Even more about Agatha Christie

Anxious as I am to get away from the unmitigated slaughter that marked the years leading up to during and after the Second World War  in Central and Eastern  Europe, together with the unrelenting misery - this time inflicted by the British  - as we supposedly  rid our shores of convicts by thoughtfully transporting them to the welcoming shores of Australia  (The Fatal  Shore by Robert  Hughes),  I thought it might  be a good idea to try my hand at someone a little lighter, someone like Agatha  Christie  for  example.    I   think I must have done the bulk of this sort of reading whilst I was still a teenager  but indulged in a second helping when I  was preparing to go and stay, and as it turned out, the rest of my life living in France. This time I read the Poirot books in French, and well I remember the difficulty I had with the word  "hein" which kept on cropping up in  dialogue.  

Coming back as I do to these detective books as a so-called adult, I am struck for the first time by how uneven they are. Hercule Poirot's Christmas, for example, is very below par, whereas Ordeal by Innocence is quite different and a real study in character, shot through with more than a measure of compassion. Still, these are early days with only four book read and goodness knows how many more to come.

PS Since I am in poor physical shape at the moment, I have decided to alternate the standing and seated position when writing. My goodness, the former is exhausting!