The independent reading odyssey continues...leaving behind the cyclops...

My next set of stories is from the famous Agatha Christie. I will be reading the Miss Marple stories.

First and last...a juxtaposition!

-Okay, the first thing i noticed when i picked up this book was that it was about the size of a Sherlock Holmes short story. The entire book was a staggering 92 pages long and took me the greater part of two hours (maybe) to finish.
-Okay so the detectives. There is a detective in this story called Mr. Cuff. However, he is different from Holmes is several respects.
1. Cuff is not the protagonist of this story but only a minor character.
2. Cuff's input in this story is fundamental but is not the main thing that makes the case come together.
3. Cuff, at one point of the story, makes a totally wrong assertion. Unlike Holmes who does not preempt himself but retains all final assertions till the end, Cuff openly declares that the diamond was not actually stolen and that by the end this fact would reveal itself to be true. This, unfortunately, is totally false since the diamond was stolen.
4. Also, Cuff constantly reveals his discoveries during his investigation, unlike Holmes.

However, there are some similarities;
1. Cuff also has that aura of mystery about him and respect as an authoritative sleuth figure that Holmes possesses.
2.Cuff is English too. He lives in London.

In conclusion, Cuff bears a few similarities to Holmes just so as to fit into the stereotype of the awesome sleuth but he really isn't as good at the job and features in less than a quarter of the book.

The beginning of a new era...introducing - THE MOONSTONE by Wilkie Collins

This is the next book that i shall be reading (actually that i read and completed last night) for my blog. I know that we, as bloggers, should not dote on summary writing and undue narrating of the story. However, in order to encapsulate my ideas in a way that will easily be understood by my reader, it is mandatory that i provide a brief summary of what transpires in the book beforehand. Thus, without further ado, i now present to you...

THE MOONSTONE - an abridged version brought to you by Adrian.

Setting - England, 1848. The story plays out for the greater part in London.

POV - First person narrative of a butler or house-help named Betteredge.

Outline - The moonstone, a valuable diamond from the statue of the Hindu Moon godess is stolen from India by the late uncle of a Miss Rachel, whom, upon his death, bequeaths the valuable stone to his beloved niece for her birthday. Mr. Franklin, an acquaintance of Ms. Rachel's, is charged with the duty of delivering the moonstone to Rachel on her birthday. He does so with great regret (though he does not evidence this outwardly) for he knows that the moonstone is cursed and brings bad luck to any and all who possess it (all this Mr. Franklin confides in our faithful narrator). Later that night, however, Miss Rachel's diamond is stolen. The mystery being that all the doors and windows of the house were locked shut and that noone could have entered or left with the diamond during the course of the night, suggesting that the thief was someone that stayed over that night. The only people that resided in the house that night were Miss Rachel, Mr. Godfrey Abelwhite (a family friend), Dr. Candy (another family friend), the house-helps (including our narrator) and Mr. Franklin...

...skip several chapters and we come to the end of the book. It turns out that Mr. Godfrey conspired with Dr. Candy to drug Mr. Franklin's drink so that he would act "out of the ordinary". Due to Mr. Franklin's concern for Rachel and the diamond's safety, he had inadvertently (in his somnambulant state induced by the drugs) stolen the diamond so as to hide it from the Hindu men that were trying to retrieve the relic at all costs (they even showed up at the birthday party under the guise of magicians but were spotted out by a wise man who had done a lot of travelling to India and could discern their foul motives). But as Mr. Franklin retired to his room, he was intercepted by Mr. Godfrey Abelwhite who took the diamond and left the house the following day. Mr. Franklin was spotted by Ms. Rachel, though, and she thought that he was stealing her diamond. Mr. Franklin remembered none of this of course, so he was very upset when suddenly Ms. Rachel would not speak to him. Anyway, the book ends with one of the Hindu mercenaries killing Mr. Godfrey Abelwhite, retrieving the fabled moonstone, and returning with it to India to replace it in the statue of the godess. So the truth is revealed, Ms. Rachel loves Mr. Franklin again and becomes Mrs. Franklin, and everyone lives happily ever after...except for the few people that died during the course of the story.

My next post will be on the differences and similarities between this story and the Holmes stories. Till then, adieu.

Ruminating, cogitating...and responding.

Well, this is basically in response to Gen's last few comments. Holmes is the archetypical detective of whom we see several renditions in detective stories throughout the ages. The cool and collected sleuth we see in literature, who never jumps to conclusions and meticulously picks each part of the mystery apart, is always a reincarnation of our dear Holmes. I actually have been searching for these traits in the book that i have started reading and i will elucidate further when the time is ripe. And finally, Holmes' method is very productive. Holmes always gets his man (or woman, or animal...depending on whodunit). Even in the story where Holmes is thought to have died at the hands of his arch-enemy, the equally witty and intelligent Moriarty, he still returns under the guise of an old woman to startle Watson and to stay undercover till he foiled Moriarty's crime syndicate. Holmes was actually intended to die in this story, but due to public demand (public upheaval, more like), Doyle (the author, remember) had to resurrect old Sherlock to keep the reading public happy. (Much like what would have happened if Rowling had decided, say, to kill Harry in "Prisoner of Azkaban" and stopped the story there).