The Burden

I'm not quite sure why you would write under a pen name when they go ahead and proclaim in bold letters, "Agatha Christie writing as Mary Westmacott!" It seems a bit counter-productive to me. But no matter. This is the first Westmacott/Christie book that I've read (though I've done a very good job of reading through a good percentage of the Christie canon) and it was more than I was expecting. There is no real mystery bend to "The Burden" that matters (though, one thing is revealed at the end... nothing major)... it's all about relationships between people. The book is divided into three main parts, each part from a different person's perspective. And while the parts are chronological, years seperate them... thus taking a chapter within the part to get a grip on where in the story we actually are. Interestingly, the begining does NOT dictate the ending. At least, not how we exect it to. The begining conflict is how Laura wants her baby sister to die. That is resolved by the end of part one. Part two centers around Laura's sister, Shirley and how she finds love and marries and the complications that brings. The end of part two resolves that (in an implied way... but latter reveal to be correct). Then part three centers around a guy (who's name i forget... sorry!) and is an exploration of his life and his facination with a girl who lives on an island (who turns out to be Shirley). That part then ends bringing happiness to him... while STILL resolving a seed that Christi... erm, Westmacott planted in part one. I would definately recommend The Burden as a good novella... though Christie fans mainly interested in fantastic twist endings will find it to be boring and uninteresting.