A couple more Christie novels..

I’ve read Evil Under the Sun and One, Two, Buckle My Shoe. I gave both books four stars. They were enjoyable reads, but in both cases I was closer to three stars than five; some of the previous Christie novels I’ve read I consider to be better written. Evil Under the Sun takes a while to get going, but I’m not sure how to evaluate that book on account of probably having read the first part too fast; it seems reading George Martin recently established a habit of ‘just reading along’ without thinking too much about where you’re going, a habit which took a bit of time to become aware of/get rid of. I only realized that I was reading rather fast after I’d half finished the book, after reading roughly 70 pages/hour during the first couple of hours – that’s not a good way to read a Christie novel, at least I don’t think it is. Not helping was the fact that I believe I’ve read the story before (spoilers hidden in rot-13 below):

V fbzrubj erzrzorerq, gubhtu V jnfa’g pbzcyrgryl fher guvf jnf pbeerpg fb vg jnf cnegyl whfg n ulcbgurfvf, gung gur obql sbhaq ba gur ornpu jnf abg gur obql bs Neyran Znefunyy ohg engure gung bs na nppbzcyvpr jub unq snxrq orvat qrnq sbe gur checbfr bs pbashfvat znggref. Vapvqragnyyl gung fghag gb zr jnf obgu fghcvq naq uvtu evfx; vg pbhyq fb rnfvyl unir onpxsverq – jung vs gur Oerjfgre ynql unq ernpgrq qvssreragyl, unq eha hc gb gur obql gb unir n pybfre ybbx? Ng gur irel yrnfg gur nppbzcyvpr jbhyq unq unq n ybg bs rkcynvavat gb qb. Cerfhznoyl gur vzcynhfvovyvgl nffbpvngrq jvgu fhpprffshyyl chyyvat guvf cneg bs gur pevzr bss jnf cneg bs jul V erzrzorerq guvf fcrpvsvp nfcrpg bs gur fgbel, ohg abg bgure cnegf – V qba’g yvxr vg jura jung V pbafvqre gb or vzcynhfvoyr fgengrtvrf juvpu va n erny-jbeyq frggvat jbhyq or uvtuyl hayvxryl gb jbex ner chyyrq bss jvgu rnfr va obbxf yvxr gurfr. V qvqa’g erzrzore nal bgure fcrpvsvpf ncneg sebz guvf nfcrpg bs gur pevzr gubhtu – V pregnvayl qvqa’g erzrzore jub gur nppbzcyvpr jnf, jung jnf gur zbgvir rgp. – naq V jnf nyjnlf cnegyl va qbhog nobhg jurgure V jnf erzrzorevat pbeerpgyl, fb univat (ernq? jngpurq? Vg znl unir orra n zbivr nqncgvba..) qvq abg ernyyl fcbvy nalguvat.

One, Two, Buckle My Shoe I have never read before, and I deliberately slowed myself down a bit when I started reading it so as not to repeat my mistake. I liked it better than Evil Under the Sun, but it’s not in my opinion quite ‘up there’ with the greatest of her books.