Esta crítica puedes encontrarla en: http://www.elblogdeivanrumar.com/2014...No es oro todo lo que reluceUna de mis escritoras favoritas es Agatha Christie, pero me ocurre algo extraño con ella. Le perdono cosas que no les perdonaría a mis otros autores favoritos. John Irving o Andrzej Sapkowski, por poner dos ejemplos, me gustan por sus estilos, por su capacidad para trazar personajes y, en definitiva, por casi todo. Pero con Christie no me pasa eso. Su estilo, dejando a un lado el rollo ese psicológico, me parece algo sencillo en ocasiones; sus personajes, dejando a un lado a sus icónicos detectives, son un poco simplones, unidimensionales y estereotipados a más no poder. Tampoco es que me impresione con sus descripciones o por los temas de fondo -casi inexistentes- que trata. Pero tiene algo que sí merece todo su peso en oro: su capacidad para generar tensión y de involucrarte en la lectura. Y porque me gustan las novelas de detectives clásicas, dónde lo que prima es el caso y no la vida del detective. Y, de momento, solo Agatha Christie es capaz de ello.Sin embargo, no es oro todo lo que reluce y de un tiempo a esta parte me he encontrado con algunas novelas suyas algo ramplonas, como "La venganza de Nofret", y otras interesantes, pero lejos del nivel de sus obras más relevantes, como "Cinco cerditos" o "La muerte de Lord Edgware". De esas que cumplen limitadamente lo que le pido. Sin más rodeos, ¿"Miss Marple y trece problemas" es una novela ramplona, interesante o excelente? ¿En qué grupo estaría? Pues en el segundo, pero con matices.Hay dos partes diferenciadas en esta recopilación de pequeños casos; la primera reunión, que transcurre en casa de Miss Marple y en la que se exponen seis casos, tantos como personajes reunidos; y la segunda, dónde ocurre lo mismo, pero esta vez un año más tarde y aprovechando una cena organizada en casa de la familia Bantry. Más un bonus track. La diferencia no radica en el esquema que usa Christie para presentarnos los casos, que es el mismo en ambas partes, pero sí en la calidad de los relatos de los invitados. De hecho, hay una diferencia bastante importante: los de la primera reunión son previsibles, terriblemente sencillos y en ocasiones giran alrededor de la misma idea, mientras que los de la segunda, no tanto. En este punto no puedo evitar la siguiente reflexión:Que haga pleno con Agatha Christie solo quiere decir una -o las dos, ya puestos- de estas cosas:A) Que he dejado de ser un ingenuo y que de la vida ya no puedo esperar sorpresa alguna;O bien,B) Que Agatha Christie no es tan genial como solía pensar. O que sus grandes obras son contadas.Durante la primera parte uno bien podría pensar que el punto B está tomando un cariz muy certero. Los casos son muy obvios, fácilmente deducibles; en la mayoría el culpable suele ser el que con más esfuerzo Christie intenta justificar durante el relato en cuestión, tanto que solo hace que sospechemos aún más. Es tan obvio que el que pone más empeño en convencer al protagonista es siempre el que más números tiene de haber cometido el crimen; pero no solo con la autoría del crimen radica la poca originalidad, sino en los métodos usados para cometerlo, que suelen ser muy típicos y giran alrededor del desconocimiento del lector en cuanto a venenos y modos de empleo. En la segunda parte también ocurre algo similar, pero la solución no es siempre tan sencilla y la calidad de los relatos es superior. Son más intrincados y originales, rompiendo un poco el esquema de la primera parte, pero aún lejos de los demás relatos a los que estamos acostumbrados. Las soluciones no están tan cogidas por los pelos y los relatos enganchan, te mantienen atento. El que cuenta la propia Miss Marple da buena fe de ello.En conclusión, "Miss Marple y trece problemas" es una obra dispareja, con una primera parte realmente floja y una segunda mucho más interesante, con relatos que, aunque en algunos casos son deducibles, están más trabajados. La sensación, sin embargo, es que estamos ante una de sus obras menores; quizás sea porque el esquema de Christie se adapta mejor a las distancias largas que a las cortas.
