Poirot," I said. "I have been thinking." "An admirable exercise my friend. Continue it.
Agatha ChristieRead
It is ridiculous to set a detective story in New York City. New York City is itself a detective story.
Interpretation
New York City is inherently filled with mysteries and intrigue, making it akin to a detective story itself.
Agatha Christie's quote reflects the idea that the bustling, diverse, and complex nature of New York City carries many stories and secrets, akin to those found in detective fiction. By suggesting that the city is a detective story, she emphasizes the rich tapestry of human experience and the myriad mysteries that urban life presents, making any attempt to fictionalize it seem almost unnecessary.
In practice
During a literary discussion, one might quote Christie to highlight the nature of cities as living narratives.
Poirot," I said. "I have been thinking." "An admirable exercise my friend. Continue it.
Best of an island is once you get there - you can't go any farther...you've come to the end of things.
Where large sums of money are concerned, it is advisable to trust nobody.
I have wanted . . . to commit a murder myself. I recognized this as the desire of the artist to express himself! . . . But-incongruous as it may seem to some-I was restrained and hampered by my innate sense of justice. The innocent must not suffer.
Sitting here with one's knitting, one just sees the facts. -"The Blood-Stained Pavement
No, my friend, I am not drunk. I have just been to the dentist, and need not return for another six months! Is it not the most beautiful thought? --Poirot
Death is not a foe, but an inevitable adventure.
The world's problems transcend borders.
As a body without breath is a corpse, so the church without the Spirit is dead.
Religions are, by definition, metaphors, after all: God is a dream, a hope, a woman, an ironist, a father, a city, a house of many rooms, a watchmaker who left his prize chronometer in the desert, someone who loves you - even, perhaps, against all evidence, a celestial being whose only interest is to make sure your football team, army, business, or marriage thrives, prospers, and triumphs over all opposition.
Being able to afford everything you desire is not, by any means, the worst thing that can happen to you. But, depressingly, and more profoundly, neither is it the best.
All these walls that keep us from loving each other as one family or one race - racism, religion, where we grew up, whatever, class, socioeconomic - what makes us be so selfish and prideful, what keeps us from wanting to help the next man, what makes us be so focused on a personal legacy as opposed to the entire legacy of a race.
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