Wow, this was unbelievably interesting! Where to even start... some immediate thoughts:
1) The Aylmerton Commune sounds an awful lot like the place Strike visited in his childhood. Do the timelines match? (Though I understand not something JKR always bothers with as much as she should...) The excerpt says the Aylmerton Commune was disbanded in 1986, that would make Strike 7 years old... a bit too young for the kind of memories he claims to have? Or is it exactly the point? If the Aylmerton Commune was a place where pedophiles operated, is that what happened to him? Was he abused, and his sister?`
2) The abusive Crowther brothers made me think of the Lafferty brothers in Under the Banner of Heaven, which I read recently. Perhaps JKR did too, due to the recent popular Netflix adaptation.
3) Some interesting returns... the names Bryce and Harkness make a reappearance, as does Roper Chard and the Chiswell family. One silly thought that occurred to me is that "insider trading" was what Gemma the PA incriminated Shifty for. Would Daniel Winterson be Shifty's real name?
4) The Drowned Prophet... I was immediately screaming "Ariana Dumbledore" as soon as I read about her. Not sure why.
5) I was struck by Will saying, wrt his happiness within the cult, that he "now understands many things he never did before". I always watch out for these kinds of vague and irrelevant-looking statements in JKR's books, because they can be hints at future revelations.
6) Charlotte. I bet something dramatic happens to her, after the revelation in the last book that Cormoran doesn't want her. Something dramatic that might advance the plot of the main series' mystery, namely Cormoran's family past.
7) That baptism picture with Ilsa fretting, Nick looking "sinister", the drunk grandmother, Strike and Robin's "forced smiles", and Bijou interloping... a bad omen if I've ever seen one. Will something bad happen to Nick and Ilsa? Adultery, perhaps, followed by divorce?
8) I felt so sad when I read of Angel's leukemia. "She wants to see her real father", it sounds like a terminal diagnosis. Is Shanker's mental or physical health going to decline, is he going to become desperate and put himself in danger?
9) I'm looking forward to seeing the inner workings of the cult, but I'm not sure I'll enjoy seeing Robin subjected to coercion, malnourishment and abuse... exchange of information between the partners is usually key to driving the plot and the case forward, but in this case Robin will not have access to a phone while she's in Chapman Farm. I wonder if she'll manage to hide a phone somewhere for herself, in an echo of the listening devices in LW... and also of Stieg Larsson!
John, initially I thought nothing of the release of the excerpt, but now that it's no longer available, I'm curious. Such a tease! And I also failed to miss the Dylan Thomas epigraph, but I've been mulling over the I Ching epigraph "The Well. The town may be changed, But the well cannot be changed." I looked up the well online, and it's a positive source of healing, if the bucket gets deep enough, of "clear...clean water" that's not being used but could be... then I dashed to the Aeschylus epigraph in DH, "But there is a cure in the house, and not outside it, no, not from others but from them, their bloody strife. We sing to you, dark gods beneath the earth. Now hear you blissful powers underground--- answer the call, send help." The idea of going deep for help is in both epigraphs. It also makes me think, as you put it John, "Rowling will be smuggling the reality of the psychic and spiritual dimensions into those parts of her story her readers are least inclined to take seriously" is spot on. Perhaps Kevin believed in this because like the boy in Stephen King's The Sixth Sense, he sees dead people. Maybe Daiyu (why does that sound like "Die you") also saw dead people, specifically Jennifer, and had to die herself. I'm very curious about this whole area. Harry tried to get Nearly Headless Nick to help him talk to Sirius, but the ghost wasn't helpful. He had to know what to tell the used snitch, to be ready to die himself before he could talk to not only Sirius, but other "blissful powers." What does this mean for Robin???
All the letters in the prologue pulled me in immediately because of the mom's heartbreaking pleas, which reminded me of Charity begging for help from Snape. The gaslighting, but legal bullying Kevin had to endure was not unlike Edie's online bullying. His comment about there being "big stretches of time where I can't remember anything" reminded me of Ginny talking to Harry in Phoenix about her experience in Chamber. Elisa brought up the name Bryce recurring, which makes me wonder if we'll find out if the wealthy benefactor was actually murdered (shades of Frank Bryce perhaps?) and makes a posthumous appearance to Robin or even the skeptical Strike?
