#1511 A World of Curiosities by Louise Penny

I’m surprised that I missed Louise Penny’s latest book when it was released in the fall of 2022. She is one of my top authors. I’m not sure what happened that led me to miss the release of her latest novel. This is her 18^th book in the Armand Gamache series, and I’ve read them all. It’s her use of language and her deft character development that are biggest draws to her. This is the second review of A World of Curiosities in the blog. Curt Remarks, our newest contributor, debuted in the blog with this book. Like CR, I did have some problems with this novel.

 

My first problem had to do with the content. While Penny wrote in the acknowledgements section that forgiveness was one of her main themes, the dominating theme was childhood sexual abuse and the negative impact that such abuse has on one’s lifetime character development. The writing wasn’t bad with regard to the topic, far from it. In fact, Penny expertly touched a topic which I detest. It was early in my career as a psychiatrist/psychoanalyst when a criminal defense lawyer (a longtime friend) referred a client who was in jail due to his being a pedophile. The patient had been abusing prepubescent boys – not something I had encountered before in my practice. He was in protective custody when he was in jail, and he was transported to my office by marshals. I realized after a few sessions that my own negative reaction to this person (countertransference) precluded me from being able to work with him. I thought his characterological problems which in part were caused by the similar abuse he had suffered, were not amenable to the talk therapy that I provided.

 

The history of such past sexual traumas was an issue for two of the characters in the book, the half-siblings, Fiona and Sam Arsenault. They had the same mother, Clotilde Arsenault, a known prostitute. The story began with Clotilde’s murder. I don’t think it’s necessary to reveal the rest of the plot in this review. 

 

My second problem with the story had to do with the plot. The reader got to hear the ongoing saga of all the beloved characters from Three Pines, as well as the other characters that had been introduced in prior Penny books. I found the book to be full of unbelievable, but predictable twists, and I just didn’t buy the way Penny wove this story. Unlike my usual experience with her novels, I knew who the bad guy was long before it was revealed in the story. It is far from her strongest writing. But, I’ve spent so many wonderful hours with this author that I continue to eagerly anticipate her next novel. I think every great author is likely to produce a work of less mastery, and for Penny, this is it.