Kahan Raja Bhoj, kahan Gangu teli

I recently read this book called The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Dame Agatha Christie. It is touted to be the best Agatha Christie book due to its unconventional techniques like unreliable narrator, twist-ending and the controversies it fell into upon its publication.

This is the first(and probably the last) Agatha Christie book I've ever read. Having read the complete Sherlock Holmes series, I found this book extremely pitiable.

To start with, the plot was pretty dumb and cliched; a tragic love affair in which the woman kills the man she loves who is then murdered by another dumbo. This is just her fourth book and Hercule Poirot has already considered retirement. He does a great favour to the family of the deceased(who was a friend of his) and makes an entry into the case like a hero in some Bollywood movie. It reminded me of Dashrath Singh's entry in Bunty aur Babli. He acts smart and collects some evidences which are quite visible to even an untrained eye. In between he displays his prowess in French and throws in stupid one-liners or ambiguous phrases. I was most surprised to find the detective eyeing girls and thus concluded that this book is some sort of a potboiler and nothing else.

And the way the mystery is solved is much more of a comedy than a thriller. He starts with a particular person and then shifts focus from that person to the next and until the last person is left(who is actually the murderer). Even a five year old child could do that. If you don't know anything, it's the best way. No brains required. Not like Sherlock Holmes or for that matter Mma Ramotswe who use much more deductive logic and skills to reach the solution. This is the biggest difference between the two.

Sherlock Holmes is really a great detective. His mannerisms are immaculate. The way he carries his proceedings, without jumping to stupid conclusions(which he considers to be a detective's greatest shortcomings and he is quite right in thinking so) and always solving the mystery in a sweeping fashion. His, is the final word on the whole story. At least he never said after every case that it was his last and suddenly in the next case he announces his return. Almost each of his case has been carved out in near perfect manner which keeps one engrossed till the very end.

Now I shall decide which book to read tomorrow. The IITians by Sandeepan Deb is definitely a big contender. So is The Call of the Wild by Jack London.

Books and coffee... What better way than this to spend 30 blissful days?