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The Big Four - Empat Besar (Hercule Poirot #5)
Di dalam gudang bawah tanah di East End itu, aku yakin inilah saat-saatku yang terakhir. Kusiapkan diriku menghadapi shock derasnya arus air yang hitam itu. Aku terkejut ketika mendengar tawa bernada rendah. "Anda seorang pemberani", kata laki-laki di sofa itu. "Kami orang Timur menghargai keberanian. Anda telah berani menghadapi kematian Anda sendiri. Dapatkah pula Anda m...more
Paperback, 269 pages
Published
1986
by Gramedia Pustaka Utama
(first published 1927)
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The plot shapes up like a farce. The conspirators plan to rule the world. "Number One" is the unseen brains, Chinese Li Chang Yen. "Two" is multimillionaire American Soap King Abe Ryland. "Three" is idolized brilliant Parisian chemist Mme Olivier. Their assassin "Number Four" is young actor Claud Darell.
The elusive Four litters the landscape with corpses as author's device to add another disguise. Captain Hastings contentedly leaves his wife of two years in the Argentine to narrate this year Ju...more
The elusive Four litters the landscape with corpses as author's device to add another disguise. Captain Hastings contentedly leaves his wife of two years in the Argentine to narrate this year Ju...more
Poirot faces his biggest challenge yet. He will have to call upon every one of his grey cells to defeat the enemy, and time, effort, and mustaches must all be sacrificed to the cause.
This is definitely a different style of Poirot. Usually he is involved in more of a mental game...this book has both mental and physical action. It has so many twists, turns, and double-backs, that sometimes it was hard to keep track.
An interesting departure from Christie's norm, and I enjoyed it this once, but I wo...more
This is definitely a different style of Poirot. Usually he is involved in more of a mental game...this book has both mental and physical action. It has so many twists, turns, and double-backs, that sometimes it was hard to keep track.
An interesting departure from Christie's norm, and I enjoyed it this once, but I wo...more
An intruder appears in Hercule Poirot's flat and eventually dies with an air of mystery about him. He seems to have been obsessed with the figure 4 ... and a large 4 at that!
Poirot decides to investigate and, with the help of Captain Hastings, freshly arrived from South America, he finds himself in a world of international intrigue.
He quickly discovers that there are four people who are trying to rule the world and they are in partnership to destroy the then existing social order and replace it...more
Poirot decides to investigate and, with the help of Captain Hastings, freshly arrived from South America, he finds himself in a world of international intrigue.
He quickly discovers that there are four people who are trying to rule the world and they are in partnership to destroy the then existing social order and replace it...more
Opinião no blog http://howtoliveathousandlives.blogsp...
Ao contrário do que se espera numa estória protagonizada por Hercule Poirot, este mistério consiste mais propriamente num caso de espionagem do que num pequeno homicídio. Estendido a uma rede internacional, este caso levará o leitor a acompanhar Poirot por todo o mundo num dos casos mais complicados da sua vida!
Também neste livro é proporcionado um vislumbre mais íntimo da amizade entre Poirot e Hastings, uma relação que considero fenomenal...more
Ao contrário do que se espera numa estória protagonizada por Hercule Poirot, este mistério consiste mais propriamente num caso de espionagem do que num pequeno homicídio. Estendido a uma rede internacional, este caso levará o leitor a acompanhar Poirot por todo o mundo num dos casos mais complicados da sua vida!
Também neste livro é proporcionado um vislumbre mais íntimo da amizade entre Poirot e Hastings, uma relação que considero fenomenal...more
Re-reading Agatha Christie in the order of publication ...
Listened to this one by audio CD for something different. Took about 6 hours in total - slightly faster than reading. I enjoyed it while I was driving, but found it difficult to pay attention while cooking in the kitchen. I guess books-on-tape should be limited to drive-time for me. I enjoy the distraction while driving, but overall I don’t feel like I get as much from the story by listening versus reading.
This book is #5 to feature Poir...more
Listened to this one by audio CD for something different. Took about 6 hours in total - slightly faster than reading. I enjoyed it while I was driving, but found it difficult to pay attention while cooking in the kitchen. I guess books-on-tape should be limited to drive-time for me. I enjoy the distraction while driving, but overall I don’t feel like I get as much from the story by listening versus reading.
