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A review by pinks_paperbacks
Nemesis by Agatha Christie
4.0
It was slow in the beginning but caught pace quite quickly. There usually isn't much action in Miss Marple's series owing to her age and personality but this book had an interesting way to keep you captivated. The clues were obvious but even then I was still not able to pinpoint the culprit until it was made obvious. Conclusively, there were few times when I needed to take breaks but not once did I want to stop reading completely.
As I am reading more of Agatha Christie's books the more I am realising (or maybe I am reading too much into it) that she was an open-minded and tolerant woman. I say so because in this book itself there were characters and characteristic features that could, in this day and age, be categorised under LGBTQ+ communities. For example there was one instance where Archdeacon Brabazon is discussing with Miss Marple the possible psyche behind Verity's decison to marry Michael and in a part of his discussion he mentions how she had lost her parents and come to live with Clotilde around the age when one starts developing 'crush on someone.' He adds that the schoolgirls can have these crushes on "......an attractive mistress. Anything from the games mistress to the mathematics mistress, or a prefect or an older girl. A state that does not last for very long, is merely a natural part of life." I know she puts it as a 'phase' in life but I will still give her props for mentioning it as a 'natural' part of life.
The reason I want to mention the above point is because I feel it is important to realise that if Agatha, in her time, could mention homosexuality albeit quite subtly, without prejudice then why is it still such a trouble for us to be, at the very least, tolerant about it? It's sad that even now we have so many people who view anything other than heterosexuality as unnatural and abnormal and with disgust and hatred. Quoting Agatha - “To care passionately for another human creature brings always more sorrow than joy; but at the same time, Elinor, one would not be without experience. Anyone who has never really loved has never really lived..." After all we humans are cut from the same cloth.
As I am reading more of Agatha Christie's books the more I am realising (or maybe I am reading too much into it) that she was an open-minded and tolerant woman. I say so because in this book itself there were characters and characteristic features that could, in this day and age, be categorised under LGBTQ+ communities. For example there was one instance where Archdeacon Brabazon is discussing with Miss Marple the possible psyche behind Verity's decison to marry Michael and in a part of his discussion he mentions how she had lost her parents and come to live with Clotilde around the age when one starts developing 'crush on someone.' He adds that the schoolgirls can have these crushes on "......an attractive mistress. Anything from the games mistress to the mathematics mistress, or a prefect or an older girl. A state that does not last for very long, is merely a natural part of life." I know she puts it as a 'phase' in life but I will still give her props for mentioning it as a 'natural' part of life.
The reason I want to mention the above point is because I feel it is important to realise that if Agatha, in her time, could mention homosexuality albeit quite subtly, without prejudice then why is it still such a trouble for us to be, at the very least, tolerant about it? It's sad that even now we have so many people who view anything other than heterosexuality as unnatural and abnormal and with disgust and hatred. Quoting Agatha - “To care passionately for another human creature brings always more sorrow than joy; but at the same time, Elinor, one would not be without experience. Anyone who has never really loved has never really lived..." After all we humans are cut from the same cloth.