"Perfume" by Patrick Suskind

Book club read for May

In eighteeth-century France there lived a man who was one of the most

gifted and abominable personages in an era that

knew no lack of gifted and abominable personages.

His name was Jean-Baptise Grenouille, and if his name has been forgotten

today, it is certainly not because Grenouille fell short

of those more famoius blackguards when it came to arrogance,

misanthropy, immorality, or, more succinctly, wickedness,

but because his gifts and his sole ambition were restricted to a domain

that leaves no traces in history:

to the fleeting realm of scent...

In The Woods by Tana French (2)

As dusk approaches a small Dublin suburb in the summer of 1984, mothers begin to call their children home. But on this warm evening, three children do not return from the dark and silent woods. When the police arrive, they find only one of the children gripping a tree trunk in terror, wearing blood-filled sneakers, and unable to recall a single detail of the previous hours.

Twenty years later, the found boy, Rob Ryan, is a detective on the Dublin Murder Squad and keeps his past a secret. But when a twelve-year-old girl is found murdered in the same woods, he and Detective Cassie Maddox—his partner and closest friend—find themselves investigating a case chillingly similar to the previous unsolved mystery. Now, with only snippets of long-buried memories to guide him, Ryan has the chance to uncover both the mystery of the case before him and that of his own shadowy past.

Warning this review does have spoilers in it ...... So read at your own peril ........

Well I was sooooo excited for this book and boy was I disappointed ... I got totally hooked when I read the back cover and couldn't wait to dive in ........ Then all I can say is GRRRRRRRR .... I hate to give a bad review especially when it is from my home country of Ireland but seriously ........ GRRRRRRRRRRR ..................

I felt the book was seriously two long ......... With about 200 pages too long ....... I honestly didn't have to know every single detail of Ryan's Day from what he had for breakfast to when he took his smoke breaks ........ I felt that the title of the book was misleading as it touches on Ryan's story to be only left high and dry ..... It should have been called "The Stone Alter" or something .... Something that had to do with the recent murder and not about Ryan ....

I know that some authors like not to wrap every storyline up with a pretty bow but come on ... I felt like Tana French came up with a good situation and just either couldn't be bothered telling us what actually happened or she can't really explain it herself ..... The whole purpose of this novel is what happened to the three kids 'In the Woods" and do we ever find out ....... NO ..... again with the GRRRRRRRRRR .................

Although the other murder gets solved you are left with a empty feeling at the end abit like Homer Simpson 'Duh' .......... When you realise you have finished the book and nothing is explained ..... And I hasten to add over 500 pages worth of small print .... I even thought I had missed something when I was reading and went over some of the pages again ...... But sadly know ...... I then thought maybe it may be explained in the second novel but reading the reviews of that I found it is not explained there either but if anything it leaves you wondering about Ryan's Partner Cassie with yet more questions ....

There has been mixed views about this book it seems you either love it or hate it .... And unfortunately I am leaning towards the dislike end ........ Which is a real shame because it had sooo much potential ..... And be warned there is alot of swearing throughout the novel ...

So if you don't mind a good mystery as in you never find out what is going on ..... This book is for you ........ The first 1/3 of the book is really good and then it sort of fizzles out ...... A shame .....

I rate this book 2 **

Books in order to read
In the Woods
The Likeness

"In the Woods" by Tana French

Book Club read for June

You're twelve years old. It's the summer holidays. You're playing in the woods with your two best friends. Something happens. Something terrible. And the other two are never seen again.

Twenty years on, Rob Ryan - the child who came back - is a detective in the Dublin police force. He's changed his name. No one knows about his past. Even he has no memory of what happened that day.

Then a little girl's body is found at the site of the old tragedy and Rob is drawn back into the mystery. For him and his DI partner, Cassie, every lead comes with it's own sinister undercurrents. The victim's apparently normal family is hiding layers of secrets. Rob's own private enquiries are taking a toll on his mind. And every trail leads inexorably back ... into the woods.

Discussion Questions.

1. What do the woods represent in Tana French's novel? Does their significance change as the story progresses?

2. The loss or absence of stable families is a recurring motif in 'In the Woods'. How do French's characters, particularly Ryan, attempt to compensate for this absence?

3. Does the Irish setting of 'In the Woods' contribute significantly to the telling of the story, or do you find French's novel to be about humanity on a more universal level?

4. How does Ryan's experience in the woods at the age of twelve affect his ability to function as a detective? Is it always a hindrance to him, or are there ways in which it improves and deepens his insight?

5. Cassie Maddox, Ryan's partner, is perhaps the most consistently appealing character in the novel. What are her most attractive qualities? What are the weaker points of her personality? Does Ryan ever fully appreciate her?

6. After sleeping together, Ryan and Cassie cease to be friends. Why do you think the experience of physical intimacy is so damaging to their relationship? Are there other reasons why their relationship falls apart?

7. Ryan states that he both craves truth and tells lies. How reliable do you find him as a narrator? In what ways does the theme of truth and misrepresentation lie at the heart of 'In the Woods'?

8. Imagine that you are Ryan's therapist. With what aspects of his personality would you most want to help him come to terms? Do you think there would be any way to lead him out of the woods?

9. How convincing is French's explanation of the motivating forces that lead to Katy's murder - forces that come close to a definition of pure evil? Are such events and motivations ever truly explicable?

10. The plan to build the new motorway, trampling as it does on a past that some regard as sacred, is an outrage to the archaeologists who are trying to preserve an ancient legacy. How does this conflict fit thematically with Ryan's own contradictory desires to unearth and pave over his past?

11. Do you have your own theories about the mysteries that remain unsolved at the of 'In the Woods'? What are they?

12. What were your thoughts and emotions upon finishing 'In the Woods'? If this book affected you differently from other mysteries you have read, why do you think this was true?