by Bernardine Avaristo
This book won the Mann Booker Award this year along with Margaret Atwood and her book The Testament.
It was an interesting book, I like the way the author writes, at times the words seem more like poetry.
The book is about 11 black women, most of them immigrants, and their lives in England and beyond.
As the book goes on we see that the women are all connected in one way or another. The first story is disturbing, it is about a lesbian who gets lured to the U.S. by another woman. They live in an all female commune. The American woman ends up dominating and abusing the British women until she is finally helped to escape by other women in the commune.
Some of the other characters include a playwright who rejects the status quo, a young woman who is raped at 14 and starts to fail in her studies. She finally decides she will have to fight to succeed. One of her teachers encourages her an helps her. She goes on to a successful career in banking. Her teacher started out as a very idealistic well loved teacher but all the bureaucracy that developed in education wore her down and she is now considered something of a joke by the students. One woman has a daughter from IVF and has several people serve as the girls godparents. One girl feels she is not a girl and via the Internet hooks up with an Indian boy who has had a sex change to a girl. The first girl does not want to go through operations to become a man but she does shave her head and have her breasts removed. The girl and the trans boy become lovers. Another girl is shocked when her parents tell her that she is adopted, having been left on a church doorstep. Another woman had a child out of wedlock at 16. Her parents made her give up the child. She grieves the loss of this child and wonders what has become of her. At the end of the book they get connected thanks to a DNA test.
The author does a great job of portraying the experiences, the hopes, fears and disappointments of the women. Sadly many of them are not happy in how their lives have turned out. Several of them are pregnant after one night stands. Understandably there is a lot of discussion about what black people experience in the UK. I guess I feel there was too much of an emphasis on lesbianism, etc. Do that many women really struggle with their sexuality?
I guess I have to say that after reading the book I have to ask, so what? I guess it is partly about the desire to find love and acceptance and that nonstandard relationships are an option. A lot of them were trying to find out their background/roots or felt incomplete because they didn't know their origin. One of the women, the one who had the DNA test is shocked to learn that a small percentage of her DNA is from Africa.
Sunday, 22 December 2019
Wednesday, 4 December 2019
Reproduction
by Ian Williams
This book one the Giller Prize this year. It is written by a poet/writing prof.
The book starts out with a young teenager (Felicia) and an older man (Edgar)meeting in the hospital as their mothers appear on the verge of death. They converse a little to pass the time. The girl's mother dies, the man's mother doesn't.
The girl is an orphan now. She is trying to finish her high school work. The man invites her to live at his place and look after his invalid mother. The man is the head of a company and travels a lot on business. He doesn't seem to have much care for his mother and seems to spend his time drinking an smoking in various hotel rooms. He and the young woman start having sex, he has told her he had a vasectomy. However, in a few months the girl is pregnant. When she tells him she is pregnant he offers to pay for an abortion. He schedules one but she doesn't go through with it. When the man finds this out he unceremoniously fires her and kicks her out of his house.
The book then jumps to the future when the woman and her son Armistice (known as Army) are struggling to survive financially. They end up living in part of the house of a divorced man (Oliver) who is bitter about he was treated by his ex-wife. Army, always aware of being poor cooks up all sorts of schemes for making money, e.g. setting up a barber shop in the garage of the house.
Oliver's kids live in the U.S. with his ex-wife. They come to visit him for the summer. Army really likes the daughter (Heather) but she ignores him. She gets attracted to a guy who works at Walmart(?). In a very disturbing scene in the book she is drugged and gang raped by the Walmart guy and some of his friends. She ends up getting pregnant. Her mother is furious with her ex for letting this happen and send the girl back to Ontario to have the baby to avoid scandal.
At one point Edgar contacts Felicia and offers her money, initially $10 and $20,000, Felicia always refuses. Eventually he sends her a cheque for more than $100,000 again she refuses. It turns out Edgar is being accused of sexual harassment and it appears he wants Felicia to be a character witness on his behalf. She doesn't agree.
After Heather has her baby Oliver and Felicia take on the baby as their child Heather has named the child Chariot but he is known as Riot, and he is quite a trouble maker. He wants to be a film maker but keeps getting kicked out of school for bad behaviour. Oliver and Felicia don't have a sexual relationship but they do act like a blended family. They never tell Riot who his mother is, but he suspects.
