lalu's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Ten people are invited to "Soldier Island" under different pretences. It turns out that each one caused the death of someone in a way that was untouchable by law.
Spoiler
One after another they all die.Here are some of the guesses/suspicions I had while reading. None of them were correct.
Spoiler
When Mr Rogers was seen outside and very shortly afterwards was seen in the attic, I thought he might have a twin or doppelganger.The way Ms Brent wrote in her diary and also went outside on her own... Very suspicious!
When the last five sat in the drawing room and we could read each ones thoughts I thought the last one was Blore and therfore suspected him.
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Murder, and Suicide
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Terminal illness, Violence, Child death, Gun violence, Alcohol, Blood, Car accident, Misogyny, and War
Minor: Religious bigotry, Infidelity, and Alcoholism
bringmybooks's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Death, Drug abuse, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Alcohol, Classism, Misogyny, Murder, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Terminal illness, War, Racial slurs, Ableism, Addiction, Car accident, Child death, Colonisation, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Suicide, and Suicidal thoughts
jojo_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Suicide, Ableism, Death, Murder, Racism, Gun violence, and Antisemitism
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Blood, Child death, Colonisation, Terminal illness, War, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Medical content, Misogyny, and Religious bigotry
bellemontemagni's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Suicide and Murder
Moderate: Violence, Gun violence, Medical trauma, and Death
Minor: Terminal illness, Child death, and Medical content
scaredykatbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Racism, Death, Sexism, Antisemitism, Misogyny, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug use, Gun violence, Misogyny, Antisemitism, Gaslighting, Suicide, Violence, Gore, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, and Terminal illness
Minor: Alcoholism, Car accident, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Alcohol, Antisemitism, Classism, Colonisation, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Abortion, and Suicide
brenna2themax's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Death, Suicide, Murder, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Car accident, Child death, Violence, and Terminal illness
bellebooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moving on.
What more is there to say? I think knowing the landscape of England in the time of 1900s pre-WWII helps tremendously, as the novel is more nuanced and intricate that way, making this novel act as a judge and jury of the culture at the time. (I would recommend looking into social classes relations regarding gender, race, wealth, and orientation at the time, most notably post-WWI.) However, that information is not necessary to appreciate quite possibly the greatest mystery novel of all time, at least in the literary canon.
As far as the quality of writing, Christie herself wanted to write a murder that was nearly impossible to solve. (Personally, I deduced the murderer quite easy to solve, but that's beside the point.) Her use of an omniscient narrator works well, as many times, the narrator focuses on one character at a time, expressing their thoughts, feelings, fears, and motives as if a first person narrator. The regression of the characters from a space of superiority, as part of urban society, to one of survival instincts (I hate using the terms "civilized" to "uncivilized") is quite intriguing, as it highlights the strengths and weaknesses of not just all classes of English society but also English (and to a similar degree, American) culture as a whole.
Out of their own mouths, my kids love this book: They admitted that it was slow in the beginning, (and they don't like how it took 3-4 chapters to set everything up), but once things started rolling, they were hooked. They have argued, debated, researched information to try and lock down who the killer is and motives; this is includes literally having a cork-board with pictures and string, mapping out the characters and their arcs.
We have looked at the 1945 and 2015 adaptations of this book. They talked about their favorite/least favorite characters, (Vera was the hands down favorite,) how the adaptations have changed what they've read, why they felt the book was better, etc. (Mind you, I had to do very little prompting. I merely would ask who their favorite/least favorite character was, what they thought of XYZ and why, and to pick a character and look up these two topics surrounding them. They went the distance.)
So yes. This is one of my favorite novels of all time. I may have a lot of opinions of the literary canon, but this novel is by far the first one I would argue to keep in its pedestal.
Graphic: Murder, Violence, Child death, Stalking, and Torture
Moderate: Religious bigotry, Sexism, Homophobia, War, Toxic friendship, Racism, and Abandonment
Minor: Alcohol, Racial slurs, and Terminal illness
libraryofcam's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Spoiler
I couldn’t have guessed it was Wargrave all along, the end was so surprising and smart. Loved it.Graphic: Murder, Violence, Gore, Emotional abuse, Death, and Blood
Moderate: Child death, Racial slurs, and Terminal illness
Minor: Terminal illness
mayr3adsab00k's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Confinement
Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death, Murder, Suicide, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Racism, Antisemitism, Blood, Car accident, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Terminal illness, and Violence
tildakoussa's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, Suicide, and Murder
Minor: Terminal illness, Racism, and Antisemitism