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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Armand is settled and recovering in Three Pines from the previous events - including Jean-Guy and Annie's wedding. BUT - Peter did not return at the agreed upon time to Clara - & he is missing. As Jean-Guy, Armand, Clara, Myrna & Ruth trace Peter's steps - things are learned about art, themselves, and a death over 30 yrs in the making that had started in art school. A philosophical and psychological journey to the ends of Canada.
p 8. "We love life, ... not because we are used to living, but because we are used to loving. Nietzshe. "
p 71. "A servant goes in to the marketplace in Baghdad .... There he bumps into an old woman. When she turned around, he recognizes her as Death....
Death glares and him and the servant, frightened, runs away. He goes straight to his master and explains that he met Death in the market and that he needs to get away, to save himself. The master gives him a horse and the servant takes off, riding as fast as he can for Samarra, where he knows Death won't find him....
Later that day the master is in the marketplace and he too meets Death, ... He asks her why she frightened his servant and Death explains that she hadn't meant to scare him. She was just surprised.... I was simply surprised to see him in the market. Because I have and appointment with him tonight. In Samarra."
p 57. "Clara didn't carry a grudge. They were far too heaved and she had too far to go."
p 104. "That was why she was happy. He now knew that happiness and kindness went together. There was not one without the other."
p 146. "So you have to leave sanctuary in order to have it? .... You did."
p 185. "If love was compass enough, .. there would be no missing children."
p 277. "Don't get me wrong, I believe in using your head. But not spending too much time in there. Fear lives in the head. And courage lives in the heart. The job is to get from one to the other."
p 8. "We love life, ... not because we are used to living, but because we are used to loving. Nietzshe. "
p 71. "A servant goes in to the marketplace in Baghdad .... There he bumps into an old woman. When she turned around, he recognizes her as Death....
Death glares and him and the servant, frightened, runs away. He goes straight to his master and explains that he met Death in the market and that he needs to get away, to save himself. The master gives him a horse and the servant takes off, riding as fast as he can for Samarra, where he knows Death won't find him....
Later that day the master is in the marketplace and he too meets Death, ... He asks her why she frightened his servant and Death explains that she hadn't meant to scare him. She was just surprised.... I was simply surprised to see him in the market. Because I have and appointment with him tonight. In Samarra."
p 57. "Clara didn't carry a grudge. They were far too heaved and she had too far to go."
p 104. "That was why she was happy. He now knew that happiness and kindness went together. There was not one without the other."
p 146. "So you have to leave sanctuary in order to have it? .... You did."
p 185. "If love was compass enough, .. there would be no missing children."
p 277. "Don't get me wrong, I believe in using your head. But not spending too much time in there. Fear lives in the head. And courage lives in the heart. The job is to get from one to the other."
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Armand Gamache has retired from his position as Chief of Homicide for the Sûreté du Québec. He is living a quiet life in Three Pines with his wife Reine-Marie, but is perhaps still haunted by the ghosts of his past. Every morning he sits on a bench overlooking Three Pines with a slim book in his hands. A Balm in Gilead - he is looking for the balm for his own "sin- sick soul". When longtime friend Clara Morrow approaches him about her husband Peter's failure to return after their agreed upon one year separation has ended, Gamache is drawn back into the world of mystery and intigue as he, along with his friend and fellow detective (and now son-in-law) Jean-Guy Beauvoir, and various Three Pines residents try to trace Peter's whereabouts for the past year. Once again we are drawn into a strangely dark and vindictive art world. So many of the Three Pines books deal with art, both as a motive for crime, and as an outlet for emotions, both positive and negative. I always appreciate how expertly Louise Penny writes about her characters and their emotions. Her plots are masterpieces in the use of foreshadowing. One complaint I have had is how often the characters have these suddenly brilliant insights. In "The Long Way Home" it happens particularly when they are looking at supposedly awful and chaotic paintings. How are they are able to recognize that they are looking at abstract landscapes, and then pinpoint the exact location that each painting depicts, even though the locations are wildly remote and from different continents? The search for Peter is long, and there are no murders to solve until very near the end of the book. Sin-sick souls abound, however. Some find their healing balm (or at least move in that direction) and some do not. The ending was sad, but as always, leaves room for hope.
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Another wonderful Inspector Gamache book. Ralph Cosham was an excellent narrator. With his passing the next book in the series has a new narrator, Robert Bathurst. I’m sure he will be equally as good. He was great in Downton Abbey so I’m hoping for the same.
Audiobook: couldn’t stop listening to this one and after just returning from a trip to Georgian Bay, some of the art discussions and references were especially interesting. The mention of Tom Thomson in particular since I had visited the museum of his work and learned more about his story. Retired Gamache still has a lot to offer…as we knew he would.
Can’t wait for #11!!
Can’t wait for #11!!
This might be an unfair rating because I’m rating it relative to the last book which blew my mind and scenes from the book still play on my mind. This book is a little slower. It was good because you get a little more character development and back story of some of the tangential Three Pines inhabitants but also see some very deep cuts and flaws of the main protagonist. It was an enjoyable read, without a doubt, with a pretty unexpected conclusion. Looking forward to the next one in the series.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I enjoy both the story and the introspection. For audio book, actor is excellent.