novel philosophy

Author: Louise Penny
Genre: Thriller
Published: 2022
Rating: 5/5 stars

Summary

A World of Curiosities follows Inspector Detective Armand Gamache in an incredible challenge against his greatest foe. 

The town of Three Pines feels like one from a fairy tale. The inhabitants of this small community live in relative peace and quiet comfortably surrounded by and incredible scenery. This town, however, is not untouched by tragedy. A shooting at a local college brings heartache while a mysterious body washing ashore leaves the town with unanswered questions for almost a decade.

When a mysterious hidden room is unlocked in a local apartment, it starts a series of events culminating in Armand’s attempt to save his family and this beloved community. Armand finds a large imitation of the famous painting, A World of Curiosities, and a grimoire. While the painting holds a significance he struggles to understand, the grimoire once belonged to a famous outcast, giving information on how to call demons.

Armand and his team work to unravel the mystery before them traveling into the path of a monster.

Key Themes

Good and Evil

It’s difficult to have a thriller without some force of good opposing an evil one. This murder mystery follows the same pattern with several stories exhibiting this struggle.

• The Outcast Witch: The story of Anne Lamarque takes a pivotal role in the finding of her grimoire. Chased from Montreal because they believed she was a witch, Anne struggles to survive in the Canadian wilderness of the 1600s. Despite the evil of her community, Anne survives and establishes a new community free from the hate that chased her there.
• Sam and Fiona: Rescued from unbelievable horrors by Armand, we never know exactly where these two stand on the scale of good and evil. Armand believes Fiona harbors good deep down despite her taking the blame for her mother’s death. He’s also convinced that nothing but evil can be found beneath Sam’s charm. Armand is unique in his thinking and the unfolding story suggests that it’s not as simple as good versus evil and perhaps these two siblings only bring out the worst in each other.
• Armand vs. Fleming: Without giving too much away, Armand faces his greatest foe for the second time in this novel. Despite his career as an inspector and regularly seeing the worst of humanity, Armand still holds on to goodness. His family stands as his foundation keeping him hopeful even in those darkest moments. An encounter with an enemy of the past threatens that foundation.

Women’s Roles

While not central to the main plot, Three Pines also experienced the tragedy of a shooting at a local college. This shooter entered the school determined to make a point. Shooting only the women in the engineering program, he sought to deter women from entering what he decided was a man’s role. Luckily, he was unsuccessful in his attempt with several women successfully graduating from the engineering program. His victims are named and celebrated with each graduate while he fades as a nameless villain.

Great Strength Lies Not in Weapons

While the story unfolds, we’re provided a brief backstory of Armand and Jean-Guy’s relationship. They met in the basement of Jean-Guy’s first posting. He had been banished there because of his rebellious and challenging attitude. He even calls Armand a coward for refusing to carry a gun. Despite his rough and aggressive approach, Armand takes a chance on Jean-Guy. Armand soon wins Jean-Guy over with quiet, confident words. In these few brief moments, Jean-Guy realizes he has encountered a man more dangerous than the rest. This theme remains a constant for the rest of their relationship and is often revealed in Armand’s quest to save his town from the monster he sees coming.

Quotes

“Happiness as an act of defiance. A revolutionary act.” 

“You need to remember that, Jean-Guy. The blindness you mention isn’t believing in the essential goodness of people, it’s failing to see it.” 

“…but you can never say it too often. You can never let someone know too often that they’re precious, that they’re missed.” 

“holding on to resentments only binds you to the person you hate.” 

“Evil is unspectacular, and always human, And shares our bed and eats at our own table, And we are introduced to Goodness every day. Even in drawing rooms, among a crowd of faults.” 

Final Thoughts

I bought this book months, if not years, ago and left it sitting as decoration in my living room knowing I would get to it at some point.

Last month, I discovered a new series by Amazon titled Three Pines. It captivated me immediately and I binged the entire first season within a 3-4 day period. I loved the series for its intrigue and mystery but also for its captivating characters.

Well, we headed out on vacation and I finally picked up that book I bought all those months ago. From those early pages, the book felt familiar, like I somehow understood the characters and knew what to expect from them. A few more pages in and it finally clicked. A World of Curiosities takes place in Three Pines following the same characters I fell in love with on the TV screen.

What a happy coincidence!

Overall, the book was just as engaging as the series. There are some slight dissimilarities but not enough to leave everyone raving “The book was better!” It’s similar to the typical detective-style books but closest to Agatha Christie’s Poirot stories where the puzzle pieces finally fit together in those final pages.

It’s a great thriller/murder mystery that keeps the reader guessing until the end. Because I read so many of these, I did pick up on the evil villain a little earlier than the big reveal, but it still had a satisfying impact. Several storylines get played out throughout those early pages, so I struggled to find the main plot in the beginning. After the first few chapters, the main story unfolded, and I was captivated by then.

You should read this book if:

• You love a good murder mystery.
• You love small towns and the Canadian wilderness.
• You’re headed on a vacation and need a hefty book to take with you.

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