All along Army has asked who his father is but Felicia doesn't tell him. Felicia finds out Edgar is sick with cancer. Army then discovers who his father is and invites him to come live with them as he prepares to die. Felicia and especially Oliver are furious about this. Army's behaviour is not really altruistic. He hopes to get money from Edgar's estate.
When Edgar dies he leaves most of his estate to charity, his house to Felicia and a mixed tape of music for Army.
I found the names Armistice (Peace)/Army and Chariot/Riot interesting. The original names are quite powerful, in a good way but the nicknames are vary aggressive.
This was an interesting story about an unconventional family. I enjoyed it.
This book one the Giller Prize this year. It is written by a poet/writing prof.
The book starts out with a young teenager (Felicia) and an older man (Edgar)meeting in the hospital as their mothers appear on the verge of death. They converse a little to pass the time. The girl's mother dies, the man's mother doesn't.
The girl is an orphan now. She is trying to finish her high school work. The man invites her to live at his place and look after his invalid mother. The man is the head of a company and travels a lot on business. He doesn't seem to have much care for his mother and seems to spend his time drinking an smoking in various hotel rooms. He and the young woman start having sex, he has told her he had a vasectomy. However, in a few months the girl is pregnant. When she tells him she is pregnant he offers to pay for an abortion. He schedules one but she doesn't go through with it. When the man finds this out he unceremoniously fires her and kicks her out of his house.
The book then jumps to the future when the woman and her son Armistice (known as Army) are struggling to survive financially. They end up living in part of the house of a divorced man (Oliver) who is bitter about he was treated by his ex-wife. Army, always aware of being poor cooks up all sorts of schemes for making money, e.g. setting up a barber shop in the garage of the house.
Oliver's kids live in the U.S. with his ex-wife. They come to visit him for the summer. Army really likes the daughter (Heather) but she ignores him. She gets attracted to a guy who works at Walmart(?). In a very disturbing scene in the book she is drugged and gang raped by the Walmart guy and some of his friends. She ends up getting pregnant. Her mother is furious with her ex for letting this happen and send the girl back to Ontario to have the baby to avoid scandal.
At one point Edgar contacts Felicia and offers her money, initially $10 and $20,000, Felicia always refuses. Eventually he sends her a cheque for more than $100,000 again she refuses. It turns out Edgar is being accused of sexual harassment and it appears he wants Felicia to be a character witness on his behalf. She doesn't agree.
After Heather has her baby Oliver and Felicia take on the baby as their child Heather has named the child Chariot but he is known as Riot, and he is quite a trouble maker. He wants to be a film maker but keeps getting kicked out of school for bad behaviour. Oliver and Felicia don't have a sexual relationship but they do act like a blended family. They never tell Riot who his mother is, but he suspects.
All along Army has asked who his father is but Felicia doesn't tell him. Felicia finds out Edgar is sick with cancer. Army then discovers who his father is and invites him to come live with them as he prepares to die. Felicia and especially Oliver are furious about this. Army's behaviour is not really altruistic. He hopes to get money from Edgar's estate.
When Edgar dies he leaves most of his estate to charity, his house to Felicia and a mixed tape of music for Army.
I found the names Armistice (Peace)/Army and Chariot/Riot interesting. The original names are quite powerful, in a good way but the nicknames are vary aggressive.
This was an interesting story about an unconventional family. I enjoyed it.
Saturday, 16 November 2019
Telling Tales
by Ann Cleeves
This is the second book in the author's series featuring the Detective Inspector Vera. Coincidentally they played this story on TV recently. The TV version varied a little at the beginning and also in whodunnit. However for the most part the stories were similar.
The book is about Vera and her assistant being brought in to re-open a murder investigation. A teenager was killed. The girl's father's lover was convicted of the crime but always maintains her innocence. She commits suicide in prison. At about the same time it comes out that new evidence has come forward that exonerates her.
Vera finds that the local police perhaps jumped too quickly to their conclusion. The murder victim had one girl who was her closest friend. It was this girl who found her body. The girl's brother, who had been estranged from the family returns to town and is killed soon after.
Eventually it comes out that it was the young girl's mother who killed both the teenager and her own son. She killed the teenager because she was going to blackmail the woman's husband and she kills her son because he is going to accuse his father of the murder.
It was an interesting read. You don't really get much insight into how Vera thinks or feels about things but she is considered gruff in the book, as she is portrayed in the TV series.
