Recent Reads: A Touch of “Chain Reading...”

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie & The Weed that Strings the Hangman’s Bag: both by Alan Bradley.

Oh Joy! a perk of starting a series with the third and most recently published novel in a series is that one can nip back and enjoy the first two.  Whilst galloping through A Red Herring Without Mustard I was enjoying the novel immensely but I knew I was missing much of the detail and history in the blur of excitement.  Now that I have read The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie and segued straight into The Weed that Strings the Hangman’s Bag,  my enthusiasm for Alan Bradley is undiminished and I find his writing is as good for me as a week at a rejuvenating spa might be! 

I have also learned a lot about the world of Flavia de Luce, our protagonist. For instance the family retainer, Dogger (full name: Arthur Wellesley Dogger), is not in fact ancient but is a survivor of a lengthy imprisonment in prisoner of war camps in south east asia as well as suffering the infamous Death Railway forced labor march between Thailand and Burma. So, in the 1950 setting of the novels, Dogger is only five years removed from those harrowing ordeals, and no wonder he appears often to be aged well beyond his years as well as being an obviously immensely intelligent man struggling with what was then known as “shell shock.”  One of the most touching details of the novels is Flavia’s almost wordless moments of sitting or just being with Dogger and without the need to spell it out you know that Mr Bradley conveys almost magically the deep balm that they both provide for each others’ souls.

Meanwhile Mr Bradley has such fun dipping into his encyclopedic  knowledge of the “golden age” British crime writers style and mannerisms, and then creating these delicious confections of plots, characters, dialogue and post war (World War II) nostalgia seasoned with down-to-earth grittiness. I particularly am fond of Gladys, Flavia’s trusty old BSA bicycle.  Gladys is not only an object, she is also a character thanks to Flavia’s wonderful imagination, “Gladys’s tires were humming that busy, waspish sound they make when she’s especially contented.” (From the Weed that Strings the Hangman’s Bag, page 56 of the US hardback 2010 edition.)

If you want to spend a few hours raising your spirits and refreshing your outlook on life I suggest a little acquaintance with Ms Flavia de Luce!