In The Woods By Tana French
Setting the scene for In The Woods by Tana French
As usual lately the book club met today. A small group of us anyway. A smaller group than usual lately, we meet to discuss books. Life happens though and as committed as we all are, it isn’t possible all the time for everyone to make it. This was a meeting that suffered from more of that than usual. Still, we had snacks, Irish Quiche, potato chips, some gluten free eats, really beautiful water, and Irish soda bread.
I considered setting the table back in our woods…. But the bugs set me straight when I went to view that option. Instead, I brought some things from the woods to the patio. I allowed it to become over grown with weeds so it seemed a bit like something that nature was in the process of reclaiming with the thick wisteria growing over the purgala above us offering shade. Much as I envision ancient ruins might look in the forest….. Beside us, resting in the grass of the back yard/field, was a single child’s bike I borrowed from the neighbors. It was aimed in the direction of the woods. I made a centerpiece of an old burl and some of the treasures I had salvaged from the forest to further bring the book to life.
One of our members discussing some serious subject matter.
In The Woods, by Tana French, is the story of a murder detective a little outside of Dublin. Rob/Adam, and his partner Cassie, catch a murder that took place in the development where Rob grew up as Adam (he took the name Rob after everything while in boarding school. ) As a child, he was part of a terrible event in which 3 children rode into the woods on their bike and 1 came out, with socks covered in blood, not cuts on him, with no memory of what happened and no knowledge of what had happened to the other 2 children. He narrates the book and tells you he lies at the start… So how much of this account can you even trust? The new murder is of a little girl from the development. It triggers some things for Rob…. An investigation of a modern murder takes place in the strata layers of an archaeology dig in the woods that is layered over an older mystery…
Snacking at book club.
We talked about many things, Rosalind, her behaviors being often highly maternal while her ill mother seemed completely shut down. We discussed Jonathan, and how he handled his eldest daughters and how the whole sordid thing could unfold. We talked about a certain someone’s patsy…. And discussed the many many possibilities for what happened to the other two children, Peter and Jamie. We asked the hard questions and hit a brick wall much as the early investigators. We talked about weather we thought Rob (then Adam,) had done something to them. We discussed Rob, considered weather he missed the sociopath because he was ready body language rather than empathizing with other people. Anyone can mimick body language, but some people can’t feel what is behind the body language they mimick….. We talked about the family of the modern victim and what might have been available to deal with those kinds of situations back then. Very Very little….. Many things were spoken of related to this book and still for me, the end is empty and I still have no closure. But I had a great time discussing this book with others who share this reading experience with me.
Some of my pieces of the woods mixed with some Irish memorabilia to set the scene.
Some of us liked the book, some of us weren’t that into it. Some of us may have liked it but could not make it to this meeting.
It was wonderful to be social after all this covid time. I had a lovely time meeting with the book club all of us vaccinated, once again. Our next meeting will be on August 13th to watch The Mirror Crack’d the movie based on last month’s book. We need a break from mysteries. Rather than following In The Woods up with The Silent Patient, we are changing the order so that we will read The House Of Sand And Fog as our August book. To be followed by Circe, after which we will read The Silent Patient and finish out the year with Cold Comfort Farm. We will choose more books, a year’s worth that will start in January 2022, once we have completed this year’s list. at some point before Christmas at our yearly book club beach trip. On this trip we will walk the strand, perhaps make a trip to Billings gate Island, eat a lot, picnic at the beach, watch movies and get our silly on… It should be fun.
Thanx guys for another great discussion.
Amanda of Wildflower Farm
Wildflower Farm, is a small New England homestead, B&B and AirBnB, in the Baystate. We came out here 7 years ago, when we returned from the better part of 10 years as peripatetic aristotelian nomads, for my husband's post docs. Upon our return, we had a plan. We had a lovely home. Everything was so clear. Then, I got sick. Things I used to eat all the time during our travels elsewhere in the world and even here before I left almost 10 years earlier made me ill. It took a couple trips to the ER and a trip to specialist... It became clear, something had changed in the way food is processed in this country since last I lived here. Some off label things was inevitably going to be my demise.
My husband and I looked around to see the clear path we were on, had exploded in front of us. We decided we had to create a new path for ourselves. We put children on hold. We found a small piece of land with a house we loved in a rural suburb in a right to farm area. I began researching how to do it ourselves. Grow it ourselves, make it ourselves, survive on our own as much as possible. We bought the property, and began plotting a new course. One that didn't involve off label chemicals. Closer to nature, with a lot more DIY, gardens, and animals for the products they provide. We created a life we loved though it hasn't always been easy and has of course come with compromise with each other, and even with ourselves.
Our family thought we had lost our minds. What were we doing leaving the city? We had no idea how hard this would be. They thought we would be back in 6 months. That was over 7 years ago, now. We have been making it work. They were not wrong, it isn't easy. But has anything worth doing ever been easy? And for us, avoiding as much store bought food as possible was simply necessary so I could live given how sick I was getting.
Then Covid hit.... We were lucky to have this place. It has allowed us a lot less need for public use territories which has kept us a lot safer and spared us much of the risk others face daily. This place, has given us a privilege through this of great meaning to us. To be of use in a difficult time. We have been able to help friends family and even strangers in need when things couldn't be found on store shelves. Or money was tight due to not working, rent being due and a child at home, or some other draining situation. We are so very grateful to have been able to not be helpless like so much of society through this miserable time. Our families, got used to it some time ago, us being out here. They made peace with it the day there was no bread and they had to ask me for some. Or when fresh vegies were rotten due to supply chain issues but they could find plenty in my garden.
Wildflower Farm, was a place I dreamed of. One of those sweet pastoral dreams a city dweller grows up knowing will never come true, that became unavoidable when I became ill. I never expected to get to do this. I never thought I had what it takes to make this work. I have learned pacing myself is important, compromise is critical, hard work never ends, burn out is real so breaks are just a necessary evil.
We are not fully self sufficient, but we work hard in that direction as we create a new path through life for ourselves, always reaching to do even more ourselves and to get closer to the ideal we envision. We are however far more self sufficient than many in this world. 7 years in, we continue to learn and grow in this homesteading lifestyle. We welcome comments and advice and ideas and questions.
We welcome visitors from all over to our home with strict covid policies in place. We spend our time learning to live all over again in a more environmental and sustainable way though even there we are far from perfect always learning and growing doing better as we know better.
This little homestead farm is a magical place named for the New England wildflowers that grow all around. A place where a physicist, watches the night sky on clear nights with the aide of mirror and glass, and a woman, works endlessly in the gardens, the kitchen, and a variety of projects to create and to keep a very unique life style running and functioning. Wildflower Farm, has become so much more than simply a piece of land we can grow a few vegetables on. The longer I spend here, the more alive the land seems, the more I learn about it's function and the more meaning it has. My place in the universe and the next steps on our new path become ever more clear.
We welcome you on this journey with us.
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