Customer Reviews

Curtain (Hercule Poirot)

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Christie herself regarded the character with a mixture of bemused affection and frustration, and frequently expressed the wish that she had never created such an eccentric character--but of all her creations, Hercule Poroit was the most popular with the reading public. Indeed, such was the public's devotion that in the 1940s or 1950s Christie became concerned that others might attempt to "franchise" the character after her death, resurrecting him for other novels for the sake of a fast buck.

Determined to thwart this, in the 1950s Christie wrote CURTAIN. Once more Poroit and his faithful Captain Hastings return to the great country estate of Styles, the location of Christie's first novel and Poroit's first appearance, THE MYSTERIOUS AFFAIR AT STYLES. But time has wrought many changes. Styles has been sold and converted to a second-rate guest house. Captain Hastings is in mourning for his much loved and recently deceased wife. And Poroit... is dying.

But although his body is failing, Poroit's little gray cells remain as sharp as ever, and he is once more on the trail of a killer--indeed, the perfect killer, one completely unlike any he has pursued before. A killer who now resides at Styles and who is coiled to strike again. But can Poroit defeat this killer before mortality rings down the curtian on his fabulous career? Stylistically, CURTAIN belongs to the great Christie novels of the 1940s and 1950s, and in terms of plot it is easily among her most remarkable achievements, easily ranking with such celebrated twists as those found in THE MURDER OF ROGER ACKROYD and A MURDER IS ANNOUNCED. The writing is strong, the characterizations are vivid, and when the solution unfolds one is left with a startled gasp.

I do not recommend CURTAIN for those new to Christie's novels. It is indeed Hercule Poroit's last case, and it really should be read as such. But for those who have followed Poroit through a number of adventures, it is a truly satisfying conclusion to a long and brilliant career.

--GFT (Amazon.com Reviewer)--

"Nothing is so sad, in my opinion," muses Captain Hastings, "as the devastation wrought by age." In this final outing for the inimitable Hercule Poirot and his loyal friend Arthur Hastings, the body may be weak but Poirot's brain is still functioning magnificently. A murder will be committed, the famous detective tells his friend, and Hastings must function as Poirot's legs. Aging and failing in health, the once energetic Poirot is now confined to a wheelchair. However, that does not stop the two friends from once again going on the hunt together in a case Poirot himself tells Hastings will be his last case but his most interesting one. As a special bonus for Poirot fans, we return once again to Styles, the scene of Poirot's first adventure. A near-death of one woman followed by the actual death of another, a sadist who is able to convince others to murder, a most surprising act by Hastings himself, a peep through a keyhole, a visit to a faithful valet, and murder most symmetrical are clues that lead to the uncovering of the criminal Poirot has come to Styles to unmask. Surely, this must rank as one of Christie's finest as we bid a fond adieu to Hercule Poirot. We shall not hunt together again, my friend.

Hercule Poirot, the little Belgian detective has returned to Styles Court, the scene of his first English adventure in crime for his final case. But now the handsome country mansion is a guest house and Poirot, old and arthritic, is one of the guests. He invites Captain Hastings to join him and then reveals the reason for his request. Poirot informs his old friend that they are "here to hunt down a murderer." And to find out who is the killer, first a murder has to be committed. But who will be the victim?

Although Curtain was written during the London blitz in the early years of World War II, it never got published until 1975. The reason being that in this book the famous detective Hercule Poirot concludes his wonderful career. Agatha Christie wanted Poirot not to survive his creator. Therefore she finished his career by writing Curtain and locked the manuscript in a bank vault. Dame Agatha Christie died on January 12, 1976, one year later than her most famous creation.

Curtain is a vintage Christie. The plot is ingenious and seems totally committed to putting the reader on the wrong track. Although the actual motive and operation procedure of the murderer are quite dubious and unbelievable¸ there is only one word that can truly describe the denouement: sublime. In a few lines Poirot explains how the unsuspicious reader probably missed five smartly interwoven clues. When you read these lines you can only but hit yourself on the head for being so short-sighted, exactly the same feeling reflected by Captain Hastings at the end of the book.

