Reading the Detectives discussion
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The Moving Finger - SPOILER Thread
I enjoyed this one very much - very different from the Marples we've read so far in terms of Miss M's role. The village setting was what I most enjoyed again- like the Vicarage AC makes the whole village come alive with all the characters flushed out so well. I didn't remember the solution until it was almost revealed so that was a surprise of sorts.
Miss Marple doesn't enter into this book until very late in the game!
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Just finished the book. Very enjoyable. Was surprised at how late in the she appears, and how little she really is in this one.
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Susan wrote: "Did the fact that she didn't appear until so late spoil the book for anyone?"It didn't spoil the book for me at all because Christie wrote such an interesting narrator and a clever, memorable plot and I think if these two factors were lackluster I think the late appearance of Miss Marple would have definitely affected the book.
Susan wrote: "Did the fact that she didn't appear until so late spoil the book for anyone?"It didn't spoil the book for me either. I was suspecting everyone to be the culprit, even the woman who called Miss Marple in, until she did that.
Susan wrote: "Did the fact that she didn't appear until so late spoil the book for anyone?"I found it surprising but it didn't spoil it for me
Susan wrote: "Did the fact that she didn't appear until so late spoil the book for anyone?"Not really, I enjoyed Jerry's narration and though had I not known it was a Marple, I might have expected him to solve the mystery himself- like that fellow in the Pale Horse.
Jill wrote: "Susan wrote: "Did the fact that she didn't appear until so late spoil the book for anyone?"It didn't spoil the book for me either. I was suspecting everyone to be the culprit, even the woman who ..."
But killers in so many stories do call in the detective themselves for various reasons.
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Did anyone think (at first) that Jerry was, in fact, not living with his sister? In fact, that there was no smoke without fire?
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I haven't watched a TV version yet but hope to do so in the next few days, and will be interested to see how they manage to work Miss Marple in more.
I didn't think Jerry wasn't really living with his sister, but I did wonder if there was truth in some of the other anonymous letters.
Susan wrote: "Good to hear that Miss Marple's absence did not spoil the book - I saw in many reviews that some readers felt a little cheated. Obviously, she did feature in the TV version and people often come to..."No- my thoughts didn't go that way- I found his narrative fairly honest and didn;t suspect him or Joanna.
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The tv version of the story kept running through my mind
Deborah wrote: "The tv version of the story kept running through my mind"Which version -- the Joan Hickson or the Geraldine McEwan one?
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LovesMysteries wrote: "Deborah wrote: "The tv version of the story kept running through my mind"Which version -- the Joan Hickson or the Geraldine McEwan one?"
I'm not really sure. It was on my local pbs station quite a while ago
Sandy wrote: "I enjoyed the mystery, the lead character and the portrayal of village life. My criticism is that the introduction of Miss Marple seems unnecessary. I don't think she adds much: while she solves th..."I actually did wonder at one point whether she'd turned the story into a Miss Marple one later- but then it was one suited to her special skills
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It has an amazing cast (Ken Russell as a vicar!!) and looks gorgeous, but to me it doesn't really hang together and it makes a *lot* of changes to the original book - also I really don't think comedian Harry Enfield was suited for his role in this! I will hope to see the Joan Hickson version in the future.
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Yes, I think Jerry could have solved the mystery without her help - wonder why Christie brought her into this for such a short time?
Too many stand alone mysteries out there and they thought that having the "hook" of a recognised character would help?
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Susan wrote: "Possibly the publisher was pushing for a new Marple, so she adapted this story? It has the village setting, so could be made to fit perhaps."That could be it- and the setting and the skill set was just right for her to be in it.
I found the plot extremely clever and enjoyed the cast of possible murderers. I agree that Miss Maple did not necessarily add anything special to the overall story and it could have worked as a standalone. The one area that I found quite badly done was the whole romantic angle, her contemporaries seemed to have been able to handle that much better - Grey Mask being a good example.
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Yes, I wasn't very keen on the Jerry/Megan relationship - she seems a bit too young and immature to be deciding on marriage. I liked Joanna's romance thought.
I so agree about Megan being much too immature for marriage. Eventually she and Jerry would be fine together but now she needs more education and/or a job. She really needs to leave that tiny town and experience life a bit or twenty years form now she will be one sad, wistful housewife.
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Sandy wrote: "I agree with the comments on both romances. I think Megan fell in love with the first person to treat her kindly, whereas Joanna found a person worthy of her support."I agree as well. Not all of ACs romances are convincing.
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Susan wrote: "Romance is often an afterthought in Christie books, but she does like a happy ending for her characters! Megan was often seen as young, but, as Jerry pointed out, she wasn't really. At least not th..."Not in years perhaps- but in her state of mind, she seemed unsuited (by today's standards).
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Good point about him kitting her out like that - this hadn't really struck me until you said it, maybe because I think I've read a few other books where this happens, but it is a bit uncomfortable, as you say, Susan.
Although Megan is 20, which was a fairly typical age to get married, she does seem like a very young 20!
