Janet's Reading 2011

[frankie]

Uh-oh, Janet, that's some drastic plan you have there! If you don't mind my asking, how many books do you now have on your TBR pile, in total?

 

I don't know if I would recommend getting rid of all your books bought prior to 2010, because who knows what kinds of gems you have there, and what if you want to read some of them after having given them away? This is just my opinion, but I would at least go through every book, one by one, and think about whether I wanted to them anymore.

[Janet]

I have 9 from this year and 18 from 2010.

Pre-2010 I have about 50 titles (there are probably one or two I've missed. I've made a list of them. Now I've looked at it, there are some I can't part with for various reasons.

Pre-2010 Books

Blood of Flowers - Anita Mirrezvant - would count as a World Challenge book
Too Close to Home - Lynwood Barclay
Neither Here nor There - Bill Bryson
The Man Who Was Thursday - G K Chesterton
On Green Dolphin Street - Sebastian Faulks - I loved Birdsong
Stardust - Neil Gaiman
Inside the Whale and Other Essays - George Orwell - not getting rid of this as I want to read all Orwell's works
Decline of the English Murder - George Orwell - ditto
The Kraken Wakes - John Wyndham - not getting rid of this - I'm collecting matching covers so want to read it
Howard's End is on the Landing - Susan Hill - will read this - present from my parents
Treasure Island - Robert Louis Stevenson
The Glass Book of the Dream Eaters - G.W. Dahlquist
Waiting - Hai Jin - would count as World Challenge (I think!)
The Eye in the Door - Pat Barker
The Ghost Road - Pat Barker
Lolita - Nabokov - I want to read this
The Lord of the Flies -William Golding
The Third Man/The Fallen Idol - Graham Greene
Travels With My Aunt - Graham Greene
The Road - Cormac McCarthy - I want to read this
King Soloman's Mines - H Rider Haggard
The Dubliners - James Joyce
Witch Child - Celia Rees - I want to read this
The Bolter - Frances Osbourne
The Senator's Wife - Sue Miller
The Return - Victoria Hislop
The Trespass - Barbara Ewing
The Lion and the Unicorn - Tracy Chevalier
Brixton Beach - Roma Thearne
Three Men on the Bummel - Jerome K Jerome
The Tales of Beedle the Bard - J K Rowling
Head Over Heels in the Dales - Gervase Phinn
Point of Honour - Simon Brett - will read this - last I have of series and I've read the others
Far From the Madding Crowd - Hardy - I want to read this
The Forgotten Garden - Kate Morton
The BFG - Roald Dahl - - I want to read this
George’s Marvellous Medicine - Roald Dahl - ditto
James and the Giant Peach - Roald Dahl - ditto
Wycliffe and the Guild of Nine - W J Burley will read this - last I have of series and I've read the others
A Short History of Nearly Everything - Bill Bryson
Down Under - Bill Brson
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café - Fanny Flagg
An Open Vein - J M Warwick - I won this on BCF ages ago so I ought to read it
Ballet Shoes - Noel Streatfeild
Breakfast at Tiffany’s - Truman Capote - I loved In Cold Blood so might keep this
The Age of Innocence - Edith Wharton - I tried this but gave up - might try again?
1599: A Year on the Life of William Shakespeare - James Shapiro - I want to read this
The Ship of Brides - Jojo Moyes
Wicked - Jilly Cooper - a present - I gave up on this after 200 page, but as it was a gift I feel bad about not reading it, but it's so boring!

I know most of us are in the same position, but I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed by it all. I know I'll never catch up. Aargh, what to do, what to do?!

[frankie]

Ooh you made a list, let me take a look *getting my fingers stretched and flexed to do some serious typing, with a serious face on*

 

(Although I have to say, your mount TBR is still manageable compared to, for example, mine, yours is well under a hundred.)

