A fun collection of twelve mini-mysteries with one common theme. Poirot considers him a modern Hercules, in the sense that he and his namesake both dedicate their lives to the removal of certain pests. So Poirot decided that these, the last cases before his retirement, should have some metaphorical connection to the original 12 Labours of Hercules. Some stories were better crafted than others but they all had that twist in the tail that Christie is famous for.The Nemean Lion: The case of a missing Pekinese pooch is usually of little interest to a detective as renowned as Poirot, but his interest is piqued when it is the husband rather than the wife that comes to him with the case. The Labours of Hercules starts off well with this quaint but challenging mystery. A well rounded story with believable characters and a clever plot. (4/5)The Learnean Hydra: The gossiping old biddies of Market Loughborough usually have little to talk about in their respectable village, but when a reputable doctor's wife takes ill and dies, rumour begin flying. The sense of atmosphere in this story was palpable; the village of gossiping old biddies portrayed perfectly. However, some of the characters were a little unnecessary and the well-worn plot line was not quite enough of a surprise as Christie's stories usually are. (3.5/5)The Arcadian Deer: You think a man would realise when he had been stood up, but not mechanic Ted Williamson. He is called one day to the summerhouse of George Sanderfield where he meets a lovely young maid to a famous Russian Ballerina. As is the way in most stories they fall in love immediately and promise to meet again, but the maid never shows. Can Poirot find out what exactly happened to the young girl when everyone he asks seems to be lying to him? I never really liked Christie when she gets all lovey-dovey, it always seems a little over the top to me. Although I wouldn’t have guessed the ending to this one, there were too many characters and it was all a bit ridiculous. (2.5/5)The Erymanthian Boar: Now this is more like it! Deciding to take a trip to a nearly abandoned hotel in the high hills of Switzerland, Poirot is informed that the dangerous multiple murderer Marrascaud is arranging a rendezvous at the hotel. Can Poirot, with the help of the British police, finally catch this animalistic murderer? When it comes to characters and plot, this story was initially spot on, however the ending was a little rushed and the story could have used a page or two more for explanation. Otherwise, it was a nice change from Christie’s usually more docile yarns. (3.5/5)The Augean Stables: Former British PM John Hammott represented the essence of what it was to be British. A few years after the man’s death however, a trashy newspaper gets hold of some less than flattering info about the late PM’s financial embezzlement. This wouldn’t be a problem, the current PM explains to Poirot, if the claims weren’t entirely true. Now Poirot has been called upon to do his utmost to stop the paper printing what they know. It was at this point when I began appreciating Christie’s ability to change her story styles on a hairpin, as this story is quite different to the rest. Most of the story rests upon how Poirot gets the government out of its sticky situation, and, as always, he does it marvellously. One of the best of the collection (4/5).The Stymphalean Birds: Rising MP Harold Waring is having a peaceful time at a small hotel in Herzoslovakia when he spots two frightening looking women who he believes are omens of bad luck. His fears seem to be founded when the following night brings an unexpected guest and a dead body to his very hotel. I have a little bit of a mixed reaction to this one. It didn’t take me too long to discover what was going on but the characters were marginally better than those in most of the other stories. (3/5)The Cretan Bull: Country girl Diane Maberly comes to Poirot in quite a state; her fiancé has just called off their engagement because he believes himself to be going insane. In my opinion, this is the best of the bunch. A great premise with an interesting assortment of characters, each with their own motive for the crime. The atmosphere throughout the whole story was intense and the ending a true surprise. This would have made a fantastically spooky episode of Poirot during the 90’s series. (4.5/5)The Horses of Diomedes: After a wild party earlier in the evening, Poirot is called down to the house of the four Grant sisters. The local doctor expressed his concern that these wholesome girls have been corrupted by cocaine and are falling in with the wrong crowd. I enjoyed the idea behind this story, but, like the Erymanthian Boar, the ending was a little rushed and nothing really seemed to happen until the end. Given a few edits in some places and explanatory additions in others, this story could have been one of the better ones. (3/5)The Girdle of Hippolyta: Only Hercule Poirot can connect the case of the missing Rubens painting and the disappearance of a plain schoolgirl together, and with such style. One of the more inventive stories of the series, with an engrossing storyline and one or two fairly strong characters. I would also suggest that this is the most thought-out of all the Labours in the series as it seemed plausible and made a lot of sense when you thought about it. (3.5/5)The Flock of Geryon: One of the major characters from a previous labour (not telling you which) comes back to Poirot in the tenth story. She’s worried that her friend in getting sucked in to a potentially dangerous religious cult. This story was a bit about the return of one of the characters from a previous story, a bit of a social commentary on religious cults, but little else. It lacked the character vitality and the sharpness of the other stories. Still, not a bad yarn altogether. (3/5)The Apples of Hesperides: Hercule Poirot’s expertise is sought after by a wealthy businessman in order to reclaim a treasure worth a great deal of money. Unfortunately, this story comes at the bottom of the pile in my list of favourites. There was a lot more dialogue by Hercule explaining to Emery Power (the businessman) what was going on than necessary, in fact it took up most of the story. The ending was uninspired and altogether too dull for a traditional Christie mystery. (1.5/5)The Capture of Cerberus: At long last, Hercule Poirot is reunited with the most fascinating woman of his career, the Countess Vera Rossakoff! But disaster! They are moving on opposite escalators in the London underground. But where can Poirot find her? “In Hell” the Countess replies before being whisked back into the depths of the underground. After a perplexing but thrilling beginning the story resolves itself in a rather modern setting for Christie. Setting a story in a nightclub is not exactly usual of Christie but, in this case, it is done so well. (3.5/5)Which gives a final score of 3.3/5. Although I still think you should pick it up as there is some classic Christie amongst these pages, even if there are a few let-downs too. Also, this collection of stories is going to somehow be made into an episode of Poirot for 2012/13. Anyone else wondering how they are going to fit all of these stories into one episode?
