A Journey to Three Pines - Episode 5: A Brutal Telling
We are so excited to journey with you to Three Pines, the fictional French-Canadian village created by Louise Penny for her Three Pines series, featuring Armand Gamache. This spin-off podcast series will tackle each of the books in the series in turn, in a spoiler-FILLED format. Be sure you’ve read the book before listening to the episode.
As you’ve come to expect with all Currently Reading content, Meredith and Roxanna will follow a regular episode format, with regular segments, so you know what to expect each and every time. We love staying focused on the book, rather than conversational rabbit holes.
Show notes for this series will not be time-stamped except for broad sections, but will include links to Bookshop dot org or Amazon for any books or resources referenced in the episode.
3:45 - Putting the Book Into Context
The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny
Published Sept. 29, 2009 by Minotaur Books
4.20 rating on Goodreads
Seasonal setting - Autum
Book Awards: Anthony Award for Best Novel in 2010
Critic Reviews
Meredith’s and Roxanna’s encounters with the book
Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny
10:50 - The Setup
16:22 - A Deeper Exploration
Setup and first paragraph
First paragraph hooks the reader so completely
Reminds Meredith of the Vera series by Ann Cleeves
The pacing of the novel
The deliberate pulling away from the “quaint village mystery”
Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree
Quality of writing itself - if it could be written as a whole series in today’s publishing
Themes: human behavior, conscience, Thoreau’s Walden, contentment, fathers
p.172 quote about conscience
p. 298 quote about happiness
p.175 quote about Walden
P. 495 quote about fear and contentment
The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny
Side plot with Jean-Guy and the notes left by Ruth Zardo
The Oddness Factor (is usually in superlatives but gets talked about early in this episode!)
The Ending
1:15:31 - Superlatives
Biggest Flaw
Character MVP
p. 403
Favorite Character
Biggest loser
Best food description
Fear Factor
1:29:47 - Within the Series
Is this book skippable?
Favorite Quote (gets asked after the skippable portion so I added it here for time stamp sake)
1:34:08 - SPOILERS AHEAD HERE
Next episode’s read: Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny
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