The Brutal Telling

“Olivier looked into a fire that had been alive for more than a decade.”

In this quote, the fire is used as a symbol. In literature, fire often burns a concept, structure, or thing to allow for renewal, a reemergence from ashes. This implies that something must be destroyed in order for something better to be built. This quote also ties Olivier Brulé to Jakob/the Hermit’s cabin for “more than a decade,” which will help develop dramatic irony later in the novel.

“People wandered in for books and conversation. They brought their stories to her, some bound, and some known by heart. She recognized some of the stories as real, and some as fiction. But she honored them all, though she didn’t buy every one.”

Myrna’s discernment matches the attitude of Inspector Gamache and his homicide team. She is an acute observer and avid reader, but this quote’s “stories” are literal and figurative. When Penny writes that Myrna doesn’t “buy every one,” she is referring to not only literal books but the stories people tell about their lives. Myrna knows better than to take everything at face value. This skill is also important to Gamache, who listens to various versions of the truth while trying to solve a murder. This quote is therefore about human nature.

“For Armand Gamache knew what not-nice was. He knew what cruelty, despair, horror were. And he knew what a forgotten, and precious, quality ‘nice’ was.”

Gamache is an experienced homicide detective. His job has forced him to see some of the worst parts of human nature. However, his character is defined by his faith in human goodness in the face of evil. Gamache’s lack of bitterness is an important characteristic that influences the people around him, who are more easily defeated by the horrors of life.

“In Beauvoir’s experience Darwin was way wrong. The fittest didn’t survive. They were killed by the idiocy of their neighbors, who continued to bumble along oblivious.”

Jean Guy Beauvoir is Gamache’s second-in-command but is very different from him. Jean Guy is less patient and less appreciative of human behavior. He finds most human behavior to be ugly. In this quote, Jean Guy believes innocents, even the most intelligent, often die because the people around them make foolish decisions. This is a cynical perspective, which is characteristic of Jean Guy.

“People lied all the time in murder investigations. If the first victim of war was the truth, some of the first victims of a murder investigation were people’s lies. The lies they told themselves, the lies they told each other.”

In this quote, Penny prepares her reader for the red herrings to come. Because people lie in murder investigations, it will take a long time for Gamache and the reader to learn the truth. This adds tension to the novel and speaks to people being their own worst enemies.

“Gamache’s gaze shifted from the old Hadley house down to Three Pines. Kids were playing touch football on the village green, eking out every last moment of their summer vacation. Snippets of voices drifted to them from villagers sitting on other porches, enjoying the early evening. The main topic of conversation, though, wouldn’t be the ripening tomatoes, the cooler nights, or getting in the winter wood.”

Three Pines is an idyllic setting. It’s rural, small, and peaceful. However, Jakob’s murder has upended the peaceful nature of Three Pines. This quote frames Three Pines as both idyllic and nightmarish. It emphasizes how destructive a crime like murder is on an otherwise safe community; the villagers’ talk of “ripening tomatoes” and such is a fallacy of safety.

“He believed her when she’d said they loved him. But he also knew they loved a man who didn’t exist. He was a fiction. If they knew the real Olivier they’d kick him out, of their lives and probably the village.”

In this quote, Penny uses dramatic irony to inform the reader of Olivier’s duplicitous nature. Though Olivier has good qualities, he is actively lying and deflecting, misdirecting the murder investigation from the truth. This dramatic irony emphasizes that Olivier is lying to others but also himself. No matter Olivier’s secret, he is risking his reputation and the love of his friends to keep it. This makes him suspicious and heightens the stakes of the mystery.

“Beauvoir had been in dozens of places like this in rural Quebec. Lived in by a generation born there too. Clotilde Poirier probably drank coffee from a chipped mug her mother had used. Slept on a mattress she’d been conceived on. The walls would be covered with dried flowers and spoons sent by relatives who’d escaped to exotic places like Rimouski or Chicoutimi or Gaspé. And there’d be a chair, a rocking chair, by the window, near the woodstove. It would have a slightly soiled afghan on it and crumbs.”

This quote illustrates life in rural Quebec through the character of Clotilde Poirier. Unlike the cities of Quebec, rural Quebec is marked by continuity, a lack of change. Tradition is valued and progress is not necessary to happiness.

“Armand Gamache was their explorer. The one who went where others refused to go, or couldn’t go. Or were too afraid to go. Into the wilderness. Gamache found the chasms, the caves, and the beasts that hid in them.”

Gamache is the leader of his homicide investigation team not just because of his years of service but because of his skills. He uses brains, not brawn, to dive into the psychology of murder investigation. He has an intuitive understanding of human nature and uses this to read suspects.

“Beauvoir had long thought Gamache did it because he was afraid of nothing. But he’d come to realize the Chief Inspector had many fears. That was his strength. He recognized it in others. Fear more than anything was the thrust behind the knife, the fist. The blow to the head.”

Gamache is not fearless, though many people perceive him as so. He is a fully realized human who understands the limitations of being human. He is under no misconception that he and the criminals he investigates are different. All people are capable of crimes because all people feel fear and rage. Because Gamache knows fear, he is in tune with the feelings of people who commit violence.

“‘You’re an outsider,’ said Myrna. ‘A threat.’ She slowly closed her hand. As a black woman she knew what it meant to be ‘beyond the pale.’ She’d been on the outside all her life, until she’d moved here. Now she was on the inside and it was the Gilberts’ turn.”

The term “beyond the pale” is important to the themes of the novel. Beyond the pale signifies a castle protected by walls—anything outside of these walls is beyond the pale. Because Three Pines is close-knit, the villagers are naturally wary of outsiders. It takes time and effort to be considered an insider.

