I'm Still Slogging Away

Just in case anyone was wondering, I missed my December 1st, 2011 deadline. But I'm still reading and I will finish before the summer. I hope.

135 Down, About 114 to Go

With my May 1 deadline looming, I just completed reading "Murder on the Orient Express". That means I've read about 135 short stories, novels, novellas, plays, and novelizations of plays. I now have approximately 114 more to tales to go. It isn't going to happen. My new deadline? December 1, 2011.

Checking In.

I'm still working my way through the collected Agatha Christie works, but have taken a couple of necessary detours on along the way. At first I swore that I would ONLY read Agatha Christie books until the project was finished, and then came November.

Although I am prone to a bit of hyperbole, saying this past holiday season nearly killed me isn't far from the truth. The last few months have been the most challenging and least rewarding months of my retail "career". At the beginning of this descent into hell I had jokingly said that working retail was the modern equivalent to working in a 19th coal mine. By December 24th I truly believed it.

Continuing to work on the Agatha Christie Project, something that I really enjoy, became very difficult. At first reading on my breaks was something to look forward to and provided a much needed escape. Eventually though I just couldn't switch between reading and reality with the ease required. I was too tired to focus on what was happening on the page and really take it in. Facts and plot points evaporated in my brain moments after I read them and the stories lost their impact.

So I set down Dame Agatha and picked up Simon Doonan's autobiographical book "Beautiful People". This short and episodic work took me far too long to read but it helped me through those bleak days. I did manage to read the seasonably appropriate "Murder on Hazelmoor" over my brief 4 day Christmas Holiday I received thanks to a cold and succumbing to sheer exhaustion (most of Boxing Day was spent with me staring glassy eyed into the middle distance).

When I did return to the project I had the grave misfortune to read a novelisation of the play "Black Coffee". To get that bitter taste out of my mouth I read "A Beautiful Blue Death" by Charles Finch. It was a present from my partner and was one of the best gifts I received this year.

I'm now returning to the project with "The Floating Admiral", a book collectively written by The Detective's Club of which Agatha Christie was a member.

Announcing Another BLOG!

Over the last while I've noticed that the Agatha Project Blog was getting a little cluttered with postings unrelated Agatha Christie. I've decided that I need another place to express myself, someplace that I don't feel the need to censor what I'm thinking or posting. Enter The HMS Hyperbole Blog, a place for ponderous items, racier pictures and anything a little off topic. Between the two pages I will attempt to make 5 entries a week. Sometime postings will appear in both places, but generally anything related will go here on the Agatha Project page and everything else on the HMS Hyperbole page.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today is my mother's birthday. In honour of her birthday, I thought I'd share this charming inscription I found inside a Nancy Drew book. See, Norton loves Becky SO much he stole Noelle's book, a gift from her grandmother, cleverly scratched out her name, and then gave it to Becky. I love my mom so much I paid $3.99 for this book for her. In both cases, it's the thought that counts.

Happy 120th Birthday Agatha Christie!

...or more accurately Happy Birthday Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Mallowan nee Miller aka Dame Agatha Christie aka Mary Westmacott.

Hello Miss Marple!

Having deviated again from the reading plan prescribed by the Official Agatha Christie website, I cracked open The Thirteen Problems this week. I loved it so much that I deviated slightly from my own list and read the first six stories before The Mystery of the Blue Train.

It is obvious from reading these first Miss Marple stories that Agatha Christie must have enjoyed writing them. They are full of colour and energy, unlike The Big Four where she can barely manages to conceal her weariness of Hercule Poirot. I'm interested to see if Christie's desire for a paycheque is as apparent in The Mystery of the Blue Train.

Debbie Reynolds Plays the CNE!?!?!?

Yes, entertainer Debbie Reynolds played the Canadian National Exhibition bandshell tonight. And if that fact alone wasn't shocking enough, it cost me all of $5 to see. There was a nice mix of old standards and Hollywood reminiscences to satisfy even the passing fan. While I enjoyed it, her performance just didn't have the zing I expected from an old showbiz pro.