This is the second book in the author's series featuring the Detective Inspector Vera. Coincidentally they played this story on TV recently. The TV version varied a little at the beginning and also in whodunnit. However for the most part the stories were similar.
The book is about Vera and her assistant being brought in to re-open a murder investigation. A teenager was killed. The girl's father's lover was convicted of the crime but always maintains her innocence. She commits suicide in prison. At about the same time it comes out that new evidence has come forward that exonerates her.
Vera finds that the local police perhaps jumped too quickly to their conclusion. The murder victim had one girl who was her closest friend. It was this girl who found her body. The girl's brother, who had been estranged from the family returns to town and is killed soon after.
Eventually it comes out that it was the young girl's mother who killed both the teenager and her own son. She killed the teenager because she was going to blackmail the woman's husband and she kills her son because he is going to accuse his father of the murder.
It was an interesting read. You don't really get much insight into how Vera thinks or feels about things but she is considered gruff in the book, as she is portrayed in the TV series.
Tuesday, 22 October 2019
The Giver of Stars
by Jojo Moyes
This book is supposedly based on real events.
It takes place in Kentucky in the depression area. The story starts with a young English woman who longs to escape her family. She marries a handsome young American who has come to England. Everyone thinks it will be an ideal marriage.
The young man is travelling with his father. On the voyage back to America the newlyweds share a cabin with the man's father. Why?? The young man is shy about doing anything amourous with his father nearby.
The young woman had imagined she would be going to a city in America but she is actually going into the Kentucky mountains. The father-in-law runs a coal mine. He treats his employees as slaves and safety measures are lacking.
When they arrive in Kentucky the couple live with the husband's father. As the father sleeps in the next room the young man again declines intimacy. The young woman is puzzled.
One day some woman announce that the President's wife has started a mobile library program to help promote literacy in America. They are looking for women to ride into the mountains to take books to people. The young bride feels she has nothing to do and despite the objection of her father-in-law she volunteers to be one of the Librarians.
She then gets involved with a group of women who will become her close friends:Margery, the daughter of a moonshiner, member of one family in a decades long feud with another local family.
She is a very independent woman and teaches the other women the routes through the mountains. Other members of the group include Izzy a young crippled girl and a black girl who trained in a black library and is the administrator of the collection.
The women ride through all weather to deliver their books and their service is much appreciated. Alice, the main character, initially feels an outsider but through her work is welcomed by the people she visits. She sees how tough life is for the mountain people and befriends them, for e.g. reading to a dying man. Alice starts working longer and longer hours as she cannot bear to go home. One day she gives some dolls that belonged to her deceased mother-in-law to some poor local girls. When the father-in-law discovers what she has done he beats her up. Bruised and battered she leave the family home and goes to live with Margery.
Margery is carrying on an anonymous campaign warning locals that Alice's father wants to buy they out of their property to expand his mining operations. When there is a flood one of the mine's holding ponds burst and it is Margery who tells people about this. This activity and the fact that she is housing his daughter-in-law infuriates the father-in-law and he is doing everything he can to discredit Margery and shut down the library service. Most of the books and magazines they deliver are classics, comic books, cookbooks etc. There is one "facutal" book about sex information . It turns out to be a popular read in the community. Alice's father-in-law accuses the librarians of corrupting the community by distributing this book. Alice is so naive she doesn't even know what it means to have sex and that it is unusual that her marriage has never been consummated.
Then, one day a man, from the family Margery's family had the feud with, is found dead with a library book on his chest. She is arrested for murder even though she is pregnant (out of wedlock).
The trial starts and it appears she will be found guilty.
However, Alice's husband suggests to her that the dead man's daughters, who are reclusive, should be interviewed. One of the girls, who is heavily pregnant, comes to the trial and tells the judge that her father had a library book and was anxious to return it to town. She speculates he must have slipped on the ice and died from injuries from the fall.
When asked why she didn't report her father missing it is obvious she did not like him (is it he who got her pregnant)? Ironically the book the father was found with was Little Women. Based on this testimony Margery is released and reunited with her baby and her lover.
The book starts with Margery encountering the girls father. He tries to attack Margery. In defence she hits him with a book and rides off as fast as she can. She doesn't check to see if he got up....
The book has a happily ever after ending.... Alice's marriage is annulled. Her husband marries another woman, Alice marries a local man she has fallen in love with and Margery marries her lover. The black Librarian moves back to the city where she worked as a librarian with her brother who was injured in the mine (and abandoned by the mine owner).
