The Beekeeper's Apprentice and Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

January was mystery month. It felt like all I wanted to read were mysteries, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

I picked up the first of the Laurie Kings Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes book and think I'm hooked. The Beekeeper's Apprentice introduces us to Mary Russell, an orphaned teenager living with her Aunt and how she comes to meet a retired Sherlock Holmes. The pair end up great friends and eventual partners in solving crimes. Now I'm curious to learn how their relationship develops.

I also read the Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by C. Alan Bradley and recommended by Nancy Pearl (of Booklust fame). This was the first mystery adventure for pre-teen Flavia du Luce, a British Nancy Drew who makes lots of missteps making her sweet and endearing.

Gate at the Stairs

I had heard so much about Lorrie Moore when her first novel in 15 years came out last year. She has a devoted following and the reviews of Gate at the Stairs were good, so I requested it from the library.

I read it over the long weekend and while it was good, I think I just didn't get it. The main character, Tassie, is a college student who gets a job as a nanny/sitter for an eccentric couple thinking of adopting a child. Tassie goes with Sarah Thornbird-Brink, the potential adoptive mom, to meet a few of the birth mothers. And so begins the story of Tassie and the Brinks. All the characters feel self-involved and never concerned with more than what other people think.

The whole story came across as very sterile and more cerebral than emotional. There's so much about this book that could be emotional - a mixed race adoptive child, a cheating husband, a brother going off to join the Army - that I finished feeling like something was missing.

Much of the novel was beautifully written and there were witty, intellectual sections. I will try to read some of Lorrie Moore's short stories to see if I am missing something.

The Hour I First Believed

I have read Wally Lamb's previous two novels as well as the short-story collections he edited by the women in his writing workshop at the York Correction Facility, but I was reluctant to read The Hour I First Believed, mostly because it was marketed as dealing with the aftermath of Columbine.

I am reluctant to read stories dealing with recent tragedies (I still haven't read any that deal with 9/11 unless it's extremely cursory mentions), but after a recommendation from a friend (thanks Beth!) I decided to give it a try and am glad I did.

The novel is set in Littleton, CO as well as the fictional Three Rivers, CT and centers around Caelum Quirk and his third life, Maureen. Caelum and Maureen both worked at Columbine but only Maureen was at the school the day pf the shootings and was severely traumatized by what experienced. As Maureen struggles with PTSD and Caelum flounders to help her, they decide to leave CO and return to the Quirk family farm in Three Rivers, CT.

Once you get past the Columbine incident, there is almost a sense of relief to have the tragedy dealt with, but Lamb has much more in store for Caelum and Maureen. The story is told primarily from Caelum's perspective and because of that there are times you loathe him, times you want to smack some sense in him, but in the end I grew to love him. I cried when the book ended. It felt as if I was on the quest to be a better man and make sense of what happened throughout his life with him.

Lamb is a master storyteller and I hope we don't have to wait another seven or eight years for another book.