I started Six of One by Rita Mae Brown as I was awaiting the availability of Harry Potter. It was one I checked out upon recommendation from DH. He had read the synopsis of the Miss Julia books I have been reading and thought it sounded like something I would like. I’m kind of a sucker for southern fiction. I’m not sure why. Perhaps it was that Southern Fiction class I took back at UND my final year??
Six of One is the first in a trilogy (with Bingo and Loose Lips) that follows the lives of the Hunsenmeir sisters, Julia and Louise. In the first installment the book is split between 1980 and the era of the World Wars. We get glimpses into how Julia and Louise developed some of their personality and why they often find themselves at odds with each other. Most of the book takes place in the first half of the 20th century, with only short looks at their relationship “now” (being 1980).
Those who dislike character driven plots should not be scared way from this book, however. While there is no burning plot line the book is a joy to read. Brown spends much of her words in dialogue which is philosophical, witty, pithy, and almost always quite entertaining. There are points where the book felt like it dragged a bit. Being set mostly during the wars there were definitely heavy times going on. I found more humor in these parts when I was in the right sort of mood. But if you enjoy well written dialogue, quirky southern characters, and tales of a sisterly relationship this is a must read.
I do feel I need to make one disclaimer - if you are in any way offended by homosexuality you’ll want to give this trilogy a pass. There are no real explicit descriptions of sex and such, but a long-term lesbian couple have a fairly major supporting role in this novel. Okay, maybe another disclaimer, this one only a half one though - it can be hard to keep track of the characters in this book. Many share names that begin with the same letter and several are also referred to with nicknames and in some cases even multiple nicknames which can make it a bit of a challenge to keep everyone straight until you have a good feel of their character.
Following Harry Potter and Six of One I read the newest William Kent Krueger novel, Thunder Bay. Thanks to the newsletter from Stop You’re Killing Me I got on the reserve list at the library quite early and I checked it out on Thursday before the rain hit. I started it on Friday afternoon and finished it early on Saturday morning. Yes, I found it that good! :-)
Thunder Bay is the seventh Cork O’Connor novel. Many of these novels share a bit of formula, but WKK never fails to mix it up a bit by varying the setting and the pacing of his novels. In this novel we return to the fictitious town of Aurora near the iron range of Minnesota. Once again Cork has hung up his Sherrif’s badge, but this time he has obtained a PI license. When his Annashanabe healer friend, Henry Meloux, is hospitalized Cork agrees to help him uncover a secret from his past over 70 years ago. As usual Cork runs into trouble while trying to solve the mystery and he often finds himself at odds on how to balance his family obligations with those of his work. In this novel we see some personal growth in Cork which was refreshing.
Some felt the prior book, Copper River was somewhat of a disappointment. I still enjoyed it, but Thunder Bay was an improvement. Perhaps it was just because he was once again centered at home in Aurora? I don’t know. But if you were disappointed by Copper River, don’t give up on the series.
What’s up next? I have a couple more books out from the library. One a mystery and another Miss Julia book. I decided to break up the mysteries a bit (though some classify Miss Julia as mystery, it is much different than most of the mysteries I read) so I started Miss Julia Meets Her Match, but haven’t had much time to read it as we are getting the house ready for company and I’ve been canning and such this weekend as well.
