Author: Agatha Christie
Published: 1939
Genres: Novel, Mystery, Horror, Crime, Suspense, Thriller
Rating: 5 out of 5
Review
And Then There Were None... ah, it was such an intense,
baffling, scary mystery!!! It was so impressive and overwhelming! It was so
very suspenseful and scary, and it is certainly the best among the Agatha Christie novels
that I've read till now. It was SO intense, so powerful and psychologically intense! I LOVED it.
And Then There Were None kept me tensed and guessing. It was so intense, suspenseful.
The plot is about an island, the Soldier Island. Eight people are invited to the Soldier Island. The eight guests are: Justice Wargrave, Vera Claythorne, Anthony Marston, General MacArthur, Phillip Lombard, Mr Blore, Dr. Armstrong, and Miss Brent. After
their arrival there, they find out that there are no other people in
the island, except themselves and two servants, Mr and Mrs Rogers. There are just these ten people in this island. Nobody else. The owner of the island is apparently a Mr. Owen, whom nobody (not even the servants) has ever seen.
Atmosphere in the house, and the island, is somewhat odd, strange. All the guests find a paper in their room, where the nursery rhyme ''Ten Little Soldiers'' is written. Everybody is startled by the atmosphere of the house, but this turns into dread and fear when the guests start dying, one by one... And within a short time, all the guests come to guess that none of them will leave the island alive... and a constant fear arises: who will be the next victim? Along with many other questions. Who is the murderer? Is he one of them?...
''And Then There Were None'' builds up an excellent atmosphere, an atmosphere that is filled with scares, intensity, suspense. The psychological impact on the characters because of the events, is portrayed very well. Some of the characters, and the situations, have so much depth. The novel kept me guessing. And the solution was so excellent.
I loved this one. ''And Then There Were None'' was extremely suspenseful, thrilling, and an absolute page turner.
5 out of 5
Author: C. S. Lewis
Published: 1954
Genres: Novel, Fantasy, Adventure
Rating: 3 out of 5
Review
''The Horse and His Boy'' is the fifth published book in ''The Chronicles of Narnia''. It is kind of a midquel, as it takes place within the events of ''The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe''. (''The Horse and His Boy'' is set during the Golden Age of Narnia, during the rule of the High King Peter and his siblings).
Shasta is a boy who lives with a fisherman, Arsheesh. One day, he comes across a horse, owned by a guest who has come to Arsheesh. To Shasta's great surprise, the horse can talk. The horse reveals that he is from Narnia, where different kinds of beasts can talk. He had been kidnapped from Narnia, when he was young. The horse wants to go back to Narnia, and it becomes apparent that Shasta is also originally from Narnia, as his complexion is much different than that of the Calormene people. Shasta decides to run away the horse (whom he calls ''Bree'') to Narnia and the North.
On their journey, they come across a mare, Hwin, who had also been kidnapped from Narnia when she was young. Hwin's companion is a girl, Aravis. Aravis is running away to Narnia because her marriage has been fixed with a person whom she doesn't wish to marry. Shasta, Bree, Aravis, and Hwin unite and start going to Narnia together. But then they come across a dangerous plan. Prince Rabadash of Calormen is furious because Queen Susan of Narnia has refused to marry him. The Prince makes a plan to capture Queen Susan. Shasta and his companions decide to prevent the plot and make the High King Peter and his siblings aware of the plan. Their journey is dangerous and difficult...
Compared to the earlier books in the series, ''The Horse and his Boy'' actually had less magic and also, less charm in it. I didn't really love it like I had loved the earlier books. While ''The Horse and his Boy'' is exciting and adventurous, I thought that the previous books had been more magical and engrossing. However, it was good to read about Susan, whom we hadn't met since ''Prince Caspian'', and Lucy and Edmund, who had last appeared in ''The Voyage of the Dawn Treader''. (Peter is mentioned, but never appears in this book). Susan, Lucy and Edmund make brief appearances here.
The four lead characters, Shasta, Bree, Aravis and Hwin, were really quite interesting. The characters were quite well developed, especially Shasta and Aravis. I found Lasaraleen really amusing. Prince Rabadash is the main antagonist of this novel.
