HarperCollins Hallowe’en Party: Filmed as A Haunting in Venice

Wonderful stories by Agatha Christie! Great to read in October!Or use as a book group choice.

‘Hallowe’en Party’, published in 1969, is amongst the best of Agatha Christie’s works. Apart from the legendary Hercule Poirot, this book features crime fiction writer Mrs Ariadne Oliver, the author’s attempt to caricature herself!“Preparations for a children’s party usually give far more trouble to the organisers than an entertainment devised for those of adult years.” While preparations are being made for a Hallowe’en party hosted by the domineering Mrs Drake, 12-year-old Joyce claims that she has witnessed a murder, possibly to attract Mrs Oliver’s attention. She is not taken seriously as she has the reputation of being a compulsive liar – but while the party is in full swing someone kills Joyce by holding down her head in a bucket of water meant for a party game. Hercule Poirot enters the scene and discovers that several unnatural deaths had taken place in and around the village in recent years. Before the present case can be investigated, Poirot would need to look into the earlier cases…Hercule Poirot made his first appearance during the First World War and most of Poirot’s novels are set in the 1930s and 1940s. This book, by contrast, is set in the late 1960s, when British society was grappling with problems like broken homes and drug abuse. There are several children in this book and they seem unusually precocious, both physically and emotionally.While the plot is excellent, this book appears to be riddled with stereotypes and prejudices. A character who claims to have enjoyed a vacation in India talks about “a Maharajah and a tiger shoot and elephants” even though the plot is set in the post-Colonial era. A missing ‘au pair’ girl provokes much xenophobia. “She came from some country in the middle of Europe. Some long name,” says Mrs McKay soon after she had declared “These foreign girls are all the same.”Even the British characters are not immune to class prejudices. When Poirot hears that Harriet Leaman, who was employed as a cleaner, had been asked to witness her employer’s will, he enquires “She can read and write?” No doubt, it can be argued that such condescending attitudes are shown by the characters in the book, not by the author herself, but such examples provide insights into British society well after the sun had set on the Empire.This book will be enjoyed by Agatha Christie’s fans on account of its complex plot with many twists in the end, not to mention Poirot’s vanity and his insistence on wearing tight patent leather shoes while walking around the countryside!

Trovo che la lettura della Christie nell'originale inglese sia assimilabile ad una full immersion nella lingua parlata che può aiutare le conversation skills. Si impara bene ad esempio a coniugare correttamente i verbi. E poi si apprendono vocaboli nuovi dell'everyday english. Un amabile compendio alla lettura di un dizionario o di un quotidiano. Una lingua si impara anche così: leggendo.

El libro ha llegado en perfectas condiciones. La historia empieza genial pero a medida que avanza el libro el asesino resulta ser muy evidente y el final no me ha gustado mucho.

I bought this book because it will be the inspiration for the next Hercule Poirot film "A Haunting in Venice" which comes out in September 2023. Now, from reading the novel's synopsis and watching the movie's trailer, it is evident that this book is different from the film. They are classifying the film as "inspired" rather than based on the novel. So, if you're reading this novel to be prepared for the film (as I did) then you will be disappointed. It is different. This novel does not take place in Venice. There is no seance. A few of the characters in the novel appear in the film, but they have been changed to suit the new story being told.That being said, this novel is a fun mystery, though it isn't Christie's best. It starts out slow, though once Hercule enters the story, it picks up. The middle of the novel does slow down again as the pieces of the mystery or put into play. Having read her other novels, I can say that this part of a mystery novel often slows down at times, but this novel slows down even more than expected. While the information is important, it feels as if there could have been a more exciting way to present the story. What saves the novel is the reveal of the murderer. I will admit that I had it guessed early on, though I didn't guess all the elements at play. Once it was all revealed, I did find myself coming around to the novel and the story established. It could have been revealed in a better manner, in my opinion. Then again, I'm not as good a writer as Christie, so I can't make a huge critique.I'd read it again, though it isn't my first choice within the Hercule Poirot collection.