The Temptation of Forgiveness

It is many years since I have read any of the Commissario Brunetti novels by Donna Leon so when a friend gave me a copy of the latest book in the series I was pleased to once again become immersed in the the world of Guido Bruneti and the Venetian Questura.

A woman comes to Brunetti's office concerned that her son is being sold drugs after school. Some time later the woman's husband is found injured after falling from a bridge. Guido Brunetti and his team investigate the many leads, often false trails, until discovering what really happened.

Like Louise Penny's books set primarily in or near Three Pines, the location, Venice, in the Brunetti books is always present and plays a dominant part in the story. The relationship between Guido Brunetti and his colleagues and family members is also an important feature of the novels. The human side of the main characters, as well as the suspects, is explored as Brunetti endeavours to discover not only who committed a crime but the circumstances behind their actions.

Kingdom of the Blind

The Chief Inspector Gamache mystery series of books written by Louise Penny are addictive. The Kingdom of the Blind is number 14 in the series and it takes only a page or two to once again become immersed in the world of the village of Three Pines and its wonderful characters.

Armand Gamache, Myrna Landers and Benedict Pouliot are summoned in midwinter to an old farmhouse not far from Three Pines to discover why they have been nominated as executors of a bizarre will of a woman they have never met. Gamache and his friends and family members at Three Pines investigate the background story of the dead woman as well as other family members who may, or may not, inherit a fortune from another will made 130 years previously. When a body is later discovered at the farmhouse, Gamache, Jean-Guy Beauvoir and Isabel Lacoste investigate. However this is not the only investigation demanding the attention of Gamache. Serving a suspension from the Surete du Quebec due to a supply of new drugs going missing Armand Gamache is determined to stop the drugs being released on to the streets.

These books also contain references to poetry, not only because one of the residents of Three Pines is a poet but also because Armand like to quote lines of poetry. "In the kingdom of the blind the one eyed man is king" (Erasmus), one of the many quotes used by Armand Gamache in this book, is significant to one of the narratives in the novel.

Once again this was a book that I didn't want to put down. This has to be one of my favourite series of books.

Red Shift

Published in 1973 this book by Alan Garner is definitely written for older readers. The novel consists of three inter-twined narratives set at the end of Roman Britain with the demise of the Ninth Legion, during the English Civil War and in 1960s England. A focal point in each story is the finding of a late Neolithic / early Bronze age axe. The axe appears to affect the thinking and actions of one character in each story, at time providing additional powers or perception of a situation. Each of the affected men, Macey, Thomas and Tom, see blue and silver lights in the sky when something is going to happen. Tom also describes a red shift that occasionally appears.

War and / conflict conflict feature in the background to each story. The remnants of the retreating Ninth Legion face attack from Celtic tribes while, during the 1640s, the villagers await the inevitable attack from Irish Royalists. In the 1960s Tom and Jan try to avoid interference in their relationship from Tom's parents.

For each of the main characters, although they are each protected and loved by strong females, there is the constant fear that there is worse to come. In two of the narratives the axe head is hidden only to be rediscovered centuries later.

Sections of each narrative sometimes run into each other but this just adds to the mystique of the story. Much of the dialogue consists of short sentences, a technique used by Alan Garner in other works, creating a poetic effect to the narrative.

Having just read the memoir, Where shall we run to? it was interesting to see how Alan Garner has incorporated childhood experiences into the novel. As well as the description of Cheshire locations, including Mop Cow Hill the author incorporates lines from traditional songs which he was aware of as a child. All in all Red Shift is another challenging reading experience provided by Alan Garner.

Review - Book of a lifetime: Red Shift by Alan Garner (The Independent 28 January 2011).

In Red Shift, Jan and Tom correspond in code and a copy of a coded letter ends the book. The following link may be required to decipher the code. The Red Shift Code.

Nine perfect strangers

Tranquillum House in New South Wales has been redesigned and advertised as a health retreat and wellness resort offering those who attend a total transformation in ten days. Nine people with assorted problems and requirements travel to Tranquillum House, little expecting what is in store for them at the resort, especially as the Masha, the resort's director, has decided to rearrange the program and experiment with new treatments.

The reader is introduced to the nine participants in chapters devoted to each person. Although the guests are nine individuals they  are not, at first glance, all strangers as three are from the one family while two others are married. However as we learn why they have come to the health retreat and the challenges many of them are facing it can be concluded that they are indeed often strangers to family members . They are definitely a mixed bunch and I found reading of the interaction of the characters in the first part of the book interesting and, usually, amusing. Some of the characters, however are still coming to grips with real tragedies that have occurred. The book also provides background into the life of the director, Masha, and her main helper, Yao.

Although it is suggested that the original concept of establishing the health resort was to benefit those who needed a complete break form their normal lives, it eventually becomes apparent that perhaps all is not as it should be at Tranquillum House. I enjoyed learning the life stories of the participants and watching the interactions between group members, but began to lose interest in the second part of this, possibly, overlong book. The readers providing reviews in Goodreads appear divided in their feelings for Nine Perfect Strangers.

This is the first novel that I have read by Liane Moriarty. Generally I enjoyed it and will look for other books by this author to read.

Where shall we run to?

This memoir by the author, Alan Garner, provides memories of a collection of incidents that occurred in his childhood in Cheshire during the Second World War. Alan Garner was born in  October 1934 so he was almost five at the commencement of the war. As well as memories of his schooldays and friends at this time there are frequent references to the war - wearing gas masks, fathers being away from home, children evacuated from Guernsey to Cheshire, finding unexploded devices.

Alan Garner describes life in the area around Alderley Edge where he grew up and where his family lived for many generations. Many of his books are set in this area of Cheshire and the chapter, Widdershins, provides a description of the region with many familiar names for readers of his books. Descriptions of some of the locals in the village plus the school staff are also provided. We also learn a little of the early childhood of Alan Garner including stays in hospital due to illness. He was, however, an inquisitive child who enjoyed the freedom of exploring his terrain, often with a friend.

The last three chapters of the book provide an update to stories told during the main section of the work. All in all this short work provides an account of life in part of rural England during wartime as well as an insight into the early life of an English author.

Interview - Alan Garner 'I just let the voice settle and I listened' (The Guardian 5 August 2018)

Review - Vignettes of a bygone English childhood (The Spectator 2018)

Miss Garnet's Angel

During discussions in the FutureLearn How to Read a Novel course, a number of students recommended Miss Garnet's Angel by Sally Vickers as worth reading.

Miss Garnet, a retired history teacher, had planned to do some travelling with Harriet, with whom she shared a house in Ealing. When Harriet unexpectedly died Miss Garnet decided that she would travel to Venice where she planned to spend six months. This proved to be a life changing experience. Miss Garnet was not interested in religion but soon became fascinated with some of the sculptures and paintings of religious figures, particularly those featuring the angel, Raphael.

As we follow the changes to Miss Garnet's life as she makes friends, gains confidence, learns more about herself, explores Venice (often on foot), and generally falls under the spell of her new environment we also learn about, in a parallel story, the journey of discovery of Tobias at the time of the Assyrians. Aspects of this story also appear in some of the Venice churches and works of art.

This is a story of relationships, re-evaluation of life, history, art, religion - learning to adapt to a new lifestyle in a new environment.