Sep 27, 2011 10:35 PM
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(Updated Sep 27, 2011 10:52 PM)
“The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ,
Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit,
Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it.”
Agatha Christie usually sources the titles of her novels from famous quotes of Shakespeare and from the Bible. But this time, she has been inspired by Omar Khayyam’s verse for the title of this Miss Marple novel.
Introduction
There is no doubt that wickedness exists the most in the human world. One such wicked trait is the desire to make others suffer using fake and anonymous persona. Of course, we know this very well, thanks to the various fake IDs that exist on this site to harass members.
The Poison pen is one such ugly tactic used, wherein anonymous letters are written to harass people and drive them to desperate measures. This is the theme of this Christie novel.
The Author
Agatha Christie is one author who needs no introduction. The Queen of Crime is undoubtedly the greatest mystery writer of all times. She is famous for her varied, innovative plots that are difficult to solve. All her crime novels have a deep element of suspense which is retained till the end. We usually get to know the identity of the criminal only in the last few pages of the novel. Christie’s most famous characters are the inimitable Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple.
The Storyline
Jerry Burton is an airforce pilot injured in a plane crash and to recuperate, he visits the seemingly quiet village of Lymstock to recuperate. Accompanying him is his sister Joanna, recovering from yet another heartbreak. But little do they know that in the village is a poison pen writer who sends malicious letters to the denizens of Lymstock.
As the brother and sister get to know the people of the village better, they realize that most of the village folk have received such ugly letters making cruel allegations. Things take a turn for the worse when Mrs.Symmington commits suicide after receiving one such letter.
A Scotland Yard inspector arrives at the scene and Jerry Burton decides to play detective to find out who the poison pen writer is. In the course of the detection, Jerry becomes close to Mrs.Symmington’s young and clumsy daughter Megan and realizes that he is in love with her, but she refuses to accept him. And in a similar situation is Joanna who falls for the local doctor.
The police fail to make headway and one more death occurs. That’s when the vicar’s wife decides to call in an expert – not from the police, but from a village St. Mary’s Mead. The expert is none other than the sweet old lady Miss Jane Marple.
The rest of the story is about how Miss Marple along with Jerry unravels the case of the poison pen and brings the culprit to book. As the novel progresses, we realize that the suspect is not one, but could be any one. The novel moves towards a gripping climax before we uncover the poison pen writer.
Highlights of the book
Some of the highlights of this book are:
a) Characterisation : As usual, Christie’s fills her characters with life and you think with them and feel for them as the story proceeds. Particularly, the characters of Megan, Emily, Aimee Griffith and the Vicar’s wife are particularly striking.
b) The suspense element is well maintained through the novel. At every stage, Christie throws clues around and makes us not only guess, but also change our guesses.
c) The romance element in the novel is extremely well-constructed and I am sure Mills & Boon authors would envy Christie for this angle.
d) Christie has a very subtle and underplayed sense of humour, which is evident in many of her novels. This is one of the best novels, where her sense of humour comes to play. Her sense of humour is not in actions, but in words and descriptions.
e) The ending as usual is vintage Christie, as she throws a bombshell and makes you wonder what is going to happen.
f) Usually, in all Marple novels, she is the main character, but this novel is unique, because Jerry Burton is the lead character and Miss Marple comes very late into the novel and plays a supporting role.
Summary & Recommendation
Christie has made a list of her ten favourite novels and The Moving Finger features in that list. Very deservingly too!! This novel is a simple and cute mystery tale which you will definitely love.
The unique theme of the poison pen writer along with the uncomplicated plot and the Christie touch of humour makes this novel a must read.
I will rate it 9.75/10 and heartily recommend it to all Christie fans and to all lovers of mystery fiction.
