The Gift of a Guilty Pleasure

In March, I spent five days in surprisingly uncomfortable living conditions. No way to change; simply adapt. What helped? Knowing that every night for an hour of reading, I could slip into the comforting world of Armand Gamache. He’s the detective hero of Louise Penny’s mystery series. I hesitate to use the word hero, because he’s the first to admit being “a crowd of faults.” His mistakes are public knowledge, and he directs the officers he educates to four signposts: saying, “I’m sorry. I was wrong. I don’t know. I need help.” Hardly the unflappable, infallible superhero we might first associate with the term.

But how could books which inevitably depict at least one gory murder bring such consolation? Since the August readings in some traditions are full of bread references, maybe it’s not a leap to the Quebec variety: croissants and baguettes. Armand Gamache, his wife, colleagues and friends eat often and well. Cookies, bowls of café au lait, eclairs, hot chocolate, soups, and wine abound—how else does one survive a Canadian winter? Furthermore, Penny sets her stories in a fictional community where anyone would long to live: Three Pines, a charming place surrounded by deep forests, rivers and mountains.  

She writes of it: “The village does not exist physically… Three Pines is a state of mind. When we choose tolerance over hate. Kindness over cruelty. Goodness over bullying. When we choose to be hopeful, not cynical. Then we live in Three Pines.“ At its heart is a bistro with fireplaces, high ceiling beams, cozy chairs and food that leaves the reader drooling. Penny says of the choices above, “I don’t always make those choices, but I do know when I’m in the wilderness and when I’m in the bistro.” It’s led me to wonder if we can’t all create a Three Pines of the heart—maybe easier for those who as children lived imaginatively in Narnia or the Secret Garden or Hogwarts.

All the books in the series are intriguing, full of wit, literary references, unpredictable characters and twisty plots. At the center of each stands Armand—a scarred, honest, calm, strong, kind, unorthodox, wounded, brilliant leader. Simply by listening carefully, he can get a surprisingly accurate read on every suspect in a crime. While it would be ease and joy to devote a blog to every book, the focus next week will be on A Great Reckoning.  

Once a reading snob, I’m grateful now to dive into the wicked, wonderful world of mysteries. May go back to earliest days reading Nancy Drew…

For those asking about the trees retreat described last week, it was given by arborists Dennis and Anne Yniguez at San Damiano Franciscan Retreat Center, Danville CA, https://sandamiano.org.