Women on every page
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Louise Penny (L) is the international best-selling author of the Three Pines mystery series; I shook her hand at the 2018 Bouchercon mystery readers & writers conference. Hillary Rodham Clinton was Secretary of State in the Obama administration from 2009 to 2013. She won the popular vote but lost the Electoral College vote in the 2016 US presidential campaign. I have not (yet) shaken Clinton's hand. |
Some books are classics to be kept on our shelf for all time. Some are quick reads for distraction, then passed along. Others are of the moment in which they're written and for that reason alone a must-read. At least for me.
Such is the case with the blockbuster book co-authored by Louise Penny and Hillary Rodham Clinton, published on October 12th. They call it "a cautionary tale" for our times.
I call State of Terror a rollicking plot of a political thriller that kept me turning the pages to find out the next twist in the story. And what a story it is — nuclear bombs, international terrorists, domestic terrorists, former presidents, current presidents, and everything in between. But the plot, while obviously not immaterial to the read, is almost secondary to the characters that populate it: Women rule in this plot. Women are on every page of this book. Women make things happen in this story.
Apparently, that is unusual in today’s bestselling fiction, and especially in a political thriller.
Given that rarity, then, it was a delight to read about a female Secretary of State, her female advisor, the female Vice President, female fighter pilots, female secret agents and female chiefs of staff. Yes, the US president is a man, and he is not an insignificant player in the plot, but it is the women on every page who carry both the action and the emotion of the story. Despite this, or maybe because of it, or maybe simply because it is a rip-snorting good read, the novel has topped bestseller charts.
Penny and Clinton have given countless interviews in which they describe with warmth and much laughter how they came to be friends and to write this book. The affection between them is evident, even through the screen, and they bring to life on the page their understanding and experience of meaningful friendship between women, through the main characters of Ellen Adams and Betsy Jameson. Both characters are women “of a certain age”, friends since early childhood and strong as all get out, with their own secret code of communicating to ensure the security of their exchanges.
It wasn't always easy to keep track of the many and varied characters who enact the breathless plot, but that didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the read. I just kept going, pulled along by the sheer force of the storyline and the main (female) characters unravelling it across nearly 500 pages. I made it to the end, with heart pounding and head satisfied.
No matter your politics or reading preferences, I recommend State of Terror as a compelling book of the moment, written by two powerhouse women of our time.
Read, watch and listen to interviews with Penny and Clinton at the links below:
- NPR interview on NPR's Book of the Day program
- NYT review by Sarah Lyall
- CBC Radio interview with Shelagh Rogers on The Next Chapter
- CBC The National interview with Adrienne Arsenault
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Land acknowledgement: I respectfully recognize that I live on the original lands of Anishinaabe, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota and Dene peoples, and on the homeland of the Métis Nation.
Land acknowledgement: I respectfully recognize that I live on the original lands of Anishinaabe, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota and Dene peoples, and on the homeland of the Métis Nation.
Amanda, thanks for your thoughtful review of STATE OF TERROR.
ReplyDeleteYou're right, most political thrillers do not feature a strong cast of female characters.
Although I like the Louise Penny mysteries set in Three Pines, I was reluctant to give this book a try because it was so hyped up in the media. I saw one interview on the CBC The National. You're right that Louise and Hillary are obviously close friends who have enjoyed this writing collaboration. I have seen mainly positive reviews about the book from people whose opinion I respect, so I bought it this weekend. STATE OF TERROR is now on my short (immediate) TBR stack which means I hope to read it sometime later this month.
Grace, you are in for a treat!
ReplyDeleteAmanda, I agree with everything you say about this book and a bit more. I too was at
Bouchercon in Toronto although to my everlasting sadness, I missed meeting you. We had just returned from a trip to your native land, Montreal and then the Easter Townships where we landed in Penny Land, Knowlton. It was as good as being in Three Pines. Louise's influence on the area is seen in every street, every shop. I asked some of the residents how they felt about this. They all said they were grateful, that their dear little village was dying, children grown and leaving, no one moving in, commerce almost non-existent. Then Louise arrived, and a whole economy has grown around her and her books. She give so much back to the community. Knowlton and the surround is now drawing tourists like us, spending American dollars, and it is booming. Add visits from Hillary to that and who knows what will happen!
If it were possible, we would move to Three Pines!
FINTA: Lucky you, I have never been to Knowlton although I live in Ottawa. Glad to hear that Knowlton is now thriving and that Louise's books are helping to draw tourists to the area.
DeleteAnd sorry that I did not know either you or Amanda back in 2017 since I was also at the Toronto Bouchercon.
Louise Penny is also one of my favourite authors but I was not sure about this new book with HRC because of the genre: a thriller that seemed a bit too much for me.
ReplyDeleteYour review Amanda and the approval of Grace and Ann pushes me to give it a try.
Oh Danielle, I am glad you'll give this book a try. I do hope you enjoy the thriller ride of a story!
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