This week’s reviews include an eclectic mix of short stories in Amor Towles’s “Table for Two” and septuagenarian sleuths in the Richard Osman’s “The Thursday Murder Club.”
Sunday Books and Culture is edited by Vanessa Sekinger, a teacher and reading specialist. If you’d like to write reviews for the Advance, please send us an email.
TABLE FOR TWO
by Amor Towles
Published by Viking (April 2, 2024)
Hardcover $21.04
Audiobook $14.99
Reviewed by Penny A Parrish
Right up front, I need to say that Amor Towles is one of my favorite writers. I spent New Year’s Eve in 2019 at the Metropol Hotel in Moscow (this was before the war with Ukraine broke out). In “A Gentleman in Moscow,” Towles has the main character sentenced to live the rest of his life inside the Metropol. When I read it, images came from his words and my memories, a wonderful mix.
Table for Two is a collection of six short stories and one novella. In each, the writer brings out the humanity of every character and dazzles with unexpected endings. In “The Line,” Russian peasant Pushkin (not the famous poet) and his humorless wife live a quiet life in a rural area – until the Tsar is dispatched and she becomes infatuated with the proletarian life. They move to Moscow where she gets a job with the Red Star Biscuit Collective. Pushkin tries to work there as well, but his ineptitude soon puts him on the street. And there he finds his new purpose in life.
“The Ballad of Timothy Touchett” finds a young man aspiring to become a famous novelist. He has pens, pencils, paper for his typewriter (despite the existence of computers) – but no words. When a job at a bookshop specializing in rare and used editions comes up, Timothy is thrilled. Perhaps being surrounded by tomes penned by his heroes will spur his creative juices. It does, but not in the way readers expect.
“Hasta Luego” is built along a premise that most of us have experienced: a flight delayed, requiring an overnight stay at a hotel. That night becomes more memorable than any disrupted business or vacation plans. The other three short stories will keep you turning pages as well.
The final segment, which is the longest, is “Eve in Hollywood.” Towles takes Eve, a major character in his previous book “Rules of Civility ” and puts her front and center in situations with movie stars, gumshoes, photographers and blackmail. It’s a wondrous romp like a screwball movie from the 1940s. Prepare to be surprised.
Towles is a master of understatement, quips, and creating fleshed-out characters in mundane yet unusual circumstances. Like his other books, this one really shines. If you’re looking for a great read this summer, this is it.
Penny A Parrish is a long-time book reviewer and artist. Learn more about her by visiting her page at Brush Strokes Gallery, which is in downtown Fredericksburg.
THE THURSDAY MURDER CLUB
By Richard Osman
Published by Penguin Books (August 3, 2021)
Paperback $10.49
Audiobook $14.99
By Tammy Byram
Picture it: Richmond, 1986. A high school junior and her grandmother are doing two of their favorite things together: drinking 7-up floats and watching The Golden Girls.
Yes, that girl was me, and yes, I did other teenager-y things with friends my age. But my Nanny was my favorite, and watching her show together was our thing. I may not have understood all the nuances, nor could I fully relate to the characters, but I can still hear my Nan’s beautiful, contagious laugh as she watched.
I’m in my fifties now and Nanny’s gone, but I find the reruns are good for my soul – and a good laugh. I can appreciate the characters and the stories in a way I couldn’t back then, and it’s like rediscovering old friends. I like that feeling, and I find that I am searching for it in other places…
Like the library, which is where I found The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman: a Golden Girls-esque tale of four friends plus a mystery or two!
This is a bonus, because Nanny also loved a good mystery; she called things like that “good and suspicious!” So, picture it: Cooper’s Chase Retirement Village in Kent, England. Four residents with very different personalities begin to bond over old, unsolved police cases.
They are content to meet on Thursdays to discuss facts and their theories, but find themselves sucked into the drama of several real life murders. Well, they aren’t really “sucked into” it as much as they deliberately insert themselves in it.
Elizabeth is the perceived leader: astute, strong, and unflappable. Heavy hints lead us to believe she was a spy; she could tell us, but then…well, you know.
Joyce is fairly new to the club, chatty and sincere, always ready with a delicious crumble – or for Elizabeth’s call suggesting a trip and an adventure.
Former activist Ron is kind, but a little rough around the edges. He stands ready to provide distractions and cause a little mayhem for the club.
The quartet is nicely rounded out by elegant Ibrahim, the refined and analytical former psychiatrist. His attention to details and love of maps and charts keeps the club on track.
Clues are gathered, suspects are chased (at a safe, leisurely pace), and secrets are unearthed – all information the Thursday Murder Club should certainly share with local police officers DCI Chris Hudson and PC Donna De Freitas.
Which they will … when the time is right, of course. Is it a little far-fetched that the police would allow this? Sure. Is the murder revelation a little out of left field? Maybe.
But truth be told, solving the crime takes a backseat to getting to know the Thursday Murder Club and the relatable police inspectors. And it’s not just them; there’s a host of supporting characters just as intriguing and relatable. We want to know them, too!
Osman leads down the road and back again with humor and poignancy, and we realize how important friends are – old and new. As we journey with our septuagenarian sleuths, we feel their insecurities and fears, reminiscences and expectations. We are cheering for each of the characters, knowing that they are all trying to remain relevant in a world that would just as soon dismiss them, navigate life’s curveballs with some pals and confidantes, and find peace and freedom in the twilight years.
I think my Nan would have loved getting to know them as much as I have. I have read this book and listened to the audio. It’s a stellar performance; but then, everything sounds better with a British accent, innit?
Oh, and word on the street is that Netflix is making a movie! Let’s hope it’s as suspicious as Nanny would have liked. And, Nan … thank you for being a friend, and introducing me to the Golden Girls. I can hear laughing now.
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