Unashamed Bibliophile

Just look at these windows, which were what first caught my eye:

Then we have the intarsia/wood inlay of the doors:

The walls in the dining car:

And look at the fabric on those chairs:

One of the compartments: the walls! The lamps! The fabric of the seats, which I have a hunch a fabric nerd will go nuts about:

The coaster and glass for the crème de menthe:

Even the luggage rack!

Poirot alone is a bastion of justice without any buttressing to hold him up against the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.

the murder acts as a vessel by which to deliver some kind of political commentary or moral message to the audience— largely stuff like, “government corruption is bad”, “be nice to marginalised people”, “the legal system sucks”, and so on. for obvious reasons, a lot of these messages in the 18-1900s focused on classism, financial abuse, and corruption in high society— which is why we HAVE the modern murder-mystery stereotype of A Bunch Of Rich People In A Big Mansion House Killing For Money. even in terms of detectives, there has always been political commentary— poirot and marple specifically are always dismissed by others on account of them being foreign and old respectively, and holmes and watson meet in the first place because they’re both poor and the latter was WIA. this stuff gets played for laughs a lot in modern adaptations, but it’s actually a big part of their personalities and the stories the authors are trying to tell.

murder mysteries have ALWAYS reflected the modern political climate, because they have always had to answer the question “in this day and age, what would people kill for?”. some constants remain— money, love, etc.— but a lot of the environmental context changes with age. good modern mysteries recognise this; i’m sure the killers in the thursday murder club, for example, would not be given half as much mercy in the 1900s as they are by modern viewers— and yet in today’s world, where we can recognise their pain as something that exists within the context of modern society and its disregard towards the vulnerable, WE, the audience, feel that their actions are justified and that they should be allowed to remain above the law.

it’s why a lot of contemporary hollywood mysteries don’t work. so many modern authors try to return to “the good old days” by copying the 1900s formula— tossing a ton of rich people in a house and saying something vague about money— without realising that the appeal has always come from the tackling of real, relatable issues, and in justice for those who deserve it. it’s the reason why murder on the orient express, widely considered one of the greatest mystery stories of all time, HAS to end the way it does— because having it end any other way would completely undermine everything the story is trying to say about the legal system. in a similar way, there’s a reason why knives out CAN’T end with fran surviving/ransom getting away with it, why glass onion CAN’T end with miles being arrested normally, and why wake up dead man CAN’T end without jud taking martha’s confession— because those endings miss what the films are trying to say about the very real modern issues at the centre of them.

first 20 pages: okay so there’s this character and that character and they’re talking and i’m like sure. i’m following. i’m present.

next 100–150 pages: what is happening. who are these people. why are they all vaguely suspicious. why is everyone lying but also being extremely polite about it. i understand NOTHING but i am too deep to stop.

final 10–20 pages: oh.

OH.

OH MY GOD.

every single detail clicks into place. every random conversation suddenly matters. every tiny thing i ignored is now evidence. the entire story rearranges itself in my head in real time and i’m just sitting there like i have personally been outsmarted.

and the worst part is she doesn’t even cheat. the clues were THERE. she just trusted me to miss them.

i finish the book in awe, immediately consider rereading it, and then somehow fall for the exact same experience the next time.

-ancient roman posca: water, red or white wine vinegar, honey, salt, herbs (coriander, mint, thyme)

-switchel: water, ginger, vinegar, sweetener, lemon, salt

-ayran: yogurt, water, salt, mint

-sees the reports of the heatwave in Europe-

-ancient roman posca: water, red or white wine vinegar, honey, salt, herbs (coriander, mint, thyme)

-switchel: water, ginger, vinegar, sweetener, lemon, salt

-ayran: yogurt, water, salt, mint

-sees the reports of the heatwave in Europe-