Almost completely off-topic here, but something you said really struck me. In regard to prejudice/racial slurs, it’s very gratifying that you don’t know the meaning and connotation of one. I read a book by Margery Allingham in which a character used a different slur. I was disappointed. In talking with my daughter, I realized that she didn’t know what that one meant. To me, this is great progress in this country. We’ve come a long, long way. There’s a long way to go, but for the most part we’re on the right path.
It's very true... one of the only times my father has ever cried in front of me was after he met one of my best friends in college. She's black, and he hadn't realized she was black because I hadn't brought it up. He said it made him feel like he had succeeded in not passing on a lot of the prejudice he was brought up with. So... yes! Small steps, but I believe we will get there some day, no matter what people do to try to move us backwards.
I just finished this one and boy was it a trip. I do also think this is my favorite one so far. I am going out of order so I'm eager to see other videos you have done on the ones I have finished.
watched a bunch of your videos where you say this is one of her best. I guess that made me go into it expecting too much. I also saw a spoiler for another book right when I started and spent most of the book worrying the spoiler for this one. I certainly liked it, but it isn't among my faves. I did love however getting to see four of Christie's sleuths working together, and that really drove home for me how excellent Christie is at character development. All four of them are in the same position with the same goal in mind, but each thinks and behaves completely different. Really liked that aspect of it more than the solution itself.
I just reread it (and came here to rewatch the video), and this time Agatha really got me! So many twists and turns! Though I did not perceive the sexual orientation of Shaitana, but maybe it got lost in translation (though I did think for half the book that Rhoda and Anne Meredith were a couple ahah)
Yes, I think that there's definitely a reading of something going on between Rhoda and Anne! I'm not sure if it is intended subtext, but from today's vantage point, it's definitely a thing :). I seriously love this one!!
In another Poirot novel, there's a part in which Poirot muses on the perfect mystery and comes up with people sitting at a table playing a game and one of them is the killer. I don't recall which book it was so I can't tell if it was Christie playing around with an idea in an earlier work or retconing it in a later book that would take place earlier in Poirot's career.
I read this on the strength of your review! Really enjoyed it! So many things I liked about it! The plot,the characters, the fact that there’s only a few suspects and I absolutely love the part where poirot says something like “that can’t be so because that would mean that I’m wrong and I’m never wrong!” I love that part🤗👍
This is going to be my next read. I just finished Lord Edgware Dies. I LOVED IT! I love Agatha Christie writing. I have loved every book of hers that I have read. I cant wait to read Cards on the Table.
You wondered about the word “ Dago “ that the British men used. It’s is an old slur, definitely of the period of the novel, used for Italians by prejudiced English and Americans. Definitely very rude.
I started reading Agatha Christie in 2007. The Murder of the Orient Express was my first foray into AC books and Cards On The Table is one of my fave books in Poirot series. Planning to re-read this. AC is one of my fave literary idols. I admire her works.
I may need to revisit this one. It made a poor impression as a TV adaptation. My memory of the book included lots of skimming through multiple narrator POVs. I dislike that writing style. I'm not fond of cold-case detection stories generally, so this made it a personal low-rated title. It's also worth mentioning that I felt this book was a mini version of "And Then There Were None" just to revisit/milk an idea as Christie often did. Ngaio, I have heard pronounced Nigh-oh. Dago is/was a slur for Spaniards originally (from bastardizing the name Diego). It later broadened to include Portuguese, Italians and essentially anyone who was darkish and foreign or not fair and blonde. For a slightly more contemporary British context, the waiter Manuel from Fawlty Towers was casually called that on a beloved TV show. The victim's name may be translated to mean "the devil" in Hindi. Any readings of his sexual orientation or degree of misogyny beyond what was typical of the era might be attributed to his being meant (by Christie) as an otherworldly personage. Alan Cumming voiced Lucifer/The Devil in a short-lived tv animated comedy *God, The Devil And Bob* which portrayed the evil one in the exact way you are suggesting. Alan Cumming's The Devil is jealous when God forgets to show up for his (Lucifer's) birthday date and instead begins to pay attention to Bob, the titular Everyman character. The two supernatural beings clearly were depicted as being in an unreciprocated man-crush (slash) uber-father figure relationship.
Cards on the Table was the first Christie book I read and I just re-read it a few months ago. It's a great book and a real page turner. I'm glad I started there because it really pulled me into the world of Agatha Christie. My only complaint is that there are one (or maybe two) too many twists. It really begins to strain credulity near the end. But overall, a fantastic read!
It really is a good first Christie I think - it gives a good sense of some of her best tricks. Though yes... with Christie, you usually get one too many twists :)
Do you recommend I read other Poirot books before this one, or can I just go into it “blindly”? I’ve only read “And Then There Were None” by Christie because of your review and absolutely loved it.
