The Books of May

May wasn't my best reading month, but for the most part the books I did finish were well worth the time. They included two mysteries, a biography, a NYT fiction bestseller and a fabulous book of essays. And that book of essays? It will go on list of all-time favorites. 

"The Methods of Sergeant Cluff" by Gil North

I really enjoyed the first Sergeant Cluff book I read and wrote about here. I wish I could say the same for the second. For a short little book it sure took a long time to read. And unlike most books I write about, I had to go back and take a quick review of it before writing this because I had zero recollection of the plot! 

In the small town of Gunnershaw, Jane Trundle, a woman with a dubious reputation, is found dead. Cluff, on leave from his previous case, is recalled to help solved the murder. With his trusty four-legged companion, Clive, (and, despite Cluff's preference to work alone, the young PC Barker), the detective narrows his search to several suspects, one with an excellent motive. And of course, after a lot of leg work, he solves the case. 

I'm not sure why I liked this less than the first, but a friend who was also reading it said the same thing. It improves as one gets deeper into it (and it's not very long) so see what you think. (It's another from the wonderful British Library Crime Classics collection.)

 "Elizabeth and Philip" by Tessa Dunlop

This look at the Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh takes a unique approach. Written in 2022 after Philip's death and the Jubilee (and published right after the Queen died), this biographical look at the couple's relationship focuses as much on the times of the period they married and in which they lived as it does the relationship.

Dunlop looks at those times -- and relationships in the post-war years -- through the eyes of six nonagenarians (and one over 100 years old), all of whom followed the royals throughout their lives. Their takes on Elizabeth and Philip are honest, sometimes admiring, and at others not so sure that he was as wild as Elizabeth as she was about him. Rather then mucking through scandals, it focuses on the pressures put on Philip (mostly) during the couple's marriage. He was not a good fit for the palace courtiers, many of whom tried to undermine his power within their relationship. And yet, while he may (or may not) have wavered in his devotion to Elizabeth, his devotion to the Crown and his role within it, never fell short.

It's difficult to fully describe this book in that much of the biographical material is pretty common knowledge to those who are familiar with the Royal Family and Elizabeth and Philip in particular. There are no new nuggets of information about their relationship. 

What IS different -- and I found fascinating -- was looking at that relationship through the lens of the times in which they lived, the appearance they presented, and the people with whom they were most involved on a day to day basis -- the palace staff and courtiers, the Prime Minister and other key players. 

I found the take interesting and unique -- and even though I've read much about them both, was glad I spent the time with this one.

"The Paris Librarian" by Mark Pryor

Mark Pryor takes us on another adventure with U.S. Embassy executive (and former FBI operative) Hugo Marston. When the head librarian of the American Library in Paris, Paul Rogers, is found dead in his locked office the day he was supposed to meet Hugo to show him a first edition book, Hugo takes a more than passing interest in the case (especially as he was with one of Paul's associates who discovered the body.) 

Working unofficially but in tandem with Parisian police lieutenant Camille Lerens, the death is first considered a suicide. But when Paul's wife is found dead -- and murdered in her bath -- the forensic team digs deeper and discovers Paul was murdered as well. 

Coinciding with the investigation is a visit from a Merlyn, a woman who helped him in a previous case, and her friend Miki, a writer researching a biography about a former film star who may have played a critical role in the Resistance. When another body is found, Hugo wonders -- could the mystery of the deaths be related to the actress' past.

This is an interesting and fast-reading series of books. It may help to read them in order but I haven't and it hasn't affected how much I enjoy the characters and, of course, the beautiful Parisian setting.

"Lessons in Chemistry" by Bonnie Garmus

I don't read a lot of fiction and I never read anything that is so current on the NYTimes best seller list. So when a friend passed this between the other two of us, I was curious. And I wasn't disappointed. "Lessons in Chemistry" is soon to be an Apple+ TV series.

The story is centered around two people who are both brilliant chemists and -- most likely -- on the spectrum. They rarely smile, they don't engage with their colleagues (who are terribly jealous of him and are certain she is only using him for his fame) and neither have had happy pasts, either in terms of their families or relationships. Elizabeth is brilliant and largely self-educated; Calvin is homely and a Nobel Prize winning scientist. And yet, they rapidly discover they are soul mates. 

So, when tragedy strikes and Elizabeth is left with a baby on the way and a very smart, adopted dog, she is a woman steeped in grief and -- she discovers -- one without a job. Through a series of accidents, she becomes the host of a new kind of cooking series, "Supper at Six," in which she not only shows her viewers how to prepare delicious food, she also instructs them in the chemistry of cooking -- and in doing so, helps empower them to reach beyond their 1960s "housewife" label. 

The book stretches over about 12 years and through it we see Elizabeth's brilliant and precocious daughter grow up and face her own challenges, including her curiosity about her parents' backgrounds. When a reporter shows up to interview a reluctant Elizabeth, Pandora's box is opened.

Because I'm not a fiction fan, I was a little skeptical of this -- would it be another "meet cute" novel, just waiting to be a Hallmark Movie? No. It is so much more. There's nothing fluffy about this book or its characters and in reading it, one realizes how empowering the ideas presented can be. If we think back to our parents (or maybe grandparents!) and the social mores of the 1950s and '60s, Elizabeth's struggle to be herself becomes very real -- and one we hoped that those we loved were able to realize for themselves. 

(Oh -- and that Hallmark movie idea? Nope. But if you have Apple TV+, you'll find "Lessons in Chemistry," with Brie Larson as Elizabeth Zott, coming later in 2023.)

"These Precious Days" by Ann Patchett

 

Sometimes there is a book that you never want to end because the writing is so good, the connection to the author is so strong, the feelings so deep that you just want to stay with it, be with it. "These Precious Days," a series of essays by Ann Patchett, was that book for me.

Patchett is often most known for her novels, such as "The Dutch House" and "Bel Canto." Many of her essays, including most or all of these, have appeared in publications including The New Yorker and Harpers, among many others, and may be familiar if you read those publications. Each is deeply personal. In the opener, "Three Fathers," she tells about her father, stepfather and her mother's third husband, three men and how they helped shape her. It is honest and poignant. Another speaks of the challenges of finding the right cover for your book -- the mistakes she made and why it matters. Several deal with her relationship to her husband, Karl, including his passion for flight and one of my favorites focused on the cleaning and downsizing of "stuff."

Perhaps the most personal and poignant was about her friendship with a woman named Sooki Raphael, who was Tom Hanks' personal assistant and with whom she becomes acquainted around the time that the actor was narrating the audio version of "The Dutch House." Patchett tells of a woman she greatly admires but had met only briefly, their online friendship based on their correspondence. But it is Sooki's diagnosis of pancreatic cancer that takes their friendship to the next level. Oh, to have a friend like Ann Patchett.

As I read through this wonderful book I decided that Patchett wrote the kinds of books and essays that the late Laurie Colwin would have written had she lived to this age. And that made me smile. This is the book you share with your friends. You get them their own copy -- unless you really trust them to return the book to you and in beautiful condition, because it's one you want to keep. At least I do.