This book is #5 to feature Poir...more
Agatha Christie fails to impress. As many remarked," as a creation, this book is an insult to Poirot". For me, this could easily be the worst Poirot story I ever read.
The Big Four is intended to be the Poirot's biggest case ever. Its not about just one mystery but a collection of many short incidents which Christie intends to weave into a bigger mystery, that of the Big Four. The Big Four is similar to the spider like network of James Moriarty in Sherlock Holmes stories.
The lack of originality...more
The Big Four is intended to be the Poirot's biggest case ever. Its not about just one mystery but a collection of many short incidents which Christie intends to weave into a bigger mystery, that of the Big Four. The Big Four is similar to the spider like network of James Moriarty in Sherlock Holmes stories.
The lack of originality...more
The eponymous Big Four are a global group of criminal masterminds, and Hercule Poirot is on their case. Through a series of short and largely independent mysteries (it turns out that they were all short stories originally, and then combined into the novel later on), Poirot and Hastings learn more about the bad guys and ultimately put them away. In many ways, this one has more in common with a Saturday adventure matinee or a pulp novel of the period than it has in common with the usual Christie c...more
In questo romanzo il celeberrimo Hercule Poirot si trova di fronte a un'organizzazione criminosa capeggiata dalle quattro menti più pericolose e potenti del mondo: un politico cinese, un megamiliardario americano, una scienziata francese geniale e infine un trasformista, un ex attore capace di travestirsi e impersonare chiunque. Questi 4 geni del male vogliono impadronirsi del mondo, annientando gli avversari sulla loro strada verso il potere, ma non hanno fatto i conti col più grande investigat...more
Not one of my favorites, as it didn't seem to flow well in my opinion.
I went to Wikipedia and found a few comments by critics that might fit well here.
The reviewer in The Observer of February 13, 1927 did not expect originality when reading a book dealing with the themes of The Big Four but did admit that, "When one opens a book and finds the name Li Chang Yen and is taken to subterranean chambers in the East End 'hung with rich Oriental silks,' one fears the worst. Not that Mrs. Christie gives...more
I went to Wikipedia and found a few comments by critics that might fit well here.
The reviewer in The Observer of February 13, 1927 did not expect originality when reading a book dealing with the themes of The Big Four but did admit that, "When one opens a book and finds the name Li Chang Yen and is taken to subterranean chambers in the East End 'hung with rich Oriental silks,' one fears the worst. Not that Mrs. Christie gives...more
I love the fact that Agatha Christie was always experimenting with new ways of writing mysteries, rather than resting on her considerable laurels. By 1927 she had already written such masterpieces as The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, so I have no doubt that The Big Four was an intentional departure from her previous work. Unfortunately, it is not one of her more successful efforts. An adventure story doesn't play to her strengths at all. The Big Four is one cliche after another, with Poirot and Hasti...more
A great disappointment after the skillful and inventive The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. The Big Four barely holds together as a book. Indeed it may not be said to have a plot at all. Instead it is a series of vignettes that are tied together with the loosest of bindings. I presume what Christie was aiming for was a romp such as she had provided in several of her earlier books but this time with Poirot and Hastings at the center of the story. But instead of a romp she delivered a book that lacks bot...more
Buku Agatha Christie yang pertama saya baca. Tentu tidak bisa mengelak membandingkannya dengan Sherlock Holmes punya Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Bercerita tentang kasus Empat Besar. Yaitu empat orang yang berpengaruh dalam perubahan-perubahan di dunia, termasuk kejahatan. Dalam buku ini diceritakan dari kasus ke kasus lain yang berhubungan dengan Empat Besar, sehingga saya merasa agak bertele-tele. Mungkin karena ini menyangkut kelangsungan dengan negara-negara besar tempat para anggota Empat Besar t...more
Bercerita tentang kasus Empat Besar. Yaitu empat orang yang berpengaruh dalam perubahan-perubahan di dunia, termasuk kejahatan. Dalam buku ini diceritakan dari kasus ke kasus lain yang berhubungan dengan Empat Besar, sehingga saya merasa agak bertele-tele. Mungkin karena ini menyangkut kelangsungan dengan negara-negara besar tempat para anggota Empat Besar t...more
This is a weird one. Apparently (I looked this up, because the book was so weird) Christie wrote a series of short stories about Poirot for some magazine and these stories were mashed together into this book. You can sort of tell that something like this is up, because the mashing didn't work all that well and things still seem a little disjointed.
