Curtain: Poirot's Last Case

The final Hercule Poirot novel, Agatha Christie's Curtain brings things full circle, with Poirot and Captain Hastings returning to Styles (the scene of their first murder investigation) to attempt to prevent a second murder in that ill house. This time, the killer is far more ingenious and cunning, compelled to kill but with no connection to his victims and a clear suspect for every crime. An ailing Poirot needs Hastings' assistance to stop this, his most diabolical adversary.
Christie ended her long run of Poirot stories with a masterpiece, breaking one of the cardinal rules of classic detective fiction, though in a manner that satisfies her audience. Curtain is permeated with a sense of nostalgia, evoking Poirot's long career and show more reminding Christie's readers why he remains such a mainstay of detective fiction while simultaneously giving him a fitting sendoff. show less

'Curtain‘, the final Poirot novel, was published in 1975 but written during World War II. Agatha Christie stored it and ‘Sleeping Murder‘, the last Jane Marple book, in a bank vault for more than thirty years. This probably explains why‘Curtain’ is a much stronger novel than ‘Elephants Can Remember’, the previous Poirot novel in order of publication, published in 1972.

For me, ‘Curtain’ was a deeply satisfying read. It was an engaging mystery, strewn with fascinating upper-class characters whose lives and relationships were complicated enough to provide a wealth of entangled sub-plots that confused Hastings, stimulated and saddened Poirot, while painting a picture of a declining Empire and changing times.

I loved that show more the story was told once more from Hastings’ point of view. and that the mystery was set at Styles, the scene of the first case that Hastings and Poirot worked together on. Hastings is mostly absent from the later Poirot novels, and I think they were the poorer for it. Having Hastings return, and having Poirot solve his last case in the same place that he solved his first, set a context for Poirot’s life and his relationship with Hastings that enriched the novel.

The dramatic denouement provided the perfect end to Poirot’s career. As with the best Poirot novels, it was unexpected and explained all the elements of the mystery in a way that made it feel as though I should have worked out what was happening much earlier, if only I’d been as bright as Poirot. What made the ending outstanding was not what it told me about the person Poirot has been pursuing, but what it told me about Poirot himself.

I’ve never liked Poirot; his Papa Poirot persona felt like a disguise, and his desire for justice seemed an excuse to exercise his ego, but this book awakened in me some sympathy for him. It displayed him at his best and it his worst. It also showed how deeply and honestly he understood his own nature.

The Poirot we see through Hastings’ eyes at their initial reunion is a man whose physical capabilities are in decline. He is using a wheelchair, tires easily and needs to be carried up and down the stairs at Styles. His mind is still sharp, and his temper is shorter than ever. Where he used to treat Hastings with amused condescension, he now shows an angry frustration that borders on contempt.

Poirot's final actions both condemned and redeemed him in my eyes. In the end, he proved his self-awareness, his resolve to do the right thing and his enduring affection for Hastings. show less

Immediately on the heels of reading Poirot's first mystery, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, I turned to this his last one. Here he returns to the same location decades later, poor in health but determined yet again to catch a murderer. The immediate hook is that this time he knows that murderer's identity before one is even committed. Poirot's condition makes him less patient with Hastings, and he is more explicitly outright insulting. Not that Hastings doesn't deserve it. Poirot tell him again and again, a murder is going to take place in this house, of a certainty. Hastings' daughter Judith is one of the people in the house, yet Hastings never fears for her life.

The conclusion requires agreement with two beliefs - one relating to show more human nature, another relating to an issue of guilt and justice - in order to fully succeed. I'm shaky on both counts, though the unravelling of what actually happened still works. Poirot admits that he too has doubts, so I'm left in good company. It's no great spoiler to say this is Poirot's final swan song. The farewell feels strangely muted, but then Christie was always very cavalier about death. show less

Three years and 36 books later* Hercule Poirot and I are done. It's been a mostly enjoyable journey, but I'm as ready for the curtain as Dame Christie was. (Apparently she actually wrote this ending to the series during WWII -- in case she didn't survive -- and locked it in a vault.) I like that she brought the series around full circle, ending with Arthur Hastings narrating at Styles, back where it all began. I didn't love some of the choices she made with Poirot's final mystery, but c'est la vie.

