OBACHAN'S SCRIBBLES

Tuesday, November 16, 2004

MISS MARPLE AND SWEETS

Agatha Christie was someone I adored in my junior-high school days. I don’t remember which novel was my first encounter with her work any more… It was either “Halloween party” or “The Mirror Crack’d,” I suppose.

Before Christie, I had read “mysteries for children” series in the elementary school library quite enthusiastically. My biggest heroes at that time were Sherlock Holmes and Mr. Akechi (with Kobayashi and Boys Detective Club.) This reading experience prepared me for hunting more and more mystery books in junior-high, but at the same time, lead me to create a stereotype: “Only men can write real mysteries or be good detectives.”

Then my stereotype was challenged as I read more of Christie’s books, and completely broken with her “The ABC Murder” and “And Then There Were None.” The controversy about “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd” did not change my love for her books. At that time, my favorites were serial murder cases, especially nursery rhyme murders. Often nursery rhymes are said to have hidden meanings behind the seemingly innocent wordings for kids. The combination of such nursery rhymes and murders was just so thrilling that I couldn’t stop reading one after another.

In the beginning, I was a Poirot fan, but as I grew older, I found myself reading stories of Miss Marple more repeatedly. To me it’s empowering to witness an elderly, single woman being respected by detectives and inspectors for her keen acumen. She is brave enough to look straight at the weakness in people and still have faith in people. She represents a healthy and dependable view in life…or at least I see her that way. Besides, Miss Marple’s series have many descriptions of food and drinks that I’ve never actually tried in my daily life. That was, and still is, a source of attraction to me, and something that easily traps me into my old habit of eating/drinking while reading. Maybe I’m not the only one who’s enjoying Christie books with tea and sweets in late-autumn when it’s cold and windy outside. Am I right?
posted by obachan, 11/16/2004 04:19:00 PM

3 Comments:

Gee, beer with a book!! That’s an impossible combination for me……especially when I’m reading mysteries.
commented by Blogger obachan, 11/18/2004 11:03 AM  
Hi Obachan. I love Agatha Christie too! And like you, I started off with Poirot and refused to read anything Miss Marple. Now I'm digging her stories, and there are also other detectives in her books which are just as interesting! Like Tommy and Tuppence, Harlequin etc.

:)

-Lys

I like mine with hot chocolate. :P But hard to find good ones, so usually I'll read with a hot super thick milo.
commented by Blogger Lysithea, 9/13/2006 10:33 PM  
Hi lysithea,
Yeah, I like Tommy and Tuppence series, too. I think Christie was truly an amazing writer.
And milo was my favorite drink when I was a kid. ;)
commented by Blogger obachan, 9/15/2006 9:37 AM  

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