Weycombe

Let me take a moment to review a book that I loved. 

Weycombe by G.M. Malliet
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Nothing is as perfect as it seems.

It never is. Jillian White finds this out when the facade of her fantasy life is shattered by the murder of a woman named Anna, the local estate agent. Little by little the reader is pulled into Jill's world and her thoughts. (view spoiler)[It is written in first person, so we have the advantage of knowing what the narrator is thinking. However, she has the advantage of only telling us what she wants us to know.

Weycombe is like a cousin to Girl on the Train. Though Girl is more intense, Weycombe is more sinister. If Girl on a Train is on one side of Weycombe's family, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is on the other, and here is where I let the bomb drop. I don't plan on having a review without spoilers.

The thing is, being so deep inside the mind of Jill is a little unnerving. There is a transformation throughout the book, and it doesn't get any more comfortable. At first Jill is in a rut, a huge rut that she can't get out of and that threatens to get tiresome. While Rachel from Girl is lost in alcoholism, Jillian is simply lost. She has lost her job; she has given up on trying to find another one. She spends her days wondering around the wealthy village of Weycombe, wasting away her life while her marriage falls apart. Not unlike with Rachel, I tended to want to throttle Jillian for her decisions.

But, she becomes energized with the idea of the murder of Anna, a woman who used to be her friend. She takes copious notes and eventually she states what we have been suspecting for a while – that she is planning to write a novel based on the murder. (The job she lost was with the BBC, so she's right in her niche.) That the murder of someone she knew could inspire her paints Jill in a less favorable light, even as it is she telling the story. As she becomes more interested in the investigation she becomes obsessed. She uses her feminine guile and American-ness to get information from the detective, and she talks with people around town, making small talk and then rushing to write everything down.

This invigorated Jillian is more pleasant, though. She is sure of herself and her talents. She has a purpose. She wastes no time on the illusion that she can save her marriage; in fact she hides her industry from her husband – willing him to stay out all night so she can get work done. All the while, small clues keep popping up, things that would have been more natural had they been told in a more chronological way. Some things seem to be important, and yet mean nothing... until later. She talks with a former colleague and the energy of her profession continues to return. She even talks to her Member of Parliament (MP) and is not intimidated when he calls her local police to put her in her place complain about her.

In the quaint village of Weycombe with its scenic backdrop, we see this woman, Jillian, slowly raise her head to look at us, then she keeps turning her head to look toward the sky, and she continues turning. Then we are looking at the back of her head, but there is another face there, and it is only beginning to lift itself to look at us. It is another Jillian with another version of the story we just heard. And we learn that this more well-adjusted woman is more sinister than we had been led to believe. (hide spoiler)]

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Out of my Gourd

Things found on the morning after a party – reminders that are a mix of amusement and shame. Like, high heel shoes hanging from light fixtures, random articles of clothing on furniture, suspicious concoctions in the blender that seemed like a good idea at the time, and perhaps a person sleeping it off behind the sofa. Then there are the incidental items, like a decorated gourd on a barstool – tipping, but not falling off, having made it through whatever remained of the evening and the cleaning-up.

Artists make life more interesting.

Houston Glass Studio 2017

Another Art Festival has come and gone. I love going with Barry to these things, and I have seen them change in the short time that I've been going with him. I've been going since around 2005; he's been doing it for thirty years. We talked with other artists, talked with his customers – new and established. We had wine and water, food and candy while we talked about art, techniques and life.

What I've always loved about these festivals is the family that has sprung up between the artists. They would run into each other around the country on the circuit of festivals, and after a few years some very strong friendships emerged. People ask after each other. This weekend I heard people talking about an artist that they hadn't seen in a while; all trying to figure out if everything is okay and telling stories about that person. They talked about people that they had seen recently. They talked about health and how much longer they can continue and who is thinking about retiring to the Carolinas. 

And, of course, I love the art. I am partial to ceramics, but there is a special place in my heart for painting. There weren't actual paintings this weekend. Liz Conces Spencer is a painter, but the work she was showing was glass. She kind of painted with glass and it's beautiful.

There was a time when people came to these shows with the intention of decorating their homes. Some still do, but the concept seems to have declined in popularity. I think that the possibility isn't even in younger people's minds any more – the idea of decorating a home with art. But, one of Leslie's accent tables would be perfect for the smaller homes and condos that are becoming so popular these days. Paintings and 3D artwork make for wonderful conversation, and as soon as people learn how to have conversations face-to-face again fine arts could have a renaissance. I'm certain that the next generation will revolt against the Communication Machine and hold conversation in cellars of coffee shops. Maybe they'll have somebody accentuate their more important points with percussion instruments. It's a nice thought. Somebody is bound to do a painting about the Burning of the Devices. There could be a novel about it as well, akin to Fahrenheit 451.

In the meantime, feel free to ponder over these pictures I took this weekend. My plan is to do more in-depth entries on some of the individual artists – their history, their art... their stories. Stay tuned.

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Barry Perez - Pendant

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Barry Perez - Pendant

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Houston Glass Studio Glasses

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Leslie Ravey Ensemble in Wood and Leather

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Leslie Ravey Handbags

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Leslie Ravey Table

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Liz Conces Spencer

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V. Chin

Anna Russell - Hamletto, or Prosciuttino (Voice)

I heard this years ago on the local NPR station - KUT. If I remember correctly it began as I pulled into the parking lot at Barnes & Noble and I sat there listening to it all the way through, much to the bemusement of the people in the cars around me. 

Anna Russell dissects a fictitious opera based on Shakespeare's Hamlet. Her humor stands the test of time. So, if you have about 30 minutes to spend on mindless comedic entertainment, please feel free to give this a listen.