To cut the lady some slack, Debbie Reynolds is 78 years old and the weather was crap. Except for the unfortunate foray into country music, she had a solid act. But I have a suspicion that the great Ms. Reynolds just phoned her performance in. I could almost hear her backstage after the final number saying: "Make the cheque payable to Debbie Reynolds, that's D-E-B-B......"

At one point Reynolds did a spot on impression of Marlene Dietrich, and in so doing called attention to Dietrich's limited vocal range. I'm going to lose my gay card for uttering this but, people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. That might be unduly harsh, it may have just been an off night for her. And, for the purposes of full disclosure I did miss the opening of Reynolds act where she could have explained that she was suffering from flu or allergies.

Whatever the problem was, Debbie Reynolds looked FANTASTIC. I spent the show off to the side in the beer garden, but for her final number a bunch of people went to the front of the stage and I thought, what the heck. I wish I had brought my camera, instead you'll have to content yourselves with the blotchy iPhone 3G photo above.

Nancy Drew, What's That Behind You?

My mother is a huge Nancy Drew fan. When I'm out sourcing Agatha Christie books, I always check for vintage copies of the girl detective. I recently came across this gem.

Judging by the title of the book, one assumes that black blob behind Miss Drew would be a villain wearing a velvet mask. But is it? Here are another couple of possible culprits:

Suspect 1: Nancy Drew's bessie mate Bess Marvin in a berka.

Suspect 2: Ronald McDonald's sidekick with a criminal past, Grimace.

Suspect 3: Barbamama, matriarch of the Barbapapa clan.

Suspect 4: A member of the Black Block, or potentially an undercover cop masquerading as a member of the Black Block.

Suspect 5: Some dude in a terrifying inflatable gimp suit.

(No links for this one kids, this ain't that sort of blog.)

I'm sure that the actual criminal isn't nearly as interesting as any of my suggestions. Probably some mundane petty criminal, or old caretaker in disguise. Or am I thinking of Scooby Doo...

Marple: The Secret of Chimneys

A surprisingly unflattering photo of the cast of Marple: The Secret of Chimneys Copyright ITV 2010

Watching the television adaptation, Marple: The Secret of Chimneys, you have no idea of the scope of the original novel. The book The Secret of Chimneys is a thriller filled with political intrigue, romance, and vaguely sinister foreigners. In other words, the telefilm used the location, a couple of character names and nothing of the original plot or "mystery".

The cast is far too small and stretched too thin. The butler Treadwell from the book is now a housekeeper and composite of 3 other characters, cousins become sisters, politicians become love interests, and on and on. Even the picture of the "last great party" has surprisingly few guests: there are far more servants, musicians, and waiters in that photo than high society ladies and gentlemen. As a result, the atmosphere is flat and the identity of the murderer is virtually revealed before the opening credits are finished.

The jewel thief sub-plot involving Anthony Cade and Virginia Revel, the original hero and heroine of The Secret of Chimneys, is laughable. If actors Charlotte Salt and Jonas Armstrong weren't good looking the romance that develops between the two characters would be equally incomprehensible. The matrimonial machinations of the now lecherous George Lomax are just distasteful. Another unfortunate consequence of the adaptation is the introduction of a new character, Miss Hilda Blenkinstopp from a National Trust like preservation society wanting to add Chimneys to it's list of historic properties. Despite being played by the talented Ruth Jones, this character doesn't really add anything of value to the story and is blatantly necessary to shoehorn Julia McKenzie's Miss Marple into the story.

Ultimately it is the presence of Miss Marple that is the biggest problem with Marple: The Secret of Chimneys. The source material indicates the need for a detective of action, or at least a detective with a side-kick of action: Poirot or Tommy and Tuppence come to mind. At the very least the writers should have had Miss Marple's nephew Raymond present to do some heavy lifting and brawling. Really, everything that was exciting and interesting from the book had to be eliminated to turn this into a tea and crumpets caper.

Despite all this I did like Marple: The Secret of Chimneys enough. Being a fan, but not a purist, I can appreciate the Miss Marple Chimney's for what it is worth. While not up to the standard of the source material, the producers seem to have done what I feel Christie often did with her short stories: taking an idea she's already worked on (or perhaps was working on) and giving it a slight spin and looking at it in a different way. If you consider the book and the movie as being two separate but not entirely unrelated stories, you'll be mildly entertained with the results.