I really like Elisa's thought about Daiyu and Ariana, not because of Ariana's death but because of the abuse she endured that was subsequently traumatic for the whole family. But it also brought to mind Charlie Bristow, dead at 9 at the hand of his adopted brother.
The names made me curious. Three Chinese names: Mazu- goddess of the sea (!!), Taio- large waves (!), Daiyu- black jade. And a name that could be Italian or German- Belinda, which in German is snake, not unlike Nagini, who makes an early appearance in DH, just as Bijou does in The Running Grave. Bijou, a small, elegant and tasteful trinket, does not really fit the inelegant and inappropriate "Barbie Barrister"(lol), but it did remind me of a locket that was actually a horcrux. So there's that.
I was so relieved Strike hung up on Charlotte, but just the mention of her name gave me chills, no matter how glassy eyed she appeared to Robin. But I loved Robin and Strike's debrief in which Robin offers to cut her hair. Is her cutting her hair a way that "the town [her hair] may be changed, but the well [Robin's soul] cannot be changed"? And Strike suggesting Robin might fit into something of Pru's and that he has talked to Pru about Robin are rather mysterious and ambiguous gifts that Robin completely misunderstands. I had to smile thinking about the way Dumbledore's gifts could also appear confusing until the Sorting Hat produced a sword, a phoenix produced tears, a used snitch provided a stone, etc.
Finally I can only hope that the power of maternal love will save Will. I hope Shanker doesn't have to die to help his stepdaughter have her dying wish but that business makes me nervous. In fact I'm kinda nervous for Ilsa too, especially since her husband has some weirdly creepy but intentional habits. We'll find out soon if my fears are justified!
Thank you so much Sandy, so much in here! Thank you for translating the names, I totally wanted to look them up…
John wonders about connections with Deathly Hallows. I think, like you seem to think, that the main one will be, as you put it, “seeing dead people”. Jennifer the epileptic, dead in the sea, and Daiyu following her because she’s seen… what? Daiyu, like Ariana, in possession of something too big for her, and dead because of it, and her “volatile” brothers either actually guilty or feeling guilty. Taio might be an Aberforth. He might also be a Tony Landry, if Daiyu is Charlie Bristow.
I’m utterly fascinated that Belinda means snake. Never in a million years! In DH, Nagini is the last obstacle standing between Harry and victory over evil, and Harry’s friend slays her. Will Robin vanquish Belinda in order to finally hook up with Strike? Or maybe Ilsa will, on Robin’s behalf?
Margaret Cathcart Bryce is totally that woman Tom Riddle kills in order to get her trinkets (what the hell was her name?).
Is it possible the extract has gone already? I can’t find it anymore on either links.
The only two links I see with Deathly Hallows is the hopelessness/magnitude of the task. It is very difficult, not clear what steps need to be taken but the hero (Robin) is determined to go for it. Secondly the fact they go undercover.
I am very much looking forward to a Robin/Pru situation as well as her breakup with Riley. Looking at her thoughtprocess I didn’t see it going anywhere.
I do not understand this ‘Bijou’ character. I very much doubt her only role was to show us Strike is no longer interested in other woman and I wonder what she’ll be back for. Nothing good.
The death of Will’s mother while she is desperately seeking reconciliation, or at least to see him before she dies remind me of Rowena Ravenclaw. Maybe Will’s taken something that his family doesn’t want to talk about?
Today extra chapters are released by Apple. One small factual error: Robin said 'You can only access census records up to 1921', but they are in 2016! So, they could only access the 1911 one.
Elisa you're welcome. I'm learning how important names are, and I think because they're so unusual I didn't just read them casually. Belinda I almost skipped because I know "linda" is Spanish for pretty. But I looked it up anyway and found the German meaning. I'm even more curious about bijou as a trinket because of Voldemort's obsession with them. And I think the woman you mean is Hepzibah Smith, descendant of Helga Hufflepuff. In IBH I thought the parallel to horcruxes were Gus's sock puppet accounts. After reading Leah Remini's book Troublemaker I no longer view Scientology as just another religion, but as a dangerous trap that's hard to escape. As John already pointed out the UHC sounds so familiar, attractive to wealthy celebrities in much the same way Scientology is, which sounds an awful lot like a real life version of horcruxes.
