 |
| "When I'm rich, my mother'll have a garden and a gardener . . .
And we'll have champagne every evening when she's tired . . . champagne and a gardener!" (71) |
" . . . Pherousa led a simple existence. . . .
Pherousa, sixteen, was allowed to read fiction
if it had a nautical setting." (25)
"After the usual interlude, passengers began to appear,
with the stunned and / or exalted expression
common to disembarking air travellers." (58)
After hearing several people
refer to someone as “Cousin Cordelia,”
Elizabeth asks:
“Is that lady everybody’s cousin?”
To which Hill replies:
“Well no. Actually her father and Mrs. Worthington
were the children of first cousins. Mrs. Woodhue
is only my wife’s third cousin,
but in Boston they cling to their cousins.
Everybody must have something.”
One of "Poor Cordelia's" hardships:
she has come into some money, but her
husband Ted is spending her capital:
"'Spend her capital!'echoed Persis, in horror. She may not have the had the exotic worldly thrills that Elizabeth Lam had experienced, but almost eith years of life spent in the vicinity of Bostonhad tuaght her what was the unforgiveabe worldy sin." (67)
I'm not typically a reader of whodunits.
But Banville, Morison, and Osman
have changed my mind this summer.
Now, on to further adventures of
The Thursday Murder Club
by Richard Osman
The Man Who Died Twice
#2 in Osman's Thursday Murder Series
I love this exchange with Donna,
after Ibrahim is assaulted during a street robbery:
Donna asks, "How's the pain?"
"'It's getting better,' says Ibrahim.
"It only really hurts if I breathe.'"
He then encourages Donna
to discuss her ongoing sense of loneliness:
"'Does it hurt?' asks Ibrahim.
'Only when I breathe,' says Donna. (295, 296)
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A few more favorites:
"All is quiet in this happy place. Another day done, family safe and sound, curtains closed and heating on. Nothing you'll ever see on the news, but something you should really pay more attention to, just the gentle hum of contentment." (394)
Ibrahim: "The secret of life is death. Everything is about death, you see. In essence . . . Our existence only makes sense because of it; it provides meaning to our narrative. Our direction of travel is always towards it. Our behaviour is either because we fear it, or because we choose to deny it. We could drive past this spot once a year, every year, and neither the horse nor ourselves would get younger. Everything is death."
Joyce: "That's one way of looking at things, I suppose."
Ibrahim: "It's the only way." (406 - 07)
The Thing About Life Is That One Day You'll Be Dead
QK, FN, KL
And this seasonal gem:
"It is another glorious autumn day,
but there is a bite in the air
that tells you there won't be too many left.
Winter is waiting impatiently round the corner." (22)
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The Bullet That Missed
#3 in Osman's Thursday Murder Series
"Everyone wants to feel special,
but nobody wants to feel different." (22)
Another great exchange with Ibrahim; this time
the criminal Connie considers hiring him as her psychiatrist:
Ibrahim: "I always start with one question. Are you happy?"
Connie: "Well, I'm in prison."
I: "But that aside?"
C: "I mean. Maybe I could be happier?
You know, five percent. I'm OK."
I: "I can help with that.
Five percent, ten, fifty, whatever it might be.
That's my job. I can't fix you,
but I can make you run a little better."
C: "You can't fix me?"
I: "Humans can’t be fixed.
We’re not lawnmowers. I wish we were."
C: "What do you charge?"
I: "Sixty pounds an hour."
C: "I'll pay you two hundred an hour."
I: "No, it's just the sixty.
And my schedule is pretty flexible."
C: "Great. Let's do Thursdays."
I: "Actually, can we do Wednesdays?
Thursdays are the one day I have something on." (60 - 61)
Because there is no commitment more compelling
than The Thursday Murder Club!
************************
Looking for another mystery series?
Try Quirke: KL & QK