But really, the main problem here is that Poirot is fighting a team of supervillains, and he uses disguises and smoke bombs and has to find their sec...more
But really, the main problem here is that Poirot is fighting a team of supervillains, and he uses disguises and smoke bombs and has to find their sec...more
Oh Agatha, I do love you, but really?
The Big Four is a bewildering... bewilderment. It's a theatrical, grandiose tale about a faction of supervillains who are bent on world domination, their only adversaries being the clever and resourceful detective Hercule Poirot and his trustworthy companion Captain Hastings. These villains, the eponymous Big Four, consist of a brilliant Chinese mastermind, an American millionaire, an esteemed female French chemist and a mysterious master of disguise. It prob...more
The Big Four is a bewildering... bewilderment. It's a theatrical, grandiose tale about a faction of supervillains who are bent on world domination, their only adversaries being the clever and resourceful detective Hercule Poirot and his trustworthy companion Captain Hastings. These villains, the eponymous Big Four, consist of a brilliant Chinese mastermind, an American millionaire, an esteemed female French chemist and a mysterious master of disguise. It prob...more
"Enjoyable and breezy, this is more a series of related short stories than a full blown, carefully plotted novel. Poirot and his loyal Hastings are up against a crime organization called ""The Big Four"", led by a mysterious Chinese, wealthy American, brilliant Frenchwoman, and a man of many disguises known only as ""The Destroyer."" As with many of her thrillers, the villians' aims are vague and unfocused, but Christie still has fun with individual episodes.
With lesser mysteries, Poirot doesn'...more
With lesser mysteries, Poirot doesn'...more
I've read many of Agatha Christie's books over the years, she's one of my favorites, and I felt like reading a Poirot mystery, well listening to one actually. I chose poorly with The Big Four. Poirot is his usual dapper self, eccentric and fastidious. He's as vain as always, but with faithful Hastings as the narrator, he doesn't become overly-egocentric. Hastings humanizes him some, makes fun of his quirks and appreciates his friendship.
But the mystery here let me down. It's too big, but not big...more
But the mystery here let me down. It's too big, but not big...more
I very much enjoyed re-reading this book. I had forgotten that it is more like a short story collection, each chapter being a complete episode of the long duel between Hercule Poirot and the Big Four. It's not a bad thing in my opinion (although in some episodes, the conclusion is reached a bit too quickly) - I read it in one sitting during a transatlantic flight, but this episodic structure means it is easy to read in installments.
Be warned though - this is not a typical Agatha Christie mystery...more
Be warned though - this is not a typical Agatha Christie mystery...more
أكثر ما أعجبني فيها هو أن الأحداث تشرح نفسها بطريقة جميلة جداً، لا تحتاج للكثير من التفكير من قبل القارئ وفي نفس الوقت لن تجدها مباشرة أمامك فـ أحياناً قد تضطر لقراءة أحد الفصول مرة أخرى .
يعيبها أن بعض التفاصيل الدقيقة غير قابلة للتصديق بسهولة، لكن بالنهاية هذه رواية ومستحيل أن يكون جميع ما ذُكر فيها صحيحاً وواقعياً 100% .
يعيبها أيضاً أن النهاية لم تكن على مستوى إثارة الأحداث التي مرت بها الرواية النهاية سريعة جداً ورغم انها ليست نهاية مفتوحة لكنها لم تشفي غليلي للأسف .
في النهاية هي مناسبة لمن...more
يعيبها أن بعض التفاصيل الدقيقة غير قابلة للتصديق بسهولة، لكن بالنهاية هذه رواية ومستحيل أن يكون جميع ما ذُكر فيها صحيحاً وواقعياً 100% .
