Agatha Christie, A Fruitful Sunday & others short stories (chronique en anglais)

Title : A Fruitful Sunday & other short stories

Writer : Agatha Christie (GB)

Did the cover influence me? No

Genre : Short story

Summary : A precious necklace found by a couple in a basket of cherries, a young wife who met her husband supposed to be dead in Africa, a mad old caretaker scaring Harry Laxton's new wife, a man about to take the train at Victoria Station with his mistress... In those four short story, Agatha Christie proves that she was not only the author of incredible criminal stories, but also a great observer of humanity.

My feelings about it : Well, that's the first time I write a chronicle in english! In fact I don't often read the original version of books. Sorry if I do many mistakes (signal it, I would be grateful!)

I never read an Agatha Christie's novel, but I like those short stories very much. It's a bit hard to understand everything because of my lack of vocabulary, but the annotations help me a lot. The writer has a real talent to paint the post war society, in particular the upper class. 

The common point between the short story is tha t they are talking about how ordinary people could become criminals. A. Christie wants to explain that everybody can become a thief or a murderer, in spite of appearence.

I wll just talk about my two favorite  short stories. The first one is entitled A Fruitful Sunday : the scene takes place in England. A couple from a modest background discovered a precious nakelace in the basket of cherries as they have just read that one had been stolen in London. They don't know what to do : telling the police - but the policeman might not believe them and arrest them - or keep it and sell the rubis. I like this short story and specially the end, very surprising, because we don't know if the two lovers would be honest or not : I thought not, because they both dream of a luxury life. The tone is cynical.

The second one is entitled The Case of the caretaker, it's one of Mis Marple's investigation. In a small village in the English campaign, Harry Lexton, a young and rich man had restored the old house of his father and settled down with his young wife Louise. But the woman is not happy in her new home : she's terrified by the mad caretaker of Harry's father and curses the manor and the just married couple. In this short story, things are not what they seem to be. It is short but the plot is consistent. It paints an ironic portrait of english campagn, rivalities between upper class and low class and english villages with its lot of gossips, superstitions and rumblings.

I like this reading : I didn't bore a minut with the many differents characters of Agatha Christie. I want to read much more of her books, in their original version of course!

Short stories : A Fruitful Sunday - While The Lights Lasts - The Case of the Caretaker - Magnolia Blossom

The mark : 8/10.A good collection of short stories for people who want to read in english!

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