*I skipped [b:Black Coffee: A Mystery Play in Three Acts|645754|Black Coffee A Mystery Play in Three Acts (Hercule Poirot, #7)|Agatha show more Christie|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348933599l/645754._SY75_.jpg|67625121] and seven of the ten short story collections that comprise the initial 44 books in the series. show less

É possível manter o interesse quando já se sabe que o personagem principal estará morto no desfecho de um romance policial? Se a vítima é Hercule Poirot e a autora é Agatha Christie, sem dúvida. Embora anunciada na capa como "o último caso" do famoso detetive belga, a trama atraiu a atenção dos incontáveis fãs da escritora inglesa - uma dos autores mais vendidos do mundo -, interessados em saber como seria a despedida de seu herói.

A trama é narrada por Arthur Hastings, velho companheiro de Poirot. Ambos voltam ao local de um antigo crime, descrito em "O misterioso caso de Styles", novela de estreia de Agatha Christie, publicada em 1920.

O romance tem os exageros característicos da obra de Agatha Christie, como a show more concentração de assassinatos em uma só lugar, múltiplos suspeitos e motivações. Mas, embora não seja a obra preferida da própria autora, é interessante porque ela teve a coragem de matar seu famoso detetive Hercule Poirot, coisa que o contrariado Arthur Conan Doyle, seu conterrâneo, não pode fazer com Sherlock Holmes. Doyle tornou-se um escritor a serviço de um personagem.

"Cai o pano" foi escrito em 1940, mas os originais ficaram trancados em um cofre de banco por mais de três décadas. A autora tinha medo de morrer durante a Segunda Guerra Mundial e deixar seus leitores sem um desfecho para seu herói. Agatha Christie autorizou a publicação de "Cai o pano" apenas em setembro de 1974. O livro foi lançado no Brasil no ano seguinte, em edição da Nova Fronteira traduzida por Clarice Lispector.

Lida em mais de 100 idiomas, Agatha Christie morreu em janeiro de 1976, meses após a publicação de seu último livro em vida, justamente "Cai o Pano". Os leitores lamentaram a morte de Hercule Poirot e, logo em seguida, de sua criadora. Ambos eram celebridades, e a perda não foi sentida apenas pelos fãs: o New York Times publicou o obituário do detetive belga na primeira página, com direito a foto. show less

Curtain, the last case for Hercule Poirot takes place at Styles, the manor where Agatha Christie first introduced the funny little Belgian detective who makes use of his little gray cells. With him is a widowed Captain Hastings who has returned to England from Argentina. I loved how Christie brought the series full circle giving Poirot a worthy send-off. This mystery also references other cases that Poirot solved during his career weaving the past and present into the twisting storyline. As always, the interactions between Hastings and Poirot are entertaining and induce a chuckle here and there. The narrative kept my husband and I engaged as we tried to figure out just whodunit. I agree with my husband that with Curtain, no more Poirot show more is sad. But I found the way Christie tied up the long-running series to be a fitting end for Poirot. As always, Hugh Fraser’s narration is delightful — there can never be another Poirot for us.

For diehard Poirot fans, Curtain is a must read. But if you are new to him or haven’t read many of the books in the series, please save this one for later. Give yourself many Poirot moments before the final curtain.

Highly Recommended.

Audience: adults.

Genre: classic mystery.

(I purchased the audiobook from Audible. All opinions expressed are mine alone.) show less

A brilliant book. Hastings and Poirot return to the scene of their very first case, Styles. It is supposed to be 30 years after that case, but Poirot's chronology is rather messed up. It was published just before Christie died, so she probably did not have time to make any edits.

In any case, the mystery itself is a corker. Poirot has found five unrelated murders, and he is convinced that a single person, X, is behind them all, even though they all had tidy explanations that admitted no other parties for the role of murderer. He is convinced that X is at Styles, and so he enlists his younger, more nimble friend Hastings to help him solve the mystery.

Admittedly, if you get frustrated with Poirot not wanting to reveal facts to Hastings show more simply because the time is not right, there's a lot of that in this book. But the story is a treat and if you're clever you might guess whodunnit. I didn't remember whodunnit from the last time I read it, so I enjoyed going along for the ride with Hastings.

Christie's writing is also very evocative -- even today the chapter where Poirot dies brings tears to my eyes... or rather, the first few sentences of the following chapter. This is how Hastings begins:

I don't want to write about it at all.

I want, you see, to think about it as little as possible. Hercule Poirot was dead -- and with him died a good part of Arthur Hastings.

These sentences, simple as they are, carry a great deal of emotional heft. To anyone who has lost a dear friend, they ring of truth.

For little gems like this and the overall intrigue of the plot, and of course the fact that it is the end for Poirot (and as such is highly significant in the Christie canon), Curtain gets five stars. show less