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“Here in Quebec. Finally started writing. I think I’ll call it STILL LIFE. What do you think? Struggling a bit with fear but inspired by the fall colours. ”
AN EXCERPT FROM STILL LIFE
- Three Pines wasn’t on any tourist map, being too far off any main or even secondary road. Like Narnia, it was generally found unexpectedly and with a degree of surprise that such an elderly village should have been hiding in this valley all along. Anyone fortunate enough to find it once usually found their way back. And Thanksgiving, in early October, was the perfect time. The weather was usually crisp and clear, the summer scents of old garden roses and phlox were replaced by musky autumn leaves, woodsmoke and roast turkey.
- Three huge pine trees faced [Gamache] at the far end of the green. Between him and them was a pond, a bunch of sweater-clad children circling it, hunting for frogs, he supposed. The village green sat, not surprisingly, in the center of the village, a road called The Commons circling it with homes, except behind him, which seemed to be the commercial district. It was a very short commercial. It consisted, as far as Gamache could see, of a depanneur whose Pepsi sign read ‘Beliveau’. Beside that was a boulangerie, the Bistro and a bookstore. Four roads led off The Commons, like the spokes of a wheel, or the directions of a compass.
- As he sat quietly and let the village happen around him he was impressed by how beautiful it was, these old homes facing the green, with their mature perennial gardens and trees. By how natural everything looked, undesigned. And the pall of grief that settled on this little community was worn with dignity and sadness and a certain familiarity. This village was old, and you don’t get to be old without knowing grief. And loss.
415 replies on “Postcards from Three Pines: Still Life”
I want to go back to the abbey and listen to the choir again. Thank you Louise for capturing the elegant quaintness of Quebec in the pages of your books. I love ‘l’histoire quebecois’ as much as he!
Thank you, Louise, for all you have given us: pleasure, joy and sadness apart from our own, a respite from our own realities, a place and people and way of life to daydream about. Despite a murder a year, Three Pines represents a Brigadoon we all yearn for, a place of abiding peace and friendship. And good food! May eternity, or at least part of it, be spent in front of a fireplace with a sweet dog at our feet and a glass in our hands, awaiting the imminent arrival of those we love.
The postcard is so beautiful. I have read all of the books in the series, and now I am planning to do some binge re-reading of the series to be ready for the November release date of the next book. Thank you for writing this series!
I have started re-reading the series and pre-ordered Kingdom of the Blind. Thanks for the lovely descriptions. I’m hooked on the wonderful characters and the beautiful lives they lead.
A delightful description of a delightful place. Sitting quietly on the bench, watching children at play, listening to sway of the pines and then strolling slowly to The Bistro for a cup of hot cocoa. Sitting in front of the fireplace and just enjoying and being grateful. Thank you for allowing us to envision such a lovely place.
Thank you for the postcards! I love visiting Three Pines!
What a great way to introduce Gamache to new readers. I would live in Three Pines.
Hear! Hear! I concur with all of the above! (They read my mind.)
Would love to pop in the Bistro for a good meal and enjoy the company of friends!!!!
The description is, indeed, a great reminder of the layout of Three Pines. It’s been a while since I read Still Life. I was hooked on the series from the beginning. My favorite is Glass Houses – but maybe I say that about each one. Thank you for the postcard.
Love this new offering..I am dyed in the wool fan. Thank you
Autumn has always been my favourite season, l just love, love, love this gift from you. Thank you
Thank you for this Louise. Ann Gammon, that is a lovely thought re your brother , RIP. My mother already finds solace in Three Pines after my father’s death last year.
These books take me into a special world. I feel as though I know the people personally after reading them. Louise Penny has such a wonderful imagination and she writes so beautifully. She has given us a real gift!
Some of her fans plan to read the books again and that is a great idea, so I will do that too.
Inspector Gamache and the village of Three Pines is like family; the family you long for. I always relish the time we get to spend with everyone during each new novel. Thank you, Louise, for the very rich experience each visit brings.
Thank you for this lovely gift as we begin the season of fall. I absolutely love Gamache and all the friends of Three Pines.
Everyday I go to Canada and visit with the gang. As I read I feel everything. Clara would be my best friend. Thanks from bookwoman
This reminds me of villages I have visited, particularly an area in which I once lived, to which I ache to return, the locale of the tales I share with my readers and listeners.
As I read that brief description of Three Pines I understood why the place, and the people have come to mean so much – I knew them when I lived in that beautiful and special place. Different names, the bistro was a sandwich shop in the live bait shop, professions and workplaces were different, but the people: I knew them and loved them.
How could I not feel at home in Three Pines?
I love Three Pines and everything and everyone associated with it. One of the best things that happened to me in 2017 was discovering these wonderful books.
i have been wanting to go to Three Pines ever since I read Still Life, I want to go visit with all the inhabitants of the village, go eat at the Bistro, visit Myrna’s bookshop, visit the bakery and get a croissant, I could go on and on. Just want to move there I think.