Star Wars Uncut

I'm not really a Star Wars geek, but when I saw the video I just had to share it. Basically, fans from around the world selected a 15 second clip from the original movie then re-filmed them. The "best" clips were then collected to recreate the original movie in its entirety. The result is hilarious. Watch it here.

Best Cover Art EVAH!

While searching for titles at used books stores I occasionally come across something so fantastic, so cool, that I just have to buy it. What could be cooler than this I ask you. The best cover art EVAH! Don't you just love those 1960's muscle men and their barbarella babes.

There were several copies at the BMV on Yonge and Eglington in Toronto. When I was making my purchase I commented on the sheer fabulousness of the cover to the guy at the cash desk and he seemed a little put out and muttered something like, "Yeah, I guess it's a little cheesy." At first I thought he might be the (apparently quite renown) author, but according to Wikipedia Keith Laumer died in 1993. Perhaps the cashier was just a really big fan.

The Big Four

I keep posting this after every round of short stories but, I'm so glad to be reading another novel. I much prefer immersing myself in a full-length mystery and not being tossed about with abrupt changes in characters, settings and style. That said, I do like the Harley Quin stories and try to savour each one of them.

I've posted the cover art of the paperback I'm reading. I don't usually read the really vintage copies, but I haven't been able to find another copy with a more stable binding and a larger typeface at any of the used bookstores in Toronto. (The print is so small I've actually considered reading the mystery with a magnifying glass.)

Before scanning this 1972 gem I removed the $1.99 price tag and discovered this copy originally retailed at 75 cents. The CHEAPEST new copy I could find was $10. That's some crazy inflation!

The Man in the Brown Suit

The Man in the Brown Suit is a fun mystery-adventure, and one of the better stories I've read so far. It kept me guessing, and then second guessing then returning to my original theory and back and forth. The funny thing is, once you know whodunnit and why, you realize that Ms. Christie basically told you right from the beginning.

Christie novels often have an element of romance in them, mostly cursory and at arms length. In The Man in the Brown Suit there are some passages of Harlequin paperback bodice-ripping Romance that I could have done without, and because the book is set in 1921 there are definitely bodices to be ripped. Some of the romance is necessitated by the plot, particularly at a time when it would seem more plausible for a woman to act recklessly for love rather than pure adventure or duty or whatever reason men act recklessly in novels.

Vintage Covers

Even though I already own a copy of The Man in the Brown Suit, I couldn't resist purchasing this copy from a used book store because the cover is so completely of its time. The copy I'm reading has a timeless yet very 1982 look about it, and this edition of The Man in the Brown Suit is completely and utterly 1968.

Used Bookstore Treasures

I bought this paperback at a church book sale. It was the best 50 cents I've ever spent.

Beware of People with Accents

I've finally finished a cycle of short stories and am glad to be starting the next novel, The Man in the Brown Suit. I'm behind on my reviews and will post some soon, but for now I'll give you a few brief impressions.

Poirot Investigates and Poirot's Early Cases were uniformly good: engaging but brief, clever yet not so clever that the readers feels cheated. The first Harley Quinn story, included in Master Pieces in Miniature: The Detectives, was very promising and I'm itching to read more of them.

The rest of the stories I read were contained in either Masterpieces of Mystery and the Unknown or While the Light Lasts and Other Stories. A couple of the lesser known short stories could charitably be called The Case of the Vaguely Foreign Boogie Man, but mostly the stories I read seem to be cautionary mysteries for credulous youth with a thirst for adventure.

It is unfair of me to judge the collection While the Light Lasts and Other Stories after only reading a few of the works. But, so far I understand why most of these stories remained unpublished in book form for decades. I am not saying that they are bad, they just aren't Agatha Christie's best works.

Short Story Round-Up!

