{also published as Mr. Parker Pyne, Detective}
"The Case of the Middle-Aged Wife" - This, the first short story of the detective Parker Pyne... Agatha, while I could appreciate very much his character and his knowledge based on a life of statistics, I did not find his solution for this woman's happiness to be very agreeable. While it was a happy ending, I found myself disliking Parker Pyne very much, and not really looking forward to reading more.
"The Case of the Discontented Soldier," ...on the other hand, was pretty great. Still Pyne functions with deceit, but this was a happy ending bringing two lonesome people together for a happily ever after. The fact that they didn't even connect the dots made me smile. Also! -- this is the first appearance of Ariadne Oliver -- and I even caught it myself!
I loved "The Case of the Distressed Lady"! Turned the tables on the bad guy - oh, justice!
But "The Case of the Discontented Husband" was much like "The Middle Aged Wife" - too much - except for the ending. It surprised me that you said in the introduction that this was one of your two favorites in the tome... maybe -- because of that ending. I'll admit, I liked it.
"The Case of the City Clerk" was fun, and I was glad that I really enjoyed "The Case of the Rich Woman" since you listed it as well as one of your favorites. That said... I'm still not sure how I feel about Parker Pyne! He even says his occupation is "the confidence trick" in "The Gate of Baghdad"...
I took exception to Pyne's words in "Have You Got Everything You Want?" - "What is truth?" he says, reminding me of Pontius Pilate! "...It is a fundamental axiom of married life that you must lie to a woman. She likes it!" Really? That story for me was just okay.
Back to "Baghdad"... Hmmm... This was the most detective-ish story I've read so far (maybe also "HYGEYW") - and I admired Pyne's powers of observation in solving the murder *as well as* solving the case of a worldwide thief. It also inspired me to some research on these lines of Flecker and the "four great gates of the city of Damascus" - a poem which must have meant something to you as it seems this is where you got the title for Postern of Fate. (I can't say I fully understand the poem, but I am planning to look at it more at a later time.) The only flaw in this work is the racial stereotypes and epithets. But really, I enjoyed this story quite a bit.
The best part of "The House at Shiraz" was the humor - especially this gem when Pyne has trouble understanding the language of customs officials:
"What have I said?" he asked of the German.
"That your father's Christian name is Tourist, that your profession is Charles, that the maiden name of your mother is Baghdad, and that you have come from Harriet."
"The Pearl of Price" - twisty and ironic. But my favorite part is this one sentence describing Petra: "The 'rose-red' city was indeed a freak invented by Nature in her most extravagant and colorful mood." That could certainly be said of the colorful rock formations we pass as we drive through Colorado and Utah. (Hey, also... I didn't know the term no-see-ums went as far back as the 30s!)
Enjoyed "Death on the Nile." Wondering if it has anything to do with the novel of the same name. And the final story, "The Oracle at Delphi" - such fun. You are definitely a master of the twist!
This collection of short stories, dear Agatha, I think is my favorite short story collection so far. I even began to like Parker Pyne, at least somewhat, by the end.
... And October 2017 now marks the month in which I've read the most Christie - 5 books!
Good night, dear Agatha. Thanks for the fun.
b.
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