Reviews with content warning for Antisemitism - Lord Edgware Dies

Reviews tagging 'Antisemitism'

Lord Edgware Dies by Agatha Christie

22 reviews

meekumoh's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

Sometimes you wish Christie would put the racial stereotypes in the middle of the books and not on page 11 so you hesitate to even continue. I guessed the ending - sometimes Christie shows her hand without meaning to. Her writing has this undercurrent of tension against women who are beautiful and therefore "get away with it". There's always this nitpicking of their morals or lack thereof - either lamb to the slaughter or heartless murderess.

Other than that, Poirot's character fails to assert itself more and more in these stories. It's classic Hastings and Poirot; not really any development in their friendship. I'm not asking for a sudden role reversal or a romantic subplot (even though, where art thou Cinderella?). For all its faults, The Big 4 was so sweet to show how Poirot and Hastings missed each other. Tommy and Tuppence always had them caring for the other, being snarky, being worried, being lovestruck. Why is Hastings here? He has no unique role.

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akira_outofthegravity's review against another edition

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dark tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This is more like a 2.5 rounded up to a three bc of the last chapters. The last few chapters really tie the whole thing together and are very tight and succinct.

My main criticism is the plot flip-flopping all over the place. I understand it’s because Poirot is being misled but it leads to a plot that is muddled and hard to keep track of. However the ending makes up for it. One of the most unique murderers in Christie novels- they remind me a little of the character Lucy in the Hollow (which I read previously). Another thing is that a lot of the book felt particularly mean, between Japp, Poirot, and Hastings. Japp is usually a fun character to read but I loathed every second of him. Similarly, Poirots dismissal of Hastings was not something I found enjoyable.

I enjoyed the motive/plot (when it was entirely finished and not flipping everywhere)/and the characters. Particularly Jenny Driver, and the final bit that seals the narrative from Donald Ross I think is particularly brilliant. Subtle, but brilliant.

Not her best work, but maybe something to read after/before all the good novels.

Also weird amount of antisemitism in this book.

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nidzi_c's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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arthur_pendrgn's review against another edition

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slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? N/A
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

This is awful. Poirot is a contemptuous little man who spends the entire time speaking in half sentences when he's not indulging in insulting everyone in such convoluted ways as to show off his alleged superior intellect. A totally frustrating mystery in which the solution is obvious early and it takes Poirot way to many pages to resolve. He drags it out just to watch Japp squirm and laugh at him, I swear.

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silver_valkyrie_reads's review against another edition

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funny mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

Book seventeen in my personal read through of Agatha Christie in publication order!

Hastings is still annoying, but I found the plot intriguingly twisty. Definitely an entertaining one to re-read sometime, I think.

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shonaberu's review against another edition

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lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

3.75

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coffee_addict_artemis's review against another edition

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4.0

I recently discovered Poirot mysteries for myself and so far I've enjoyed all of them. Lord Edgware Dies was no exception. This is once again a cleverly crafted mystery with a mostly surprising ending; Christie did what she does best, write a novel I did not want to put down and I would love to give the novel a higher rating.
Sadly Agatha Christie let some of her prejudice or dated world view flow into her writing: the novel introduces multiple "Rich Jews" who exist only to be rich and surrounded by other rich people with a place in high society. If I recall correctly one of them is also described to play with lose change that he keeps in his pockets. This certainly made me reduce my rating to "only" four stars.

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