يعيبها أيضاً أن النهاية لم تكن على مستوى إثارة الأحداث التي مرت بها الرواية النهاية سريعة جداً ورغم انها ليست نهاية مفتوحة لكنها لم تشفي غليلي للأسف .
في النهاية هي مناسبة لمن...more
I hesitate to use the word "awful" in association with the Queen of Crime, but this is a bad egg. Penned (some say ghost-written) during Dame Agatha's worst year: In 1926, her mother died and her husband told her he was in love with another woman and wanted a divorce.
No wonder she was off her game, poor dear.
Originally published in serial format, this cluster of overblown spy adventures should never have featured portly, inactive Poirot & clueless Hastings as the heroes. They just don't fit...more
No wonder she was off her game, poor dear.
Originally published in serial format, this cluster of overblown spy adventures should never have featured portly, inactive Poirot & clueless Hastings as the heroes. They just don't fit...more
Solving murder mysteries is an every day occurrence for Detective Hercule Poirot, but how will his “little grey cells” measure up against four brilliant adversaries? Poirot and Arthur Hastings first learn about the existence of The Big Four when approached by a stranger who unfortunately dies before he is able to reveal the whole truth. Poirot soon finds himself obsessed with unmasking and defeating The Big Four. Will our hero emerge victorious, or will he find himself as one of the Four's victi...more
In my efforts to read Agatha Christie's books chronologically, I had to read this book a little bit out of order. This was written (or at least published) after "The Secret of Chimneys," but I finished this book before "Chimneys" since I had it on loan from the library's inter-library loan. They don't allow renewals for ILL!
Regarding the book itself, this was not my favorite Poirot, although it does have classic buffoonery from Hastings. The plot is spaced out over almost a year's time, which is...more
Regarding the book itself, this was not my favorite Poirot, although it does have classic buffoonery from Hastings. The plot is spaced out over almost a year's time, which is...more
روآآية جدا مشوقة و تدخلك في احداثها و تفاصيلها
تجعلك تتخيل وتفكر مثل المحقق (بوارو) المحقق الشهير بمجموعة من سلسلة روآيات اجاثا كريستي..
وصلت لمنتصفها ولا زلت مستمتعة..
-نبذة،،
على باب غرفة نوم بوارو وقف ذلك الضيف الغير مدعو،وكان مغطى بالغبار من قمة رأسه حتى اخمص قدميه
حدق الرجل فيه للحظة،ثم انهار على الأرض.
من كآن هذا الرجل؟ هل يعاني من صدمة أم مجرد ارهاق شديد؟والأهم من هذا كله. مآ مغزى الرقم اربعة
الذي مآ انفك يخطه بيده على الورق مرارا و تكرارا؟؟
لقد وجد بوارو نفسه قد تورط في عالم من المؤامرات الدولي...more
Jan 01, 2013
Clarissa Draper
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
agatha-christie
Plot Summary: Hercule Poirot is preparing for a voyage to South America. Looming in the doorway of his bedroom is an uninvited guest, coated from head to foot in dust and mud. The man's gaunt face registers Poirot for a moment, and then he collapses. The stranger recovers long enough to identify Poirot by name and madly and repeatedly scribble the figure '4' on a piece of paper. Poirot cancels his trip. An investigation is in order. Fortunately, Poirot has the faithful Captain Hastings at his si...more
The Big Four is told and written in a very different way consisting of many short stories linked up as a whole. This definitely made it more interesting although, I do not see much of the motive of this story.
To me, I liked the way I can see how Poirot thinks and how his adversary undermines him. The thrilling incidences, deaths as well as traps placed before them.
Number 1, I did not know much since there wasn't much elaborated on him.
Number 2, was also not the main focus in this story althoug...more
To me, I liked the way I can see how Poirot thinks and how his adversary undermines him. The thrilling incidences, deaths as well as traps placed before them.
Number 1, I did not know much since there wasn't much elaborated on him.