Here's my input, for what it's worth (I'm not going to comment on the books that you've marked as keepers yourself):

 

Too Close to Home - Lynwood Barclay - This one I would keep, I thought it was a really excellent thriller, a real pageturner for me

Neither Here nor There - Bill Bryson - I've never actually read any Bill Bryson yet but I have Down Under and Notes from a Small Island on my TBR and all the books by BB seem to be really interesting and I've heard so many great things about them, I'd definitely keep all the Bill Brysons

Treasure Island - Robert Louis Stevenson - This is a classic as you know, and quite a readable and likable one at that, it's got a old-fashioned, treasure-hunting, sea-fairing pirate feel to it. I was surprised how good it was. I know at least Ben would agree, we just discussed this somewhere on the forum

The Lord of the Flies -William Golding - This is on the 1001 Books list but I really, really did not like it and I don't know anyone who has. I'd give it away and if you still felt like reading it, you can always borrow it from the library

Travels With My Aunt - Graham Greene - Have you read any Graham Greene before? I've only read this novel by him, it was okay but nothing out of the ordinary

Three Men on the Bummel - Jerome K Jerome - Isn't this the author who wrote the other Three Men novel, I can't remember the full title? If my memory serves me right, you liked that novel?

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café - Fanny Flagg - I really enjoyed reading the book. It's not in a chronological order so it might be a bit difficult to read at times, but only a little, and otherwise I really enjoyed it, I had to get it for myself after reading it. I love the movie too and would whole-heartedly recommend it

Breakfast at Tiffany’s - Truman Capote - I loved In Cold Blood so might keep this - I just have to comment on this. I haven't read In Cold Blood yet, but I loved Breakfast at Tiffany's, there was something atmospheric in it. And it's a short read, if that helps

 

I don't either know the rest of the titles or don't have an opinion on them so I'd pass them on. Looking forward to hearing what you decide to do with the lot in the end

Edited March 5, 2011 by frankie

[Kidsmum]

I feel it's getting out of hand but I can't seem to stop. The trouble is, I keep finding bargains.

I know how you feel Now that I'm keeping a list of the books I'm buying I can see how out of control my book buying has got. Charity shops are my downfall if I had to pay full price for the books there's no way I'd have so many but then again I found books that I've really enjoyed that I just wouldn't have bought if I had to get them new.

 

 

I don't know if I would recommend getting rid of all your books bought prior to 2010, because who knows what kinds of gems you have there, and what if you want to read some of them after having given them away?

 

That's what I was thinking, you could always try alternating what books you read choosing one from your pre 2010 pile then one of your more recently bought ones that way at least you'd feel that you were making progress with clearing your back log. TBH I've given up hope of ever getting my mountain down to manageable proportions but I console myself with the thought that at least I'm good at getting rid of them once I've read them:)

 

By the way I have a couple of Pat Barkers , Regeneration & Another World on my TBR pile & I bought Treasure Island as well recently.

[frankie]

That's what I was thinking, you could always try alternating what books you read choosing one from your pre 2010 pile then one of your more recently bought ones that way at least you'd feel that you were making progress with clearing your back log. TBH I've given up hope of ever getting my mountain down to manageable proportions but I console myself with the thought that at least I'm good at getting rid of them once I've read them:)

 

I think that's really great advise, I'd go with that!

[Janet]

Thanks for your input, guys.

 

I think I've decided to keep the ones I've marked in blue, and the ones that Frankie has listed, and then to pass on the others - and then alternate, as Kidsmum has suggested.

 

It's the charity shops that are my downfall!

 

Now I've posted the list above, if I do get rid and then manage to reduce to pile, I will know what to replace. But seriously, some of them I've had for about 7 years without reading - so will I really miss them? I'm going to try and do this!

[frankie]

Glad to have helped, it was a very joyful task, it's always fun to go through other people's books I now wish you courage in your mission of passing on the other books!

 

7 years is indeed a long time, and I bet there were at least a couple of titles there that you didn't even remember without taking a look at them.

[Michelle]

Janet, I often go through my shelves, and give some away. It's surprising really - there are books which I thought I really wanted to read, but they get left on the shelf, and when I look again, they don't appeal!

[Kylie]

I hope I'm not too late to save a few more of your books, Janet! Here are a few of my thoughts on the books you didn't comment on.

 

The Man Who Was Thursday - G K Chesterton - an interesting read. I'm not sure whether to recommend it or not (sorry!)

Stardust - Neil Gaiman - supposed to be excellent

The Eye in the Door - Pat Barker - this Regeneration trilogy is supposed to be brilliant

The Ghost Road - Pat Barker - ditto

The Lord of the Flies -William Golding - bleh, I didn't enjoy this at all!