Absolutely, names are EVERYTHING. I spent AGES poring over Gwilherm, Tudor and Samhain Athorn, and I'm still not sure why they were named thus. Funny thing: Gwilherm = William = Bill (Talbot), all people who can see the supernatural, and die because of it? (If that's so it's probably bad news for our Will, and I'll be surprised if he survives to the end of the novel). Or possibly Jennifer = Guinevere = Ginevra (Ginny Weasley), which admittedly doesn't seem relevant other than it'll turn out Jennifer was definitely Good People.
I liked the quick immersion into the major case and the concise catch-up with their personal lives. It’s great to see Strike taking his health seriously, but we have to wonder how Charlotte’s reappearance and always-possible suicide will affect him.
To add to Elisa’s intriguing thoughts:
1) I wonder how Strike’s relationship with “Pru” (already a fond nickname) will unfold. He may get answers—or at least clues—about his upbringing through their friendship. Receiving therapy from a half-sister, of course, would be ethically fraught (and we KNOW ethics always come first at the Strike/Ellacott agency . . .).
2) Once again, Robin is jumping headlong into peril. Leaping in front of trains or visiting a snuff-filming crime family alone apparently doesn’t cut it anymore. So maybe going underground with a cult whose major public critic was found with a bullet in his head will meet her need for validation or adrenaline. And so far Strike seems oblivious to any risk. Is he blinded by his desire to separate Robin from Ryan or does he actually not suspect a link between Kevin’s death and the UHC?
3) Not for nothing, I think, is Ryan’s alcoholism mentioned again. Although I certainly don’t wish it for him, is a relapse on the horizon that will redefine his relationship with Robin?
4) I’m a little curious about Strike and Robin’s precise business relationship. He took the lead in the meeting with Sir Colin and sons and Robin was slightly abashed by committing the agency to the case without consulting him first. Are they full partners, junior and senior partners or something else?
I suspect you’re correct. None of the links are working for me and it appears to have been taken down from The Rowling Library as well. I suppose I’ll have to wait!
Wow, this was unbelievably interesting! Where to even start... some immediate thoughts:
1) The Aylmerton Commune sounds an awful lot like the place Strike visited in his childhood. Do the timelines match? (Though I understand not something JKR always bothers with as much as she should...) The excerpt says the Aylmerton Commune was disbanded in 1986, that would make Strike 7 years old... a bit too young for the kind of memories he claims to have? Or is it exactly the point? If the Aylmerton Commune was a place where pedophiles operated, is that what happened to him? Was he abused, and his sister?`
2) The abusive Crowther brothers made me think of the Lafferty brothers in Under the Banner of Heaven, which I read recently. Perhaps JKR did too, due to the recent popular Netflix adaptation.
3) Some interesting returns... the names Bryce and Harkness make a reappearance, as does Roper Chard and the Chiswell family. One silly thought that occurred to me is that "insider trading" was what Gemma the PA incriminated Shifty for. Would Daniel Winterson be Shifty's real name?
4) The Drowned Prophet... I was immediately screaming "Ariana Dumbledore" as soon as I read about her. Not sure why.
5) I was struck by Will saying, wrt his happiness within the cult, that he "now understands many things he never did before". I always watch out for these kinds of vague and irrelevant-looking statements in JKR's books, because they can be hints at future revelations.
6) Charlotte. I bet something dramatic happens to her, after the revelation in the last book that Cormoran doesn't want her. Something dramatic that might advance the plot of the main series' mystery, namely Cormoran's family past.
7) That baptism picture with Ilsa fretting, Nick looking "sinister", the drunk grandmother, Strike and Robin's "forced smiles", and Bijou interloping... a bad omen if I've ever seen one. Will something bad happen to Nick and Ilsa? Adultery, perhaps, followed by divorce?
8) I felt so sad when I read of Angel's leukemia. "She wants to see her real father", it sounds like a terminal diagnosis. Is Shanker's mental or physical health going to decline, is he going to become desperate and put himself in danger?
9) I'm looking forward to seeing the inner workings of the cult, but I'm not sure I'll enjoy seeing Robin subjected to coercion, malnourishment and abuse... exchange of information between the partners is usually key to driving the plot and the case forward, but in this case Robin will not have access to a phone while she's in Chapman Farm. I wonder if she'll manage to hide a phone somewhere for herself, in an echo of the listening devices in LW... and also of Stieg Larsson!
