And Then There Were None - Agatha Christie

Ten little Indian boys went out to dine;

One choked his little self and then there were nine.

Nine little Indian boys sat up very late;

One overslept himself and then there were eight.

Eight little Indian boys travelling in Devon;

One said he'd stay there and then there were seven.

Seven little Indian boys chopping up sticks;

One chopped himself in half and then there were six.

Six little Indian boys playing with a hive;

A bumblebee stung one and then there were five.

Five little Indian boys going in for law;

One got in Chancery and then there were four.

Four little Indian boys going out to sea;

A red herring swallowed one and then there were three.

Three little Indian boys walking in the zoo;

A big bear hugged one and then there were two.

Two Little Indian boys sitting in the sun;

One got frizzled up and then there was one.

One little Indian boy left all alone;

He went out and hanged himself and then there were none.

And Then There Were None is among my top ten favorite school-assigned books and probably among my top fifty favorite books in general. I read it in the 6th grade at the tail-end of my mystery novel reading phase, and I loved it. Also, immediately following the completion of And Then There Were None, the 6th grade ALPHA kids went on an overnight trip to Stone Lab, a branch of some college in Ohio, where we all hung out and dissected living-ish fish. Stone Lab is on an island. An island that is eerily similar to the one in And Then There Were None. With similar places. Including a particularly gruesome wood-chopping area. Needless to say, Agatha Christie's delightfully creative plotline and my experience at Stone Lab cemented And Then There Were None permanently in my head and heart.

Agatha Christie is the most well-published author in modern times (though, I guess she's not really modern but whatever; she lived in the last century). The only books that sell better than her are Shakespeare's and the Bible (according to the back of my copy of And Then There Were None). I'm pretty sure J. K. Rowling has surpassed her by now but still. Up until Harry Potter, Agatha Christie was number three. High five, Agatha Christie.

It's pretty easy to see why Christie was such a successful writer. While And Then There Were None is not a particularly challenging read, the plot is very engaging, and the ending is both clever and satisfying. It's difficult to describe a mystery novel in full detail without giving away too much, so I provide you with this bare bones summary of the plot:

Eight people are invited to go to Indian Island, a mysterious place that is rumored to have been purchased by either an eccentric millionaire or a film star. They are all invited under different pretenses. Some are hired. Some are asked to join a long-forgotten friend for a holiday. One comes with murder on his/her mind. The eight guests (who range from an elderly judge to a nanny/secretary to a general to a doctor and everything in between) are met by the two hired servants Mr. and Mrs. Rogers. The owner of Indian Island is absent. Soon after coming to the island, there is a slew of murders, and the island's occupants soon realize that there is a murderer among them. As they are killed one by one, they realize that their deaths resemble a poem tacked to their walls. Can they find the murderer before they all die?

Basically, I love this kind of stuff. I love a good murder mystery. And I also love those psychological books where a group of people are separated from society, and their humanity slowly deteriorates. Good stuff, man.

I'm really excited to put this in movie trailer form. I think it'll turn out pretty cool.

Also, if you read / have read this book, you should also see the movie. There are like ten million adaptations for this movie, but the one I saw was the 1945 film, And Then There Were None. I saw the black and white film, and I think the 1945 film is the only one old enough to have been shot in black and white. Fun fact, And Then There Were None was my first black and white film (unless you count that steamboat Mickey thing, which I don't). Anyways, it's a pretty good movie, if memory serves me correctly. Though that may not be the case because my 6th grade sensibilities thought pretty much everything was a good movie.