THE LABOURS OF HERCULES by Agatha Christie | Project Poirot Spoiler Free #marchmysterymadness

We have "The Labors of Hercules" by Agatha Christie up this week... alas, another meh one. :( This is a spoiler free book review, so if you've never read this book, you can still watch. Let me know what you guys thought below

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Books Mentioned:

"The Mysterious Affair at Styles" by Agatha Christie
"The Murder on the Links" by Agatha Christie
"Poirot Investigates" by Agatha Christie
"The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" by Agatha Christie
"The Big Four" by Agatha Christie
"The Mystery of the Blue Train" by Agatha Christie
"Peril at End House" by Agatha Christie
"Lord Edgeware Dies" by Agatha Christie
"Murder on the Orient Express" by Agatha Christie
"Three Act Tragedy" by Agatha Christie
"Death in the Clouds" by Agatha Christie
"The ABC Murders" by Agatha Christie
"Murder in Mesopotamia" by Agatha Christie
"Cards on the Table" by Agatha Christie
"Dumb Witness" by Agatha Christie
"Death on the Nile" by Agatha Christie
"Murder in the Mews" by Agatha Christie
"Appointment with Death" by Agatha Christie
"Hercule Poirot's Christmas" by Agatha Christie
"And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie
"Sad Cypress" by Agatha Christie
"One, Two Buckle My Shoe" by Agatha Christie
"Evil Under the Sun" by Agatha Christie
"Five Little Pigs" by Agatha Christie
"The Hollow" by Agatha Christie
"The Labors of Hercules" by Agatha Christie

Videos Mentioned:

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[priscilla.t.a]

I'm getting ready to wrap up my own Project Poirot this year, and I've been watching these videos as I go. I haven't wanted to comment because I wasn't sure if it'd be actually good for you to be getting random comments on such old videos or more of a nuisance, lol. So I don't expect a response. But what made me comment was your thoughts on how you had started to feel fatigued, and I have to say, about halfway through my reading of the series, at the end 2021, I decided to take a 6-month break (which turned into 8 months LOL), and I had not realized until now how much it benefitted my reading experience. I expect I also would've become fatigued. I did really enjoy this short story collection. My favorite part were all the fun secondary characters, in a fun way they made up the lack of Hastings, who was one of my favorite elements of early Poirot short stories. Thanks for all your thoughts in all these videos! It's so nice to get to hear them as I read through each book.

[iansmith]

Although the framing device is somewhat contrived (or at least, stretched);it seems appropriate that Poirot should emulate his namesake...plus, I thought it was effective to have the short stories linked together.
I, too, found the idea of taking a character from an early story, and have them return later in the book as an ally, to be quite appealing. Plus, Vera Rossakov returned...I love this larger cast of secondary Christie characters who all regularly flit in and out of Poirot (and Marples) life.They help to create a charming and cohesive fictional Universe.

[Cardenio]

Thanks for your honest opinion! I'm so very looking forward to the next week's review!!

[ginynight]

Thanks for this review.
I've just finished the book and thoroughly enjoyed it.
I wished you had touched on the fact that so many of these stories has to do with drugs, especially cocaine. The author seems to have an obsession with them.

[remyhocage]

Yeah, I really liked (or say appreciated) this collection of Christie's stories. Not despite but because of the "contrived" framework ! I guess I'm not very clever since I thought the use of the "Labors" was enchanting and yet not literal. The pekingese dog as the mighty lion - adorable !

[timmeyer]

I know you made this video a couple years ago, but I wanted say that I agree with your opinion of this collection. The short stories themselves are done really well, but framing them was unnecessary. Like Five Little Pigs, the rhyme/theme seemed kind of shoehorned in when it wasn't needed. I wonder if Poirot books with these nursery rhyme tie-ins sold better on release, so editors kind of pressed her to keep doing that schtick. Thanks for the review.

Reading Agatha is great fun, and I will always recommend her work. However, I suggest limiting to one book a month and cleansing the pallet with something different in between. People can get burned out on a good thing.

[srnc]

I just reread it (influenced by your video, I was in between books and I didn't know if I was up to starting a Jane Austen biography lol), and I actually really liked it? The one I had reread before was The Big Four and it really, really, really disappinted me-- I remembered why I'd put it in a corner hidden behind something else ahah
The premise of Poirot not knowing where "Hercule" came from was a bit dumb, and the stories were a little predictable (or, at least, to readers who are familiar with how Christie works), but I did enjoy them.
What surprised me was the firey opposition to drugs and drug dealers-- I mean, Dame Agatha, and rightly so, did seem to see drug dealing as bad as a crime as murder, almost... I agree with her, but I didn't expect such strong opinions? IDK
(Why does Poirot seem to be always wanting to retire, but never actually doing so?)


On a side note, I'm watching the Suchet adaptation, and why is the questionable Swiss hotel manager portrayed as Italian? This is SO annoying, why do we always have to be the butt of the joke

Why would you see these stories from a perspective that is so, I would say disrespectful, but no.
Let me say this, if I ever only allowed myself to see a woman like my mom, grandma, neighbors, every one I had a chance to know, like a victim.
It would be a lie, and anyone that things this generation is stronger in mind, body and Hart. Just look at your mother.
I see a strong woman with strong hart, and my heroes are not victims.
English is not my first language...