can you not enjoy the last Poirot even if it was written in the mid thirties and so was a bit of a reversion in style), 4:50 from Paddington and The Body in the Library for Miss Marple and The Sittaford Mystery and Destination Unknown(although this cover gave me the creeps) from the others list list.

[dweomeroflight.livejournal.com]

Yay someone else loves Destination Unknown. it's not very popular among Christie fans for some bizarre reson but I loved it!!! The scientists missing, the woman who was so sure she didn't care if she lived or died till she wasn't able to leave the secret place. I loved it.
Curtain is very good but it makes me sad because it's the end : (
The ABC Murders is pretty good too :)

and I love William Blake. Have you ever seen the film The Heart of Me starring Helena Bonham Carter? They quote Blake alot "And throughout all Eternity/I forgive you, you forgive me." that film makes me cry every time.

[brendanpodger.livejournal.com]

I was introduced to Blake in high school although I had heard a fair bit of what he wrote prior without knowing it, and I would have to say that probably after Shakespeare and the Bible He would have to rank as one of the most quotes authors there is. So much of what he wrote resonates today as much as it does when he printed them. I love the subversive nature of the "Songs". My favourites are probably pretty standard: London and Jerusalem(great music by Charles Hastings Parry)

I haven't seen the film I am afraid, I may have to check it out.

What do you think of his art? Until recently I had The Ancient of Days as my phone's screen saver.

[dweomeroflight.livejournal.com]

woah that's cool! The artwork I mean :) I might ned to go look some more of his up.
I love the way Blake writes his poetry. He wrote in a very interesting way for his time period methinks :)
The film is good, but was criticised at the time for its grey area morals (personally I hate this obsession with PC and moralistic endings so I didn't care). I love HBC so she was a bonus and I'd rate it as one of her best performances of all time. The film also stars Paul Bettany (he of suddenly rising fame)

[vampira34.livejournal.com]

Came across your journal from John Simm daily .

I read and then there were none quite awhile ago but always felt a bit confused at the end of it. Not sure if I read it too quickly or what. It was good . Need to go back and read it and some others by her.

[dweomeroflight.livejournal.com]

Yay for John Simm :) Friend me if you like? I don't know if my blog is interesting really but meh

You should re read And Then There Were None: its considered to be Christie's masterpiece. there are alot of characters though so it pays to take your time. Trust me, it's worth it for the ending :)

[vampira34.livejournal.com]

Adding you!
I so need to see more of his movie and tv show roles.

I have been meaning to read it again. :)

[dweomeroflight.livejournal.com]

haha just added you too :) i love finding fellow JS obsessors :)

I have a review of him in Crime and Punishment, and State of Play and you can fidn other entries about JS by clicking on my entry tags on the side :)

[vampira34.livejournal.com]

Two of his things I still need to see. Heard they are both great though.

Though still feel his role as the Master or Sam Tyler will be his two best

[dweomeroflight.livejournal.com]

They totally are!!! but him as Cal comes a close third in SOP bdw both my reviews are non spoilery anyway. I just checked :)

[vampira34.livejournal.com]

I was so sad when I got to the final show of Life on Mars. I wanted so much more. I tried watching Ashes to Ashes, but it just wasn't the same. Oh and don't get me started on the American remake of Life on Mars.

Off to read them :)

[dweomeroflight.livejournal.com]

OMG i CANT STAND THE STUPID REMAKE.

My mum and bro love A2A just as much as LOM. I can't agree :( Keeley Hawes is just no John Simm and even at the end of the second season when I tried to convince myself A2A was as good as LOM it just didn't work for me :(

[vampira34.livejournal.com]

Why does American feel the need to steal great British shows and make dumb remakes. Get your own ideas America!!

The first few shows did me in. Every time Gene mentioned Sam I just got sad. Just not the same without him

[dweomeroflight.livejournal.com]

Every time I watch the finale of season 2 of LOM I cry hysterically for the last 20 minutes. it's the playing of somewhere over the rainbow that does it to me, and then just when i think I've recovered from that, they attack me with the scene with the mother, and then when I recover from that they play the song life on mars and then he dosen't feel alive etc and I bawl all over again, and then just when I've recovered from that, the show ends :( and I start up yet AGAIN.

[vampira34.livejournal.com]

I love/hate deal with the Lom song. I love it because it reminds me of the show and the character but the only scene I think of of him on the roof and I start to get sad. :(

[dweomeroflight.livejournal.com]

yeah I can never listen to the song in the same way ever again! That ending was the greatest, most haunting ending I have ever seen in a TV show!!!

and the way JS just kinda smiles at nothing and then does the run up... omg I'm starting to cry right now thinking about it

and I have that version of SOTR on my ipod and it makes me cry every time lol

[vampira34.livejournal.com]

An ending I will never forget. Course then can always turn it around and listen to I can't decide and then get glad as I think of the Master. Course that ends horribly too. Damn him!!

[dweomeroflight.livejournal.com]

damn RTD for killing The Master!!!

tee hee that I can't Decide clip is possibly the funniest thing I have ever seen on TV.

Gosh the way he bounds up to Lucy... epic win... and the shaking of the bell. I couldn't breathe for laughter

[vampira34.livejournal.com]

Oh yes.

Oh I know. Could watch that bit over and over just for him singing along with the music.

So want to be her!! There was a time I really hated Lucy for shooting him but now sort buy into it was all a scheme to bring him back or some sort of last resort.

[dweomeroflight.livejournal.com]

nah RTd said in an interview that she shot him because she was an abused wife.
I wanted to kill RTD when I read that.
I liked the idea of her being as insane as The Master.
When I posted about it on the Dr WHo community though everyone attacked me for supporting domestic violence sigh. No its called supporting interesting character developement

[vampira34.livejournal.com]

Well that sucks then. Think it would make a much better story if they both had some evil and insane backup if things failed.

[dweomeroflight.livejournal.com]

I agree wholeheartedly.

I think it cheapens both Lucy and The Master as characters. Don't you think that The Master is far scarier when you think he actually has a companion who loves him as much as The Doctor loves Rose and would carry out insane plan for him? I think so.
I also think it again makes The Doctor automatically better than The Master. Look at me, I can be nice and have a relationship and you can't because you're the evil guy. I think that cheapens the characters.
Also it dosent really make sense. AM is saying that yes Lucy loved The Master, but despite this she shot him? Thats a bit illogical to me sigh

[vampira34.livejournal.com]

Exactly! It's the constant let's have the good guy have everything and everything the bad guy has to have is wrong or is twisted in some way.

At times it seems like she was really into the whole idea as well and was actually enjoying his rise to power.

[dweomeroflight.livejournal.com]

I think AM thought that too from the interview. That's how she played her anyway.
I think that making her shoot him because he abused her is such a boring over simplification of evil. He's going to have to do something spectacular to save Lucy for me in the Christmas specials

[vampira34.livejournal.com]

It's just been so overdone. And frankly when I watched LOTTL that's not what I got. I would think she would feel some rage at him for the abusive if she was shooting him just for that. All I got from her once an intense sense of loss.

[dweomeroflight.livejournal.com]

me too! meh AM says in the interview that she def. loved The Master so thats something. And RTD has been known to lie about parts of the plot before... so fingers crossed?
and yeah about that sort of thing being overdone... I completely agree. It's such a politically correct cop out. I've said this before, and I'll say it again, us Westerners don't like acknowledging that there is shades of moral grey in the world (read my post on evil characters if you're interested in that sort of thing) and that while DV is obviously always a bad thing, the nature of an evil person is not always concrete. I explained this better in my post on evil :)