I've competed reading the first batch of Poirot short stories and I'm glad I put The Murder on the Links aside to do so. First off, based only on what I've read so far, it seems that agathachristie.com was wrong: Hercule Poirot's Early Cases should be read before Poirot Investigates. Or at least The Affair at the Victory Ball should be read before Poirot Investigates at is references stories contained in Poirot's Early Cases.

Eventually I will review the individual stories here, but right now, I begin the second Poirot novel.

A little snag...

Even if I haven't been posting, I'm still reading but I'm a little behind. By the end of May I should have read at least 4 novels and 2 books of short stories. I'll be lucky if I complete 3 books period. This is a failure of my own making and there is really nothing and no one to blame but my procrastination, YoVille and my tendencies toward obsessive compulsion.

I began reading before I completed all my Agatha Christie research and settling on a reading order. I started reading Murder on the Links only to discover that I should have read several short stories that were published after The Secret Adversary but before the second Poirot novel. The genie was already out of the bottle, I couldn't unread the first 8 chapters, but I decided to finalize at least the first 10 stories in the list. Gathering the raw data alone has been difficult. There is no way for me to know which were written first but the publication order seems to be a little less murky, even if there is a general lack of decisive information on the internet.

This is my reading order until I hit the snag of not having sourced the next set of short stories:

The Mysterious Affair at Styles

The Secret Adversary

"The Affair at the Victory Ball"

"The Jewel Robbery at the Grand Metropolitan or The Curious Disappearance of the Opalsen Pearls"

"The King of Clubs"

"The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim"

"The Plymouth Express"

"The Adventure of the Western Star"

"The Tragedy of Marsdon Manor"

"The Kidnapped Prime Minister"

Murder on the Links

Next on the agenda, sourcing a copy of While the Lights Last and Other Stories and The Harlequin Teaset

(I eventually found both While the Light Lasts and The Harlequin Teaset, only to discover in Canada they appear to be identical. Grrr)

The Secret Adversary

The first thing that struck me about The Secret Adversary is how different it was from The Mysterious Affair at Styles. Hastings' narration is very straightforward and very English while the first Tommy and Tuppence story takes its cue from American pulp fiction and moves along at a clip. The writing is chatty and the dialogue humorous and full 1920s slang. This isn't a stayed who-dunnit, but a fast-paced spy thriller.

The plot centres around a vague set of documents that in the wrong hands could DESTROY ENGLAND, and two would be adventurers, who through chance and circumstance, are fated to find a missing girl that will SAVE ENGLAND FROM ANARCHY AND CHOAS. Not precisely original ideas, but Agatha Christie cleverly uses crime story conventions and American cinematic cliches to her advantage making The Secret Adversary an engaging yarn.

Our heroes, Tommy and Tuppence, have recently been relieved of their wartime duties and are looking for work. Pickings are slim, so on a lark they decide to advertise their services as "adventurers" in the 1920s mercenary-blackmailing-jewel-theif sense of the word. Their ad stating that they are "willing to do anything, go anywhere" would have landed them careers in porn in 2010, but instead they end up entangled in a nefarious ring of counter-establishment criminals with bolshevik tendencies led by the enigmatic and titular secret adversary Mr. Brown. No one is to be trusted in this interwar Red Scare tale. In other words, a whole lot of silly fun that should be taken at face value.

I really enjoyed how of its time The Secret Adversary is. The depiction of the general uncertainty in post-WWI England, the vague racism and lingering fears over Germany and Russia, and the "what now" feeling of a newly demilitarized population. The Americans are brash and the good guys are all from the upper classes. Tuppence is the new liberated woman who, because she is a woman, still manages to be incredibly naive and far too trusting. Tommy, a former soldier who seems to crave adventure as much as he wants to leave it behind in the trenches, still trusts that the British sense of decorum will prevail despite having a keener sense of the danger.

My favourite part of the writing is the subtle formality of the narrative voice: it is more often Mr. Beresford and Miss Cowley than Tommy and Tuppence. I look forward to the next story for these two detectives. It will interesting to see how time alters Tommy and Tuppence.

Story: The Secret Adversary

Detectives: Tommy and Tuppence

Observation: First cousins get married? Ew!

Verdict: Great fun! Five stars!

NEXT: The Murder on the Links