John, initially I thought nothing of the release of the excerpt, but now that it's no longer available, I'm curious. Such a tease! And I also failed to miss the Dylan Thomas epigraph, but I've been mulling over the I Ching epigraph "The Well. The town may be changed, But the well cannot be changed." I looked up the well online, and it's a positive source of healing, if the bucket gets deep enough, of "clear...clean water" that's not being used but could be... then I dashed to the Aeschylus epigraph in DH, "But there is a cure in the house, and not outside it, no, not from others but from them, their bloody strife. We sing to you, dark gods beneath the earth. Now hear you blissful powers underground--- answer the call, send help." The idea of going deep for help is in both epigraphs. It also makes me think, as you put it John, "Rowling will be smuggling the reality of the psychic and spiritual dimensions into those parts of her story her readers are least inclined to take seriously" is spot on. Perhaps Kevin believed in this because like the boy in Stephen King's The Sixth Sense, he sees dead people. Maybe Daiyu (why does that sound like "Die you") also saw dead people, specifically Jennifer, and had to die herself. I'm very curious about this whole area. Harry tried to get Nearly Headless Nick to help him talk to Sirius, but the ghost wasn't helpful. He had to know what to tell the used snitch, to be ready to die himself before he could talk to not only Sirius, but other "blissful powers." What does this mean for Robin???
All the letters in the prologue pulled me in immediately because of the mom's heartbreaking pleas, which reminded me of Charity begging for help from Snape. The gaslighting, but legal bullying Kevin had to endure was not unlike Edie's online bullying. His comment about there being "big stretches of time where I can't remember anything" reminded me of Ginny talking to Harry in Phoenix about her experience in Chamber. Elisa brought up the name Bryce recurring, which makes me wonder if we'll find out if the wealthy benefactor was actually murdered (shades of Frank Bryce perhaps?) and makes a posthumous appearance to Robin or even the skeptical Strike?
I really like Elisa's thought about Daiyu and Ariana, not because of Ariana's death but because of the abuse she endured that was subsequently traumatic for the whole family. But it also brought to mind Charlie Bristow, dead at 9 at the hand of his adopted brother.
The names made me curious. Three Chinese names: Mazu- goddess of the sea (!!), Taio- large waves (!), Daiyu- black jade. And a name that could be Italian or German- Belinda, which in German is snake, not unlike Nagini, who makes an early appearance in DH, just as Bijou does in The Running Grave. Bijou, a small, elegant and tasteful trinket, does not really fit the inelegant and inappropriate "Barbie Barrister"(lol), but it did remind me of a locket that was actually a horcrux. So there's that.
I was so relieved Strike hung up on Charlotte, but just the mention of her name gave me chills, no matter how glassy eyed she appeared to Robin. But I loved Robin and Strike's debrief in which Robin offers to cut her hair. Is her cutting her hair a way that "the town [her hair] may be changed, but the well [Robin's soul] cannot be changed"? And Strike suggesting Robin might fit into something of Pru's and that he has talked to Pru about Robin are rather mysterious and ambiguous gifts that Robin completely misunderstands. I had to smile thinking about the way Dumbledore's gifts could also appear confusing until the Sorting Hat produced a sword, a phoenix produced tears, a used snitch provided a stone, etc.
Finally I can only hope that the power of maternal love will save Will. I hope Shanker doesn't have to die to help his stepdaughter have her dying wish but that business makes me nervous. In fact I'm kinda nervous for Ilsa too, especially since her husband has some weirdly creepy but intentional habits. We'll find out soon if my fears are justified!
Thank you so much Sandy, so much in here! Thank you for translating the names, I totally wanted to look them up…
John wonders about connections with Deathly Hallows. I think, like you seem to think, that the main one will be, as you put it, “seeing dead people”. Jennifer the epileptic, dead in the sea, and Daiyu following her because she’s seen… what? Daiyu, like Ariana, in possession of something too big for her, and dead because of it, and her “volatile” brothers either actually guilty or feeling guilty. Taio might be an Aberforth. He might also be a Tony Landry, if Daiyu is Charlie Bristow.
I’m utterly fascinated that Belinda means snake. Never in a million years! In DH, Nagini is the last obstacle standing between Harry and victory over evil, and Harry’s friend slays her. Will Robin vanquish Belinda in order to finally hook up with Strike? Or maybe Ilsa will, on Robin’s behalf?
