I've read that some readers are disappointed or slightly disapprove of the ending of The Grey Wolf. If you haven't read The Grey Wolf or State of Terror yet, please stop reading because I will write a spoiler here.
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The Grey Wolf ends in a cliffhanger, so we know the "second part" of the story will continue into The Black Wolf. But I hadn't remembered that this is not the first cliffhanger Louise has published! Did you realize it?
I found this old article from Nov 27, 2022. State of Terror was written to have a sequel too, with the last line being "I think we know what our next nightmare is." So we will see another collaboration when Louise and Hillary find the time to write together again. And there will be a movie made for State of Terror too!
Did anyone listen to that podcast that was published here? The prediction that was made? Interesting, how everything ties together, don't you think?
There are some notable questions/answers in this article though. One question about Armand can lead us back to today's TGW discussion with "Who do we trust and why?" And Louise answers this in how she envisioned her main character. Someone who is decent, who you know you're safe with, who is a good person. Someone you can relate to (in recognizing themselves, or their loved ones, in Gamache). In other words, someone you can trust. And of course with Gamache, there is complete trust because the characteristics we're assessing, in addition to the behaviours and decisions he's made, are directly related to personality and morality, unlike birth names and linguistic accents.
The second notable question/answer is the inspiration for the series and the village. That 9/11 inspired the books to give readers a place that guaranteed emotional safety with friends, community and a sense of belonging. So now it is not shocking at all why some readers really disliked The Grey Wolf. Why some readers have said that this might be the end of it for them for the series despite being dedicated readers for the first 18 books. At this particular point in time, when many readers needed emotional safety very intensely, it did not give the readers that emotional safety with the friends in Three Pines and a solid sense of belonging.
Louise has said that she knows her readers are divided in two. Those who follow because of Gamache and his personal relationships and those who follow because of Three Pines. And when she writes a book not set in Three Pines, that she is taking a risk with the readers who want Three Pines. I think that it was unfortunate timing that her book released when it did and the reality of current events created a more desperate need for emotional safety. This is my guess as to why the feelings seem much stronger this time. What do you think?
And I'll give a nod to Nancy's post with the poem where she said "Substitute "Three Pines" for "Home" or "BCF" for "Home"" and Libby saying that she felt a sense of safety here with BCF. It's true, from what Louise says, Three Pines is a place that provides emotional safety by being with friends, having a community and feeling a sense of belonging. That is exactly what we have here at BCF, I think.
This is a wonderful article and post mei lan. I know that I made a mistake by reading The Grey Wolf when I did. I was about half way through it when the US election occurred. I had debated about waiting but was too anxious to read the new book. Especially after waiting so long for it. So I went ahead and read it at a bad emotional time in my life. So yes, that greatly impacted my need for more Three Pines and all those wonderful, comforting, quirky people who live there. I did enjoy the suspense of The Grey Wolf and will without a doubt read The Black Wolf when it comes out. I have, however, found a lot of that missing emotional security here at Book Club Friends. This cyber space is packed with kindness and well wishes. I have not seen one unkind or derogatory word here and don’t think I ever will. I am ever thankful for everyone here and for the admins who dedicate themselves to our well being while sharing our love of Louise Penny and the world she has created for us to escape to.
I know that you were missing Three Pines, but I didn’t get the impression that you were greatly disappointed with the book. But maybe that’s because you are always so kind and even with your words. I read some stronger comments from others and that’s what I was thinking about when I wrote this post. I completely understand the feelings though. And it’s interesting that Louise also understands. That shows how valid the feelings are and also, what a good job Louise has done in developing Three Pines and the associated feelings from readers.
I am happy to share this space with you Libby. I have always agreed with your comments. I really like your point of view.
Thank you mei lan. I so enjoy everything you post and your thoughts about quotes you share are mind stimulating.
I hope I’m in the right place to leave my comment – my first. (I can’t seem to find a place to ‘reply’ in the other discussions.)
Perhaps my timing was off, too, when I read TGW. But I have a lot of questions and concerns with the book as a whole, beginning with the first scene with the phone ringing to the very dramatic conclusion. Characters are introduced and never heard from again. The ‘threat’ is never developed in the beginning, beyond the water system. Gamache seems off his game. Too many moving characters, locations and connections. Many of the same issues I had with State of Terror., but I enjoyed the story there. My expectations were not as high as for TGW.
I’m here to hopefully resolve my concerns because I have loved every book in the series and trust Louise to ‘make it work.’
I appreciate the safe place and your comments too.
I think you posted your comment in a perfect spot Mary! If you’re looking for the discussion forums, the admins did post a guide on how to comment there. That post is somewhere down the feed. And I did post on a review that had some serious concerns about TGW too (https://www.bookclubfriends.com/2024/11/27/katherine-ann-mark-40/). Maybe that is what Mei Lan had in mind when she wrote this post. I also feel all perspectives on the book are completely valid and I have also seen quite a large number of comments with concerns. My hope is that The Black Wolf will resolve some or all of the concerns. I think that might be one of the biggest downsides to writing a book with a cliffhanger.
