It’s hard too explain but I can read fine, it’s just that when I read I don’t understand what’s going on or if I do understand it’s only minimal and I don’t start to understand till I stop reading and try think about what I just read, too me it just seems like words on paper that don’t make much sense till later

This is what I've landed in as well. I realised that trying to remember everything stressed me out, so now I see it as getting some general ideas and then I know where I can look for more depth if needed later.

tbf the title of the Italian translation work "Briefly we shine upon the earth" not only sounds way more natural but is also more relatable to the story (the sun part).

You make a fair point and I respect it. The author definitely should have reason to back up their choices, but I do think it could be up to interpretation, as the author may say “oh well actually, I did this because blah blah blah”. I’m sure this author would say there was a reason for everything he wrote, when that’s obviously not true. Ultimately because I’m such a sucker for a mysteries, I’ll admit that sometimes I don’t care too much when there are holes if they’re small enough (which is why I only mentioned two in my post, when there were quite a few lol!)

Thanks for your explanations, you gave me something to think about on this one for sure!

It was my first Agatha Christie book too and it was brilliant!

I think Christie also sideswipe the casual racism of upper class (white) British people, too. Poirot is often the subject of zenophobia. His foreigness is pointed out in numerous "those people" and "what do you expect from foreigners" comments. Our hero may not rant and rave about the injustice of ridiculous comments made by small minded, high handed, unpleasant people, but we do witness the insults with him. Poirot is a stoic intellectual: his mustachioed upper lip may well be Belgian, but it is definitely stiff.

Also,as you say, the books are written of their time too. Christie was born a Victorian, after all.

For Poirot, "Murder on the Orient Express" is also great. Not a Poirot novel, but "And Then There Were None" is still an all-time favorite.

Do you have a problem with reading or a problem with understanding or a problem with attention span? Like, if you listen to an audiobook, can you follow the plot? Can you sit down and watch a movie without feeling distracted by random other things going on around you or in your mind?

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My motto is : if I can’t get into it, I don’t read it. That goes for nonfiction, fiction and everything in between, even if I’m halfway through the book. There are so many books and so little time, I don’t think it’s worth it forcing ourselves to read something we don’t enjoy.

No I haven’t and I have actually thought about it but then again I’m an over thinker and it use to be ok when I was younger but now somethings wrong and there shouldn’t be anything wrong because it was fine a few years ago, if that makes sense

What is your recommended reading order? Haven't ready anything by her yet, this is the year!

I have this one on my shelf, is there a better place to start with Christie?

I haven’t tested for it, I have thought about it because I do things when I’m writing an essay or anything that are signs of it

I’m not well I don’t think so, I have thought about getting tested because I do have other signs of it

Yeah, I guess it's just a representation of the times. Thank you

Thank you, this gives me some perspective. If you look for the original, original title you'll see it's even worse. I know because in my native language it's still the same, it has not changed to any of the new ones.

Please read quite a few others first.

Michael Kohlhaas, original German version, written at the 19th century with fake 16th century German on purpose

I thought I had seen all of them but I missed that one.

As a person of color, any racism is disturbing to me, but I still think she was a good writer

I've only read And Then There Were None, which was previously titled "Ten Little Indians" (glad for the name change), which also had some anti-Semitic things thrown around as well as some good ol fashioned sexism. I was definitely uncomfortable reading it, but I just reminded myself the book was published in 1939. That doesn't make it ok, but it's clearly a product of its time. I just take a moment to roll my eyes and move on. If it were published more recently, I wouldn't bother with it, but it's an old book and society has thankfully gotten better about that stuff

Same as with any other period book. Consider them snapshots of history and what was probably acceptable at the time. You can enjoy a work whilst also acknowledging that a modern-day lens may render some parts of it problematic. It's unfair, in my opinion, to judge past art through a modern lens. It's not as though Agatha Christie was out there on the streets spreading hate, you know?

Can second that.

"And then there were none" is also the origin of the "Large group of people being whittled down one by one" trope, that - in my opinion - eventually led to the birth of the Slasher Movie. Which is interesting.

It's a great book but we all read it as kids, and damn the end of that book is sad