Genre: Novel
Grade: A
Notable People: Charlotte Rampling, Tom Courtenay, Directed by Andrew Haigh
Title: The Company She Kept
Review: Amazingly, the 26th offering in 26 years for the Joe Gunther series, Archer takes the form to new heights in this one. Circling back to some mysterious, and unresolved characters from books of ten years ago as well as introducing a host of new characters, he takes us on a great ride through the mountains and valleys of his beloved Vermont. His books have gotten more politically informed over time, as well as a lot more life-philosophical (Joe must be 90 by now!). But, his craft just keeps getting better. We had the good fortune to hear him read from the book this Fall, and the passion of his voice is quite sincere as are his musings about the writing process and its evolution, shared with us over coffee and pastry at Java Baba’s in Ludlow. . . fair to say, this is not an unbiased review as most of your know about our longtime acquaintance with Archer…but I wouldn’t let that dater you from going out and getting a copy right now. Well, well done.