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  Evelinych22 февраля 2016 г.

  “Hercule is Hercules”

  I read this book in the summer of 2014. It was the second book I’ve read by Agatha Christie and the first one from Hercule Poirot series. What struck me from the start was the description of Poirot. Particularly in this book the author gives us a glimpse of his appearance. And it comes like a contradiction, maybe like a hidden metaphor in a way. What I mean is that Hercule is obviously a French name and a version of Hercules – the hero of Greek’s myth “The Hercules’s twelve feats” – a brave and daring young man with an enormous physical power. But Hercule Poirot is shown as a small and absolutely unremarkable man. So we start thinking – why such a name? And the answer comes at the end – he is Hercules for his bright mind – an outstanding power to penetrate to the essence of things simply by using logic.
  Additionally, each time I hear about Hercule Poirot, an image of David Suchet appears right in front of my eyes. And after reading this book I’ve become 100 % sure that he’s the best Poirot ever. He added flawless and absolutely French manners to his character; though, to my surprise, I’ve learnt Suchet is an Englishman with ancestors from the former Russian Empire (presently Latvia and Lithuania lands).
  As for the plot, I don’t want to give any spoilers, so I’ll try to generalize my impressions and thoughts. The story is very interesting by itself and is actually full of romance. It takes place at an archeological site. Love, jealousy and phantoms of the past are involved. And, of course, there is Christie’s peculiar style.
  What distinguishes Agatha Christie’s detective stories is that she never “makes advances” to the reader. No clue for the riddle is given before the denouement. What I mean is that your reading of this book won’t follow a typical “detective” scenario: at the end of the book – lightning – it was/were he/she/they who had done it! Why didn’t I see it before! (As an option: I knew it!) No, this time it is Hercule Poirot who gets all the credit. So it will force us to give up the silly “who’s smarter” contest and just freeze with an open mouths, saying “Wow! How did he do it?” But no wonder – he’s Hercules!

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