Molly

Molly by Blake Butler (2023) 316 pages

I confess that I didn't know about the writer Blake Butler, who has published 9 full-length books, until I heard a bit of controversy over whether he should have "told all" in his memoir about his late wife, Molly Brodak, who took her own life in 2020. 

Molly was a college teacher and a poet who had been published widely, and may have been best known for her memoir "Bandit," in which she went into the effects her father‒a bank robber‒had on his family. Molly was a perfectionist in both writing and baking, but never seemed to trust that she was good enough or worthy enough. Blake has a strong work ethic, too, and is a devoted son to his parents, but he admits to having a temper and to drinking to a blackout state regularly.

Blake lets us into his relationship with Molly, starting on the day she kills herself, and then details how they met and gives the often-bumpy, but not fully chronological trajectory of their 10-year relationship, as well as the time after she has died, when he finds out things about Molly that he never would have suspected. Blake's writing is engaging, in spite of the difficult topic. Sections are separated by lots of white space, which makes it more readable. He quotes Molly's work frequently, and includes many photos.

 

Earthly Delights

Earthly Delights by Kerry Greenwood (1992) 239 pages

Earthly Delights is the first book in Kerry Greenwood's Corinna Chapman Mystery series, and is also the name of a bakery in the story. As much as I love the elegance of Greenwood's heroine Phryne Fisher, Corinna Chapman is every bit as loveable in her non-elegant ways. Corinna is in her upper thirties, somewhat overweight, and prefers wearing sweats. She has left her well-paying career as an accountant ‒ as well as her self-centered husband ‒ to open a bakery in a somewhat seedy Melbourne neighborhood. She lives with her three cats above her bakery, in a building filled with interesting tenants, including a witch, a retired professor, a geek squad, young ladies with ever-changing hair who are hoping to become actresses, and more. 

Someone is sending threatening notes to the women in the building, as well as spray painting threats on the outside walls. Meanwhile, there is a rash of drug overdoses in the area, including a number of deaths. Corinna saves the life of an overdose victim in the alley outside her bakery and is drawn into a group of people who are trying to help the addicts and feed the hungry. I loved the interplay between the characters, and enjoyed watching some of their relationships evolve. I've got the second book of this series already queued up.