I gave this novel 5 stars because it was crafted so well. Believe it or not, I had never read any Agatha Christie novels. What a way to begin! One of the reasons I loved it so much is that the information presented allowed me to put my mind to work. Throughout the novel I suspected everyone from Hercule Poirot himself to Judith Hastings to Dr. Franklin. I won't ruin the ending, but the situation that Hercule Poirot reveals was so shocking that my mouth dropped almost to the floor! I can't wait to read more Agatha Christie novels.

Curtain! is certainly one of Agatha Christie's finest mysteries. The book details Hercule Poirot's last and greatest case and wraps up many of his personal relationships. Although I have read several of the Poirot mysteries, I found myself immediately interested in this story and was completely and utterly suprised to the very end! In fact, I felt as if I had been as far off the track as Captain Hastings concerning the identity of the killer and felt a bit betrayed when the final outcome was detailed by Poirot's posthumous revelations.

A must read for any fan of Agatha Christie and Hercule Poirot!

Capt. Hastings was back in England. His beloved Cinders has died, their children settled into their own lives and now Hastings is rather at loose ends when Hercule Poirot contacts him. Poirot, it seems, is staying at Styles, the country house where the two had met and had their first adventure all those years before. Once Hastings gets there he discovers that changes had occured even there. No longer a private home, Styles is now a guest house and filled with an assortment of guests, including his youngest daugther, Judith, her employer and his wife. Change too has come to his old friend, Poirot is now confined to a wheelchair and attended not by his longtime valet but instead by a new man. One thing has not changed though, Poirot's little grey cells are still active. He tells Hastings that he is on the trail of a murderer, tells Hastings of several crimes but then refuses to tell Hastings anymore. Hastings tries to puzzle out what his old friend is up to but he is also distracted by worry for his daughter who seems to be infatuated with a most unsuitable man.

This is the final Poirot case, although it was not the last one Christie wrote. She wrote this during WWII and had it safely locked away for years to ensure that no other author would attempt to continue Poirot's adventures after her death. As always with Christie's work, the clues are all present for the reader to try to follow, the plot is clever and challenging but I doubt that this will ever become anyone's favorite novel.

This is absolutely NOT the book to begin reading about Poirot, nor would I recommend it to anyone who had read only a few of the novels. This is for a true fan only, one who has read most, if not all the previous works, for it truly is the great detective's swan song, much more than Christie's send offs for Miss Marple (SLEEPING MURDER) or Tommy and Tuppence (POSTERN OF FATE).

Being a huge Agatha Christie fan, I deliberately put off reading this book until I had read every other mystery that features Hercule Poirot, since I knew that he dies at the end of this book. And I am so happy I did, because it forms a wonderfully appropriate ending to a great detective's career. Also, there are references scattered throughout the story to earlier Poirot cases, the meaning of which would have been difficult to pick up on unless you had first read all the earlier books. The story is set just after WW2, when Captain Hastings, middle-aged now and saddened by the recent death of his beloved wife in Argentina, returns to England at the request of his old friend, Poirot. And not just to any place in England, but to Styles, the place where he had first worked with Poirot on a murder case. Arriving, he is shocked to see his old friend crippled with arthritis and suffering from acute heart trouble. Clearly, the end is near but Poirot has one last mission - Styles has been turned into a guest house and among the guests is a killer who has killed before and will strike again, however Poirot is determined to unmask the killer even if he himself dies in the process....This is a wonderfully touching book showing the very great affection that existed between the vain little Belgian sleuth and this conventional, slightly stupid but wonderfully large-hearted Englishman. Like many of the readers, I too had a lump in my throat at the end when Poirot dies and the mystery is solved, but you are left with a curious sense of satisfaction that right to the end, this amazing man continued trying to help the innocent and convict the guilty. Poirot always said that he did not approve of murder, and that statement, while sounding a little too simplistic, even prim, was really the underlying motivation for all his exploits. And Captain Hastings, though older and no wiser and grieving for his dear friend is also hopefully, about to make a new beginning, so there is optimism at the end....a must-read for all Poirot, Hastings and Christie fans!

