I loved it. All of it. The story, the characters, the nostalgic feeling... I've read The Hobbit a few years agoBookclub book of the month January 2023
I loved it. All of it. The story, the characters, the nostalgic feeling... I've read The Hobbit a few years ago and absolutely adored that as well. But somehow I never tried LotR, because everyone kept telling me the books are boring and it takes you forever to read it. So it's a good thing we picked this one for our January Bookclub read, because I don't know if I'd ever have tried it otherwise. I finished it way quicker than I thought I would. Sure, there are parts that are dragging a bit and I think that's why I gave this only 4 stars instead of 5. It also helped that I know the story by heart because I've seen the movies (extended editions, obviously) SO MANY TIMES. The first book was a little different, some parts were left out of the movies and I get why. Also, Legolas has more dialogue during the Council of Elrond in the book than he does in all three movies combined.
But... hats off to Tolkien. The characters, the world-building, the story itself, the Elven-language... A true creative mastermind. Of course, I knew that already, but reading the book just made it even more evident. I will definitely be reading Two Towers & Return of the King!...more
It was good, a bit slow at times, but an interesting story nevertheless. The main character was a bit spineless at times, and unfortunately I saw a spIt was good, a bit slow at times, but an interesting story nevertheless. The main character was a bit spineless at times, and unfortunately I saw a spoiler about the major plottwist before I read it - so that ruined what little tension there was left. I certainly would not call this a suspense novel or a thriller. It was slightly ominous at times, but that's about it. It took me a while to finish it, mainly because the first half of the book was extremely slow and kind of boring. The second half was much better, but this is nothing more than a 3 star rating for me. I will be checking out the new Netflix movie soon, though (hello, Armie Hammer & Lily James? Yes, thank you)....more
This was my very first Agatha Christie novel and I absolutely loved it. Somehow I expected it to be a difficult read, but it wasn't.Rating: 4.5 stars
This was my very first Agatha Christie novel and I absolutely loved it. Somehow I expected it to be a difficult read, but it wasn't. Not in the slightest. I enjoyed reading it; the storyline itself was really good and so was the mystery that Poirot and our narrator, Dr Sheppard, had to solve. The characters were interesting enough, even though they were a bit one dimensional (but that doesn't really matter, does it, in a mystery novel like this one?). The logic Poirot uses to dedude who the culprit is, is a fun one, because as the reader you actually have no idea what he's really doing, until the very end of the novel, where he reveals everything and all the pieces of the puzzel fall into place.
I did, however, guess who the murderer was before Poirot had the chance to reveal it. I wasn't 100% sure, but I had this feeling in my gut I couldn't shake. Turns out I was right. It didn't ruin the experience of the book for me, though. I still enjoyed it, and it was actually pretty nice to have some validation for my suspicions.
It has to be said that Agatha Christie is a very good writer and she absolutely deserves the title of 'queen of mysteries'. At the end of my edition of this novel, there was a postscript by Laura Thompson and she ended it by saying 'Christie fooled you'. Well, that's exactly what I want in a novel like this; because even though I did guess the murderer right, I had no idea what the motive behind the killing was. So it was still kind of a surprise, Agatha still kind of fooled me.
I highly recommend this to everyone; it's accessible for readers of all genres. That's what makes her books so special and timeless. It's got mystery, drama, humour and murder. And it's incredibly cleverly written. What else can you ask for? I'm definitely going to buy/read more of her books....more
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