Boek
Eindeloze nacht, De
| Auteur | Agatha Christie |
| Eerste Uitgave | 1967 |
| Uitgave | 1974 |
| Uitgeverij | A.W. Sijthoff |
| Vorm | roman |
| Taal | Nederlands |
| Bladzijden | 185 bladzijden |
| Gelezen | 2004-03-17 |
| Score | 8/10 |
Inhoud
Michael Rogers ontmoet bij de verkoping van een oud Engels huis een Amerikaans meisje, Elly Guteman. Ze leren elkaar beter kennen en trouwen. Elly blijkt schatrijk te zijn en koopt het huis en de grond waar ze Michael het eerst heeft gezien. Het oude huis wordt afgebroken en samen laten ze een modern droomhuis bouwen. Maar de grond heeft vroeger toebehoord aan zigeuners, en volgens de dorpsbewoners rust er een vloek op.
Bespreking
One of the best late Agatha Christies
Michael Rogers is a simple chauffeur, whose only contact with wealth is through his rich and famous passengers. While dropping off a passenger in Kingston Bishop, Rogers discovers "the Towers," a decrepit Victorian house up for auction. He immediately falls in love with the beautiful location, Gipsy's Acre, the house is build on, but of course he can only dream of owning such a property. Then the impossible happens: he falls in love with the wealthy Ellie Goodman. Before long, they are Mr. and Mrs. Rogers and Gipsy's Acre is theirs. But when Mrs. Lee warns them of the curse, their luck seems to have come to an end.
Of Endless Night Agatha Christie claimed that it was one of her favourites and I can certainly see why. The ingenious plot manages to avoid death itself for no less than the first three quarters of the book. Only near the denouement does the book become a detective story. At first the story tends to be perceived as long and tedious, but when all clues finally come together, the significance of that happened before can only amaze the reader.
Quite remarkable for an Agatha Christie novel is the strongly developed characters. Whereas Christie in most of her later works seems engulfed by the idea that the modern youth is lazy and completely useless, in Endless Night she clearly proves the opposite. Never are the main characters depicted as a caricature. When you know the solution to the mystery you will understand that she did this with a reason.