And Then There Were None

Review

In my opinion Christie’s detectives, for example Poirot and Marple, are officious, pompous and insufferable. This book thankfully does not have one of these characters and thanks to that, might be Christie’s best book. What’s more, I think its possible for the reader to solve this mystery if they really put their minds to it. Great story.

On a meta level, I found the amount of casual racism interesting. Examples - “that was the damnable part about Jews, you couldn’t deceive them about money” and “natives don’t mind dying, you know. They don’t feel about it as Europeans do”. I wonder if we could conclude from this that the average person in the 1930s spoke and thought this way. Also interesting is that this book was originally titled Ten Little Niggers, then re-titled Ten Little Indians (ie, Native Americans), and only later And Then There Were None. This probably reflects the change in society’s attitude towards minorities.

Highlights

Page 5

He had said it in a casual way as though a hundred guineas was nothing to him. A hundred guineas when he was literally down to his last square meal! He had fancied, though, that the little Jew had not been deceived—that was the damnable part about Jews, you couldn’t deceive them about money—they knew!

Note: So this book was originally called 10 Little Niggers. I’m not surprised to find this passage here but I’m willing to forgive it as the prejudice of the character, not the author

Page 23

No, there was only one satisfactory passenger in the boat. The last gentleman, the one who had arrived in the car (and what a car! A car such as had never been seen in Sticklehaven before. Must have cost hundreds and hundreds, a car like that). He was the right kind. Born to money, he was. If the party had been all like him… he’d understand it…

Note: Says something about how the English viewed class

Page 55

But self-preservation’s a man’s first duty. And natives don’t mind dying, you know. They don’t feel about it as Europeans do.’

Page 78

desultory

Page 89

‘Ah, I understand you now. Well, there is that Mr Lombard. He admits to having abandoned twenty men to their deaths.’ Vera said: ‘They were only natives…’ Emily Brent said sharply: ‘Black or white, they are our brothers.’ Vera thought: ‘Our black brothers—our black brothers. Oh, I’m going to laugh. I’m hysterical. I’m not myself…’

Note: Jesus

Page 139

‘It’s like some awful dream. I keep feeling that things like this can’t happen!’

Note: Shit dialogue

Page 143

Mr Justice Wargrave was thinking: ‘Murdered in our beds! These doctors are all the same—they think in clichés. A thoroughly commonplace mind.’

Page 163

‘I’m a domestic sort of man. I’ll give you a hand, Miss Claythorne.’

Note: Pah. What a martyr

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