Summer reading is all about escaping to another world. So how about a trip to Ireland
What better way to escape than trying to solve an engaging mystery, set in another country, with well-developed, English-speaking characters who use alternative idioms and engage in a few odd customs. And what better summer book than one you tear through at a breathless pace until you finish, wanting more. And then find two more such novels by the same author.
Enter author Tana French and her three mysteries “In the Woods”, “The Likeness”, and “
Faithful Place .” All are set in Ireland. Each novel involves some of the same characters from the “Murder Squad”, a fictional division of an otherwise authentic Irish detective bureau. And each provides a distinct sense of Ireland, Irish customs and peculiar idioms, such as the congratulatory remark, “fair play to you”, for a buddy who has scored a goal, won a contest, or just accomplished something praise-worthy.
Faithful Place .” All are set in Ireland. Each novel involves some of the same characters from the “Murder Squad”, a fictional division of an otherwise authentic Irish detective bureau. And each provides a distinct sense of Ireland, Irish customs and peculiar idioms, such as the congratulatory remark, “fair play to you”, for a buddy who has scored a goal, won a contest, or just accomplished something praise-worthy.
As the story unfolds in French’s novels, though many of the same cast appears, the focus is on a different main character in each. French explains her use of a different main character for each novel by her interest in exploring major turning points: “I’m interested in writing about the crucial crossroads in life – those moments when you know that, no matter which way you choose, your life will never be the same.
…
And those huge turning points tend to be emotional tsunamis: they knock you down, bowl you over and over, rip your breath away and finally dump you miles from where you started out.” http://www.dreamindemon.com/2009/01/02/interview-with-tana-french.
French’s novels are available in paperback or electronically, so they are perfect for packing. And the three novels can be read in order or not.
I highly recommend a summer escape to lovely Ireland
And if you want your fellow beach or mountain goers to wonder what you are up to, you need to pack along some humorous reading material. Tina Fey delivers a laugh-out-loud read, with “Bossy Pants”.
Fey demonstrates, contrary to some claims, that women can be funny. And she is at least as funny on the page as she is on the big or small screens. To get an idea of her humor, skim the beginning of Chapter One, “Growing Up and Liking It”: “At ten I asked my mother if I could start shaving my legs. My dark shin fur was hard to ignore in shorts weather, especially since my best friend Maureen was a pale Irish lass who probably doesn’t have any leg hair to this day.”
Or consider Fey’s discussion related to skin care in the chapter, “Secrets of Mommy’s Beauty”: “As you age, you may want to pay someone to shoot lasers at your face. If you are a fancy lady and live in a fancy urban center like New York or Dallas-Fort Worth, you go to a fancy dermatologist and they cover your eyes and point various machines at your face to ‘promote collagen production.’ If you live far from a city, you can simulate the experience at home by having a friend hide your wallet while you sit close to a space heater. It will work just as well.”
Whether you are male or female, of pale Irish descent or dark-skinned and sporting shin fur, a senior citizen or not yet of an age to worry about the promotion of your skin’s collagen production, I challenge you to read Fey’s irreverent, self-deprecating humor and not laugh out loud. Fey’s humor may be derived from her particular ethnic, female and off-beat experiences, but she is sure to deliver enough laughs you will have the seat mate on the plane next to you wondering what you are reading. And isn’t that what a vacation trip is all about?
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