Number 2, was also not the main focus in this story althoug...more
This book didn't thrill me as much as other Agatha Christie novels have, a feeling that is probably the result of the novel's structure. I went into reading this thinking that the plot would involve one crime and Poirot's efforts to unmask the murderer. Instead, it was structured as a series of crimes, all connected by a common thread, making it seem more like short stories than a novel. Because of this inherent choppiness, I wasn't nearly as engrossed as I typically am in a Christie work. Furth...more
Apr 11, 2013
Jaina
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
People who like action in their mysteries
This book does not have a big dramatic reveal scene. Gasps from the readers! Yes, it is true.
This book stands out among the Christie books for sheer action. People are kidnapped. They escape. Repeat process. It is told from the POV of Hastings, the delightfully dumb Watson sidekick. Poirot is at his prime when it comes to planning ahead, and I nearly had a heart attack at one of his schemes!
There are several different murders in here that would make good novels in and of themselves - except for...more
This book stands out among the Christie books for sheer action. People are kidnapped. They escape. Repeat process. It is told from the POV of Hastings, the delightfully dumb Watson sidekick. Poirot is at his prime when it comes to planning ahead, and I nearly had a heart attack at one of his schemes!
There are several different murders in here that would make good novels in and of themselves - except for...more
Interesting build-up, terrible denouement.
What is the point of making Hasting so obnoxious? Because we the audience need someone we want to slap, in order to make Poirot more likable? I don't understand, and I don't appreciate it. You can write people how people are without making the narrator a person whose primary characteristics are "being irritating; also: gullibility, attraction to redheads."
Obviously Poirot isn't the greatest person in the world. But neither was Holmes, and Conan Doyle did...more
What is the point of making Hasting so obnoxious? Because we the audience need someone we want to slap, in order to make Poirot more likable? I don't understand, and I don't appreciate it. You can write people how people are without making the narrator a person whose primary characteristics are "being irritating; also: gullibility, attraction to redheads."
Obviously Poirot isn't the greatest person in the world. But neither was Holmes, and Conan Doyle did...more
This is possibly the silliest book Christie ever wrote. It's full of Trilateral Commission conspiracy theories, evil scientists developing powerful beams that can wreak untold damage, and a hidden fortress inside a mountain. Yes, really. The only thing it lacked was sharks with fricking lasers attached to their heads.
While I did not dislike this book (I didn't get bored and I was engaged in the story), it is clearly the worst Agatha Christie book I read so far. Don't get me wrong, I love the "Queen of Crime" and you could definitely see her style on this book. On the other hand, this was WAY over the top. Really, this almighty organization arc felt too farfetched and the "climax" just didn't make justice to the character of Poirot. The "smaller" stories were much more compelling.
Despite all this, I can't giv...more
Despite all this, I can't giv...more
Probabilmente questo è il peggior libro della Christie che abbia letto finora, una sorta di parodia involontaria del mitico scontro tra il grande Sherlock Holmes ed il suo rivale il prof. Moriarty. Infatti, la Christie in questo libro saccheggia senza pudori Conan Doyle (la finta morte di Poirot, il finale sulle Alpi,ecc...), limitandosi solamente a quadruplicare i nemici di Poirot e infilando uno dietro l'altro diversi casi relativi all'intervento dei Quattro. Anche la totale inconsapevolezza e...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poirot Vs The Big Four?without the ending who do you think would win? | 1 | 29 | Sep 28, 2011 07:54am |
Agatha Christie also wrote romance novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott, and was occasionally published under the name Agatha Christie Mallowan.
Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller was born in Torquay, Devon, England, U.K., as the youngest of three. The Millers had two other children: Margaret Frary Miller (1879–1950), called Madge, who was eleven years Agatha's senior, and Louis Montant Miller (1880...more
More about Agatha Christie...
Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller was born in Torquay, Devon, England, U.K., as the youngest of three. The Millers had two other children: Margaret Frary Miller (1879–1950), called Madge, who was eleven years Agatha's senior, and Louis Montant Miller (1880...more
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“He laughs best who laughs at the end.”
—
20 people liked it
“You surprise me, Hastings. Do you not know that all celebrated detectives have brothers who would be even more celebrated than they are were it not for constitutional indolence?”
—
3 people liked it
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Mar 25, 2013 10:20am