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Endless Night

Mr_Satterthwaite 23 Feb 09 at 1:23 p.m. GMT

Read this book over Christmas and I am just wondering what people think of it. I have always been on my guard when it comes to 'first person' narratives ever since I read one of Christie's most famous works. I kind of knew then, what was about to happen. Liked the atmosphere Christie built up though. What are your views?

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InspectorGrant 22 Aug 10 at 6:32 p.m. GMT

I have just re-read 'Endless Night' after a long gap, and I think that it is a minor masterpiece.  It is Christie at her darkest with a multi-layered plot which, as drdavid recommends above, bears a reread with full knowledge of what is actually happening. There are two stories going on here - the overt one, and a much darker covert story running underneath.

Christie introduces all sorts of extraordinary motifs into her story - determinism and fatalism, for one, and the extent of free will which the ordinary mortal possesses.  The characterisation is excellent, especially that of the main character, Michael Rogers, to whom Fate handed all that he could possibly want and who could have turned to the good but instead chose evil, and subsequently lost his soul.  The unravelling of his personality at the end is masterful writing.

 'Endless Night' is as different as it could possibly be from Christie's earlier works - it is in a class of its own.  In many ways it is her most horrifying and powerful novel, and if it is decided to remake it I hope that they don't change a thing.  Personally, I would hate to see this novel 'Marpleised' - to do so would be to do a great disservice to an extraordinary piece of writing. 

Tommy_A_Jones 27 Mar 09 at 3:13 p.m. GMT

I do hope so squatty, It would make up for ITV "Marpleising" a decent book like "Why Didn't They Ask Evans" which shouldn't be "Marpleised"

squatty 26 Mar 09 at 6:47 p.m. GMT

I have a feeling that Endless Night is one of the books that might be "Marpleised". The vilage where Gypsys Acre is set is not too far removed from St Mary Mead and I could imagine Miss Marple visiting another long lost relative there.

drdavid 26 Mar 09 at 5:55 p.m. GMT

I think, squatty, that since AC was so influenced by Arthur Conan Doyle and the Sherlock Holmes stories that she often set herself the task of writing in the first person as a kind of Dr Watson ,this is most obvious in the Poirot books narrated by Hastings. Then she exploded the genre with The Murder of Roger Ackroyd again a first person narrative. Having got away with that one I think she was constantly drawn back to writing as somebody else. Evidence has it that this was something she excelled in as a child. Endless Night is her bravest outing in t he first person and, as witnessed here, it is not everybody's cup of Chrisite I think she pulls it off with tremendous aplomb. The story is well due a new film treatment too

squatty 25 Mar 09 at 2:46 p.m. GMT

I've just finished re-reading Endless Night and I still feel it is an excellent character study of a psychopath.

One thing that bothered me was that AC would often have the narrator dismiss his ability to write and then a paragraph later, would have him use language that was incongruent with his character.

Tommy_A_Jones 23 Mar 09 at 1:16 p.m. GMT

Thankyou ArleneSMarshall for your support I was beginning to think I was mad, I can't understand why Agatha Christie whose works have read and enjoyed for over 20 years would write a book which I felt was so difficult to read. I was thinking about the book last night and realised 3 books I find most difficult all stem from short stories - The Blue Train started a=out as The Plymouth Express, Sparkling Cyanide was based on Yellow Iris and Endless Night was The Tape-measure Murder, I haven't read the short stories but perhaos they should have stayed short stories.

ArlenaSMarshall 22 Mar 09 at 9:51 p.m. GMT

I agree with Winnebago, although I have nothing to say that is that harsh. Yes, the book was EXTEMELY dull, dull, dull (sorry for copying but it was VERY dull).

Lava, why did you like Endless Night so much? I hope there wasn't something I missed.

Ace of Spades, I did feel more of a connection between myself and Agatha Christie. That was the only reason why I didn't put down the book in the first place.

drdavid 22 Mar 09 at 12:45 p.m. GMT

I think that Endless Night is one of Agatha Christie's most extraordinary books. Written I believe in her 70s or maybe older she puts herself into the mind of a very twisted male psychopath. I can not think of another novelist brave enough to do such a thing with the possible exception of Patricia Highamith. The book is a fabulous coup as it maintains its gentle mood until you realise the whole of its world is askew as it is seen through this distorted mind and you can no longer trust what you are reading at all. Critics of the book need to reread it with the knowledge of its outcome, not something to be advixed with a thriller, but when they do then they might "get" it.