Poirot commits himself to retirement – once he has solved 12 cases which resemble the famed 12 labours of Hercules.Is there a more unusual book in the Christie canon? "The Labours" are some of the last short stories Christie wrote (possibly the last?) and she brings a consummate skill – in both prose and construction – that wasn’t always present in the early days. Without Hastings, or indeed any narrator, we get to see Poirot at his most arrogant. It’s pleasant that Christie would let her character be this much of a prig. This is the middle-era Poirot: a man who believes wholeheartedly in himself, and who has come to understand the human heart as well as the mind, but isn’t yet as besieged by regrets as he will be in the often moving later novels. Besides, it’s nice to know that after decades of service, Poirot is generally held in high esteem.Miss Lemon, Japp and George pop in on occasion (Hastings is left squarely in Argentina), but this is Poirot’s book, and overall, that’s probably a good thing. Almost all of the stories are diverting, and a few – "The Nemean Lion", "The Erymanthian Boar" – are very strong. The final story, "The Capture of Cerberus", serves as the last story to really deal with Poirot’s personal life until his swan song in "Curtain", bringing back a notable figure from his past, although leaving us with yet further questions. It’s satisfactory, but Cerberus is possibly the weakest of the 12, since it centres around a thriller, not a mystery, and is reminiscent – for a few reasons – of the disastrous "The Big Four". Thrills were never the author’s strongpoint, nor the detective’s, and while he proves his worth in all the stores, including those few which involve spies and assassins, it’s harder to rein in one’s disbelief. All in all, though, an enjoyable read; each time I checked the clock, I was amazed how much time had passed as I breezed through this book.The first 11 stories appeared in magazine form first, providing the framing narrative – as existed in other collections such as "The Thirteen Problems" and "Partners in Crime" – of the 12 ‘labours’. Poirot had been ‘retiring’ since 1926, when "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" came out, so I’m sure no one took this seriously, but the Poirot we see after World War II is decidedly more domestic. However, that framing device is the most questionable element. While it is absolutely fitting that Poirot would compare himself to Hercules, this sometimes makes him seem even more idiosyncratic than he usually is, given that he’ll sometimes ignore a pressing case until he makes the thematic connection. Occasionally, Poirot seems heavily involved with a case which only reveals its link afterward. I can’t deny there’s a lovely snug nature to the interlocking aspects of these cases, but sometimes the connections between the story and mythology seem… pardon the pun… laboured.Poirot ranking: 30th out of 38
What do You think about The Labours Of Hercules (2005)?
While I respect Agatha Christie for her contributions to the mystery genre, I have to admit I'm not necessarily a big fan of much of her work.I've liked a good deal of what I've read, but for the most part little of it seems to end up on my list of favorite mystery stories or she on my list of favorite mystery writers.But every once in a while, I'll admit something about a Christie mystery or story captures my attention and I'm inclined to pick it up. In this case, it's the hook for this collection of short stories.In the later stages of his career, Hercule Poirot decides that he will take up a series of cases modeled after the legendary labors of Hercules. Each case must someone tie into one of the feats of the legendary hero.And so, the great detective launches into a series of puzzles that are all (for the most part) of much lower stakes than the usual Poirot mystery. There are few stories here that deal with a murder and most involve a lost object or getting to the bottom of a particular issue or problem. Poirot engages the gray cells a bit.However, while it's fun to see Christie tie in the mythological stories of Hercules to the detective pursuits of Poirot, I have to admit that many of these mysteries were a bit too obvious in their solution. In just about half the stories, I deduced the outcome or solution several pages before Poirot did as well as the motivation for the "crime" presented in the story. On the one hand, it's nice that Christie works to put all the details out there and not appear to come up with a solution out of left field. But it's another if the reader is too easily able to discern the solution before the detective in the story and there's no attempts to put in a red herring or two.Part of this could be the limitation of short story telling. There's less time to develop red herrings in the story. In the end, I found myself enjoying the idea behind "The Labours of Hercules" more than I did the actual execution of the book.