Margaret Cathcart Bryce is totally that woman Tom Riddle kills in order to get her trinkets (what the hell was her name?).
Is it possible the extract has gone already? I can’t find it anymore on either links.
The only two links I see with Deathly Hallows is the hopelessness/magnitude of the task. It is very difficult, not clear what steps need to be taken but the hero (Robin) is determined to go for it. Secondly the fact they go undercover.
I am very much looking forward to a Robin/Pru situation as well as her breakup with Riley. Looking at her thoughtprocess I didn’t see it going anywhere.
I do not understand this ‘Bijou’ character. I very much doubt her only role was to show us Strike is no longer interested in other woman and I wonder what she’ll be back for. Nothing good.
So MUCH to ruminate on that I am glad of the extra time before publication to be able to do so!
The death of Will’s mother while she is desperately seeking reconciliation, or at least to see him before she dies remind me of Rowena Ravenclaw. Maybe Will’s taken something that his family doesn’t want to talk about?
SPOILERS!!! https://www.msn.com/en-gb/entertainment/tv/strike-and-robin-return-but-jk-rowling-really-needs-an-editor/ar-AA1gOH0H
Some of that really surprises me... Can't wait for 26th now.
Today extra chapters are released by Apple. One small factual error: Robin said 'You can only access census records up to 1921', but they are in 2016! So, they could only access the 1911 one.
Thank you, PercyL! I have read the new five chapters and hope to write up my first thoughts by the weekend.
If you want to read them, try https://libbyapp.com/open/sample/410/9805883 (hat tip to Nick Jeffery for the url).
Elisa you're welcome. I'm learning how important names are, and I think because they're so unusual I didn't just read them casually. Belinda I almost skipped because I know "linda" is Spanish for pretty. But I looked it up anyway and found the German meaning. I'm even more curious about bijou as a trinket because of Voldemort's obsession with them. And I think the woman you mean is Hepzibah Smith, descendant of Helga Hufflepuff. In IBH I thought the parallel to horcruxes were Gus's sock puppet accounts. After reading Leah Remini's book Troublemaker I no longer view Scientology as just another religion, but as a dangerous trap that's hard to escape. As John already pointed out the UHC sounds so familiar, attractive to wealthy celebrities in much the same way Scientology is, which sounds an awful lot like a real life version of horcruxes.
Absolutely, names are EVERYTHING. I spent AGES poring over Gwilherm, Tudor and Samhain Athorn, and I'm still not sure why they were named thus. Funny thing: Gwilherm = William = Bill (Talbot), all people who can see the supernatural, and die because of it? (If that's so it's probably bad news for our Will, and I'll be surprised if he survives to the end of the novel). Or possibly Jennifer = Guinevere = Ginevra (Ginny Weasley), which admittedly doesn't seem relevant other than it'll turn out Jennifer was definitely Good People.
I liked the quick immersion into the major case and the concise catch-up with their personal lives. It’s great to see Strike taking his health seriously, but we have to wonder how Charlotte’s reappearance and always-possible suicide will affect him.
To add to Elisa’s intriguing thoughts:
1) I wonder how Strike’s relationship with “Pru” (already a fond nickname) will unfold. He may get answers—or at least clues—about his upbringing through their friendship. Receiving therapy from a half-sister, of course, would be ethically fraught (and we KNOW ethics always come first at the Strike/Ellacott agency . . .).
2) Once again, Robin is jumping headlong into peril. Leaping in front of trains or visiting a snuff-filming crime family alone apparently doesn’t cut it anymore. So maybe going underground with a cult whose major public critic was found with a bullet in his head will meet her need for validation or adrenaline. And so far Strike seems oblivious to any risk. Is he blinded by his desire to separate Robin from Ryan or does he actually not suspect a link between Kevin’s death and the UHC?
3) Not for nothing, I think, is Ryan’s alcoholism mentioned again. Although I certainly don’t wish it for him, is a relapse on the horizon that will redefine his relationship with Robin?
4) I’m a little curious about Strike and Robin’s precise business relationship. He took the lead in the meeting with Sir Colin and sons and Robin was slightly abashed by committing the agency to the case without consulting him first. Are they full partners, junior and senior partners or something else?
I suspect you’re correct. None of the links are working for me and it appears to have been taken down from The Rowling Library as well. I suppose I’ll have to wait!