Our area usually doesn’t come into full bloom until May but something neat has happened this spring in our neck of the woods. A great horned owl family has taken up residence in a nest in a tall tree down by the river and people around town have gotten word and are stopping by to watch this now-very popular family of five. There’s two parents, the mama owl near the nest and a papa not too far off, and three baby owlets who seem to be getting too big for their roost. They’re jostling about vying for space and at times flapping their wings, but haven’t flown the coop just yet.
It’s neat to see these birds so close on a daily basis, usually they’re pretty elusive birds that are most active at night. I’ve lived here for over 10 years and have never had such a good view of owls before. Now my dog and I walk by them each day to see what is new. We hope the owlets will survive and find their way in the world. Their parents have been great caregivers so far. They’re tough and make no mistake these birds are fierce predators that can take large prey, but so far we haven’t seen them during feeding hours so don’t know their full story. Still they are fun to watch in the daylight. Meanwhile I’ll leave you with a couple reviews of books I finished lately.
Tim Johnston’s crime mystery “The Current” starts off with two college girls on a long road trip home who suffer an attack at a gas station and whose car gets knocked from behind by an unidentified truck into the icy waters of a Minnesota river, drowning one and injuring the other. It’s an incident that rattles the nearby hometown of one of the girl’s, which endured a similar tragedy of a teenage girl dying in the river 10 years before. The recent survivor comes to realize there’s connections between the two cases and begins to poke around into the prior murder, which was pinned on a boy who was ultimately not charged.
Uh-oh. These kinds of icy, winter Minnesota mysteries are often hard for me to resist. And indeed I thought “The Current” had a more involved and better plot than the author’s 2015 acclaimed debut “The Descent,” which was a missing person, kidnap kind of story set in the mountains of Colorado. This one starts fast with the crime then turns into a slow burn of a novel about the injured girl and how other residents in her small hometown have been affected by the previous murder as they weathered years of suspicion, guilt, and grief. The accused boy and his family’s lives were changed forever as well as the lives of the victim’s family’s and the sheriff’s who was never able to get a conviction. Eventually the survivor girl is able to unravel enough secrets about that case and the town to get an arrest.
It’s a story, though while a slow burn, propelled me along quickly as I grappled with who and what were behind these crimes. It had a strong atmosphere of the town and the river, and the various characters felt like they had been through these tragedies. At times I wasn’t sure if the author was shooting for the novel to be literary fiction or crime fiction — it wavered between the two — as it went on at some length and manifested the various repercussions to the town folk. I liked it but thought it could’ve been edited shorter. The ending resolved one, but not fully both of the crimes, which didn’t really bother me as I felt that that is often the case, but if that bugs you, be forewarned. I will continue to read whatever the author puts out next as I think his crime novels are compelling and seem to be getting better.
Thanks to Algonquin books for the e-galley they provided me for this review.
Next up, I listened to the audiobook of Leila Slimani’s novel “The Perfect Nanny,” which was picked by the New York Times as one of the Top 10 Books of 2018. The author was also awarded France’s most prestigious literary prize, the Goncourt, for the novel — the first Moroccan-born woman to win it — so I was keen to investigate. Apparently the book was a blockbuster in France but hasn’t taken off as much in the U.S. Still I was curious — though I went into it blind, not knowing much, and I was spit out the other side in a frightened fog. Holy smokes it’s dark! Need I say it’s inspired by a real crime that happened on the Upper West Side of New York in 2012, in which a nanny bludgeoned the family’s two children. Gawd I wondered after the first chapter — what was I doing.
From the novel’s outset you know that a horrific crime has happened and who the perpetrator is but then you go back in time to get a sense of the mind-set and background of the nanny and her relationship with the family, especially with the mother. It’s a story, set in Paris, of Louise, who at first appears to be the quintessential nanny to Myriam and Paul’s two children. She does everything wonderfully: engage the children, clean the apartment, mend the clothes, cook the meals for the family. But in time as the married couple — Myriam, a lawyer, and Paul, a music executive — and the nanny become more dependent on one another, feelings of resentment and jealousy mount. The lonely Louise, who’s insinuated herself into all aspects of their lives, expects to be apart of their family, but the parents look to her services basically to care for their kids so that they can pursue their careers.
Uh-oh. You begin to feel uneasy: this is not go to go well. In an unstable person, madness is never very far away. But the parents in the story are no angels either. That’s what’s so interesting about the novel. In the hands of a different writer, it would likely come off as a crime thriller like in “The Girl on the Train” genre or in the vein of a gruesome murder in the Scandinavian crime genre, yet this author writes it in such a way that explores various other issues as it builds and becomes more unsettling: such as motherhood, class, domesticity, working parents and mental illness. It’s not as much graphic as it is just the doom that builds in your own mind, knowing about its impending arrival.
I found the novel well done, enough to give it 4.5 stars on Goodreads despite its very dark subject matter. Midway through, I began to ask who is this author and why have I never heard of her before, which is usually a sign that I find the writing pretty effective. It’s translated from French, so you might notice some language variances. But now that I know all about the insufferable Louise and the crime, I need to get them clearly out of my head for good. I used to like the name Louise but I’m not sure I can stomach it much anymore.
That’s all for now, what about you have you read these novels and if so, what did you think?
I read reviews of the Perfect Nanny and ended up taking it off my TBR because it was so dark. I think some of the reviewers felt that the translation wasn’t very good. But I didn’t get that feeling from you. Maybe I’ll put it back on my list.
Love the owls!
