My Take: A World of Curiosities by Louise Penny

I have been reading Louise Penny's Gamache series for years (this is the eighteenth book in that series), so I thought I knew what to expect from her by now. What I never expected this deep into the series is to read a book so much more complex, moving, and generally mind-blowing than any that preceded it. But she did it.

Readers of the series clearly understand how important Armand Gamache's family is to him, and how his beloved wife, his children and their spouses, and his grandchildren are to him. They have been, and forever will be, this Montreal policeman's highest priority. He will absolutely die for them. And now something from Gamache's past has come back to threaten the lives of Gamache and every single member of the family. Most terrifying, even if Gamache were to die protecting them, he knows that it is almost certain that they will still follow him death.

A World of Curiosities is so complicated and intricately plotted with subplots and flashbacks that I'm not going to risk posting a spoiler by trying to explain it in any detail. Let's just say the the storytelling skills on display here are of the highest caliber imaginable. In its basic form, it involves a monster criminal from Gamache's past who appears to have escaped prison without it having been noticed. The monster's one remaining goal in life has always been to get his revenge for what he feels is the betrayal on Gamache's part that kept him there for so long in the first place. Gamache fears that the man has help - and that it is possible that the help is coming from someone he himself is responsible for being back on the streets, someone Gamache has been close to for a long time. 

And he suspects nothing until a hidden room that was walled up over a century earlier is discovered in a Three Pines attic. Inside the room, villagers discover what at first appears to be the artistic masterpiece called The Paston Treasure that dates back to the mid-seventeenth century. The painting displays the treasures acquired by a wealthy collector of that period, and it is truly "a world of curiosities" - so much so that it has been intricately studied by expert historians for decades. But this is not that painting; this one has dozens and dozens of subtle changes and additions to it, and each of the changes turns out to be a clue about what is to come in Gamache's immediate future now that he has released the demon back into his world.

The Real Painting

I loved this book for its storytelling and what it had to say about multiple issues that still plague us today. But I think what I loved even more were the new things I learned about the origins of Three Pines and what Gamache and his family and friends learned about each other. This is a very satisfying addition to the Armand Gamache series, and longtime readers are guaranteed to count it as one of Louise Penny's best. 

Avery Island, Louisiana: Home of McIlhenny Tabasco Sauce (July 2019 Photos)

 As a quick follow-up to yesterday's review of McIlhenny's Gold, I thought some of you may be interested in a peek at the handful of photos I took there in July 2019 during a relatively brief visit to the island. I regret not having spent more time on the island so that I could see all of the island and not just the museum, company store, and bottling factory facilities there. I hope to rectify that sometime this summer while visiting relatives in that part of the state.

Tabasco Peppers on Display

Chili Mash Aging Casks

Huge Processing Vats

Almost Ready to Be Shipped

  

"Pepper Pickers 1903"

There's so much wildlife and other interesting sites on the island to see that I really regret now that the clock ran out on me when it did. I arrived too late in the day to see anything else. 

(A click on the photos should enlarge them.)

Re-Read and Second Review (16 Years Later): McIlhenny's Gold by Jeffrey Rothfelder

 

I first read McIlhenny's Gold back in October 2007, and I was very impressed with it at the time because it appeared to tell the truth about Louisiana's remarkable McIlhenny family and what they accomplished over about four generations dating from the Civil War period forward. It appears to me to be well researched, and despite the pushback my first review generated in 2007, it is obvious to me that the author did interview several members of the extended McIlhenny clan. Granted, these were family members not at all directly associated with the tabasco sauce business, but they were all still direct heirs who receive royalties to this day. The more immediate family members, especially those working on the product, absolutely refused to speak with Rothfeder.

A lot has happened since I posted that review in 2007. I personally visited Avery Island a few years ago and looked around for myself. Avery Island is the location of the manufacture and bottling of at least the domestic supply of the Tabasco Sauce brand sold in this part of the world today, although it is now produced in several other foreign locations for consumption in those regions. I did not get the impression from my visit that the actual peppers used to produce the sauce are grown away from the island now, but that has been the case for quite a while as it turns out. The peppers grown own the island itself are used to produce the seeds that are planted elsewhere in order to ensure that the plants are all direct descendants of the original chilis chosen by the founder of the company in the 1860s. Maybe I missed it, but if that was disclosed to visitors on any of the exhibit signage, I didn't see it. 

What I did discover during my visit to the island is a McIlhenny Company brew called their "Family Reserve" variation of the sauce. There is a marked difference between the tase of the Family Reserve version and the original one, and I fell in love with this more expensive version. Rather than being cask-aged for three years like the original, the Family Reserve is aged up to eight years before the mash is processed and bottled. Unfortunately, it is only available via mail order or in person at the company store, so I've ordered it in boxes of three or four bottles many times now since I was there. 

