The Affair at the Victory Ball:
When there's a murder at a masquerade ball Poirot solves the murder. Lord Cronshaw, died i think.
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So far, I don't know much because I just started. It's a good book from what i've read so far. I need to have a dictionary next to me when I read it, or i won't get it but that's the only down side. This is the first murder in the book.
ReplyDeleteIs it just the words that make it difficult to read, or is it the wording that makes the words more difficult to understand?
ReplyDeleteI find it's both. The characters use words that aren't so common today (people seem very fond of calling Poirot a "mountebank", or a fake). They also speak in a different way because, again, the stories are written about a different time, but also because it's set in England and in a specific social class. To feel very comfortable in these stories, you have to have the vocabulary and follow the sentence construction and diction, but you also have to know something about that society's expectations, relations, and assumptions. Have you ever tried reading the sports page of a modern British newspaper? Sometimes I'm not even sure what sport it's talking about.
ReplyDeleteNo I haven't and I don't think I want to!
DeleteI have read some Agatha Christie books as well and I found them to be quite amusing. Kahla have you read any other Hercule mysteries besides this one?
ReplyDeleteNo, there are some other mysteries but I can't understand the mystery because there are so many big words. I think I need a bigger vocabulary, but I would like to read some more.
DeleteI give up on this book, until I can understand the mysteries!
ReplyDeleteHave you tried doing what Josiah mentioned about how knowing the time period and such words would help you in the book? He may have a pint, maybe if you look up some of the places or words and keep them written in your bookmark, it may help you along the story. I have personally done this before, and it can be a major contribution to understanding the story.
DeleteKahla, Josiah and Matilda make some good suggestions. If you're interested in this genre, you might also try reading some with more straightforward language. I know there are a number of books in the library there by Dick Francis, whose mysteries I love, and who's easier to understand, in my opinion.
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