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mrchance 's review for:
Still Life
by Louise Penny
This series has been on my to-read for a while, ever since I read that Louise Penny is one of [a:Alan Bradley|1074866|Alan Bradley|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1256021843p2/1074866.jpg]'s favorite authors. Because of that recommendation, I was expecting a quirky Flavia de Luce-type mystery. That's not what I got, but this is not necessarily a bad thing.
As far as mysteries go, the mystery in this book was a lot more interesting and well crafted than anything Bradley has ever done. However, none of the characters charmed me as much as Flavia and her family did.
Anyway, enough with these comparisons. Apples and oranges.
The characters in Still Life are very well realised. They are all realistic--and flawed--human beings. Three Pines is the perfect quaint little village town. Just because it's quaint doesn't mean everyone in the village is cute and perfect. Every character in the book has a background, wants, and fears.
The police force is well realised, too. I liked Chief Inspector Gamache. He's a kindly grandpa on the outside, but he didn't get to be chief inspector by being soft. He's smart, shrewd, and does what it takes to get the job done. His interactions with the novice officer Yvette Nichol were fascinating. Nichol was a very interesting character. She is so driven to succeed, it makes her incredibly dense and careless. She lacks introspection and compassion. She went from being the stereotypical sympathetic novice to a callous, unsympathetic jerk. I loved that.
However, the third-person omniscient perspective made me a bit dizzy. And I like vagueness in a book. In this book, Louise Penny spells out everything for you. It's written beautifully, yes, but it's a lot of information to take in. Every character's thoughts and actions are explained in detail. Except when it's necessary to the plot to obscure them in a way. Key plot items are referred to as "the object" or "the thing" in roundabout terms, making me wonder if I just missed the point or she hadn't told me yet. I didn't like that technique. It might be a while before I return to Gamache and Three Pines.
As far as mysteries go, the mystery in this book was a lot more interesting and well crafted than anything Bradley has ever done. However, none of the characters charmed me as much as Flavia and her family did.
Anyway, enough with these comparisons. Apples and oranges.
The characters in Still Life are very well realised. They are all realistic--and flawed--human beings. Three Pines is the perfect quaint little village town. Just because it's quaint doesn't mean everyone in the village is cute and perfect. Every character in the book has a background, wants, and fears.
The police force is well realised, too. I liked Chief Inspector Gamache. He's a kindly grandpa on the outside, but he didn't get to be chief inspector by being soft. He's smart, shrewd, and does what it takes to get the job done. His interactions with the novice officer Yvette Nichol were fascinating. Nichol was a very interesting character. She is so driven to succeed, it makes her incredibly dense and careless. She lacks introspection and compassion. She went from being the stereotypical sympathetic novice to a callous, unsympathetic jerk. I loved that.
However, the third-person omniscient perspective made me a bit dizzy. And I like vagueness in a book. In this book, Louise Penny spells out everything for you. It's written beautifully, yes, but it's a lot of information to take in. Every character's thoughts and actions are explained in detail. Except when it's necessary to the plot to obscure them in a way. Key plot items are referred to as "the object" or "the thing" in roundabout terms, making me wonder if I just missed the point or she hadn't told me yet. I didn't like that technique. It might be a while before I return to Gamache and Three Pines.