The adventures, and the goal and attempt of the lead characters to try to save Narnia and Archenland from a disastrous attack, was really interesting to read. Overall, while ''The Horse and his Boy'' was certainly a really enjoyable read, I think I liked the previous books more, much more, than this one.
3 out of 5
Author: Anne Brontë
Published: 1847
Genres: Novel, Romance
Rating: 3 out of 5
Review
The Bronte sisters are among my favorite authors. Emily Bronte's ''Wuthering Heights'' and Charlotte Bronte's ''Jane Eyre'' are two very special books for me. While ''Wuthering Heights'' is my favorite book of all time, ''Jane Eyre'' is one of the books that made me fall in love with books. These two books are so powerful, so intense, with so strong, powerful, memorable characters. Charlotte and Emily are thus two of my favorite authors. ''Agnes Grey'', however, is the first Anne Bronte novel that I've read.
Anne Bronte was the youngest of the Bronte sisters. She wrote only two novels: ''Agnes Grey'' and ''The Tenant of Wildfell Hall''.
''Agnes Grey'' is based on Anne's own experiences while working as a governess. The titular character of this novel, Agnes Grey, being the youngest member of the family, grew up with a lot of love and affection from her parents and elder sister. Though her father has a modest income, he does his best to keep the family happy and comfortable, but, however, circumstances make them fall into poverty.
Agnes decides to earn a living as a governess. She takes the job of a governess to the children of the Bloomfield family. The mischievous and disobedient children make life miserable for her, and she gets tired and devastated. However, after she loses her job because Mrs Bloomfield has complains about the children's learning, she is appointed as a governess to the children of the Murray family.
Miss Rosalie Murray and Miss Matilda Murray are older than Agnes's Bloomfield pupils, and in some ways, they are a little less mischievous. But though they are not very mischievous, they are immature, disobedient and spoiled, and Agnes's life in the Murrays' home also becomes difficult. But when will she find happiness and satisfaction...?
''Agnes Grey'' is mainly about the life and sufferings of the protagonist. In the Victorian era, governesses were poor, but educated young women, who used to teach the children of wealthy people. The governesses used to live in the house, and despite being well educated, they were often treated merely as upper servants. They were often victims of bad behavior. For example, in ''Agnes Grey'', we see Agnes not even being greeted by the acquaintances of the Murray girls.
''Agnes Grey'' is about the life, feelings, sufferings of Agnes Grey. She finds love... she falls in love with Mr Weston. But will she find the happiness that she longs for?
The narration is impressive. The overall story, and the storytelling, is moving. It is Agnes's day-to-day story, Agnes's retelling of her life as a governess, her pains, her suffering. Her feelings towards Mr Weston was very touching, but even in case of love, there were so many obstacles and uncertainties in front of her.
''Agnes Grey'' was a pleasant and touching novel... But when I compare it to ''Wuthering Heights'' and ''Jane Eyre'', Agnes Grey seems rather a little plain. Both Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre were so powerful and intense, with characters whom I'll never forget. ''Agnes Grey'', on the other hand, was touching, but not as much that it will remain very memorable... nor were the characters that well developed. BUT ''Agnes Grey'' was also worth a read, and I'm glad that I read it.
3 out of 5
Author: Agatha Christie
Published: 1957
Genres: Novel, Mystery, Crime, Suspense
Rating: 3 out of 5
Review
The first Agatha Christie novel I read was ''A Murder is Announced''- a Miss Marple. Since then, I have read several Poirot novels, and ''4.50 from Paddington'' is my second Miss Marple.
I really enjoyed ''4.50 from Paddington''. Miss McGillicuddy is traveling to her friend, Miss Jane Marple, from Scotland. On her way, her train comes parallel to another train (the two trains are running on parallel tracks). Miss McGillicuddy witnesses something terrible. She witnesses a man strangling a woman, in the other train... She has a brief glimpse of the crime--- she couldn't see the man's face.
Miss McGillicuddy tells her friend, Miss Marple, about the crime that she had witnessed. Miss Marple is eager to find out what actually happened. But it is a really difficult task- how would she guess where the body of the murdered woman is? However, after doing some research, she guesses that the body is somewhere around a country house, Rutherford Hall.