The puzzling part of the book is why Alice's first husband, who seemed to marry her willingly, then seemed to have no interest in her sexually. I thought he might be gay but he married another woman. Perhaps his second wife would initially not have been acceptable to his father, but after all that happened the old man was happy to have a compliant daughter-in-law.
The story was action packed. The author did a great job of describing the hardships of travelling through the mountains in all seasons and the lives of the locals. A very interesting read.
The Giver of Stars by Amy Lowell
Hold your soul open for my welcoming.
Let the quiet of your spirit bathe me
With is clean and rippled coolness.,
That, loose-limbed and weary, I find rest,
Outstretched upon your peace, as on a bed of ivory.
This book is supposedly based on real events.
It takes place in Kentucky in the depression area. The story starts with a young English woman who longs to escape her family. She marries a handsome young American who has come to England. Everyone thinks it will be an ideal marriage.
The young man is travelling with his father. On the voyage back to America the newlyweds share a cabin with the man's father. Why?? The young man is shy about doing anything amourous with his father nearby.
The young woman had imagined she would be going to a city in America but she is actually going into the Kentucky mountains. The father-in-law runs a coal mine. He treats his employees as slaves and safety measures are lacking.
When they arrive in Kentucky the couple live with the husband's father. As the father sleeps in the next room the young man again declines intimacy. The young woman is puzzled.
One day some woman announce that the President's wife has started a mobile library program to help promote literacy in America. They are looking for women to ride into the mountains to take books to people. The young bride feels she has nothing to do and despite the objection of her father-in-law she volunteers to be one of the Librarians.
She then gets involved with a group of women who will become her close friends:Margery, the daughter of a moonshiner, member of one family in a decades long feud with another local family.
She is a very independent woman and teaches the other women the routes through the mountains. Other members of the group include Izzy a young crippled girl and a black girl who trained in a black library and is the administrator of the collection.
The women ride through all weather to deliver their books and their service is much appreciated. Alice, the main character, initially feels an outsider but through her work is welcomed by the people she visits. She sees how tough life is for the mountain people and befriends them, for e.g. reading to a dying man. Alice starts working longer and longer hours as she cannot bear to go home. One day she gives some dolls that belonged to her deceased mother-in-law to some poor local girls. When the father-in-law discovers what she has done he beats her up. Bruised and battered she leave the family home and goes to live with Margery.
Margery is carrying on an anonymous campaign warning locals that Alice's father wants to buy they out of their property to expand his mining operations. When there is a flood one of the mine's holding ponds burst and it is Margery who tells people about this. This activity and the fact that she is housing his daughter-in-law infuriates the father-in-law and he is doing everything he can to discredit Margery and shut down the library service. Most of the books and magazines they deliver are classics, comic books, cookbooks etc. There is one "facutal" book about sex information . It turns out to be a popular read in the community. Alice's father-in-law accuses the librarians of corrupting the community by distributing this book. Alice is so naive she doesn't even know what it means to have sex and that it is unusual that her marriage has never been consummated.
Then, one day a man, from the family Margery's family had the feud with, is found dead with a library book on his chest. She is arrested for murder even though she is pregnant (out of wedlock).
The trial starts and it appears she will be found guilty.
However, Alice's husband suggests to her that the dead man's daughters, who are reclusive, should be interviewed. One of the girls, who is heavily pregnant, comes to the trial and tells the judge that her father had a library book and was anxious to return it to town. She speculates he must have slipped on the ice and died from injuries from the fall.
When asked why she didn't report her father missing it is obvious she did not like him (is it he who got her pregnant)? Ironically the book the father was found with was Little Women. Based on this testimony Margery is released and reunited with her baby and her lover.
The book starts with Margery encountering the girls father. He tries to attack Margery. In defence she hits him with a book and rides off as fast as she can. She doesn't check to see if he got up....
The book has a happily ever after ending.... Alice's marriage is annulled. Her husband marries another woman, Alice marries a local man she has fallen in love with and Margery marries her lover. The black Librarian moves back to the city where she worked as a librarian with her brother who was injured in the mine (and abandoned by the mine owner).
The puzzling part of the book is why Alice's first husband, who seemed to marry her willingly, then seemed to have no interest in her sexually. I thought he might be gay but he married another woman. Perhaps his second wife would initially not have been acceptable to his father, but after all that happened the old man was happy to have a compliant daughter-in-law.