Curtain is subtitled as Poirot's Last Case and it is a true enough. Prospective readers should be aware that this is a fairly atypical Poirot novel and should probably be the last one you read, if you choose to read it at all. I found it far less satisfying than other Poirot novels for several reasons. First, Poirot himself is scarcely present. It is really a book about Captain Hastings stumbling around without a clue and reporting back to a wheelchair-bound Poirot each night. Because Poirot is an invalid, he is not present in most scenes and this largely robs the book of the trademark humor and charm that made the Belgian detective so popular.

Beyond the absence of Poirot, there are other problems with this story as well. First, the conclusion was shocking to me, but in a wholly negative way. I won't give it away, but Poirot is portrayed as taking action that I do not believe he would ever do. It is a violation of everything he has shown to believe in previous stories and I'm more than a bit surprised that reviews here don't seem to show any concern for such a blatant breach of the character's established patterns. Finally, it is also an oddity that the murderer apparently isn't a murderer at all. He/she is expert at manipulating people and manages to nudge them into killing others but that's it. While despicable, it is not at all clear to me that this constitutes murder but Poirot/Christie maintain steadfastly that it is.

Having dished all my negative comments about the book, let me hasten to add that this is by no means a poorly told story. Agatha Christie was far too accomplished a writer to write a truly bad novel. There are some interesting characters and there are a few moments (if far too few) with Poirot that are entertaining. There are some spoilers in here referring back to past cases, so again I would warn that this is far better reserved for after you have read all the prior Poirot stories (at a minimum, read Mysterious Affair at Styles: A Hercule Poirot Mystery first as that story is frequently referred to here).

Warning: spoilers galore! Read this review only if you've already read the book.

As my review title has already indicated, I am totally flabbergasted by the novel's ending. Not at all what I expected! Our beloved Belgian detective has summoned Captain Arthur Hastings to assist him with his final case. Hastings is to play the part of a set of surrogate ears and eyes for the detective. Apparently, Poirot has succumbed to crippling arthritis and is confined to a wheelchair. Apparently, his restorative trip to Egypt failed to bring about any revitalization. Note that I write, "apparently." And so the plot thickens.

Hercule Poirot and his faithful sidekick are hunting down a murderer who kills without physical weapons or chemical poisons. Poirot has "X," the unnamed murderer, implicated in several cases where each case appeared pretty cut and dry as to "whodunnit." Yet this murderer's tactics are suggestive, psychologically manipulating people to do away with people whom they think are holding them or others back. Somehow "X" manages to make bad appear good and good appear bad. (It is perhaps dubious as to whether this technique would work as effectively in the real world as it appears to in this novel.) When a murder occurs at Styles (the setting of the first and last Poirot mystery), "X" is deprived of his "pound of flesh" when the murder is interpreted as suicide. (However, the murder actually was unintentional suicide!) "X" wants to stir the pot and claims to have witnessed something suspicious with his binoculars. Hastings suggests that "X" consult Poirot for advice. Poirot confronts "X" before hearing whatever false witness "X" was planning to contrive. What follows is what blew me away in terms of inventive and unexpected storytelling.

"X" manages to create one more murderer and to bring about one more murder, yet at his own expense. In a sense, "X" wins in terms of bringing an otherwise highly principled person to commit the unthinkable, yet "X" will not be around to gloat over his latest and final victim.

There is a detail about the manner in which "X" apparently commits suicide--the perfect symmetry of the bullet wound that reeks of the fastidiousness (i.e., OCD) of a certain person. I was dumbfounded and blown away with the closing of Curtain.

I absolutely love the David Suchet Poirot feature films and TV series. The man I am dating is convinced that I have a thing for either the character Poirot or the actor David Suchet. (My feelings for both the character and the actor are more "avuncular," to quote The Blue Train, though I could listen to the actor's British accent all day long.) When it is my turn to choose which DVD to pop into the player, Poirot whodunnits dominate. I can hardly wait until Curtain is made into a movie in the near future. I think other Poirot fans will likewise be "totally flabbergasted."

Curtain is an extemely interesting story with tangled events and twisted facts that lead to three murders. In the first parts of the book, it may be difficult to keep your attention on reading. However, you will soon see that you just can't put the book down. Curtain is the first Agatha Christie book I have read, and it left me eager to pick up more of her masterpieces.