Reviews

Giant's Bread by Mary Westmacott, Agatha Christie

mazza57's review

1.0

I think I will stick to Agatha and give the pseudonymous books a miss. The whole thing was tedious and the narration did not help

hashtag_alison's review

5.0

This novel is an interesting take on the human condition. None of the characters are very realistic on paper, but the emotional turmoil is depicted with truth. Christie’s depiction of English life in the 30s and 40s is always fascinating to me. Things that sound completely foreign and nonsensical to me, like people with enormous ancestral homes but no money; things that are relics from another time, like a woman battling with herself over marrying a passionate lover or rich suitor because it’s literally the only way society will let her support herself; and of course a protagonist that’s so caught up in his pursuit of art and his own private world that he can’t even be bothered to tell his own story; these are all woven together with Christie’s trademark storytelling that has you chasing after each chapter.

a8bhatia's review

2.0

I felt like this tale dragged on, everything was built up slowly with no real purpose or point made.

vegetablemathematics's review

emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

sharkybookshelf's review against another edition

2.0

Vernon Deyre, a brilliant musician shaped by his sheltered childhood, finds himself caught up in a love triangle, with devastating consequences…

When I started my #SharkyReadsChristie project, I wasn’t really planning to include Christie’s romance books, which she published under the name Mary Westmacott, but then I thought why not… Well, don’t let the pretty picture fool you, because this was a rather tedious read and I regret my decision. Christie is clearly a great observer of human nature (it’s one of things that make her murder mysteries so clever), she writes the upper classes and their preoccupations so very well and her characters felt realistic, but I just wasn’t particularly interested in them or their problems. I also didn’t care about the love triangle. Of course, this was published in 1930 and isn’t comparable to modern-day romances (and it’s not a genre I often pick up, so I have few points of reference anyway), but even so, it was quite dull and lengthy and I just wanted it to wrap up. I don’t really have much else to say about it, except to note that one of the principal characters is Jewish, and some of the descriptions reflect the prejudices of the time, which is not automatically a criticism (encountering language that’s offensive in a modern context is a risk of reading older books), but it didn’t exactly add to my already limited enjoyment of this book. Believable (mostly) and realistic characters, but ultimately a lacklustre, lengthy romance.

zara89's review against another edition

reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.5

courtvallee's review against another edition

4.0

3.5 stars. I never would have even heard of this book, but I want to read all of Agatha Christie's books in publication order. I didn't know what to expect of the first non-mystery from her. I thought it was weird and kind of sad, and I liked it.

jenmulsow's review

dark emotional sad slow-paced

3.5

hannaevelyn's review

emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

backpackfullofbooks's review

emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

One of several novels that Agatha Christie wrote under the name Mary Westmacott.

Unlike most of Christie’s novels this isn’t a murder mystery, it is instead focused on the life story of one man, and could in some respects be called a coming of age novel.

We follow the life of Vernon Deyre, from his very early childhood through his tumultuous adult life. Vernon is a gentleman who can’t afford to live in his ancestral seat, who may (or may not be a genius) and who is surrounded by people much more interesting and capable than himself. He naturally also has a messy love life.
~
I can see why Agatha’s Westmacott novels weren’t as popular as her murder mystery’s.

While I did enjoy the easy flow of the writing style I found the content quite boring and I didn’t care about Vernon.

In fairness, the life of a pampered, selfish, upperclass boor who is lauded as a genius (for no real reason) and is both useless as a person and horrible to women might annoy more than usual at this particular time. But I don’t think that I would enjoy him as a character at any time.

The saving grace of this book was how interesting the rest of the characters are. The only character with any sense seems to be Vernon’s childhood best friend. However the descriptions of him (as the only prominent Jewish character) can at best be said to not have aged well and are often extremely uncomfortable to read. She leans heavily on offensive stereotypes in forming this character.

I found the childhood friendship of the three principal characters particularly enjoyable to read, but the book gets bleaker as it goes on.
~
I recommend this book for major Christie fans. If you want to try one book by her you should try death on the Nile instead.