Careless talk costs a life. (After the Funeral - Agatha Christie)

Member Name: marlowe

Product:	After the Funeral - Agatha Christie
Date:	07/02/09 (38 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good mix of characters, reasonable plot.

Disadvantages: Not particularly tense or exciting

In "After the Funeral" we are presented with a novel which not only manipulates our preceptions and forces us to question that which we took for granted, but which may also be viewed as representative of the growing differences between the era that this book is set in and those of Christie's earlier works. More than thirty years has elapsed since the first novels and short stories were written and society has changed dramatically since, for example, "The Secret of Chimneys". "After the Funeral" concerns primarily a family which has previously resided together in a large manor house, in the 1920's and 1930's and who have now all scattered, breaking up the established order. Their reunion within the novel leads to old memories resurfacing and a sense that there is no turning back to the former lives they all knew.

The story commences with a funeral, that of Richard Abernethie, which is attended by his surviving relatives and inlaws, many of whom have not seen each other for years. At the funeral a particularly outspoken woman named Cora Lansquenet declares that of course Richard was murdered. This raises a few shocked eyebrows, yet as Cora is known for speaking before she thinks and for saying outrageous things no one gives it a second thought. Opinions on the matter, change, however, when Coara is discovered bludgeoned to death in her bed when she returns home. All at once the motive appears clear, Coara was aware of suspicious circumstances surroundign Richard's death and has been silenced. The family's lawyer, a Mr Entwhistle, then calls on Hercule Poirot to investigate the cases and thus the detective finds himself embroiled in a case in which a good many family members have a motive to kill.

An examination of the characters wihin the novel reveals one of its strongest aspects, since there is such a wide variety of personalities. This ensures that the potential psychological capabilities of murder is relatively widespread, it is difficult to focus on one particular person who might be deemed capable of committing the crime. Moreover, as the story progresses, various hidden aspects of the natures of each person gradually come to light, much like "Death Comes as the End" or "Hercule Poirot's Christmas" for example. The character of Timothy Abernethie, for example, begins as a mild hypochondriac and is gradually exposed as a grasping, manipulative persona.

As with much of Christie's works the revelation of the solution and the twist is revealed earlier on with subtle clues. Most of her writings are not done completely to fool the reader, but the hints are done so subtly that often it is only with a second reading that we are able to glean their importance. Poirot, like us, follows one particular track for most of the novel and it is only when a few odd things strike him that he is able to veer onto the correct path and solve the mystery. Consequently the plot is not, at first, predictable and because we are focused on one aspect we fail to consider another. In many respects, threfore, it may be seen as a novelisation of a conjuring trick, the sleight of hand ruse.

Though this novel is sufficiently developed enough to be worthy of perusal, it paces along at a moderate tempo which indicates no strong pressure or agitation within the plot on the majority of occasions. It is comfortable, allowing Poirot - for the most part - time to solve the case without any real sense of urgency and it is this which places it, in my opinion, amongst the more average of Christie's works.

Summary: Not terrible, but not a classic.