I love Penny's Three Pines books with the wonderful Armand Gamache, so I felt a bit reticent about reading this jointly written Louise Penny/Hillary Clinton book as I was puzzled why Penny had shared a book with someone else. But I'm intrigued with what other kinds of story Penny writes away from Three Pines, plus I'm impatiently waiting for the next Three Pines book so I'm sure this will entertain me in the meantime!
I love Penny’s Three Pines books with the wonderful Armand Gamache, so I felt a bit reticent about reading this jointly written Louise Penny/Hillary Clinton book as I was puzzled why Penny had shared a book with someone else. But I’m intrigued with what other kinds of story Penny writes away from Three Pines, plus I’m impatiently waiting for the next Three Pines book so I’m sure this will entertain me in the meantime!
Oooh, I am finding the book very gripping but I am thinking a lot about who wrote what. My feeling so far is that this is totally Penny’s writing, the writing style seems completely like hers, with her trademark short sentences and gently teasing humorous observations of people, so I’m wondering if Clinton’s part was offering plot ideas and the inner knowledge of the presidential life and Penny’s part was putting these into written words? I had wondered if Penny would write one chapter and then Clinton write the next chapter, but it doesn’t really feel like that is the case, the whole writing feels solely Penny so far, although I’m bearing in mind too that I’m not familiar with Clinton’s writing which also makes it hard for me to judge.
I’m also pondering the aim of the authors in writing this book, and if I’ve understood it correctly their aim seems to to be alerting the world (via the reading public and with fictional characters) to the damage they feel that Trump did when he was first in power, as the character Dunn seems very similar to Trump, blatantly similar it seems to me. But this then makes for quite unnerving reading, if the authors are correct, with the number of close calls and conspiracy plots involving nuclear weapons and relationships with unstable countries and assassination plots! Surely some of this is dramatic licence, as it would be terrifying to think that this was actually true…!
I am enjoying this book, it is certainly gripping and tense, but this action style and high tension isn’t really the usual type of book I read and I feel it is making me race through the pages which means I’m often not paying full attention to scenes and possible clues as I am quickly reading on and on in order to find out what is going to happen, rather than savouring the scenes and characters and writing. I do admire the way the authors rack up the tension and introduce so much action though, but I am finding it quite exhausting to read as there is just so much going on that I feel I can’t process it all.
Oooh, a huge lovely surprise, some Three Pines characters are mentioned, eeek, such as Ruth Zardo and her book, and the President’s aide has a German Shepherd dog given to him from a friend who lives in Three Pines (is this Gamache, I’m sure he has a German Shepherd?!), and a journalist who holds valuable information is living with Myrna at the bookstore in Three Pines, and then (and I had to squeal at this!) Gamache is asked to speak to this journalist!!!!! Wow, it hadn’t occurred to me that Penny would bring Three Pines into this book! I wonder how far into the life of Three Pines she is going to go. I am also chuckling at how excited I am at the mentions of, and links to, Three Pines, tee hee, all danger from nuclear weapons and assassination plots has been forgotten now (!), I do love the Three Pines books but I guess I hadn’t realised until now just how much I passionately care about the place and the people there and how important they are to me and I am surprised at my sheer joy just to see their names on the page, just having her mention these people and places makes me long for them, they feel like loved relatives I’ve not seen for a while!
Hmmm, I’m struggling to decide how I feel about the book now I’ve finished it, my overriding thoughts are just of Three Pines being mentioned so I feel I have failed to take note of the main plot because of this, and also because of the action writing style that made it hard for me to take things in. I did also miss the thoughtful insights and life lessons and beautiful poetry quotes and character depth that are usually part of Penny’s Three Pines books, which I love to mull over and savour and try to instil into my behaviour and actions. Penny’s acknowledgements at the end of each of her Three Pines books always choke me up, especially whenever she talks about her husband Michael, but in this book she mentions her friend Betsy too which made me fill up, Penny certainly knows how to tug at your heartstrings! And it will be no surprise that I am straight away going to immerse myself into the Three Pines, beginning with the first book that I’ve read and re-read many times Still Life, my other favourites from this series are Bury Your Dead, and All The Devils Are Here, and How The Light Gets In. They should keep me going for a while and give me a lovely dose of Three Pines! But perhaps I really ought to re-read State of Terror again, I do feel a bit bad that I haven’t really focused on it as I should!
State of Terror by Hillary Rodham Clinton and Louise Penny available on Amazon
Kindle Hardback
Paperback Audiobook
