This piece discusses major plot points for the novel Elephants can Remember.
Elephants can Remember, written in the 1970s, is one of the very last books that Agatha Christie wrote -- the last one written about famous Belgian detective Hercules Poirot. However, Poirot appears scarcely, often sharing the scene with a stuffy, particular older lady named Mrs Oliver. It is a fine story marked by a risky yet unstable structure. What makes Elephants stand out is the use of people's memory to solve a case left unsolved, which highlights just how powerful recollection can be.
Reconstructing a scene from years ago is very challenging without complete records. The cops are unable to come up with any answer to two dead bodies other than a murder-suicide -- despite occurring between the apparently affectionate Ravenscroft husband and wife. Enter Mrs. Oliver who is connected through the Ravenscroft daughter Celia. One conventional twist occurs now: detective Poirot is recruited to resolve the mystery of how Celia's parents died. Where this story differs is that Poirot is himself far removed from the incident. To reconstruct this scene, Mrs. Oliver and Poirot interview hair dressers, old friends, and French schoolmistresses -- which reveals many layers left unnoticed by the cops. Through these many lapses, a mosaic of memory is filled in with the gems of the past.
The fuzzy nature of memory requires checking supposed facts against each other before the case can be resolved by Poirot in his classic manner. Not until the last 20 pages does the case come together. Rapidly solidifying events push the memories to the forefront, pressing each person to respond more sincerely. Genuine sincerity, and surprise spill out as a result of this more deliberate approach.
Unfortunately, this style risks losing the reader, which is why Elephants is a fine book rather than a legendary book like prior Poirot entries. The reliance on dialogue -- despite being interesting on the surface -- leads to rabbit holes, diffusing the excitement. Mechanically, the ideas within the book are adrift, without support.
There is one puzzle piece that fails to fit into the overall picture. One big qualm I have is Dorothea, the identical twin sister of Lady Ravenscroft, being predisposed to murder and violence due to mental instability. Especially with violence against children being known through two separate accidents. What makes this worse for me is that she is released from a mental institution due to improved behavior but seems to quickly relapse before the murder of her sister. It is revealed that There's also the Of Mice and Men style compassionate killing of someone "not meant to live in this world."
A fascinating meta reference to this book comes from the series Hyouka. First of all, the fourth book is called "little birds can remember," on top of many other Agatha Christie references. In Hyouka, Chitanda Eru -- a girl known for her curiosity and intellect -- tries to uncover a precious memory of her now presumed dead uncle. To investigate the past, Chitanda enlists her own detective, a friend named Oreki. The urgency, like in Elephants, comes from the fear that a loved one could fall into obscurity -- coupled with the danger of finding more than bargained for. By the arc's ending, Chitanda is able to metaphorically lay her uncle to rest through resolving her unsolved mystery. I really appreciated how this story dug into personal attachment, which was given a briefer treatment in Elephants.
Despite not being a particularly strong book, Elephants can Remember grapples with how people recall events -- as a blend of concrete observations and surreal discrepancies. I was personally shocked that the characters could remember striking details from over a decade before. This book is ambitious, moreso from an 80+ year old author. Enough that it would present an influence on Hyouka, written 3 decades later, despite many other Christie books to pull from.
