Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
I'm not a big fan of Christie. She writes a good mystery, but the problem is her characters, who are wooden and two-dimensional. Ngaio Marsh and Dorothy L. Sayers, on the other hand, write about characters who come to life as real people. I know that Christie was far more commercially successful than either, but I honestly don't think she was that wonderful a writer.
|
Harry - have you read Robert Barnard's 'A Talent to Deceive: An Appreciation of Agatha Christie'? Barnard analyzes the criticism against Christie, such as your observations on characters, and defends her popularity and writing style in relation to her contemporaries (Sayers, Marsh, etc.). Unfortunately out-of-print, but if you can locate a used copy it's a fascinating read - a mystery author explicated by a mystery author.