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poirot's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Murder, and Colonisation
Minor: War
The main relationship in this book is very heavily represented as dominant (violent) male/submissive female which is not uncommon in books of this time but it’s very extreme here. So just be mindful if you do not like reading about this kind of relationship.streberkatze's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Racism and sexism are fairly common in books from the GAD era, but I feel like the setting of this one in a colonial context took this to a whole new level. I’m not familiar enough with Christie and her work to know if these views reflect her ideas or are part of the character development (or both). Regardless, I chose to read those passages the way I read historical documents, and that made it slightly more bearable. (I’m a historian, so I have some practice with the distancing part, haha.). In that sense, it was interesting to read how the South African colonial project was perceived by the colonizers at the time, which at the time of the book’s writing was likely just read as the mainstream perspective by European readers. I really wanted to like Anne Beddingfield and read her as a "modern woman" and unconventional heroine. But of course, the ending was the usual, and her racism, internalized, sexism, fatphobia (What was that jab at Suzanne putting on weight?!), and the way she threw all of that at other people were just a bit much, characteristic of the times or not. On the upside, I thought the mystery was really well done, especially because I love mysteries set on ships and mysteries involving disguises. And coincidentally, I read Midnight by Amy McCulloch, a murder mystery that just came out and is set on board a ship (albeit in Antarctica) as well, at the same time. Highly recommend that combination!
Graphic: Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, and Colonisation
Moderate: Fatphobia
Minor: Injury/Injury detail
julied's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Moderate: Fatphobia, Misogyny, Racism, Kidnapping, and Murder
alaharon123's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Moderate: Racism, Sexism, Death of parent, and Colonisation
Minor: Fatphobia, Gun violence, and Murder
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