3.5*
“For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

Although not as excellent and earth-shattering as [b:A Daughter's a Daughter|2975046|A Daughter's a Daughter|Mary Westmacott|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1345264601l/2975046._SY75_.jpg|3005410] and [b:Absent in the Spring|140345|Absent in the Spring|Mary Westmacott|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1396225976l/140345._SY75_.jpg|1507078], The Burden is another great psychological drama from Agatha Christie. Under the nom de plume Westmacott, she wrote six novels that were not crime mysteries, but stories where she could concentrate on analysing what made people ‘tick’, and topics that were of particular interest to her.

Once more, Christie portrays personalities at a crux in their lives while focusing on a theme, that of the ‘weight’ of being loved. I must admit I thought she was going into a completely different road, that of Fate and how your actions have far-reaching consequences. It was subtler than that however. I wonder if this was due to having several narrators (not just the sisters), and indeed narratives, which somewhat joined at the end. Still, the result left me perplexed. The characters, although well portrayed, felt weakened by these shifts in focus, but then maybe the journey was more important.

This is still a great read, showing Christie’s amazing understanding of the human condition, and power to convey so many emotions, but I wouldn’t recommend it as a first Westmacott.

Used to love the Agatha Christie mysteries but feel they often haven't aged all that well. The most fascinating thing about this particular novel was how she managed to create a series of characters that are all utterly unhappy in their own peculiar ways. Touched upon human traits that were not always that well developed in her mysteries and is surprisingly "adult" (in the traditional sense of the word). It's far from being perfect but it is fascinating to read to see what Christie would come up with outside of her mysteries.

Of course the Gothic romance style cover of my particular edition is beautiful but deceiving. The novel features the years 1926-1956 (if I remember correctly) in snapshot form and mainly focuses on two sisters and their relationship with each other over the years and some of the men in their lives. Lots of quite twisted sibling rivalry that I hadn't expected.

The Burden deals with a really dark plot revolving around the bond of sisters. The book had me engrossed from the beginning till the end. The characters were so well drawn up that I had no trouble believing in them, flaws and all! They were real to me throughout the book.

ما عليها بس أحس كل شيء فيها قديم وممل نوعا ما خصوصا على النهاية صارت مستعجلة بعد وما عجبتني علاقتهم أبد ما فيها منطق أحسها هبدت من جد وليتها ركزت على لورا أكثر بس عامةً كويس إني جربت اقرأ شيء مختلف لأقاثا

الحين باقي لي أختم بكتابها واختفى كل شيء