Reply To: Book 17: Louise’s humour in The Madness of Crowds?
Louise uses humor to make accessible to the reader Jean-Guy’s interviews of the young people who discovered the body. It begins with Jean-Guy’s engagement of the teenagers. “The kids seemed to have taken a solemn oath of silence that lasted until Beauvoir’s first question. Then it all came out.” Beauvoir to Jacques who is the teen’s leader-“‘You’re not in trouble. At least not from us. Just tell us what happened.'” Over the next few paragraphs, Jacques relates graphic details of their behavior while drunk, much to his dad’s embarrassment. Jacques’ mom to his dad, “‘I met you at fifteen, at a St. Jean Baptiste party, when you were leaning against a tree throwing up. Give the boy a break.’ This almost derailed, for a moment, the inquiry, as Beauvoir was sorely tempted to ask some questions about that. Like how could she possibly have been attracted…..But he resisted.” And it wraps up with Gamache bringing to light that Jacques’ mom has observed them the entire time and why she did, “‘You once went skinny dipping in Lac Brume, then forgot where you left your clothes—-‘ Dad grimaces when mom adds, ‘It’s okay, you come from numbskull stock.'”