I believe this is as good a place as any! I find that the organization of this site allows me to capture intervening comments or posts pretty readily.
There are, indeed, a lot of moving parts in this story, characters, locations and connections. I am on my third reading looking for the connections I probably missed. I am finding some.
After having read every book but “State of Terror” more than twice, I am unsure what my view was on the first reading of any of those. A friend recommended LP only a couple years ago so I was able to read straight through the entire series at that point without having that sense of something more to come like I do with TGW. I do remember, though, that as I read the last 3-4 books in the series, I began to go back and reread them before going to the next. In some ways, I think LP is writing more intricate plots.
At least, that is how I am thinking for now and will continue to look for clues to the connections here.
I remember reading some years ago a piece about the construction of a good mystery (I no longer remember the source). This article said that the story needs to reference or include the villain early in the book, even in the first chapter. I think LP does that although there are so many potential villains and accomplices I think it was much later in the story before I recognized the clues.
Oh, I found a better link for the guides than the post from admins I mentioned. Here is a link to the FAQ page. I think the admins are putting all the guides here for reference: https://www.bookclubfriends.com/faq/
I think you’re right about the trend regarding the intricacy of the plots, Jane. And in light of the article you mentioned, I would expect that in The Black Wolf, we just might read the names of some of those characters who were introduced in TGW again. I think LP plays the long game in her mysteries as there are so many references in early books to things that appear in later books. I enjoy finding and realizing these references!
I found myself really struggling with all the new characters and their names. Names have never been my strong suit so I copied the crossword puzzle from here and completed it. I will probably need to refer to it when I re-read The Grey Wolf and maybe even The Black Wolf.
Me too. There were so many characters in this one.
I truly appreciate the breadth & scope of these discussions & have recommended this group to many of my LP friends.
However, I think my reaction to Gamache and the slowly evolving plot is different from many. I felt that LP has created the same confusion for Gamache as she created for the readers. I was right there with Gamache as he tried to work out what’s really going, who he can trust, where to focus next. He was completely flummoxed, as were we!
I found this to be masterful writing!
While I really enjoy the stories that take place in Three Pines, I think that I can find that emotional security in any book because it is a book with its own world.
I agree completely.
Great post. Thanks!
Oh wow! How did I miss this post? One thing that I love about BCF is how the discussions are organized in the forums so I can easily catch up on a topic and follow the flow of the conversation because comments are listed chronologically. And then here on the home feed there more posts that are related to the discussions but much more diverse and wider and scope, but still add to the discussion considerably. But the feed is like Facebook in that you have to stay on top of it and keep a close eye otherwise you’ll miss gems like this.
What I appreciate most though, is the amazing community. Everyone here is so knowledgeable, amazingly thoughtful in looking at topics from a wide rage of perspectives, incredibly eloquent and well spoken AND genuinely kind, welcoming, supportive and encouraging to everyone and all viewpoints.
Thanks to all for providing a wonderfully unique and enriching space for us to enjoy.
Absolutely agree with everything you wrote!
And, unlike Facebook, the feed is not necessarily determined by the number of likes or replies that are calculated in whether or where it shows up.
I do know that after a certain point, a post is no longer available. I wonder if it is possible to create an archive where older posts are saved if one wants to look for something. The discussion forums make it possible to go back to prior posts and comments. The “What’s on Your Mind” posts not so much.
I agree with you because I somehow missed some of the additional posts here.
Hello Jane and Nancy, posts don’t really disappear; they may be edited or deleted by the author though. They do get buried quite deeply and it would take quite a lot of scrolling to find everything that has ever been posted, so it’s possible, but perhaps time consuming. We could definitely make some adjustments to make older posts easier to find. Was there anything specific you had in mind? What types of posts do you think you might like to have easier access to?
We’ve started organizing some of these general posts so that all the cat taxes are grouped. We could expand that to include all types of taxes, (this would group posts that are more fun or personal in nature), and we could also group posts by book titles, if that might be of interest?
It may be that I just don’t know how to keep scrolling through the posts. But, groupings sound like a good approach, other taxes, travel stories, book recommendations. I am pleased to see that hte number of individual posts and their authors seems to be increasing!
You seem to be very adept with tech Jane, so if you’re having issues with anything, it’s likely that something needs to be improved on our end. If you scroll to the bottom of the Home page feed, you should see a little spinner indicating that more posts are being loaded onto the page. We’ve set it up so there is an “infinite scroll”, meaning one could continue to scroll to the start of time for this site, not that anyone would have the time or patience or interest for that. The idea to group and allow for easy access is an excellent suggestion and we’ll add this to our to do list! Thanks, as always, for the feedback!
I found it! I was looking in the list of “Recent Comments” and trying to scroll there. Once I went to the bottom of the entire Home Feed page, I could go back through previous posts in reverse chronological order. Thanks!
What I have done to make sure that I haven’t missed anything recent is to go to my profile page and click on the symbol that indicates that there have been comments. Then I can go through the comments and see if there is anything recent that I have missed.