Miss Marple decides to take the assistance of an acquaintance, Lucy Eyelesbarrow. Lucy, a highly educated young woman, works as a housekeeper. Miss Marple asks Lucy to temporarily take the job of a housekeeper at Rutherford Hall, and try to locate the body. Lucy agrees, and soon finds herself in Rutherford Hall, and works hard to find clues and locate the body.
Most of the investigation, in this novel, is done by Detective Inspector Craddock and Lucy Eyelesbarrow, while Miss Marple solves the mystery.
As the story progresses, it becomes complex and interesting. I really enjoyed it, and I really enjoyed the characters. Miss Marple's warmth is very remarkable, and Lucy Eyelesbarrow- she was just amazing! I loved how she takes both her tasks so seriously: while she works hard to find clues to solve the mystery, she also works hard to take care of Rutherford Hall, and people living there. She was really a wonderful character.
It's always delightful to read Agatha Christie's novels. Her books are so pleasant. The characters, the situations, with dry humor now and then- all these are so charming. ''4.50 from Paddington'' was no exception. The novel kept me guessing, and the solution was really wonderful. The book was delightful and interesting, often suspenseful, with well developed characters, and humor.
3 out of 5
Author: C. S. Lewis
Published: 1953
Genres: Novel, Adventure, Mystery, Fantasy
Rating: 4 out of 5
Review
The Silver Chair is the fourth book (in publication order) in The Chronicles of Narnia.
Eustace Scrubb, whom we first met in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, is transported, along with his classmate Jill Pole, to Narnia. They are informed that King Caspian, whom the Pevensies helped to come to the throne in ''Prince Caspian'' and with whom Eustace traveled to the end of the world in ''The Voyage of the Dawn Treader'', is now an old man, and he has no heir. He had a son, Prince Rilian, but ten years ago, he had disappeared. Eustace and Jill now have the duty to find the lost prince. Aslan tells Jill some signs which they should follow in order to find the lost prince.
In this book, Eustace and Jill come across a variety of adventures. They come to know how the Prince had disappeared. Their companion in their adventures in Puddleglum, a Marsh-wiggle, a creature with long arms.
''The Silver Chair'' has many new settings, and some new creatures are introduced. The readers get to know about the Underland.
Puddleglum was such an interesting character! And I obviously liked Eustace and Jill.
The Silver Chair was such an enchanting, such a magical, such an entertaining novel! I loved it. I loved all of the adventures. My favorite chapter in this book was ''The Queen of the Underland'', because it was such an intense, such a suspenseful chapter!
4 out of 5
Author: Nicholas Sparks
Published: 1996
Genres: Novel, Romance
Rating: 3 out of 5
Review
I know I haven't posted a review for more than a whole week! I've been so busy with class tests!
I watched the movie adaptation of The Notebook earlier this year, and liked it. But I didn't like it enough to read the original book as well. But since ''The Notebook'' seems to be the favorite Nicholas Sparks book of most Nicholas Sparks fans, I decided to give it a try.
I liked The Notebook. The love story was really sweet and touching. The relation between the two main characters (Noah and Allie) is very strong and moving. But for me, it will not be a favorite Nicholas Sparks. My favorites are probably A Bend in the Road and Safe Haven.
Noah Calhoun has returned to New Bern after World War II. He keeps himself busy repairing an old house. He is haunted by memories... fourteen years ago, he had fallen in love with Allie, a girl two years younger than him. Allie and Noah's feelings for each other had gradually become very strong. But, Allie's mother had not approved of the relationship, because of their class differences. Allie's mother took Allie away from New Bern (they had come there for the summer).
Fourteen years have passed, but Noah cannot forget Allie. Allie was his first true love. All the letters that he had returned to Allie had remained unanswered.
But then one day, Allie appears... She had known from the newspaper that Noah was repairing the old house, and has come to inform him that she is engaged... But soon, they are haunted by those memories, those feelings of the past. Will Allie be really able to leave Noah and marry Lon? Will she really be able to ignore her past?
I thought that the movie adaptation brought into life the beautiful summer, whereas in the book the summer does not have that much depth. But the book was pretty deep as well. I really liked the last half. It was much more, much more touching than the first half. The horrors of Alzheimer's disease are really explored well. I just loved how Noah tries to help Allie in the last half. Noah's feelings were strong, deep, and really moving.
3 out of 5
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Q: Reading Nook Tour: Give us a tour of your favorite reading spots.
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