I now understand why the McIlhennys in charge of things hate this book so much. It details all of their accomplishments, especially the amazing growth the company sustained over the last 150 years in almost a steady fashion. It will never be for sale in the company store on Avery Island, because it also very clearly points out the decline in management style and ability that seemed to begin after the first two generations. That decline was caused by the wealth (each direct descendent receives a royalty from company profits) that allowed future generations to pursue other interests, and it became more and more difficult to find a male family member who knew anything about the business itself (or much about business in general). Insisting on always having a McIlhenny became more a liability than an asset eventually.

The book does not shy away from issues involving workers, race, free plantation-style company housing for certain workers, and the overly paternal management style that some people began to resent over the years more than take advantage of. It's all there, the good and the not so good. But in the end, the McIlhennys do not have anything to be ashamed of as far as I'm concerned, and I still am fascinated by what seems to be a rather rare achievement: keeping a thriving family business entirely in the hands of the family for more than a century-and-a-half...and counting.

Curiously, the Proof copy I read from has a cover identical to the one published with the exception that on the Proof "McIlhenny's Gold" is actually in gold letters and the author's name in green letters. That makes more sense to me than the final cover turned out.

My first review offers a clearer summary of that history.

Books on Hold: All the Sinners Bleed by S.A. Cosby Can't Come Soon Enough

 

I seem to always have somewhere between six and ten books on hold via my county library system, and I think I'm approaching my self-imposed upper limit again right now. And that's exactly how my "shiniest object" approach to reading always gets me in trouble because it seems like none of them are available for pickup for two or three weeks  and then they all appear at once or spread only over a week or two. Because so many of them have other people in line, that means I have two weeks to read the newest, most popular titles when I finally get my hands on a copy - and the very kind of pressure I'm trying to avoid these days is on full-burn before I realize it. But it's not all bad, because I'd be broke without a library to supply the bulk of my reading (plus shelf space is at a premium around here). 

Of all the holds I'm waiting on right now, the one I most look forward to receiving is S.A. Cosby's All the Sinners Bleed, the third book the author has published since his big breakthrough with Blacktop Wasteland in July 2020. That one was followed almost exactly one year later with Razorblade Tears (which, looking back is my favorite of the two). I've linked the titles shown here to my original reviews of the books if you are interested in learning more about each. These were followed last December by a reprinting of the novel Cosby wrote before he hit it so big, My Darkest Prayer. I have not read this one yet, but I do also have it on hold, and from what I understand, it's very good if perhaps not quite as gripping in the books that followed it.

All the Sinners Bleed features a black sheriff who dedicates his life to keeping the peace in a small southern, mixed-race community. As such, he is just as surprised as anyone that he got elected to the job in the first place, but not really surprised that neither the blacks nor the whites seem to trust him. Although it was just published on June 6, 2023, this one is already garnering major accolades from prestigious critics, reviewers, and newspapers around the country. Stephen King has even reviewed it for The New York Times, from what I understand. So far, at least, Cosby has written only standalones, but I'm kind of hoping that Sheriff Titus Crown turns out to be the character around which he can build a series of books. 

I even listened to a podcast based in London just this morning called Simon Mayo's Books of the Year that this week featured a forty-minute interview with Cosby about the new book. Mayo is calling it his favorite of 2023 to this point in the year. A click HERE should bring you to a simple way to find the podcast for a quick listen.

What I'm Reading This Week

 Because I'm usually reading several books more or less at the same time - and concentrating now more on a slower, more absorbent reading pace - I'm not completing books nearly as quickly as I have in recent years. I'm avoiding short deadlines,  both review-imposed ones and self-imposed ones (can't do much about the library-imposed ones), as much as I can, also, but did want to highlight the books that have most recently caught my attention. 

Having an unread Louise Penny novel is akin to having money stashed in the bank in case of urgent need; it's just a great feeling. But I was in such need of a Gamache palate cleanser after watching the horribly-presented Amazon Prime series, that I can't hold off any longer. It helps that I do keep Penny's 2013 Gamache novel, How the Light Gets In around as my final unread Gamache at any moment. I'm a little over 100 pages in, and I'm enjoying this one a lot but still not sure where it is ultimately headed.

I'm not familiar with Ellen Marie Wiseman but the cover of this one reminded me so much of Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen, a novel I really enjoyed, that I decided to give it a shot. ( I'm sure that resemblance is not just a happy coincidence.) And about 85 pages in, I'm happy to say that I'm feeling pretty positive about it. It has two separate plots that are explored in alternating chapters (I like that style) and are set about 20-25 years apart (one - I think - set in the 1930s and the another in the 1950s. 