The Third Man/The Fallen Idol - Graham Greene - keep! Excellent stories (and the movie adaptation of the former is brilliant)

Travels With My Aunt - Graham Greene - supposed to be excellent

Three Men on the Bummel - Jerome K Jerome - I'm pretty sure you really enjoyed Three Men in a Boat? If so, I think this is a definite keeper

The Tales of Beedle the Bard - J K Rowling - this is an OK read. It's short, so I'd recommend a quick read before passing it on.

A Short History of Nearly Everything - Bill Bryson - keep! 'tis brilliant.

Down Under - Bill Brson - ditto

Edited March 6, 2011 by Kylie

[SaraPepparkaka]

I admire you for the project, Janet!

 

I need to sort through my books sometime soon, too, and decide which ones to keep and which ones to give away. I keep a number of books that I hope my husband will like to read some day (I have never quite given up hope that he will one day become a reader), but since space is limited, some of those books may have to go.

[Janet]

Looking forward to hearing what you decide to do with the lot in the end

By the way I have a couple of Pat Barkers , Regeneration & Another World on my TBR pile & I bought Treasure Island as well recently.

I did like Regeneration - but I keep looking at the sequels and then putting them back - I'm not sure why. So I think I will bite the bullet and pass them on - I'm always coming across them in charity shops, so if I do get my list down they will be easy to replace fairly cheaply.

 

Janet, I often go through my shelves, and give some away. It's surprising really - there are books which I thought I really wanted to read, but they get left on the shelf, and when I look again, they don't appeal!

That's it exactly. As I said about the Pat Barkers above. I bought all three when I did WW1 as part of my A level English a few years ago, but there were so many other choices that I only read the first one at the time.

 

I hope I'm not too late to save a few more of your books, Janet! Here are a few of my thoughts on the books you didn't comment on.

 

The Man Who Was Thursday - G K Chesterton - an interesting read. I'm not sure whether to recommend it or not (sorry!)

Stardust - Neil Gaiman - supposed to be excellent

The Lord of the Flies -William Golding - bleh, I didn't enjoy this at all!

The Third Man/The Fallen Idol - Graham Greene - keep! Excellent stories (and the movie adaptation of the former is brilliant)

Travels With My Aunt - Graham Greene - supposed to be excellent

Three Men on the Bummel - Jerome K Jerome - I'm pretty sure you really enjoyed Three Men in a Boat? If so, I think this is a definite keeper

The Tales of Beedle the Bard - J K Rowling - this is an OK read. It's short, so I'd recommend a quick read before passing it on.

A Short History of Nearly Everything - Bill Bryson - keep! 'tis brilliant.

Down Under - Bill Brson - ditto

I am now keeping the ones you mentioned above, with the exception of the Pat Barkers (reason above) and the G K Chesterton and Travels with my Aunt, of which I read half last year and found it rather dull.

 

I admire you for the project, Janet!

 

I need to sort through my books sometime soon, too, and decide which ones to keep and which ones to give away. I keep a number of books that I hope my husband will like to read some day (I have never quite given up hope that he will one day become a reader), but since space is limited, some of those books may have to go.

Thanks everyone for your replies and input, which has been very helpful.

 

The list of what I am donating to charity (or returning where borrowed) is:

 

The Man Who Was Thursday - G K Chesterton

The Glass Book of the Dream Eaters - G.W. Dahlquist

King Soloman's Mines - H Rider Haggard

The Dubliners - James Joyce

The Senator's Wife - Sue Miller

The Return - Victoria Hislop

Travels With My Aunt - Graham Greene

The Trespass - Barbara Ewing

Head Over Heels in the Dales - Gervase Phinn

The Ship of Brides - Jojo Moyes

The Eye in the Door - Pat Barker

The Ghost Road - Pat Barker

The Lion and the Unicorn - Tracy Chevalier

Wicked - Jilly Cooper

 

Brixton Beach - Roma Thearne (A friend lent me this - I will return it to her - she won’t be offended)

The Bolter - Frances Osbourne (A different friend lent me this - I will return it to her - she won’t be offended)

 

That's 16 - not as many as I'd originally thought, but at least it makes a dent in the pile! Of these, only 2 are new books - the rest are from charity shops.

 

As this is recorded, it'll be easy to replace them if/when I feel like it.

 

Thanks again for your help, everyone.

[Janet]

I finished Yes Man last night - another funny read from Danny Wallace. Have moved onto Kiss of Death by Malcolm Rose - a YA Thriller.

