Trigger Warning: Reading Christie in the Modern Age

Written by Jessica

As I started to read my very first Agatha Christie novel, I had high hopes. Anne always said that she loved her mysteries. I happen to also love a mystery, especially a good plot twist. I have read the majority of the popular mystery novels, such as The Girl on the Train (GREAT novel, please read). But I was ready for a classic, and nothing is more classic than And Then There Were None.

Certain things were acceptable to write when the novel was written, but now are definitely not. It is always a bit odd to read some words that are now not politically correct.

My first thought was shock. Certain things were acceptable to write when the novel was written, but now are definitely not. It is always a bit odd to read some words that are now not politically correct. Once the shock wore off and I moved on, I was still a bit confused. The whole novel is centered around a nursery rhyme, about “ten little Indians.” While normally I would assume nursery rhymes are for children, meaning they wouldn’t be dark, this one does not fit into that category. This one is about ten Indian boys who all die, in different ways. As the novel goes on, you realize how important this part of the novel is, since the order of deaths matches up to how the boys die.

So after my initial hesitation (and a few deaths), I was hooked. It was much easier to keep up with who was left and you also had no idea who could be the killer. The story started off with ten different people all on a boat to an island. Eventually you find out that each person was responsible for someone else’s death. Which means no one is innocent, which gave me this feeling of a vigilante. The killer believes that he is only killing people who are a burden to society. You obviously do find out eventually is at fault, and I must say, they are brilliant, in a dark way. They manage to plan the perfect murder for all of these different people.

This book has given me a newfound respect for Agatha Christie and her writing. She has the ability to grab your attention and keep it until the very end.

This book has given me a newfound respect for Agatha Christie and her writing. She has the ability to grab your attention and keep it until the very end. While some parts of the novel may need a change into the modern age, I understand how she is one of the most successful murder mystery writers. To this day, people would be able to enjoy this classic as well as many others. I hope to read more of her novels in the future, please leave suggestions in the comments!