This is actually a re-read of a book that I first read and reviewed back in 2007. This was an "unauthorized" history of both the product that made the McIlhennys a generational family of millionaires and the family itself. The original review was vehemently attacked and ridiculed by what I still suspect was an anonymous member of the family. To this day, I don't find the book to be insulting to the family at all because what is recounted, especially taken in context of the times, should not surprise anyone. I"m enjoying it even more this second time around.

I was first exposed to rugby (and almost instantly became a fanatic probably because cricket and soccer don't much appeal to me) in the nineties when living in London. But I left the country still pretty much a self-taught fan, and still get a bit confused by some of what I see on the pitch. I'm finding that Rugby for Dummies has all of the answers to those nagging little questions I still have, and I'm slowly working my way through the manual. It's proving to be a well written book that is not at all boring, and that's seldom the way with "rules books" like this one.

This is the only one I'm reading at the moment for the specific purpose of writing a review, and it is not scheduled to be published until November 2023. I decided to take it on because I'm always open to exploring a new series centered upon one anchor character, and "Rick Cahill" is certainly an interesting guy. This is actually the tenth novel in the series, though, and I'm catching a pretty beat-up guy here. I'm just a few pages into it because I struggle to read pdf files on my Kindle, but I already feel like I need to read the first series book next. 

I'm looking forward to dipping back into each of these, a very good sign for what is to come in the days just ahead. Today will be spent on a little bit of cleanup outside to gather up the debris that accumulated in the yard as a result of yet another massive thunderstorm that moved through the area last night with 60-70 mph wind gusts. We lost power for about five hours, but regained it about two a.m. Luckily we had all the backup chargers ready to go, including some light bulbs that automatically use battery power to light up things just as always when the power goes out for just a few hours. Happy reading, guys.

Totally Frustrated and Saddened by What I Find at Barnes & Noble (And What I Don't Find) Nowadays

I very clearly remember the feeling of stepping into a Barnes & Noble bookstore with a feeling that I was certain to leave the store with at least four or five books in my arms. I remember just how much fun that was. The problem is I can't remember the last time it happened.

However, a quick look at Wikipedia tells me it was probably not too long after Elliott Management Corporation acquired the company for $683 million back in August 2019. B&N remains a wholly owned subsidiary of Elliott's to this day. Elliott also owns and runs the huge Waterstones Booksellers chain in the UK, and the problem is that the new owners decided to use the British bookselling model on Barnes & Noble rather than using the American model on Waterstones. 

That means effectively that everything sold in either chain is priced at the recommended list price that the publisher chooses or it is put on sale in one of those "buy one at full price, get another at 50% off, schemes that I seldom use (in effect, that means paying 75% of list for each book). I lived for several years in London and frequented Waterstones because it seemed to be everywhere I went, but I probably didn't make that decision more than a half-dozen times in all those years because the "second book" part of the deal was limited to just a handful of books similar to the one I really wanted at the moment.

That used to be not such a big problem at B&N (even in London), though, because of the always-arbitrary selection of bestsellers that they chose to discount in both hardcover and softcover versions. Look at this picture:

This is today's bestseller grouping from my local store. If there's a similar grouping for softcover books, I never ran across it. Now admittedly, there are a couple of books here that may actually be worth reading, but B&N has so obviously tailored the list to highlight the lowest common denominator of reading tastes that I hardly ever find anything on that shelf that I want to take home with me. If you're not into thrillers by the usual suspects, you're pretty much out of luck. (If there's a similar selection of nonfiction, YA, and children's books, I missed those, too, because I don't really shop those departments.)

Remember those fun displays of what I call "remainders" from major publishers that B&N used to place so prominently in their stores? Well, don't hold your breath until you pluck some current fiction or nonfiction from the chain's new, horrible Book Annex groupings. Clue: you're going to die first. Those displays are only made up now of stale, cheap reprint editions in the nonfiction area, and of classics in the fiction area. (That could very well be because publishers don't do the huge print runs like they used to - meaning that the remainders stock is limited from the source.)

I used to count on going into a B&N and walking out with five or six one-or-two-year-old previous bestsellers for about $40 and another two current books that I paid near full price for - along with a couple of magazines. All for about $80 or $90. And I did that every 60 days or so. 

Now look at these photos from the store this morning near noon and ask yourself what is missing from each of them:

If you guessed "people," you win the prize. There were actually fewer people in this large store today than there were workers (I think I counted four other people plus about 4 small children).

Don't get me wrong; I want to see Barnes & Noble do well. They are, after having effectively run all of the other bookstore chains either completely out of business or out of my area, now the only major bookseller available to me. I hope that the B&N braintrust figures out that their new marketing strategy is not going to work...especially during a period of hyperinflation like the one we are experiencing right now. If they don't, they are doomed just the way they helped make sure that all the competition was doomed.