The Hollow (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: 1984-06-01
ISBN: 042506784X
Number of pages: 272
Publisher: Berkley
Book Reviews of The Hollow (Hercule Poirot)
Book Review: "I Cannot Grieve for my Dead..."
Summary: 5 Stars
As with many of Agatha Christie's later books, her famous Belgian detective Hercule Poirot has a minor part to play in "The Hollow". He does not appear until over halfway through the book, and even his methods of detection are considerably downplayed. There is no baffled Hastings in tow, no enigmatic comments sprinkled to onlookers, no triumphant denouncement; here it's as though he's so confident of reaching a solution that he doesn't even need to lift a finger, and Poirot is content to sit back and let the suspects come to him.
Instead of a straight-forward whodunit, "The Hollow" ends up being one of Christie's most in-depth character studies. There is no jealous mistress, lecherous doctor, bitter wife, but rather several of the most finely-nuanced individuals of any Christie mystery, who interact in realistic and complex ways. The effect is a mystery that is rather sobering, simply because the lives and personalities of the characters deepen the reader's investment, and the stakes are that much higher as the conclusion looms closer. Rather than looking forward to the solution, it is a sense of dread that permeates the proceedings.
The Hollow is the grand, but rather cold, estate of upright Sir Henry and his wife Lady Angkatell. For a weekend visit they gather together various family members: John Cristow, a brilliant, charismatic doctor and his submissive, meek little wife Gerda, as well as Henrietta Savernake, a talented sculptress who is John's secret mistress, Midge Hardcastle, who hates working in a cheap dress shop, and the hapless Edward Angkatell, who is all set to inherit Ainswick, the country house that means so much to so many of those gathered at the Hollow.
Their quiet family gathering is interrupted by the sudden appearance of the actress Veronica Crale, as beautiful as she is egotistical, who spirits away John into the night after a request for matches and a demand for an escort home again. John does not return until three the following morning.
I doubt it can be considered a spoiler to say that John is found dead the next morning. After an altercation with his one-night-stand, he is found bleeding into the swimming pool. Standing over him is Gerda, the gun in her hand and a stunned expression on her face. Around the body are several of the weekend guests, horror-struck and helpless, but John manages to utter one last word before he dies. It is this scene that Poirot is ushered to, and he is immediately stuck by the staged atmosphere.
The mystery unfolds at a slow but careful pace, with each character's alibi considered less important than their motivation. Many have reason to kill John Cristow, none more obviously than his wife, but as clues and leads continue to lead the police on a merry dance, Poirot's patient investigation inevitably begins to shed light on the proceedings. As Christie explains: "That was how he saw it: a pattern. A design of intermingled emotions and the clash of personalities. A strange involved design, with dark threads of hate and desire running through it."
Altogether, "The Hollow" is one of my favorite Christie mysteries, precisely because of the richness of the characters and their lives. Though they are not necessarily likable, Christie makes them fascinatingly understandable. The dissatisfaction each has with their lives, bordering on despair in some cases (and alleviated only by the fairy-like, though rather unsettling Lady Angkatell) and their tangled array of relationships and emotions makes this a mystery that is carried very much by human psychology rather than convoluted plans to lay hands on the family fortune.
Likewise, there is a cold, eerie atmosphere at work that gets under your skin: the only real point of light in the proceedings is everyone's fond regard for Ainswick. Yet even as it is regarded as a warm, peaceful reminder from each character's childhood, the reader never sees it for themselves. The style and pacing is slower than usual; dreamy and pensive, quiet and subtle.
It's not perfect (I'm not sure what the point of David Angkatell was), but as others have said, this is more than a novel than a mystery, and is carried wonderfully by four intriguing female characters. "The Hollow" is a must for anyone trying to experience the wide range of Christie's work.
Summary of The Hollow (Hercule Poirot)
It's Agatha Christie at her best as a weekend house party becomes a crime scene for special guest Hercule Poirot.Literature & Fiction Books
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