[Janet]

BLACK SWAN GREEN by DAVID MITCHELL

 

 

Black Swan Green by David Mitchell

 

The ‘blurb’

”January, 1982. Thirteen-year-old Jason Taylor - covert stammerer and reluctant poet - anticipates a stultifying year in this backwater English village. But he hasn’t reckoned with bullies, simmering family discord, the Falklands War, a threatened gypsy invasion and those mysterious entities known as girls. Charting thirteen months in the back hole between childhood and adolescence, this is a captivating novel, wry, painful, and vibrant with the stuff of life.

 

Jason suffers from a stammer, (not a stutter - Jason points out the two are as alike as constipation and diarrhoea!), which doesn’t make his school life easy. He’s not overly popular and his reputation goes up and down as events conspire to either help or hinder that reputation!

 

In the meantime, home life isn’t great either. He constantly argues with his older sister and things between his parents seem strained at times, although Jason can’t quite put his finger on why. Living side-by-side with Jason are ‘Hangman’ (the cause of his stutter) and ‘unborn twin’, who plays devil’s advocate with Jason!

 

Jason is a really likeable protagonist. He’s sensitive and poetic - he’s really not like his peers. He also shows compassion to people when he thinks they’re being badly treated. This doesn’t help to make him any more popular. But he does form some friendships, including an unlikely one with an eccentric old woman - and life won’t always be bad for him.

 

I absolutely loved this young adult coming-of-age novel that takes place over thirteen months in the life of a 13 year old boy, where reputation is everything and friendships are as brittle as eggshells. I think that’s helped by the fact that Jason and I are similar ages, so I could relate to a lot of popular culture that is mentioned. A fantastic read which I heartily recommend!

[frankie]

What a great review Janet, thanks! I'm really looking forward to reading this one, it's on my TBR pile

[Janet]

Thanks, Frankie. Oh, I do hope you enjoy it. I shall look forward to reading your thoughts when you get round to it.

[Janet]

 

A Kestrel for a Knave by Barry Hines

 

The ‘blurb’

”Billy Casper is a troubled teenager growing up in a Yorkshire mining town. Treated as a failure at school and unhappy at home, Billy discovers a new passion in life when he finds Kes, a kestrel hawk. Billy identifies with her silent strength and she inspires in him the trust and love than nothing else can.

 

"An Eagle for an Emperor, a Gyrfalcon for a King;

a Peregrine for a Prince, a Saker for a Knight,

a Merlin for a Lady; a Goshawk for a Yeoman,

a Sparrowhawk for a Priest, a Musket for a Holy water Clerk,

a Kestrel for a Knave."

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………Selected from the Boke of St Albans, 1486,

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………and a Harleian manuscript.

 

Billy is a loner, who comes from a troubled background. His father is no longer on the scene and his mother, although she loves Billy, spends more time away from the family home. Billy shares a bedroom - and a bed - with his big brother Jud who works down the mine, but Billy doesn’t want to follow him into that job when he leaves school.

 

Unpopular at school, feeling life is a dead end and often hungry, but with enough wits to survive, Billy’s life is pretty directionless until he brings home a baby Kestrel and sets about training her. Billy loves Kes and he finally has some purpose in his life, but then one day, he does something stupid, which will bring everything crashing down around his ears…

 

I’m not sure ‘enjoyed’ is the right word for this book… and yet I did enjoy it. The writer does a great job portraying Billy’s feelings of worthlessness and the bleakness of his future - it’s easy to imagine both his home life and school life in the 60s and the tension builds throughout the novel until its pitiful conclusion.

[poppyshake]

Great review Janet (A Kestrel for a Knave) I really want to read this now .. I quite like bleak books. I'm not allowed to buy any more books so will try and seek it out at the library. I like the sound of 'Black Swan Green' too ... it's been a while since I read 'Cloud Atlas' and though parts of it boggled my head and made my brain go runny it was intriguing and interesting. This sounds like the book to get me back reading Mitchell again. I'll put it on the library list too.

[Janet]

I hope you enjoy both when you read them.

 

... it's been a while since I read 'Cloud Atlas' and though parts of it boggled my head and made my brain go runny...

 

I seldom re-read books, but I might read Black Swan Green again some day - I really enjoyed it. I don't know what Cloud Atlas is about - I must check it out. Although if it makes one's brain go runny then...

