In the High Peaks
















Wednesday, January 22, 2014

TBR TDD Update: The Bat and Three Junes

I must report that I'm about 30 pages away from the conclusion of The Bat by Jo Nesbo, and I can see that someone very important is going to die, and because I feel fragile at the moment, I keep finding excuses not to finish it. "I don't want to read it right before I go to sleep," for example. "I don't want to start the day with this sad death," I say in the morning. Never fear, I'll get to it, especially because I have a new book and new characters to invest in.

Yes, Three Junes by Julia Glass, the book that won the National Book Award in 2002. I bought it when it first came out in a trade paperback edition and then, for no reason whatsoever, never got around to reading it. It's such a superb character study and plot, I can't wait to get back to it! I completely identify with Peter, the widower, partaking in a grand tour in Greece, despite his being weighed down by so many events in his family and life before marriage. I'm so captivated by the revelations of his previous life and of his present. A number of years ago, I read a later novel by Julia Glass, The Whole World Over, which was wonderful, and she has another book to be published in April 2014.

Have you read Three Junes? What was your experience like?

6 comments:

  1. I listened to both Three Junes and The Whole World Over several years ago. Although plot details have faded, I remember both experiences fondly.

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    1. JoAnn,
      I loved The Whole World Over, too. I'm enjoying Three Junes as well, though I'm finding it quite different from the former.
      Judith

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  2. Laughing at you putting off the end of this book. I do this too when I don't want to face something at the moment. Hope you feel better so you can find out now it ends! Cheers, Pxx

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    1. Pam,
      There was something about the impending death of Birgitta that got to me. Harry was so vulnerable in that relationship, it seemed to me, and she was such a great match for him. Romantic notions! So I did get over it and finished the book. Turns out Cockroaches is the next book after The Bat.
      Judith

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  3. Oh no. I hope you do finish The Bat! And I'm sorry you're feeling fragile. Hope you fell better soon x

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    1. Sarah,
      Oh, yes! It was a temporary "Oh, no, they can't kill off B______! I can't stand it!"
      But I did get over it and loved finishing The Bat!
      Judith

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