When Will There Be Good News
Today is that weird holiday in February called Family Day. It’s mid winter, something like -27C outside, anything municipal or provincial is closed up tight, but the Feds are hard at work – how stupid is that?! It’s way too cold to be outside doing anything, the Malls are all closed, and I’ve seen The King’s Speech and Barney’s Version so what else is there to do but sit and read (the laundry does itself). I’m doing something I almost never do.. REread a book. Way back when, I was able to get a copy of Kate Atkinson’s When Will There Be Good News?: A Novel at my local library. Lucky me! About a month ago I decided to buy the book since it was on sale in the trade edition for the fantastic price of $9.99 at “that big box bookstore who shall remain nameless”. Anyway, I was just sitting there with my book and a cuppa and laughing my head off when I realized that I just had to write and say READ THIS BOOK!! It is an international bestseller and for good reason. Reggie Chase, Atkinson’s main character, is probably one of the most endearing people ever created on paper. 16 going on 30, she’s a force to be reckoned with, a skillfully trained “life-saver”, a fantastic mother’s helper, and a survivor of the school of hardknocks. Add Jackson Brodie (the well known retired Detective Inspector from Atkinson’s Case Histories and One Good Turn) to the story and you’ve got 2 amazing characters exceptionally well drawn. There is a chapter in the book titled Arma Virumque Cano (yes, latin) that will bring on a fit of giggles in even the most serious of readers. Inspite of that, this is a fantastic mystery… and the ending will blow you away – guaranteed. For heaven sakes … you won’t get a better deal anywhere for $9.99. Go buy this book! And then in years to come you’ll be able to reread it just like I’m doing now and enjoy it just as much as the first time.