 

I have posted my thoughts of Yes Man here.

 

I read YA book Kiss of Death by Malcolm Rose in one sitting on Monday. Thoughts to follow.

 

Next up is Ferney by James Long. I don't now this author at all, but this is April's Book Club read so I'm looking forward to it, and hoping it will make for lots of discussion at our meeting.

[frankie]

I've also heard that one needs to really concentrate when they're reading Cloud Atlas, and I guess it's not as easily approachable as Black Swan Green seems to have been. I've got a copy of CA but I'm kind of dreading reading it, because I'm not sure if I have my wits about me ... I hear it's supposed to be pretty good though.

[Janet]

I've also heard that one needs to really concentrate when they're reading Cloud Atlas, and I guess it's not as easily approachable as Black Swan Green seems to have been. I've got a copy of CA but I'm kind of dreading reading it, because I'm not sure if I have my wits about me ... I hear it's supposed to be pretty good though.

Having looked at it, I'm not sure about it at all! I might look out for it in the charity shops and try the first few pages to see what my first impressions are!

 

I finished Ferney by James Long today and started Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson

[poppyshake]

I've also heard that one needs to really concentrate when they're reading Cloud Atlas, and I guess it's not as easily approachable as Black Swan Green seems to have been. I've got a copy of CA but I'm kind of dreading reading it, because I'm not sure if I have my wits about me ... I hear it's supposed to be pretty good though.

 

You will be fine the main problem with CA is that some storylines are better than others .. and so the book has highs and lows and you end up dreading the bits that you don't like. There are six stories, all separate but linked in some way .. and all interrupted before a conclusion is reached ... when you get to the end of the sixth story you then read the conclusion of the fifth and so on, in reverse, until you finish with the conclusion of the very first story .. so the one's that you hated or were bored or frustrated by have another chance to annoy the life out of you Leastways that's how it felt to me ... you might be lucky enough to enjoy all of the storylines.

But it's definitely worth reading ... it's different and challenging and innovative. I've been meaning to listen to it being read .. I feel I might get more out of it because the reader will bring more to it than I was able to do.

 

Hope you enjoy 'Major Pettigrew's Last Stand' Janet

[Janet]

Hope you enjoy 'Major Pettigrew's Last Stand' Janet

Thanks, Poppy - I loved it!

 

I finally finished Cat Among the Pigeons by Agatha Christie this morning. My first Christie. I didn't realise it was a Poirot (#33!) as there was no mention of him in the 'blurb'. After a slow start, I ended up really enjoying it. I very much liked the ending.

[Janet]

I'm a bit behind with my reviews!

 

 

Kiss of Death by Malcolm Rose

 

The ‘blurb’

On a school trip to the plague village in Eyam, Seth is moved by the story of how villagers sacrificed their lives to the dreaded Black Death. Kim and Wes are more interested in what they see at the bottom of the wishing well - money!

 

But when they snatch the coins they also pick up something they hadn’t bargained for, and as the hideous consequences of their theft catch up with them all, Seth is forced to face a terrifying truth. Has Eyam’s plague-ridden past resurfaced to seek revenge?

 

I’ve had this Young Adult book on my Amazon Wish List for some time. It’s set in the ‘Plague Village’ of Eyam in Derbyshire and I’ve enjoyed the two previous books I’ve read about events there, and the villagers’ brave attempt to prevent the spread of the disease, so I was looking forward to reading this - which tells the story with a modern twist.

 

Seth and Kim are twins who are friends with a young lad called Wesley. The three of them pull some money out of a well on a trip to Eyam. In amongst their ill-gotten gains is a small lead plaque.

 

They take their hoard to an antique dealer who gives them £400 for a valuable coin they tell him they ‘found’, but he advises them to take the plaque to the museum in Eyam because although valueless, it is a historic relic, being a love token given from a man to his sweetheart. Wes and Kim have no conscience though and refuse to return the relic, and although Seth feels this is wrong he has no choice but to go along with them, but strange things start happening to the three children. Kim and Wes become ill, and all three start having visions. It appears that their actions have stirred up the past with dreadful consequences, and Seth faces a race against the clock to put things right.

 

With elements of the supernatural, this book, which is aimed at 9 to 12 year olds, is well-written, if a bit predictable. However, the very ending, which I didn’t see coming until it was right upon me, made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up! Very enjoyable.