The story was action packed. The author did a great job of describing the hardships of travelling through the mountains in all seasons and the lives of the locals. A very interesting read.
The Giver of Stars by Amy Lowell
Hold your soul open for my welcoming.
Let the quiet of your spirit bathe me
With is clean and rippled coolness.,
That, loose-limbed and weary, I find rest,
Outstretched upon your peace, as on a bed of ivory.
The Testaments
by Margaret Atwood
This is the sequel to The Handmaid's Tale, it was just announced as a joint winner of the Mann Booker Prize this year.
I recently re-read The Handmaid's Tale. I found it interesting, and disturbing yet again. The ideas Atwood presents in this book in terms of the rituals, sex scenes with the commanders, the handmaids and the wives are absolutely chilling.
I was wondering how she would follow up the first book and I have to say The Testaments was different, perhaps even better in some ways. It is the story of three women, whose lives are intertwined. It is a story and a bit of a mystery novel. We find that a child was secreted away from Gilead and taken to Canada. The baby's picture is plastered around Gilead and the baby is being vigourously sought as it would be a coup if Gilead could recapture her. There are women called angels who go into Canada, supposedly to preach about Gilead but they are actually spies seeking information about the baby and about people who help women and children escape from Gilead.
One of the characters is a young woman who is shocked at the death of the people she thought were her parents. She is shocked to learn that she is that baby. We also meet a young girl who is basically ignored by her father and his new wife, especially when they have a child by a handmaid. She is being groomed to be married but convinces the officials, including Aunt Lydia that she is committed to life as an Aunt. She does not want to get married. Another friend of hers also becomes an aunt (she was traumatized by being sexually abused by her father, a highly regarded dentist). We meet Aunt Lydia who is probably the most powerful of the aunts and learn that Gilead has records of all women, children born, etc. Aunt Lydia is secretly writing a journal about what has happened in Gilead. If she was found out she would be hung.
As the book progresses we learn that the main character in Handmaid's Tale (Offred), was able to escape to Canada. The daughter she had with her husband also survived. At the end of the novel Offred and her two children are re-united. Eventually the notes written by Aunt Lydia are found but no one knows that she is the one who wrote them.
I enjoyed the way Atwood developed the story and how the various people's lives intertwined. I am not sure why Aunt Lydia did what she did.
The books starts with the person who is Aunt Lydia and other professional women being rounded up. In life she was a respected judge. Rather than fighting she decides to commit to becoming part of the Gilead administration. This was the most disturbing and intriguing part of the story to me, that someone who was a defender of the law and should be committed to human rights would abandon all that to survive and in fact become an architect and perpetrator of the vile Gilead empire. And, in the end why did she write these notes? To apologize for what she was part of? As a lesson for the future?
This is the sequel to The Handmaid's Tale, it was just announced as a joint winner of the Mann Booker Prize this year.
I recently re-read The Handmaid's Tale. I found it interesting, and disturbing yet again. The ideas Atwood presents in this book in terms of the rituals, sex scenes with the commanders, the handmaids and the wives are absolutely chilling.
I was wondering how she would follow up the first book and I have to say The Testaments was different, perhaps even better in some ways. It is the story of three women, whose lives are intertwined. It is a story and a bit of a mystery novel. We find that a child was secreted away from Gilead and taken to Canada. The baby's picture is plastered around Gilead and the baby is being vigourously sought as it would be a coup if Gilead could recapture her. There are women called angels who go into Canada, supposedly to preach about Gilead but they are actually spies seeking information about the baby and about people who help women and children escape from Gilead.
One of the characters is a young woman who is shocked at the death of the people she thought were her parents. She is shocked to learn that she is that baby. We also meet a young girl who is basically ignored by her father and his new wife, especially when they have a child by a handmaid. She is being groomed to be married but convinces the officials, including Aunt Lydia that she is committed to life as an Aunt. She does not want to get married. Another friend of hers also becomes an aunt (she was traumatized by being sexually abused by her father, a highly regarded dentist). We meet Aunt Lydia who is probably the most powerful of the aunts and learn that Gilead has records of all women, children born, etc. Aunt Lydia is secretly writing a journal about what has happened in Gilead. If she was found out she would be hung.
