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What was your first impression of Three Pines and the characters? When you finished reading Still Life were you eager to read a second book? Why or why not?
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I started reading these books after seeing the Still Life TV series on Amazon Prime. I had liked it, and was curious to see how the books compared to the series. As I started reading Still Life, I found myself liking this warmer, friendlier version much more than the vaguely sinister one I had encountered on TV. I found that I liked most of the characters a lot better, too. After reading the book, they became two separate entities in two separate realities for me. I felt that Armand was a good man and wonderfully heroic character in both settings, and definitely wanted to learn more about him and read his further adventures. Reine-Marie didn’t have much to do in this book, so I had few impressions of her, other than she was loving and supportive of Armand, and he valued her counsel.
I felt that in the TV version, Isabelle was more Armand’s right-hand person than Jean-Guy, who definitely was deep in struggles there and often didn’t have much to do other than talk into his phone in the background. My impression in the book, however, was that he was intriguingly buttoned-up, smart, every bit the second-in-command, and confidently competent, and I found his loyalty and care for Armand to be endearing. Isabelle was still developing and in a more subordinate role, but already I saw in her a strong, capable, empathetic person whom I would like.
Of the villagers, I saw Clara as a key character, a heroine in this story, and someone whom Armand had made a connection with. Peter was a mixed bag, as he was a talented man who loved his wife but had emotional limitations; I was interested to know whether or not he would be able to overcome them. I was interested to know more about both of them, and about what would happen next.
I immediately liked Myrna, who was warm and wise and seemed content with her life, harboring no apparent demons; she seemed extremely grounded.
I liked Olivier and Gabri as a decent, devoted couple, and even though it was mentioned more than once that Olivier was greedy, he still seemed to be loving and lovable.
I wasn’t sure if I liked Ruth through most of the book; in real life, her abrasiveness would have been hard for me to tolerate. Yet there was something about her that was appealing– those hints of goodness, like when she pitched in without fanfare to help clean up the B&B after the manure incident; taking her turn to sit with Timmer during her illness; her poetry which showed deep emotion and understanding of the human condition; her ability to recognize and admit many of her own faults with humor. By the end, I, like the villagers, had accepted her and had grown fond of her.
I definitely wanted to keep reading more books about these people. I had loved the writing, loved the characters, and enjoyed the story. I could see following Gamache and his team through different cases. Some authors might have used Three Pines as a one-and-done setting, and placed the detectives in a new setting with each new case, and I would have happily followed them into such new adventures as I liked them so much, but I think these stories are much more than “just” a detective series, and the setting and characters in Three Pines makes them extra special. Armand has made a connection here, and I was delighted to discover as I continued the series that he and his team would always somehow be a part of that world, no matter how far away they were temporarily taken.
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Very well said, Susan! I didn’t see the TV series and do not recall how I found this series, but I agree with your comments.
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So, second question first. I definitely wanted to keep reading. A friend of my husband recommended Louise Penny because she thought I would enjoy her (I had enjoyed a previous series this person recommended). Her assessment was correct. I ordered the next three books in the series before I finished “Still Life.”
I enjoyed all of the villagers but none more than another. Three Pines was a place I would be delighted to be. The characters who captured my interest were Armand and Jean-Guy and the relationship between these two men. I saw them as more nuanced. They share a trust in one another that Armand only shares with one other person and that is Reine-Marie.
As the series unfolds, everyone of the characters becomes more real and more complex. I think I recognized that intuitively while reading “Still Life.” It was clear that I would not only find a great whodunit but also a fascinating study of the characters as uniqye and complex individuals.
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I started the series with The Brutal Telling and read up to The Beautiful Mystery before I went back to Still Life and the earlier books. I’m actually glad I read them this way because I enjoyed these later books more than I did Still Life. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed but I enjoyed Gamache’s more central role in the later books and found the characters more fully drawn.
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