[Janet]

 

Ferney by James Long

 

The ‘blurb’

Mike and Gally Martin should be idyllically happy as they move to a new cottage in Somerset. But then Gally meets Ferney, an old countryman who seems to know everything about their house and its past, and a strange fixation takes hold.

 

What is it that draws Gally and Ferney together? Ferney knows that time is slipping away and that he must make Gally understand their connection: a bond that has stood the test of time, that runs deeper than life or death.

 

It’s a bit of a strange one, this! With elements of The Time Traveler’s (sic) Wife (although not quite as good, in my opinion), it tells the story of Gally and Ferney, two people who appear to be strangers, and yet are irresistibly drawn to each other.

 

Gally is a young woman, newly married to Mike - they have been house-hunting for some time as they want to move away from London, but somehow the right property never comes up. Gally has psychological problems after she witnessed the terrible death of her father when she was just a little girl. She was unable to save him and has since suffered nightmares featuring the ‘Burnman’ and the ‘Boilman’. Mike is very patient with her and makes allowances for her odd ways.

 

One day whilst they are caught up in the backlog of a road accident, they take an impromptu diversion off the A303 and go through a small Somerset village called Penselwood. Gally is drawn to a ramshackle cottage there and persuades Mike to take a look. It is there that she meets Ferney. She convinces Mike that they should buy the cottage and renovate it. She and Ferney have an immediate connection and Mike finds that he is jealous of their closeness. There is something about their past lives that gives them a connection that Mike can neither understand nor break. The ending (despite panning out pretty much the way I’d expected) had a really good twist.

 

This story contains elements of the supernatural - it’s not really something I would have picked up if it wasn’t a Book Club choice, and yet I did enjoy it. Penselwood is a real place and it’s not too far from here (hubby and I went for a visit after I’d finished it as I really wanted to look in the church which features, although not heavily, in the book. Sadly it was closed as it’s having lots of work done to it) and I enjoyed reading about areas I know quite well that are mentioned in the book.

 

Apparently it took James Long ten years to write this novel - the historical facts (which are the basis of the whole book) have obviously been meticulously researched. He’s currently writing a sequel, which was meant to be published last October but is, as yet, unfinished.

 

It’s certainly not one of the best books I’ve ever read, and the reader definitely has to suspend disbelief, but the local references made it enjoyable for me and if he manages to finish the sequel then I’d be interested to find out more about what happens to Ferney, Gally and Mike.

[Janet]

 

Cat Among the Pigeons by Agatha Christie

 

The ‘blurb’

Summer Term

 

Dear Mummy,

We had a murder last night. Miss Springer, the gym mistress. It happened in the night and the police came and this morning they’re asking everybody questions.

 

Miss Chadwick asked us not to talk to anybody about it, but I thought you’d like to know.

 

With love, Jennifer

 

I’ve had this book on my shelf for years and years! I’ve never read any Agatha Christie before, but I must have liked the sound of this. What I didn’t realise, as there is no mention of him on the back, is that it’s a Hercule Poirot mystery. Number 33, as it turns out!

 

It didn’t actually matter because he only turned up on page 160 of 224. So, nothing like the ITV series then!

 

It’s the new term at exclusive public school Meadowbank and the reader is introduced to the staff members and some of the girls, including the exotic Princess Shaista. Some two months earlier in Ramat, one of the richest states in the Middle East, The Sheik of Ramat, Prince Ali, had to flee the country after a coup - he only had a short time to try to get some jewels out of the country and so he entrusted them to his friend and private pilot, Bob.

 

Unfortunately Ali and Bob disappear, but not before Bob has time to dispose of the jewels. Someone saw what happened and is now trying to find them - and it seems they will stop and nothing to get their hands on them…

 

It took me some time to get into this, and I nearly gave up at one point, but I’m glad I persevered to the end - it turned into a good little story - and I loved the end, which for when the book was published (1959) was probably pretty out of the ordinary.

 

Spoiler if unread...

Prince Ali had got an English girl pregnant and had married her, knowing that he could return and have other wives, but that she would be shamed by having a child out of wedlock - it is his wife to whom he asked for the jewels to be sent.

I’m not sure I’ll actively seek out any more Poirots, but if another comes my way then I may just try it out.