As the book progresses we learn that the main character in Handmaid's Tale (Offred), was able to escape to Canada. The daughter she had with her husband also survived. At the end of the novel Offred and her two children are re-united. Eventually the notes written by Aunt Lydia are found but no one knows that she is the one who wrote them.
I enjoyed the way Atwood developed the story and how the various people's lives intertwined. I am not sure why Aunt Lydia did what she did.
The books starts with the person who is Aunt Lydia and other professional women being rounded up. In life she was a respected judge. Rather than fighting she decides to commit to becoming part of the Gilead administration. This was the most disturbing and intriguing part of the story to me, that someone who was a defender of the law and should be committed to human rights would abandon all that to survive and in fact become an architect and perpetrator of the vile Gilead empire. And, in the end why did she write these notes? To apologize for what she was part of? As a lesson for the future?
Monday, 23 September 2019
The Reckless Oath We Made
by Bryn Greenwood
I saw some good review of this book and thought it sounded interesting and it was. It is a strange story but well told
The story is about a young woman Zee, who is struggling physically and financially. She was injured in a motorcycle crash and is still in pain and paying for her medical bills. At the time of her accident she had just told her boyfriend she was pregnant. He is unhappy about it and dumps her. She storms off on a motorcycle and ends up getting in an accident. She is on pain killers and THC for her pain.
Zee is burdened with trying to support her 600 pound hoarder mother who likes her other sister better and doesn't appreciate anything she does for her. She is living with and trying to support her sister and the sister's young son. To make some extra money she transports and sells drugs. She feels her life is a total ongoing disaster and she isn't far from wrong.
Zee's father was a criminal who went to prison for some bank robberies and died while in prison. Her mother never recovered from the loss of her husband. This started her on the hoarding behaviour. Zee's sister volunteers at a local prison.
One day the sister doesn't come home, Zee looks after the nephew, whom she loves dearly, as best she can. Then the news comes that there has been a riot at the prison, two very dangerous prisoners escaped and have taken two volunteers hostage, one of who is Zee's sister.
The police arrive at Zee's mother's place with a search warrant. They suspect the sister may not be a hostage but a willing participant. They search the house dumping a lot of stuff outside and leaving it there. I cannot imagine that police would actually do that. Zee tried to calm her mother who ends up going to the hospital.
While these things are happening we find out that there is a young man who has been stalking Zee. Gentry is a young autistic man who is fascinated with knights and chivalry and sees himself as Zee's protector and guardian. Zee evenutally meets him and gets his help with some things. She also meets is natural and adopted family. The natural family use and abuse him, the adopted family seem to love him but perhaps overprotect him. Gentry takes her into the country where he is actually working on building a castle and where he and some other friends gather to joust.
Zee with the help of an uncle who was a partner in crime with her father, manage to locate where the escaped prisoners and her sister are hiding out. She, Gentry, some of Gentry's friends and her cousin work on a plan to go and rescue the sister. They get to the remote location but things go badly. The sister, as was suspected, actually loves one of the escapees and won't leave him even after he is killed.
Gentry is injured and one of his friends is killed. Gentry ends up going to jail for being part of the melee. Zee denies being at the fracus. Gentry's family are furious with her for getting Gentry and her friend involved with the disaster.
Zee feels bad but she feels she has to look after her mother and fight to have some access to her nephew (his paternal grandparents get custody as both their son and now daughter-in-law are now in jail).
It seems very sad that poor innocent Gentry and his friend have to pay the price for this misadventure but it seems he is prepared to accept this punishment as part of his knightly loyalty to Zee.
Zee's uncle has given her some money he had from the bank robberies he did with her father. Zee uses this money to help her mother, set up a trust fund for her nephew, and pay the mortgage on the land Gentry was buying and building his castle on.
It was a strange story but interesting and well written.
I saw some good review of this book and thought it sounded interesting and it was. It is a strange story but well told
The story is about a young woman Zee, who is struggling physically and financially. She was injured in a motorcycle crash and is still in pain and paying for her medical bills. At the time of her accident she had just told her boyfriend she was pregnant. He is unhappy about it and dumps her. She storms off on a motorcycle and ends up getting in an accident. She is on pain killers and THC for her pain.
Zee is burdened with trying to support her 600 pound hoarder mother who likes her other sister better and doesn't appreciate anything she does for her. She is living with and trying to support her sister and the sister's young son. To make some extra money she transports and sells drugs. She feels her life is a total ongoing disaster and she isn't far from wrong.
