Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Vive Gamache!

My sister and I are going on an early birthday trip to Quebec next week. The first part of the trip will be to do some whale watching where the Saguenay Fjord meets the St. Lawrence River, close to the town of Tadoussac.
After our marine adventures, we will turn back to the Eastern Townships, an area east of the city of Montreal. We will be in search of the village that is the inspiration for the setting of the Inspector Gamache mystery series by our favourite author, Louise Penny. We are sorry to be missing the launch of her latest book (only by a week!) at Brome Lake Books in Knowlton, but we will drop in to the bookstore to soak up the atmosphere! www.bromelakebooks.ca

The first book in the series is Still Life which introduces the quirky inhabitants in the village of Three Pines. Louise Penny writes an intelligent mystery as she explores the inner workings of the human heart.
 
Her best book (in my estimation) so far, stunningly written with history woven into a modern day plot, is Bury Your Dead. Don't read this title first, as it is worth the effort to make your way through the series in order (see below).


From Louise Penny on her website:  http://www.louisepenny.com

I'm often asked two questions: should the books be read in order? And, what is the order?
Both excellent questions. At the risk of appearing to want you to buy more books let me say that while it's not necessary to read them in any particular order (they're designed to be self-standing) there is quite a strong character development arc. I think you'd enjoy the books even more if read in order.
Now, here's the order, from the first to the most recent:

STILL LIFE
A FATAL GRACE / DEAD COLD
THE CRUELEST MONTH
A RULE AGAINST MURDER / THE MURDER STONE
THE BRUTAL TELLING

BURY YOUR DEAD
A TRICK OF THE LIGHT

Note that some of the titles vary between the Canadian/U.S. publications

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Read any good books lately?

When I meet with friends, this question always comes up: read any good books lately? I am always interested in what other people are reading. There are those whose reading interests match my own, but I also get pushed by some to venture out in search of undiscovered treasures.

My first adult book review for this blog is one such treasure. Cutting for stone by Abraham Verghese, is set in Ethiopia and New York City and follows the lives of twins, Shiva and Marion, who become doctors on two different continents. How the brothers evolve from being orphaned and adopted by Indian doctors on staff at the Missing Hospital in Addis Ababa, to finding their way through political turmoil and personal loss into adulthood, is at the heart of the book. Written by a doctor who grew up in Ethiopia, this work of fiction has compelling characters (the parents of the twins have a saga of their own) and an absorbing plot. Most intriguing to me was the way in which the medical procedures were described so that I could experience being an observer and not feel like I needed a surgical textbook to understand what is transpiring.

The fact that my daughter-in-law, Hannah, (who is a medical school intern) and my son, Andrew, were in Ethiopia last summer made reading this book even more interesting. Hannah shadowed for a week at a hospital dedicated to addressing a critical medical condition, common among women in this developing country, termed obstetric fistula. Imagine my surprise when I read about how the one brother in the novel, who stays behind in Ethiopia, develops an interest in the fistula repair procedure.

Follow this link if you are interested in learning more about the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital: http://www.hamlinfistula.org/our-hospital.html

More about the author, Abraham Verghese, at:  http://www.abrahamverghese.com