Title: The Lighthouse
Author: PD James
At age 86, Dame PD James is still going strong. After zipping through The Historian over the weekend, I thought it would take me a week or so to work my way through The Lighthouse. Yesterday morning, I settled all three of my sick kids on the couch with a movie and by bedtime I had finished the book. For a long time I loved PD James, and I guess I still do. I've read every novel she has written, and found her memoir, A Time to Be in Earnest, utterly fascinating.
But I've discovered that I have very little retention after reading a PD James novel. I read her last book, Murder Room, when it was published a few years ago. This book picks up several weeks after Murder Room ends, and although I remembered Dalgleish and Kate Miskin, I had forgotten many of the minor characters and anything that happened in the plot of a novel, sort of like if you asked me what happened on any given CSI episode I watched two years ago.
I really enjoyed The Lighthouse. I think PD James is a great writer with interesting insights into the human character. But I don't expect to remember any of it when her next novel is published. And that's ok-- I read mysteries for fun, not to learn or retain. I often do learn in the course of a PD James mystery, but I consider that a bonus.
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