Meet the Next Armand Gamache
Louise Penny’s hero comes to the screen
It was a few years ago that renowned author Louise Penny arrived in the Upper Valley at the invitation of the Norwich Bookstore to read from the latest novel in her series featuring detective Armand Gamache, set in a fictional equivalent of Quebec’s Eastern Townships. A couple of novels later, Penny has just announced that her work is coming to the small screen; filming has already begun in Quebec. No word yet as to when it will be available for viewing. Of the producers, Left Bank, Penny wrote: “Their track record for quality productions is second to none, having done The Crown. Wallander. Outlander. And many others.”
The big reveal is who has been chosen to portray the much-beloved Armand Gamache. It’s Alfred Molina (photo, above). Reactions on social media have been largely positive with a dose of apprehension. Apparently Penny’s very first novel, Still Life, was adapted for television many years ago and some readers were not amused. Regarding this newer venture, Molina is a talented actor and bears a similar physicality to the fictional detective. But it’s the essence of Gamache—his intelligence, his moral code, his love for his family and his devotion to the people who comprise the town of Three Pines—that Molina will need to deliver. And as one Facebook commenter added, “He better wear that sandalwood cologne. We cannot be fooled.”
Now, who will play the love of Armand’s life, Reine-Marie, and even more intriguing, the duck-loving poet Ruth Zardo?
For more information, check out Louise Penny’s Facebook page by clicking here.
(Photo credit: Laurent Guérin/Amazon)
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And in case you are wondering . . . Susan B. Apel shuttered a lifelong career as a law professor to continue an interest (since kindergarten) in writing. Her freelance business, The Next Word, includes literary and feature writing; her work has appeared in a variety of lit mags and other publications including Art New England, The Woven Tale Press, The Arts Fuse, and Persimmon Tree. She connects with her neighbors through Artful, her blog about arts and culture in the Upper Valley. She’s in love with the written word.