I think this is not only one of Agatha Christie's finest novels but also one of the finest crime novels ever written

lava 11 Mar 09 at 6:17 a.m. GMT

i really liked endless night. it was quite different from the other christies. that's the beauty of it

Tommy_A_Jones 01 Mar 09 at 12:53 p.m. GMT

Each to their own I supose, Squatty says the book has it's slow moments where as I would say it does have it's odd moments when it isn't slow, I find it interesting that 2 people can read the same book and have totally op[posite opinions about it, for instance I am currently reading 'Postern of Fate and I love it but alot of people don't I would say that has it's occaional slow bits and occasionally the Characters waffle on bottingly but the ones who do are the sort of people who would, I am just so glad there is a place where I can discuss the works of Agatha Christie with like-minded people.

squatty 01 Mar 09 at 11:17 a.m. GMT

I'm with ace of spades on this one. I loved Endless Night and felt that it was one of her best explorations of a true psychopath. It does have its slow moments but my feeling is that AC was challenging herself to really get under the skin of the main character and therefore her normal clues and fast moving plot wasnt so necessary

ace_of_spades 01 Mar 09 at 1:42 a.m. GMT

That was rather harsh, Winnebago, although I suppose you're entitled to your own opinion.

I have read Endless Night and Sparkling Cyanide and really liked them both. Unlike Winnebago, I did not find either book dull. There's something so frightening, and almost mesmorizing about Endless Night... I especially enjoy when Christie writes in first-person, which she did for Endless Night, for it makes readers more connected with the book.

Tommy_A_Jones 28 Feb 09 at 3:12 p.m. GMT

I am sorry If I sounded harsh, all I meant was I wonnt go out of my way to read 'Endless Night', 'Death Comes As The End' or 'Sparkling Cyanide' again.

Tommy_A_Jones 24 Feb 09 at 12:58 p.m. GMT

I read both 'Endless Night and 'Sparkling Cyanide' last year and I couldn't understand what 'Endless Night' was about or why Agatha Christie had wasted her time wqriting the book, she could have easily have spent the time writing another Bundle Brent or Lady Derwent book, at least 'Sparkling Cyanide had 1 regular Character (Even if he is the only one I hate,) and 'Death Comes As The End' (Another I read last year and did not like) was different in the sence it wasn't set in the 20th Century, I am currently reading 'Postern Of Fate' and when I finsh it I will have read all the Tommy and Tuppences and will not be saying Good By to them as I will read the books again but merely Au revoir but with 'Endless Night' (Aswell as 'Sparkling Cyanide' and 'Death Comes As The End' it is definitely not only Good bye but also GOOD RIDDANCE

Mr_Satterthwaite 23 Feb 09 at 6:28 p.m. GMT

I can understand how you feel about 'Endless Night'. It is written sort of 'by the numbers' but I still think its 'dark' atmosphere is created well. I liked 'Sparkling Cyanide' or rather the clever plot structure Christe employs. I really cannot remember much more as it was a long time ago.

Tommy_A_Jones 23 Feb 09 at 4:14 p.m. GMT

I HATED Endless Night, I foumd it DULL, DULL, DULL. I found it hard to read and when I had a spare moment in which to read I found myself not really wanting to read it and when I did It was only as a last resort or just so that I could get it over and done with, I am hard pressed to decide which book I hate most ENDLESS NIGHT or SPARKLING CYANIDE but on balance I think this is much worse because at least SPARKLING CYANIDE has an inviting plot even if I didn't care about the Characters which is another thing SPARKLING CYANIDE has in common with ENDLESS NIGHT, Personally if ITV did it as part of the MARPLE series it would probably be an improvement, afew years ago ITV did SPARKLING CYANIDE inwhich they changed Race's name and gave him a wife and in my view that production improved the book ONE MILLION PERCENT. Thankyou Mr Satterthwaitte for giving me the opportunity to express my feelings about this book although I don't have a problem with books told in the 'first person', I usually find them alright but it was just this book which was just incredibly boring and is definitely on my list of books NEVER to read again.