The Bistro

Join us here in The Bistro for a discussion on the entire Gamache series. Feel free to ask or answer any questions about any of the books or the series as a whole.

3,660 replies on “The Bistro”

Catherine, You were right about Rosa and Trick of the Light. I didn’t see it that way. I saw it as a reprise of Ruth’s portrait, in which a light of hope is discerned in the distance. I did hope it was the promise of Rosa’s return. But it could also be the actual event, Thanks.

Really? The last paragraph of Trick of the Light? Must look.

Thank you for the vision of goodness existing strongly in the midst of evil. It’s what makes the stories mythological in depth. Concerning mugs, the Walter Drake catalog has very nice personalized mugs, so why not ask for “Gamache?” Although the bookstore mugs are shaped like café au-lait bowls, which is very nice. I have ordered the Walter Drake ones in the past and they are fine.

Rosa doesn’t come back in any of the books, although we’d like to see it. One minute Ruth is gazing into the sky and in the next book Rosa is back.

Concerning the movie, nothing wrong with Parker I guess, but I had envisioned a larger version of David Suchet, gray and balding. (Probably not anyone else’s vision) How to portray power and love and kindness? Am I the only one who thinks verisimilitude would be served by characters speaking with a French accent? I understand that Quebecois are speaking French, not English with a French accent. But Louise makes is pretty clear in the books, with the use of occasional French phrases, that the characters are speaking French.

I only watched the movie until the intro of characters. It was impossible after that. Although Ben and Janet seemed okay. I had seen (and I realize others probably had a different vision) Beauvoir as a young Roger Moore, Clara as a middle-aged Jill Clayburgh, Reine-Marie as Louise of course, but I would like to be Reine-Marie myself. Although I would not like to be married to a homicide detective. I don’t remember ever wanting to be a fictional character before. I never had a picture in my mind of Myrna or Gabri, but Olivier and Peter are both slim versions of middle-aged Land’s End catalog men in my mind. Maybe Myrna is Queen Latifah with different hair. Or the same hair. Ruth is the old actress and writer Ruth Gordon, for me, although she certainly has elements of CCCH Pounder in Bagdad Café. The anger is perfect. Or Alfre Woodard in one of her crabbier parts. I had never realized quite so strongly how characters are flattened out in movies. It would be hard to cast Agent Nichol. She is not pretty and she is not merely uncertain. She takes up a lot of space in a room and virtually sizzles with resentment. She is unkempt. If you erase all that the character disappears. Is there a hint, before Kingdom of the Blind, that Billy Williams appreciates Myrna? I don’t remember it.

I love the dog. Henri is a whole character and all that is good about dogs.

You’ve pictured the characters pretty much the same way as I have.

I’ve just been through my second reading of all of them, third of “How the Light Gets In.” Picked up a lot I had missed the first time and I only read them a couple of months ago. Happy to see that there will be more.

Aimee, the last paragraph of A Trick of the Light.

Thanks! I have requested it from the library again.

Wondering what happened to Thérèse Brunel? Did I miss something? She was head of the Sûreté and then she disappeared?

Did you ever figure this out? Have been wondering the same thing. Seemed like she just unceremoniously disappeared…

Hey — I’ve been rationing my Gamache intake so I can make it last. My strategy has been to read the books in the season the book takes place. So, I’m up to Bury your Dead and want to find out what season or month Trick of Light and the other books are set (without having to get spoilers). Can someone clue me in?

I missed when Rosa returned. What book and chapter please?

I was disappointed in how the conflict between Gamache and Olivier was resolved (not completely) in “A Trick of the Light”. The reader was left with Olivier extremely upset at Gamache, but in the next novels, he’s friends? I would have liked to see more on that relationship.

After reading Kingdom, I can’t figure out how Hugo set up the fraud with clients who thought they were hiring his brother w/o his brother knowing. Remember Tony found out because one of his fake clients thanked him. So the client knew who Tony was. How did Hugo manage this, when he is not even at the same firm? Am I missing something?

My question has been posted for over a month w/no answer. I guess the answer is a mistake in the plot. Many of the books have complicated and over the top plots but they usually follow logic. This one requires you to suspend disbelief, oh well.

I believe that Hugo set up a “partnership” with Tony’s ex-lover Bernard at first but Hugo also admitted that he knew how to set up off-shore accounts so he could spot them if a client did so. I think that was really to make it sound believable

Could Hugo of gotten that information from the fired Assistant? Tony’s ex-lover?

I have just finished the series of these fantastic books, but I did not read them in the order written. Somewhere I have missed what happened to Peter. I know he and Clara were separating for a year, but what happened after the year? Can anyone let me know which book his final story is in?

It was in the last two chapters of The Long Way Home.

My great mistake, I was looking at the wrong page, I now see the last post was less than 2 weeks ago. Love the posts I’m reading!

Hello, I’m new to this blog, not sure it is even still up as the last post seems to be 4 yrs old. I’m going to try anyway. I just finished Trick of the Light and was wondering if anyone knew what was meant by the line on page 320 that says, “ he also wondered if anyone else had caught what he had.” It is Gamache doing the wondering after Pinneault has spoken. What did he notice?
Thanks Annie

My copy is on my iPad which has location, not page, numbers. What chapter was this in?

Hello All,
So glad I am not the only one wondering about the young girl in the red cap! At first I thought it was a figment of Amelia’s imagination, but then Gamache rescues her. Still wondering about her.
Anyone else think she may be the daughter of Anita Facial?

I thought the little girl was imaginary at first too. I still think she represents the tragedy of how drug addiction destroys youth and innocence, maybe specifically Amelia’s youth and innocence, though I realize that she is also a real character. I don’t think she is Anita Facial’s daughter, since Anita did not ask Gamache to save her when he asked Anita what he could do to help, then he later paid Anita to find her and keep her safe until he could rescue her. Knowing how Penny’s plots work, I do think the little girl will turn out to have a connection to someone in the books that we already know. I’m curious about why Isabelle is fostering her and where that will lead.

I think Isabel is fostering her because she wanted to take care of her, just like Gamache wanted to take care of her when he saw her. I think it is a natural human emotion to rescue a helpless child.

I think Anita is a guy

good site

love to hear some thoughts on the lemon meringue pie, billy williams, divine intervention theme that has turned up in a few books. Why lemon meringue pie?

Kingdom of the Blind
Who is the young girl with red cap who is on the Montreal streets with
the druggies. Why is she there. Who does she belong to? Amelia first
notices her/Gamache rescues her.

Whose daughter is the little girl in Kingdom of the Blind and why is Gamache so consumed with her. Will this be developed more in the next book, or will she be a minor character,0.

What is the connection of the girl in the red hat and isabelle lacoste? (kingdom of the blind)

Hello: I am a native Northern Californian and unfamiliar with the French Canadian language. I would like to know how to send a request to the author/publisher to add a page to the books with illustrations as how to pronounce the characters’ names and a glossary to the most commonly used French words/phrases used in the books.
I read at night snuggled warmly in my bed and do not want to trek to my laptop in my office to google the words. In fact, I googled “whale oil beef hooked” and found nothing. I am unfamiliar with the colloquialism of Canadian provinces. Thank you!
P.S. Just finished Kingdom of the Blind and cannot wait for the next Gamache story. Is it pronounced GA-MA-SHAY?