“Any other horse might have been upset but Chester had seen worse. He seemed quite fond of Beauvoir by the time the Inspector slid off his back. Not once had Beauvoir kicked him, whipped him, or punched him. In Chester’s lifetime, Beauvoir was by far the gentlest and kindest of riders.”

Jean Guy is characterized as a cop who has battled his share of demons. Despite being brash and aggressive, at his core, he is a gentle person. His tough exterior hides his sensitivity, as demonstrated by the horse’s instinct to trust him.

“Gamache looked at the path. Once you knew it was there it was obvious. It almost screamed. Like those optical illusions deliberately placed in paintings that once found you couldn’t stop seeing. The tiger in the crockery, the spaceship in the garden.”

The Hermit’s cabin is well hidden in the woods, but once discovered, it is almost shockingly obvious. This is an important plot development because it demonstrates that secrets often hide in plain sight. The cabin is as out of place in Three Pines as a “spaceship in the garden”—emphasizing how even the safest, most secure places can carry secrets.

“One of us, thought Gamache. Three short words, but potent. They more than anything had launched a thousand ships, a thousand attacks. One of us. A circle drawn. And closed. A boundary marked. Those inside and those not. Families, clubs, gangs, cities, states, countries. A village.”

This quote emphasizes the tribal mentality of Three Pines. Though Gamache knows the villagers to be kind, they accept him because he helped him before. Otherwise, he would be left out of the phrase “one of us.” This quote highlights that Gamache’s investigation is contending with a village that will protect its own—and its own secrets.

“Life was about to take her away from here. From the place where she’d become herself. This solid little village that never changed but helped its inhabitants to change. She’d arrived straight from art college full of avant-garde ideas, wearing shades of gray and seeing the world in black and white. So sure of herself. But here, in the middle of nowhere, she’d discovered color. And nuance. She’d learned this from the villagers, who’d been generous enough to lend her their souls to paint.”

Clara Morrow’s experience with Three Pines illustrates its influential, nurturing nature. In getting to know the villagers, Clara became a more nuanced artist. While Three Pines can be exclusive and unwelcome to outsiders, it can also be generous and instrumental in making individuals more whole.

“He’d known it from the instant he’d seen the Hermit dead on the bistro floor. He’d seen this avalanche sliding toward him, gaining momentum. Olivier couldn’t run. Could never outrun what was coming.”

The reveal of Olivier’s secret is inevitable. Yet his dread does not motivate him to come forward with the truth. This quote foreshadows Olivier’s series of lies, each secret only being revealed when pushed by Gamache.

“He made it sound gentle, but he knew it wasn’t. It was a brutal, ugly, vindictive act. A violation of a body, a violation of a friendship, a violation of the Gilberts. And finally, it was a betrayal of Gabri and their lives in Three Pines.”

Olivier has a sterling reputation in Three Pines, but his admission of knowing the Hermit—Jakob—and his insistence on keeping secrets reveals he is capable of heinous acts that betray his reputation. This quote emphasizes that breaking one’s morals ends in a loss for the person. Ultimately, Marc Gilbert’s discovery of the body pales in comparison to Olivier’s acts. Olivier invites punishment when he meant to deflect it, hurting his partner, Gabri, in the process.

“Beauvoir realized he’d cut to the quick of the case. What appeared threatening wasn’t. And what appeared wonderful, wasn’t.”

In this quote, Penny emphasizes the theme of Appearances Can Be Deceiving. What appears threatening—like the Gilberts, outsiders—is in fact not. What appears wonderful—like Olivier—ends up being the real threat.

“This was the part of investigating he liked the most, and that most frightened him. Not the cornered and murderous suspect. But the possibility of turning left when he should have gone right. Of dismissing a lead, of giving up on a promising trail. Or not seeing one in his rush to a conclusion.”

The mystery genre often consists of twists and turns rather than a linear investigation and resolution. These twists and turns serve to engage the reader in the work of a detective. They also emphasize the theme of Opinion Versus Truth, in that people can be deceived by truths they choose to believe over others. This quote foreshadows Gamache being close to answers, but still in a precarious position in which a wrong decision will take him further from the truth.

“In the end the answer to a murder investigation was always devastatingly simple. It was always right there, obvious. Hiding in facts and evidence and lies, and the misperceptions of the investigators.”

This quote emphasizes the theme of Opinion Versus Truth. Because people are more inclined to opinion than truth, murder trials often hinge on misconceptions. The truth is often an easy answer buried by opinions.

“Was she being willful? Obstinate? Or was she standing up for what she believed in? Was she a hero or a bitch? Strange how often it was hard to tell.”

Though this quote is about Clara and her specific conflict with standing up against anti-gay bias, it can be extended to mysteries in general. People are never wholly good or bad. Everyone is complex, and perception relies on context. Like a mystery in which a person seems like a suspect only to be revealed as innocent, and vice versa, so too do all humans have to struggle with differing perspectives.

“Gamache radiated anger now. Anger, frustration and fear that the real murderer would slip away, hiding in another man’s lies. Olivier and the Chief Inspector stared at each other. One man who spent his life burying secrets and the other who spent his life unearthing them.”

This quote signifies a change in tone. Gamache expresses frustration because he is close to cracking his case but needs honesty from a deceptive person. Olivier is so committed to his lies, and Gamache to the truth, that these two are presented as foils.

“This murder was about fear. And the lies it produced. But, more subtly, it was about stories. The tales people told the world, and told themselves. The Mythtime and the totems, that uneasy frontier between fable and fact. And the people who fell into the chasm.”

This quote parallels the first chapter, in which the story Olivier tells Jakob foreshadows his own demise. Stories are powerful and palpable, and can be expressed through art that connects humans across space and time. Stories can also be used for manipulation. In Olivier’s case, his lies are stories he fabricates to keep his greed a secret. This quote echoes Penny’s own relationship with the text as an author.