‘And Then There Were None’, by Agatha Christie is one of the most thrilling books I’ve ever come across. Mystery in its utmost form, the book talks about 10 strangers who are drawn to a deserted island and murdered in the sequence of a nursery rhyme, that ends with the line ‘and then there were none’.
The plot has a lot of twists, and you do not know which character to trust. All the characters seem equally guilty of something, and deserve to be punished. The mastermind of this plot, or rather a maniac is also one among the 10 strangers at the island, who invites each of them with a letter signed as U. N. Owen, for an ironic grand party, which the characters later figure out to be ‘unknown’.
The book deals with an extreme conflict between trust and guilt, experienced by both the characters and the readers.
The book was so captivating that I couldn’t afford to keep it down at any point of time. The best part, the puzzle falls into place only in the last word of the novel. For almost a week, I was in shock. Shock as to how I couldn’t figure out what was happening, in spite of the subtle clues that the author gave. Even after reading the book, I felt the need to re-read it, and analyse the characters.
It is a book worth reading, not just for entertainment, but also to make you question your own ideals.
— The reader is a student based in Dubai.
