This week’s book is The Big Four, published in 1927. Many people have mixed opinions on this book, with some believing that it would be better suited without Poirot.

Original Book

I’m still somewhat torn as to my true feelings about this book. I’ve never read any of Christie’s “spy stories” such as The Secret of Chimneys or They Came to Baghdad, so I really have nothing to judge it against. That being said, I did enjoy this book, and the story kept me engaged the entire time. The Big Four begins with the return of Captain Hastings! I love Hastings’ narration in this book, because Christie allows us to see deeper into his personality, and how he differs from most of the other characters in the novel. Upon Hastings’ return, he immediately goes to the apartment of his friend Hercule Poirot. However, once he arrives there, he is shocked to find that Poirot was on his way to Brazil. He’d gotten a case for a wealthy American, and was going to be paid a very substantial sum, but was going to stay in Brazil and not return to England. Just before Poirot leaves, a mysterious man stumbles into his apartment asking for him, and begins telling Poirot and Hastings about a group of four people from around the world who are bent on world domination. Before they are able to ask him any more questions, the man faints. After some time, Poirot realizes he must leave, and asks Hastings to accompany him to where he will catch his boat for South America. Once on the train, Poirot realizes that he needs to go back, in spite of having promised to go to Brazil. At Poirot’s apartment, the mysterious man is dead. Poirot is immediately convinced that the man was murdered, and the rest of the book is spent attempting to discover the true identities of “The Big Four,” and if they  even exist at all. Overall, this book was a little too fanciful for my liking. So many things were done that were barely even explained, the reader was expected to take everything that was written with a grain of salt. Although, can’t it be argued that ALL books are like that? Despite some of the more fanciful aspects, there are some common themes running through these interconnected short-stories. 

1. Playing Games – One character in the book dies while playing a game of chess, and Poirot often compares the situation of The Big Four to a game, saying that either he or they have upper hand. However, there are also games played with people’s minds. Going too deeply into detail would give away some major plot points, so I won’t do that. However, the Big Four knows exactly what they can do to get people to do their bidding, and there are several instances where the reader is surprised as to what they have been able to find out or accomplish. Despite this, Poirot is also very adept at playing mind games. 
2. Anxiety – Not just personal anxiety, but national anxiety is discussed in this book. Poirot talks to heads of both England and France attempting to warn them about the possibility of The Big Four planning to create a new world order, they laugh it off. However, they eventually realize that they might’ve been a little hasty in judging what Poirot had to say. The entire world seems to be on edge about the Big Four, and they seem to be reveling in that fact.
3. Xenophobia – As with most Poirot stories, there is constant comment on the fact that he is a foreigner. However, in this story, he is not the ONLY foreigner. We learn that the members of the Big Four are from different countries all around the world. Number 1 is from China, and there is a good deal of “mysticism” connected with him. Number 2 is from America, and associated with having a great deal of money. Number 3 is a Frenchwoman, and could be associated with the constant theme in English literature of French women being sexually and morally deviant. Number 4 is only known as “The Destroyer.” so their home country is unknown. The fact that all of the known members of the Big Four are from outside of England is an important fact, showing that many British people at the time were wary of foreigners.   

David Suchet TV Version 

I was disappointed that this adaptation strayed so far from the original novel, but I can forgive it  more than some of the other adaptations. The Big Four is more a collection of short stories than  an actual collected novels The writers of this screenplay wanted to have a more interconnected plot. It’s a lot of fun to see the whole gang of Poirot, Miss Lemon, Captain Hastings, and Japp all together again! That alone is worth watching this adaptation for. There are some interesting twists and turns within the diversions they took from the novel that I certainly didn’t see coming and I actually quite enjoyed. Definitely not a bad adaptation, but if you’re looking for one that is true to the original novel, this isn’t for you 

Final Thoughts

After hearing that many people believed this to be a horrible Poirot book, I was prepared for the worst. However, I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would! In my opinion this would work better as a standalone novel, without the necessity of putting in Poirot to simply make it a “Poirot  novel.” It’s definitely not something someone just starting out reading Christie novels should read, but it’s a lot of fun if you know the characters who are involved and can understand their character arcs. 

My Current Ranking 

1. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd 
2. The Mysterious Affair at Styles
3. Poirot Investigates
4. The Big Four 
5. The Murder on the Links