—Michael
Ketemu lagi dengan Hercule Poirot...:)Buku ini berisi kumpulan cerita pendek tentang petualangan Hercule Poirot dalam memecahkan masalah menjelang masa pensiun sebagai detektif.M Poirot (seperti biasanya :D) berencana untuk memasuki masa pensiun. Ketika sedang memperbincangkan tentang masa pensiunnya dengan seorang teman lama yaitu Dr. Burton, tiba-tiba Dr. Burton menanyakan kenapa ayahnya memberi nama Hercule, menurut dia Hercule Poirot sama sekali tidak mirip dengan Hercules dalam cerita klasik Yunani. Tugas-tugas yang dikerjakan Poirot hanyalah tentang cinta berbeda dengan yang dilakukan Hercules,diapun menyindir bahwa Poirot tidak akan benar-benar berhenti jadi detektif pasti ada terus kasus yang akan dikerjakan. Poirot menyesal kenapa tidak dari dulu dia mempelajari sastra klasik Yunani. Percakapan itu menimbulkan gagasan bagi Poirot untuk mengerjakan tuga-tugas Hercules sebelum masa pensiunnya. Maka dengan referensi cerita klasik Yunani dia memilih 12 kasus yang pernah dilakukan oleh Hercules di zaman Yunani.Mulailah Poirot memecahkan masalah yang secara kebetulan bila dilihat dari kasus nya mirip ( atau disesuaikan ) dengan tugas yang dikerjakan Hercules dalam cerita klasik Yunani :1. Singa dari Nemea2. Hydra Penghuni Rawa Lerna3. Rusa dari Arcadia4. Babi hutan dari Gunung Erymanthus5. Kandang-kandang Sapi Raja Augeas6. Burung-burung Penghuni Danau Stymphalia7. Banteng Jantan dari Creta8. Kuda-kuda Raja Diomedes9. Ikat Pinggang Hyppolita10. Geryon dan Binatang-binatang Gembalaannya11. Apel-apel Hesperides12. Penangkapan Cerberus.Bagi saya salah satu yang menarik dari Agatha Christie adalah dia selalu mendeskripsikan wajah, keadaan atau karakter tokohnya dengan detail sehingga kita dapat ikut membayangkan dan merasakan keadaan yang digambarkan.Dr. Charles Olfield berusia kira-kira empat puluh tahun. . Rambutnya yang berwarna terang sedikit abu-abu di kedua pelipisnya.Matanya yang bitu menyorotkan kecemasan hatinya. Tubuhnya agak bungkuk dan keseluruhan gerak-geriknya menandakan pria itu agak peragu.Lebih dari itu tampaknya agak sulit baginya berbicara langsung mengenai pokok persoaannya. ( hal. 63 )Membaca cerita pemecahan masalah yang dikerjakan Poirot dalam satu buku utuh tentu akan berbeda sensasinya dengan cerita yang sama tapi dalam bentuk cerita pendek. Awalnya saya pesimis untuk mendapat kepuasan yang sama, di awal cerita memang terasa perbedaannya, juga ada beberapa kisah tanpa pembunuhan, rasanya kurang greget ( lho.. ), tapi ternyata ada juga cerita-cerita tentang pembunuhan dengan pemecahan yang tidak kalah dengan cerita panjang yang berhasil mengecoh dan mematahkan perkiraan saya. Tadinya saya hanya akan memberikan 3 ½ bintang saja, tapi di akhir cerita ada yang bisa menambah poin , yaitu Poirot ternyata bisa juga …jatuh cinta...
—Nanny SA
The great Belgian detective is nearing a self-imposed retirement from active cases, but feels that he wishes to end his career with a number of cases that (at least to him) are similar to the twelve labors of the original Hercules. Ranging from dog-napping to a missing persons case to jewelry theft and drug dealing, Poirot allows his little grey cells (with the assistance of returning characters like Detective Inspector Japp and the ever helpful George, among others) to conclude each of these labors successfully. Basically, a number of short stories, interconnected by Poirot's fixation on the ancient myths of his namesake.This is an older Poirot, unhappy with a more modern era and looking forward to retiring into a comfortable life of ease. The cases are all clever, and very different from each other, which is not always the case (no pun) with some short story collections involving a single main character. Fun for those familiar with the detective, even if only from his television and film appearances.
—Steve Chaput
