Perform the ritual that puts me in the part

[sovay]

Being left to my own devices this week with a pile of unfamiliar Agatha Christie, I naturally read them one after the other. I have nothing especially to note about Why Didn't They Ask Evans? (1934) or The Sittaford Mystery (1931) except that it turned out to be a duplicate of the US-titled The Murder at Hazelmoor and I swapped it out for Dolores Hitchens' Cat's Claw (1943), but Christie's They Came to Baghdad (1951) is a reasonably wild ride of a novel which mixes several different flavors of spy thriller with a romance conducted on an archaeological dig at Tell Aswad, which I didn't even need to bet myself had been excavated by Max Mallowan. Minus the nuclear angle, its global conspiracy is right out of an interwar thriller—Christie to her credit defuses much of the potential for antisemitism with references to Siegfried and supermen instead—as is its Ambler-esque heroine gleefully launching herself into international intrigue with little more than her native wits and talent for straight-faced improvisation, but its spymaster is proto-le Carré, the chronically shabby, fiftyish, vague-looking Dakin, a career disappointment rumored to drink who never looks any less tired when dealing with affairs of endangered state. He gave me instant Denholm Elliott and never seems to have recurred in another novel of Christie's, alas. I made scones with candied ginger and sour cherries and lemon tonight.

Comments

[moon_custafer]

I keep thinking They Came to Baghdad is the one where the emotionally-abusive mother of a family of tourists is done in, but now that I think of it that one takes place in/near Petra.

[sovay]

I keep thinking They Came to Baghdad is the one where the emotionally-abusive mother of a family of tourists is done in, but now that I think of it that one takes place in/near Petra.

I have not read that one! This is the one where the inciting event of the plot—before the heroine gets on the scene—is basically Kim discovers Bond supervillainy.

While I have you on the line, as it were, have an interview with Brad Dourif. I hope he does eventually believe that people like his work.

[moon_custafer]

Thanks! I’m glad he’s enjoying his retirement as a cat-steward (I’ve a vague feeling I’ve also heard that he keeps or kept goats).

[sovay]

Thanks! I’m glad he’s enjoying his retirement as a cat-steward (I’ve a vague feeling I’ve also heard that he keeps or kept goats).

It's a thing people do! I was glad to read he was doing well and charmed that he would come out of retirement only for Chucky and/or Fiona.

[kate_nepveu]

that one (Appointment with Death) is interesting because she did it again as a play and changed the ending, which is deeply disconcerting if you don't know ahead of time!

(the play is better)

[sovay]

that one (Appointment with Death) is interesting because she did it again as a play and changed the ending, which is deeply disconcerting if you don't know ahead of time!

That's useful to know!

(the play is better)

(Also neat. Have you ever seen it staged?)

[kate_nepveu]

nope--I've read them both and I listened to a radio play--that adapted the NOVEL, which I didn't know was different, so I spent the whole time trying to make the stage play fit what was happening and failing!

edit: hmmm I'm actually not sure if I've read the book instead of just listening to the radio play. Regardless.

[sovay]

nope--I've read them both and I listened to a radio play--that adapted the NOVEL, which I didn't know was different, so I spent the whole time trying to make the stage play fit what was happening and failing!

That sounds actively unhelpful of the radio play!