Beauvoir believes at the core of good people, there is a streak of evil. Gamache believes that if you look deep enough into evil, you’ll find good. Where Gamache believes in both facts and feelings, Beauvoir is afraid of feelings, of the chaos they can create. But while Gamache is thoughtful, Beauvoir prefers to act. Q: How are Chief Inspector Jean-Guy Beauvoir and Gamache similar to each other? How do they differ?Ī: They are both decent people. And the result of that choice … does it make them a better man, or a bitter man? It’s not always, as we see in the book, so much about the outcome of the choice as the character of the person making it. Q: What character - or characters - does the title of the book “A Better Man” refer to, and why?Ī: They refer to each of the male characters, and how they, like us, are faced with a fork in the road - a choice that will define them going forward.

The ongoing theme is “Moby-Dick,” and Ahab’s white whale, that was all consuming. It’s about being borne on the wave, unable to fight. Q: How does the spring weather and social media onslaught disparaging Gamache’s return to work factor into the plot?Ī: It’s about forces that overwhelm. Despite trying to remain removed emotionally, he feels himself dragged deeper and deeper into the case - empathizing with Vivienne’s distraught father. A: Gamache has a daughter, Annie, who is much the same age as Vivienne, the missing woman.

A better man by louise penny summary