Zee's father was a criminal who went to prison for some bank robberies and died while in prison. Her mother never recovered from the loss of her husband. This started her on the hoarding behaviour. Zee's sister volunteers at a local prison.
One day the sister doesn't come home, Zee looks after the nephew, whom she loves dearly, as best she can. Then the news comes that there has been a riot at the prison, two very dangerous prisoners escaped and have taken two volunteers hostage, one of who is Zee's sister.
The police arrive at Zee's mother's place with a search warrant. They suspect the sister may not be a hostage but a willing participant. They search the house dumping a lot of stuff outside and leaving it there. I cannot imagine that police would actually do that. Zee tried to calm her mother who ends up going to the hospital.
While these things are happening we find out that there is a young man who has been stalking Zee. Gentry is a young autistic man who is fascinated with knights and chivalry and sees himself as Zee's protector and guardian. Zee evenutally meets him and gets his help with some things. She also meets is natural and adopted family. The natural family use and abuse him, the adopted family seem to love him but perhaps overprotect him. Gentry takes her into the country where he is actually working on building a castle and where he and some other friends gather to joust.
Zee with the help of an uncle who was a partner in crime with her father, manage to locate where the escaped prisoners and her sister are hiding out. She, Gentry, some of Gentry's friends and her cousin work on a plan to go and rescue the sister. They get to the remote location but things go badly. The sister, as was suspected, actually loves one of the escapees and won't leave him even after he is killed.
Gentry is injured and one of his friends is killed. Gentry ends up going to jail for being part of the melee. Zee denies being at the fracus. Gentry's family are furious with her for getting Gentry and her friend involved with the disaster.
Zee feels bad but she feels she has to look after her mother and fight to have some access to her nephew (his paternal grandparents get custody as both their son and now daughter-in-law are now in jail).
It seems very sad that poor innocent Gentry and his friend have to pay the price for this misadventure but it seems he is prepared to accept this punishment as part of his knightly loyalty to Zee.
Zee's uncle has given her some money he had from the bank robberies he did with her father. Zee uses this money to help her mother, set up a trust fund for her nephew, and pay the mortgage on the land Gentry was buying and building his castle on.
It was a strange story but interesting and well written.
A Better Man
by Louise Penny
I was eagerly awaiting this new book by Louise Penny. However, I have to say I was quite disappointed by the story.
As the story starts Armand Gamache has been investigated for a police investigation and gun battle in the last book. He is being pilloried by his superiors and the Premiere. They are trying to get him to resign by removing him from his position and offering him the demotion job of Head of Homicide (which he held years before). This is is a big comedown from his position of Head of the Surete. To their surprise and frustration he accepts. He will take over from his son-in-law who is leaving for France for a non-police position.
A major rainfall and potential flooding event is about to fall on Quebec. Gamache makes some suggestions about how to mitigate the flood by cutting channels in fields. His superiors and government officials do not appreciate his input.
So this is the main reason why I did not enjoy this story, the whole pick on Gamache theme. In addition do his dealings with his superiors and the provincial officials someone is posting on Facebook/Instagram that he is a failure and botched the previous job. There is a lot of chatter against him as a result of this.
One of the police officers that Gamache had previously wooed to homicide announces that her goddaughter is missing and asks for her disappearance to be investigated. Even though it is not homicide's role and she has only been gone for a short time Gamache and the officer start investigating. The woman was married to a pottery and was the victim of domestic abuse. They meet a policeman who had responded to calls to the property. He seems more than casually interested in the woman. The woman's husband is suspected as he is an abuser and an alcoholic with a quick temper but so far they cannot pin anything on him. The young officer tries to get some information by posing as an art gallery interested in his work. Her sleuthing turns up the fact that the husband and the woman who is doing his social media might be more than just work colleagues.
While they are investigating Quebec is flooding, including at 3 Pines.
While all this is going on there is a side story about the 3 Pines artist Clare. She had received some substantial acclaim previously but recently produced some miniatures which have received a lot of criticism. She is having trouble dealing with the criticism. Then a young internet 'influencer" about art comes to 3 pines, meets her and sees her work. This person also pans her miniatures. People who have bought her art now wish to get their money back. She is devastated.
That is all there is to this story. I don't know what point it had in the book other than to parallel Gamache's being trashed on the Internet.
