Independent Bookseller | Shrew Books | England

Time 2020-12-25 06:03:27

Web Name: Independent Bookseller | Shrew Books | England

WebSite: http://bookendsoffowey.com

ID:145287

Keywords:

Bookseller,Independent,Shrew,

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shrew@shrewbooks.co.ukOpening Hoursmonday: closedtuesday: 10am - 5pmwednesday: 10am - 4pmthursday: 10am - 5pmfriday: 10am - 5pmsaturday: 10am - 5pmsunday: 10am - 4pmSocialsTwitterInstagram​the shrew reviewTo Cook a Bearby Mikael NiemiThere have been a string of successful fictional priest-detectives over the years, from Father Brown to Sidney Chambers, all wrestling with their faith as more and more horrors cross their paths, and all facing the incredulity of their parishioners as they manage to solve the most puzzling mysteries while simultaneously managing to keep the community spiritually nourished. Really, it’s the perfect position to be in when it comes to detective work - occupying the most unassuming role in the village, and imbibing secrets and anxieties from your flock obviously comes with benefits. Lars Levi Laestadius is the central focus of To Cook a Bear, an historical character who lived and preached a new kind of Christianity to the Sami folk of northern Sweden in the mid-Nineteenth Century. As Niemi tells it, he’s a man out of step with his time, and with his community; a man who frequently doubts his own piety according to the high expectations he himself set out. His inquiring mind and fascination with science and art make him stumble over his faith, but also lead him to a greater clarity and real solutions when no one else is willing to search for them - and here he is very similar to the historic canon of crime-solving priests. Mikael Niemi’s beautiful novel steers from this well-trodden path through the character of Jussi, the pastor’s young Sami companion who he had all but adopted some years before the story takes place. Jussi has spent his youth seeking a home, and found the closest thing to one in the Laestadius household, learning to read and study botany - as well as the Bible. He is curious and clever, and an instantly loveable character, ostracised by the community of cliques of favours-owed who find his Sami sensibilities odd and untrustworthy. Once Jussi and the pastor happen upon the evident scene of a crime, this strand of the novel follows a very traditional structure (a missing young woman presumed dead, incredulous and lazy authorities, a genius pair of habitual crime-solvers), but it is the relationship between the pair that brings the story to life - at its core this is a tale of a troubled faith, fatherhood, cultural alienation and the brutality visited upon those who experience it. While there are cliff-hangers and a nail-biting search for justice, Niemi subverts the standard crime novel tropes by playing with the narrative, and bringing such a rich set of relationships and a strange and bleak landscape to the foreground, that To Cook a Bear feels like a worthy and affecting addition the genre.

TAGS:Bookseller Independent Shrew 

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Welcome to Shrew Books, an independent bookshop in Cornwall. We primarily sell new books, with a growing range of children's titles and nature writing, as well as a focus on Cornish writers and Cornish settings.

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