We See Ourselves in the Reflections
A review of Still Life by Louise Penny
Reviewed by David Witzke
A mystery is fundamentally about looking. Though some clues may be hidden or obscured from the reader, they are still present, waiting to be dissected by the discerning detective or reader.
Louise Penny’s Still Life begins with a murder. Most mystery novels do. It is an easy way to heighten tension, to provide an emotionally charged atmosphere, and to peel back the layers of characters. A local woman is murdered in a remote Quebec village and there is only one man who can solve the crime. Chief Inspector Armand Gamache is a kind, inquisitive, and incredibly smart man who heads up the homicide department of the Sûreté du Québec (the Québec Provincial Police force).
There are some mystery novels that use the detective for action alone. Such mysteries paint their detectives as classic action heroes, solving thriller crimes meant to titillate the reader rather than make them inquisitive. Gamache is not one of these detectives. Yes, he is whip-smart, driven, and bent on solving the case. Yet Gamache is also thoughtful, patient, and emotionally sensitive. Louise Penny writes in the forward to her novel that Gamache’s character, and the theme of her books, is about fundamental decency. Gamache succeeds in his investigations not because of a clinical distance and martial competence, but because of his fundamental belief in the human condition. He is simply a good person. Where Sherlock Holmes’ cold and scientific demeanour exacts crimes, Gamache’s soft-spoken and contemplative revelations delight. This is what brings Still Life its wholesomeness. While Gamache’s colleagues rush to action, Gamache counsels them to wait, to listen, and to learn. Gamache is not without his flaws either. Past cases haunt him, incorrect assumptions affect him just as they do any other detective. He is a great detective exactly because of these things. Part of this is that Gamache chooses to believe in an ideal, namely, he chooses to believe that people will bring their best selves. It is a strange assumption for a detective to make, especially considering the deceitful nature and heinous actions of murderers, but nevertheless, Gamache chooses to see the best in people. Sometimes this assumption burns him and his kindness causes him a personal wound. Sometimes it results in a revelation that would not have been possible without his kindness. At one point in the novel Gamache pulls aside a junior officer on his team who begins lashing out at witnesses and suspects alike. Gamache fixes her with a gaze and tells her “I've been treating you with courtesy and respect because that's the way I choose to treat everyone. But never, ever mistake kindness with weakness.” Perhaps Gamache’s irrational kindness causes him a few wounds, but to him, that is better than the alternative.
Penny’s books have become quite the phenomena, winning numerous awards and accolades that culminated in Louise Penny receiving the Order of Canada in 2013 and the Order of Quebec in 2017. Amazon picked up the rights to the Gamache series and has already produced a successful first season starring Alfred Molina as Gamache. Penny’s strength comes not only from Gamache, but also from the French-Canadian setting. The small villages and cunning detectives may feel like a transplant from British mysteries, but Penny makes it a uniquely Canadian setup. She captures the complexities and joys of living in a frighteningly large country with a complexity of experience included.
While often viewed as pop or pulp fiction, the detective novel is an unparalleled glimpse into the true realities of our human souls. The detective goes places that a normal person cannot. They cut to the very soul of the matter and peer into the depths of the human experience. Gamache remarks to another character that there is always a reason for murder. It cannot be dismissed as an incoherent primal act. In a premeditated murder, there is always a reason that makes sense to the murderer. It is the fundamental human way to act. In this deeply twisted version of humanity we can see ourselves in the reflections.
