The Clocks (Hercule Poirot)
by Agatha Christie
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Book Summary Information
Author: Agatha ChristieEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2000-03-01
ISBN: 0425173917
Number of pages: 272
Publisher: Berkley
Book Reviews of The Clocks (Hercule Poirot)
Book Review: Tick Tock
Summary: 5 Stars
Christie's longest book (except for the non-mystery GIANTS BREAD) and in some ways the one with the most difficult plot to unravel. Some of the bits of detection seem forced; Christie has a reputation for fair play but I can't see any way that Colin Lamb discovers who is the owner of one of the eponymous clocks except, well, he's just guessing. And Poirot's deductions are even more far fetched. And yet the whole thing hangs brilliantly on an astonishing misdirection which will fool you no matter how many times you read the darn thing.
I sometimes wonder if Christie was paying tribute to Virginia Woolf and her epic novel TO THE LIGHTHOUSE in this book. Those of us who love Woolf's novel cherish it partially for its acutely observed portrait of "Mrs. Ramsay," an idealized mother figure who is the warm, lambent center of a household that revolves around her, one that without her at its heart simply falls off the tracks. THE CLOCKS features another Mrs. Ramsay, likewise a mother who must make an immensely tough decision about her own children. I think by and large it might be the tribute of one English modernist to another, but check it out for yourself! Some people prefer Woolf's characterization, but I always admire Christie for her adherence to the facts about human nature, no matter how unpleasant.
Colin Lamb isn't the perfect hero, nor is Sheila Webb, the girl with the cornflower eyes who works as a professional typist, the perfect heroine. Both of them are deeply flawed, and they know it. Colin knows Sheila is a liar, and even more disturbing, that she will never actually be able to change, but he loves her anyhow and he will find a way to make their union work.
Loose ends department: how did the killer know that his victim had a scar behind his ear in the first place?
The central, traumatic confrontation between mother and daughter, was this entirely a coincidence? I still can't work it out. The brilliant mind behind the byzantine plot is exactly the person you just can't believe it will ever be!
One of the neighbors on Wilbraham Crescent is called "Bulstrode," isn't that the name of the headmistress in Christie's CAT AMONG THE PIGEONS, the preceding Poirot novel?
Summary of The Clocks (Hercule Poirot)
Four missing clocks, one corpse, and a blind witness. Good luck, Poirot.Literature & Fiction Books
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