A Better Man by Louise Penny

I have posted frequently about Louise Penny’s series of mysteries featuring Armand Gamache from the Quebec village of Three Pines. Her latest, just published this week, is titled A BETTER MAN and focuses on what is likely to be the last case shared by Gamache and Jean-Guy Beauvoir due to the latter’s move to Paris. There are numerous references to past events in the series, especially concerning Gamache’s career and Clara’s progress as an artist, and it is a wonderful adventure to join familiar characters in the small Quebec village. That community once again holds together in the face of threatening natural disaster and psychological pummeling for its inhabitants.  Also tested are the professional relationships between Beauvoir (now commanding his former mentor), Gamache, Isabelle Lacoste, and others.  All of this is deftly developed and portrayed by Penny against the background of a case involving spousal abuse and the tragic death of a young, pregnant woman named Vivienne. As always, I am highly recommending this mystery series by an award-winning author.  Booklist, Library Journal and Publishers Weekly all gave A BETTER MAN starred reviews.

I've Been Meaning to Tell You by David Chariandy

I’VE BEEN MEANING TO TELL YOU by David Chariandy is a letter written to his thirteen year old daughter. This short text, just 91 pages, is sure to be compared to Between the World and Me and Dear Ijeawele, both of which are in our collection. An award-winning author, Chariandy grew up in Toronto (and now lives in Vancouver) with immigrant parents from Trinidad so he offers a unique perspective. There are times when this thoughtful and very emotionally powerful letter is less critical of a single group (or nation other than Canada) and speaks directly to all of us: “We live in a time, dearest daughter, when the callous and ignorant in wealthy nations have made it their business to loudly proclaim who are the “us” (those really “us”) and who are the alien and undeserving “them.” But the stories of our origins offers us a different insight. The people we imagine most apart from “us” are, oftentimes, our own forgotten kin.”

Chariandy also contemplates the experiences of each generation, reflecting on how his daughter’s childhood is different from his own and on the lives of his own parents who “experienced many indignities and deep body aches, sacrifices and shortages, but they worked hard and they managed to raise a writer who is also a professor of literature, a fact of which they are proud but also, at times, perplexed.” 

Very poignantly he notes, “children always sense more than their parents are willing to say.  Children read stories in pauses and silences, from irritation and sadness, from the grief and fear behind brave faces. And children sometimes choose silence.” That reinforces the importance of sharing and discussing texts like I’VE BEEN MEANING TO TELL YOU with our students, especially as we strive to explore social emotional learning this next school year.   

Northland by Porter Fox

NORTHLAND by Porter Fox is subtitled “A 4,000 Mile Journey Along America's Forgotten Border” and given all of the recent news about the United States’ Southern border, I was interested in reading more about the Northern one.  In the advance digital copy I have, Fox refers to both Canadian and American cities within 100 miles of that Northern border. A few (particularly those in Ohio) might surprise you; however, Fox also includes Chicago on his list of cities “in the Northland” and that at least feels incorrect – the nearest Canadian city is Windsor which is about 300 miles away – see this map. Sadly, that reference made me wonder about the other historical, political and scientific “facts” and interpretation in this text especially when I noticed that Fox only devotes a few pages of the book to notes (perhaps he includes more in the final print version?). 

Fox does divide the book into five sections (Dawnland, Sweet-Water Seas, Boundary Waters, Seven Fires, and Medicine Life) to wind his way across the continent from East to West. Along the way, he introduces (but does not really develop stories for) local residents like Milton Chute who harvests sea urchins in Maine or Captain Ross, a helmsman on The Great Lakes. Kirkus gave NORTHLAND a starred review, but I would honestly recommend other titles first. For me, the fictional works of Howard Frank Mosher provide a much keener insight into life along the border. And Dan Egan’s award-winning The Death and Life of The Great Lakes is a recent, outstanding piece of scholarship.  For those interested, Egan will be speaking locally at the Bookstall on Wednesday evening, July 18 at 6:30 pm.