Omer 2025 Day 26

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Day 26: Elephants Can Remember by Agatha Christie
Netzach in Netzach, Endurance in Endurance

I first read this book during my Agatha Christie phase, which began in 8th grade Language Arts class with my first Christie novel, And Then There Were None, and continued avidly through high school, though I still sprinkle in some Christie novels today. 

I love her books, with particular fondness for Hercule Poirot. Elephants Can Remember was one of the last Poirot novels, released in 1972, just four years before Christie's death. The book sees world-famous detective Hercule Poirot investigate a 12-year-old cold case based on the imperfect memories of witnesses. As always, Poirot solves the case with the use of his "little gray cells." I read it and enjoyed it and then didn't think anything of it until three years ago when I was listening to a RadioLab podcast episode called Vanishing Words, which explored early warning signs of Alzheimers by examining word use and complex sentence structure. Excellent episode - go listen to it (linked below)!

Anyway, in that episode, they discussed the sharp decline in vocabulary among Agatha Christie's later works, beginning with the book Elephants Can Remember, and propose that it indicates Alzheimers or dementia, though Christie was never publicly diagnosed. Elephants Can Remember explores the tenuousness of memory in the face of the relentless march of time, and ultimately reassures us that even though memory is imperfect, it can help illuminate truth and uncover long-ago mysteries. Christie's long career and the enduring love for her work today is a testament to the power of her storytelling.