Hi Anne: I thought the audio version of The Perfect Nanny to be quite good and I didn’t notice the translation to be clunky as some have said. It is a dark subject though and might not be for everyone. Glad you liked the Owls!
Oh my gosh, I’d love to see those owls. I get caught up in “nest cams” all the time. both books sound good to me.
Hi Kathy, glad you like the owls. I’ve been amazed ever since finding that they had a nest there. I’m getting into nest cams too lately. Ha. My sister sent me a link of nests at the Presidio but they’re not streaming presently.
Very cool owl pictures. It is always neat to observe elusive animals in thier natural habitats.
The Perfect Nanny sounds good. I like the idea of knowing the end of a mystery at the beginning. It is a different way to construct a story but sometimes such stories can be a nice break from the routine.
Hi Brian, yeah the owls are awesome / surprising how in public view they are. I agree about the construct of The Perfect Nanny …. even though you know the outcome of the story it doesn’t actually ruin it. There’s still a lot of impending emotions about what is coming etc.
Great reviews, Susan. You have me wanting to go back and read The Perfect Nanny. I honestly thought it was just another thriller, but it sounds like so much more. I might give it a try on audio this summer, depending on the narrator. I’m also a Tim Johnston fan, loving Descent and liking The Current almost as much.
You little owl family is wonderful. It’s great that you can keep an eye on the owlets as they grow and that you’re able to get close enough to get such good pics. I hope spring blossoms soon for you.
Thanks Susie, yes I must follow and see what’ll become of the owlets. They are quite big now. I think the audio version of The Perfect Nanny is quite good and lures one in. It’s a quick listen, not a long book — and it delves into various themes that make it worth the dark subject matter. Try it out over the summer. The reader I thought was good.
I didn’t realize The Perfect Nanny was such a hit in France… it may be a little too dark for me. What a treat to watch the owl family up close! Hope you’ll share a few more pictures.
Hi JoAnn, yes apparently The Perfect Nanny was the most read book in France in 2016 and has sold 600,000 copies there. Wow who knew? I think it’s a story that is not for everyone for sure and I almost stopped the audio early on but I’m glad I heard it out. I will continue to share news & pics of the owls, thanks.
I liked Descent and I will read this next one. I am partial to literary crime novels and I think this author will go far. The Perfect Nanny sounds like a perfect book for me too! The Goncourt Prize does pick some great books!
So cool about your owls. Wow! We are still waiting for our peahen to hatch her eggs. We think it could happen in the coming week.
Hi Judy: that’s exciting about your peahen. Is she in your yard? You must post a picture of her or perhaps you have already and my memory is bad. A new pic then. I’m very pleased about the owls, they are so interesting looking. I think you’d probably like both of these books, when you get to them.
We have an owl too but it disappears come daylight.
The Current sounds pretty darn good. It gave me child just reading what you shared.
I have The Perfect Nanny but got it when there were so many baby books hitting the shelves so I set it aside. It sounds pretty good but I am not sure I am in the mood for it quite yet.
The weather in in So Cal has been about 89 every day this week. It’s not terribly hot but nice. I wish summer was like this.
Hi Ti, 89 seems pretty warm. I know owls usually are only around during night flyovers but I’ve never seen them much in daylight like this. Seems pretty rare. You’d probably like both of these crime stories, the Nanny book is a bit quicker read, moves fast. The Current starts quickly then slows and builds with time.
I know a person who is in New York State about 100 miles away from us here in Pennsylvania and she’s been posting Instagram photos and videos of an owl family in trees near her house. During an Earth Day event last week, they had owls there too, which I found odd because i thought they were nocturnal creatures, plus I don’t think they really enjoyed being tied up all day. I’ve seen The Current out there and I think our library has it. I might have to seek it out. Uh oh. 😉
Hi Bryan: tied up? Yeah I’d never seen owls much other than night time but I guess during spring time there’s a lot of them nesting etc. Hope you enjoy The Current if you get to it. thanks for stopping by.
What an awesome owl picture – beautiful. I have the Perfect Nanny on my Kindle but haven
READ IT YET.
Thanks Diane: the owls really have amazed us. They’re majestic and we’ve been stopping by to check on them each day. I’ll be curious to see what you think of The Perfect Nanny. It’s not for everyone but is interestingly written.
Cool pics of the owl family! I read a review of The Perfect Nanny a while back through a blogger I follow; she did not like it that much. From your review, it seems there are more layers to the story than the crime angle, which it’s always interesting. The first mystery sounds good as well.
Thanks Carmen, the owls have amazed all in our town. Yeah I guess I liked the layers in the Perfect Nanny which made it a bit more nuanced than the usual slasher thriller type book. Still it is quite dark material and not for everyone. The other mystery kept me going.
First, way cool to have an owl family in the neighborhood. We live a few miles from where a pair have raised a family for several successive years and they are a joy to watch. Not this year though. Enjoy your time with them—I love that you check in frequently to see how they’re doing.
The Current sounds really good—I like that kind of thriller (not seat of your pants the whole time but the bang and then the slow burn). I’ll have to check out the CO set one as well.
The Perfect Nanny is too dark for me—the psychological parts do sound interesting, but I couldn’t stomach the attack on the children. It would upset my psyche too much.
Great post!
Hey Jane thanks! Yeah it’s rare here to see owls so well during the day, quite a treat this year. It’s neat that you’ve had them in years past near your place too. I can understand not being able to stomach The Perfect Nanny, I just about stopped after Chapter 1 but somehow held on. You’d probably like Tim Johnston’s two novels; they’re pretty decent. Enjoy.