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How hard is Agatha Christie really? | ||
Tags: Literature | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Questions About Your Target Languages |  | |
| geoffw Triglot Senior Member United States Joined 4633 days ago 1134 posts - 1865 votes  Speaks: English*, German, Yiddish Studies: Modern Hebrew, French, Dutch, Italian, Russian | Message 17 of 21 06 January 2014 at 7:06pm | IP Logged | |||||
This was the second book I ever read in Dutch that I hadn't already read (I hadn't seen the movie, either). The first was a book that my wife had read, so I could check in with her and verify that I'd understood it. While I personally didn't like the story of The Hunger Games (I decided to give the next books a miss), I agree that this is a good level of book for a learner. If you're into this sort of thing, it's a great idea. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| patrickwilken Senior Member Germany radiant-flux.net Joined 4478 days ago 1546 posts - 3200 votes Studies: German | Message 18 of 21 06 January 2014 at 9:42pm | IP Logged | |||||
Funny, someone gave me an Agatha Christie (funny how that's a noun in English - shows you what a mass market writer she really was) for Christmas, but I really can't be bothered to read her in English, so I doubt I'll find the motivation to read the book in German. The quote at the start strikes me as quite readable, but also quite dated. I haven't heard "rayon" used for a long-time. Personally I want to start reading something more modern like Nesbo, but my German is not quite there yet. :) If I wanted to read older crime novelists I would go for Raymond Chandler or Dashiell Hammett both of whom I prefer over Agatha Christie. Both suffer again from having somewhat dated language - though they are still great reads - and their writing is very clear and straighforward. WRT to Hunger Games vs HP: I read both series, first HG then HP, and found the HP books much easier (at least the first four), but that's perhaps because I'd already read HG. The Percy Jackson series is also good for beginners and perhaps even easier than HP (don't judge the books by the dreadful movies). Edited by patrickwilken on 06 January 2014 at 9:48pm 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| eyðimörk Triglot Senior Member France goo.gl/aT4FY7 Joined 4044 days ago 490 posts - 1158 votes Speaks: Swedish*, English, French Studies: Breton, Italian | Message 19 of 21 07 January 2014 at 8:49am | IP Logged | |||||
I take it you don't sew or leaf through women's fashion catalogues. :D I read the word on a weekly basis myself (being someone who sews). I'll agree that it's slightly dated for a British novel, though. It's more of an American word these days as Europeans (anglophone or not) tend to prefer "viscose". Edited by eyðimörk on 07 January 2014 at 8:51am 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| patrickwilken Senior Member Germany radiant-flux.net Joined 4478 days ago 1546 posts - 3200 votes Studies: German | Message 20 of 21 07 January 2014 at 8:56am | IP Logged | |||||
Good point! I am Australian, male, with more of a British vocabulary, and no interest in sewing or women's magazines. So for me the word is low-frequency, but I guess it just depends where you are. I am more a polyester sort of guy if truth be told. ;) Edited by patrickwilken on 07 January 2014 at 9:09am 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| montmorency Diglot Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 4773 days ago 2371 posts - 3676 votes Speaks: English*, German Studies: Danish, Welsh | Message 21 of 21 09 January 2014 at 2:24am | IP Logged | |||||
Really? You will find the phrase "blue rinse" elsewhere, somewhat more widely, and I assume that is what Miss Christie was getting at. This has social, rather than linguistic connotations. This is important, because Agatha Christie started writing well before the second world war, and continued well after it, and so encompassed a great deal of social change. I think she was probably more comfortable in the pre-war period, but nevertheless she was around for a long time afte that, and still putting out the novels, which many people liked. I must say, I rather despair of this reductive point of view, very often on display at HTLAL, which says that if you won't come across a word or expression every five minutes in the present day, or in the pub or in the street or on the bus, then it's not important, and it's not worth taking notice of. 6 persons have voted this message useful |
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