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Susan wrote: "Yes, I agree, but we can't impose our standards on another time. Actually, what Jerry did (dragging her on the train and taking her to be kitted out as he wanted) reads uncomfortably now."I think that's what Megan needed. As Diane said, she needed to "experience life a bit" and "leave that tiny town", and I think that was a fraction of what Jerry could offer to her. Megan wouldn't have left Lymstock or had much of a life of her own; she certainly wouldn't have thought about changing her wardrobe and decking herself out. She needed that push and Jerry was the one to give her that. Megan was a woman, not a girl, and she needed to act like one. In the Joan Hickson version of The Moving Finger, Jerry kept calling her "child" but Joanna corrected him and said she was a "woman". And I'm sure once Jerry and Megan get married, he will take her out of Lymstock and show her how to experience life. As I said, Megan wouldn't have done this on her own. In the book Miss Griffth said,
"Bone lazy. Spends her time mooning about. Must be a great
trial to poor Mrs. Symmington. I know her mother's tried
more than once to get her to take up something--shorthand-typing, you know, or cookery, or keeping Angora rabbits. She
needs an interest in life."
Megan felt like her stepmother just said those things just to make her go away. As she said, "But you see what Mummie would really like is to be just herself and my stepfather and the boys."
I think she needed someone aside from her stepmother to give her that push. I think Megan needed a reason other than feeling like she was being forced to go away to have her grow up.
CORRECTION: I mentioned that Jerry would probably take her out of Lymstock but I read that Jerry buys Miss Barton's house for himself and for Megan. So it looks as if she will stay in Lymstock after all. I think it would have been a bit better if they began life together outside of Lymstock.
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She needed a push I agree- and think she also needed to feel that she could be of us of someone, not just be a person no one seemed to want. That she played a role in capturing Symington probably helped with the later.
Lady Clementina wrote: "She needed a push I agree- and think she also needed to feel that she could be of us of someone, not just be a person no one seemed to want. That she played a role in capturing Symington probably h..."Do you think it would have been a better idea for Jerry and Megan to leave Lymstock at the end, instead of Jerry buying Miss Barton's house for the two of them to live in?
Susan wrote: "Yes, I agree, but we can't impose our standards on another time. Actually, what Jerry did (dragging her on the train and taking her to be kitted out as he wanted) reads uncomfortably now."I was uncomfortable with him taking her to London but was happier about it when he at least had the sense to turn her over to a woman for her transformation. He could have devastated her reputation in that era and in that small town but I don't think guys always understand that sort of thing.
Deborah wrote: "LovesMysteries wrote: "Deborah wrote: "The tv version of the story kept running through my mind"Which version -- the Joan Hickson or the Geraldine McEwan one?"
I'm not really sure. It was on my ..."
I looked on youtube and so far only found "part 3" without the first parts and one that is in a weirdly small box within the screen: don't want to watch that one. I see my local library has the Joan Hickson version
Has anyone watched both the Joan Hickson and the Geraldine McEwan film versions? If so, which one do you prefer?
Diane wrote: "I was uncomfortable with him taking her to London but was happier about it when he at least had the sense to turn her over to a woman for her transformation. He could have devastated her reputation in that era and in that small town but I don't think guys always understand that sort of thing."Well hopefully Jerry wining and dining Megan is enough to ease the uncomfortableness.
It's hard for me to see Jerry devastating her reputation in Lymstock because Megan already had a pretty negative reputation in the eyes of the villagers.
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Moving away from Megan, what did everyone think of some of the other characters? For example, the doctor, Owen Griffiths and his sister? The vampish governess, Elsie Holland? The redoubtable Mrs Dane Calthorpe? Or the elusive Mrs Cleat, who is considered the 'local witch'?
I like the Hickson version much better. As per usual with the later adaptation, they took some serious liberties with the characterizations (and the plot of course.)I think I would like to meet Mrs. Dane Calthrop. She sounds fascinating!
Pghfan wrote: "I like the Hickson version much better. As per usual with the later adaptation, they took some serious liberties with the characterizations (and the plot of course.)I think I would like to meet M..."
Mrs C also appears in the Pale Horse- very perceptive lady but a shade scary may be - because of that.
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I think I would like to meet M..."
I've only seen the Geraldine McEwan episode and agree there were a lot of changes - also there was a fantastic cast in general but Harry Enfield should stick to comedy imho... I couldn't take him seriously!
I have read the Pale Horse but don't remember it so I look forward to a re-read. before you posted that I was going to say Mrs. Dane Calthrop should have her own book she is such a good character.I do think Christie could have left Miss Marple out completely and have Jerry solve the mystery.
I wasn't too interested in his romance but I would have liked to hear more about his sister and the doctor. I kind of felt sorry for Joanna: not just being called a "painted trollop" but needing to be forced to help a woman giving birth with complications before she realized ....whatever it was. how hard it was to be a doctor or maybe, ultimately, how small & unimportant her (former) life was where she just enjoys herself. He even says she was useless ornament, kind of harsh!
The Moving Finger was published in 1943. Please feel free to post spoilers in this thread, but not in the general discussion thread for the book. Thank you.