Agatha Christie's compilation of Miss Marple stories, The Thirteen Problems, was published in 1932. It marks the second appearance in book form of Christie's beloved spinster sleuth, Miss Jane Marple, whose debut in The Murder at the Vicarage had occurred only two years earlier. Miss Marple is my favorite Christie character. I love the contradiction of the wooly-headed old dear, who despite living in a quaint English village, has an uncanny, some might say ruthless, awareness of the absolute worst aspects of human nature. Unfortunately I did find the Miss Marple of The Thirteen Problems to be somewhat problematic. The other characters tend to mistakenly patronize her, but this is hardly surprising considering how Christie describes her. In these stories she is not just an old lady, but almost an antique, a fragile relic from a past century. Despite her unfailing wisdom, she does not actually do anything, other than sit quietly in the corner and knit. I prefer a busier Miss Marple, one who is out and about, quietly insinuating herself into the lives of her neighbors in St. Mary Mead. Also I found the quality of the stories in The Thirteen Problems to be a bit uneven, though a few of them are little gems. Some of the stories, unfortunately, seemed very dated to me, occasionally with solutions which struck me as blindingly obvious. Not that the stories were not fun to read. The mysteries of Agatha Christie were the first "grown-up" books I read. As a child, I had no interest in children's books. I could not wait to read adult books, particularly the crime novels so enjoyed by some of my older female relatives. Christie was one of their favorite writers; the paperbacks usually had creepy, evocative covers which I found enthralling. By the time I was an actual "grown-up" I thought I had outgrown Agatha Christie. But in 2010, in response to a prolonged reading drought, I decided to read all of her books, preferably in the chronological order of their publication. What has been surprising about experiencing Christie in this way, is that the reader gets to see her develop not just as a writer, but as one of the most popular novelists of all time.
What do You think about The Thirteen Problems (2015)?
Choose Your Own Adventure!You are a book club and you specialize in mystery and murder. It is a grand old time. There is also a quasi-member of the club, an Angela Lansbury type, a dotty biddy from the old school. You try to include her but you also find yourself talking around her. It is hard not to be condescending: there is so little she knows of the modern world. Still, her archaic point of view is at times quaintly charming. At times you are shocked by her preposterous conclusions, but you humor her still. Does God give you extra points for being nice to the elderly? Only time will tell!If you decide that murder is so one-sided and maybe it is time to explore other genres, choose http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...If you decide that it is time to check out how many extra points you’ve accumulated due to your dedicated service to seniors, choose http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
—mark monday
I'm probably a bit more than halfway through (re)reading Dame Agatha's canon. I admit that I've been disagreeably surprised by the number of adventure novels mixed in with the mysteries; she actually wrote a great many of the former, but there is a reason her reputation rests exclusively on the latter! After plodding through one too many of her "random adventurer in exotic locale with vague political intrigue" novels, I found myself starting to feel a bit soured on my Year of Agatha and decided to return to a favorite, The Tuesday Club Murders. I could sum this book up in one word if I had to: FLAWLESS. Truly. The short stories are like perfect pearls strung together to form one fabulous necklace. There is not a single dud in the bunch. Miss Marple is enchanting as always; she was a new character of Agatha's at the time, having figured in only one novel (Murder at the Vicarage) before this collection appeared in 1932. It is a treat to find clues about her personality and life (I'd forgotten she had a sister, for example) scattered through the stories.These are quintessential "cozy" British mysteries, in the best possible sense. There is no blood and gore; these are pure intellectual puzzles of supreme cleverness, set in a mellow atmosphere of friends around the dinner table swapping tales. The framework allows Christie to have multiple narrators, movely deftly from one voice to another as though it were nothing. It is actually a tour de force that only looks simple, when you realize that she had to make each story unique, with a brilliant twist for Miss Marple to deduce, but still with an overall cohesive feeling. These stories sets the bar so high that I honestly consider them unequaled in the detection genre. Re-reading them, I remember why I love Dame Agatha and hold her in such high regard. She tried many approaches in her fiction, with varying degress of success, but when she was at top form, no one then or since could compare.
—Laurel Young
I like her as well. I like the classics and reread them. Gives me a break from modern gore and lust disguised as mystery novels. I appreciate your comments. Jesus' peace to you.
—Cindy