While they are investigating the damage caused by the flooding the missing woman's body is discovered in the river near 3 pines. Her car is found on a bridge nearby.
Things get worse for Gamache as footage of other firefights he was in are shown and the parts that are shown online are not complimentary to him (but they do not show the entire story).
It seems that the poet Ruth might have put up this footage to try to salvage his reputation but she denies doing it. It eventually turns out it was one of Gamache's superiors who did it. I am not clear as to why she did it, Gamache had helped her get her job.
In the end they find out that the police officer who originally brought up the missing woman actually was the one who killed her accidentally. The officer was angry at the woman for taking advantage of her father, asking for money. The officer is in love with the woman's father but he seems to have rebuffed her for his daughter.
I usually really enjoy the characters, the quirkiness, the not quite up to police procedure behaviour of Gamache but this time I found all the conspiracy stuff against him hard to take and hard to understand. This was probably my least or second least favourite of all her books.
I will be interested in seeing how Gamache fares without his side-kick son-in-law. As all of Gamache's children and their families are now in France it makes you wonder why he and his wife bother to stay in Quebec. It seem he cannot let go of his passion to right wrongs.
I was eagerly awaiting this new book by Louise Penny. However, I have to say I was quite disappointed by the story.
As the story starts Armand Gamache has been investigated for a police investigation and gun battle in the last book. He is being pilloried by his superiors and the Premiere. They are trying to get him to resign by removing him from his position and offering him the demotion job of Head of Homicide (which he held years before). This is is a big comedown from his position of Head of the Surete. To their surprise and frustration he accepts. He will take over from his son-in-law who is leaving for France for a non-police position.
A major rainfall and potential flooding event is about to fall on Quebec. Gamache makes some suggestions about how to mitigate the flood by cutting channels in fields. His superiors and government officials do not appreciate his input.
So this is the main reason why I did not enjoy this story, the whole pick on Gamache theme. In addition do his dealings with his superiors and the provincial officials someone is posting on Facebook/Instagram that he is a failure and botched the previous job. There is a lot of chatter against him as a result of this.
One of the police officers that Gamache had previously wooed to homicide announces that her goddaughter is missing and asks for her disappearance to be investigated. Even though it is not homicide's role and she has only been gone for a short time Gamache and the officer start investigating. The woman was married to a pottery and was the victim of domestic abuse. They meet a policeman who had responded to calls to the property. He seems more than casually interested in the woman. The woman's husband is suspected as he is an abuser and an alcoholic with a quick temper but so far they cannot pin anything on him. The young officer tries to get some information by posing as an art gallery interested in his work. Her sleuthing turns up the fact that the husband and the woman who is doing his social media might be more than just work colleagues.
While they are investigating Quebec is flooding, including at 3 Pines.
While all this is going on there is a side story about the 3 Pines artist Clare. She had received some substantial acclaim previously but recently produced some miniatures which have received a lot of criticism. She is having trouble dealing with the criticism. Then a young internet 'influencer" about art comes to 3 pines, meets her and sees her work. This person also pans her miniatures. People who have bought her art now wish to get their money back. She is devastated.
That is all there is to this story. I don't know what point it had in the book other than to parallel Gamache's being trashed on the Internet.
While they are investigating the damage caused by the flooding the missing woman's body is discovered in the river near 3 pines. Her car is found on a bridge nearby.
Things get worse for Gamache as footage of other firefights he was in are shown and the parts that are shown online are not complimentary to him (but they do not show the entire story).
It seems that the poet Ruth might have put up this footage to try to salvage his reputation but she denies doing it. It eventually turns out it was one of Gamache's superiors who did it. I am not clear as to why she did it, Gamache had helped her get her job.
In the end they find out that the police officer who originally brought up the missing woman actually was the one who killed her accidentally. The officer was angry at the woman for taking advantage of her father, asking for money. The officer is in love with the woman's father but he seems to have rebuffed her for his daughter.
I usually really enjoy the characters, the quirkiness, the not quite up to police procedure behaviour of Gamache but this time I found all the conspiracy stuff against him hard to take and hard to understand. This was probably my least or second least favourite of all her books.
I will be interested in seeing how Gamache fares without his side-kick son-in-law. As all of Gamache's children and their families are now in France it makes you wonder why he and his wife bother to stay in Quebec. It seem he cannot let go of his passion to right wrongs.
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