The Labors of Hercules (Hercule Poirot)
by Agatha Christie
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Book Summary Information
Author: Agatha ChristieEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1984-06-01
ISBN: 0425067858
Number of pages: 272
Publisher: Berkley
Book Reviews of The Labors of Hercules (Hercule Poirot)
Book Review: 'Yours Are Labors of Love..."
Summary: 4 Stars
A casual discussion on Greek mythology and the origins of Hercule Poirot's name leads to Agatha Christe's famous Belgian detective setting himself a challenge. Before he retires to the country to grow vegetable marrows he will accept twelve cases, each one pertaining in some way to the twelve labours of Hercules. Providence takes a hand, and over the course of the twelve short stories, Poirot finds himself embroiled in several mysteries that have rather astonishing links to the mythological Hercules's twelve tasks. Of course, a reader has to fully embrace the suspension of disbelief required to imagine that twelve such successive cases could fall into Poirot's lap the way they do; a relatively easy task considering this is Christie at her most mischievous.
It's a simple premise, but one that results in one of Poirot's most enjoyable adventures - or rather, series of adventures. From the Nemean Lion to the Capture of Cerberus, most of the fun is in seeing how Christie is able to transpose Greek mythology into a more contemporary setting: here the cleaning of the Augean Stables becomes a dirty political scandal, the flock of Geryon becomes a suspicious religious sect, and the Stymphalean Birds are two beak-nosed, black-cloaked women who appear to profit from a juicy blackmailing secret.
Those that have some preliminary knowledge of the classical Hercules and his twelve labours may have a slight advantage in appreciating the in-jokes that are scattered throughout the novel, particularly in the disparity between Poirot and his mythological namesake. Poirot utilizes the power of his "little grey cells" in direct comparison to the high-on-muscles, low-on-intellect Hercules, and throughout the range of stories there are the usual red herrings, plot twists and surprise endings that we've come to expect from Christie. Interestingly, a couple of stories (such as the Augean Stables and the Arcadian Deer) aren't really mysteries at all, but simply problems that Poirot is called upon to solve.
I'll refrain from giving a synopsis of each story, for (as I said) half the fun is seeing how exactly Christie manages to rework the twelve original labors into cases. There are appearances here from a few familiar faces, including the stalwart Inspector Japp and the flamboyant Countess Rossakoff, making this a treat for Poirot aficionados as well as newcomers.
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