Shirley - Charlotte Bronte

This has always been Bronte's crowning work for me, though few agree. I found it so utterly absorbing, the first and indeed subsequent times I've read it. Though it's not a conventional central-character novel like her famous Jane Eyre (who, though I respected her, I could never really identify with, being too alone, too independent. I couldn't get close to Mr. Rochester either - he was too brusque, too curt and too mastering) I found it just as effective, even more so by the characters she so carefully and skillfully portrays for amusement, to capture our hearts, our interest.

Though the book is named after the character Shirley, there are really 2 protagonists - Shirley Keeldar and Caroline Helstone - and we are introduced to Caroline first. Caroline is not the titular character Shirley is. She's more of the maidenly mold, but with a difference. Caroline is soft, placcid, gentle and unassuming, shy. She's lovely, beautiful in her soft, quiet way, and full of love. But she also has the intelligence, the capacity to think outside her square. When the cousin she loves, Robert Moore, gently hints to her that he cannot return her affections because he seeks profit and business and therefore cannot afford to marry for love, she pines away, get weak and unhappy. I dont agree with this, but the second time I read this I realised neither does she. Without dampening her own love, she realises her indisposition is part of her temperament, part of her confinement. She's the rector's niece, she's hardly allowed to do anything. She knows neither of her parents, and her father is dead anyways, she has no occupation besides simplistic things like embroidery which occupy the hands but not the mind. Consequently, what can she do but mope? Of course her increasingly morbid thoughts should affect her. She wants to find her own trade, be a governess, but almost this only occupation for women was a terrible, underprivileged one, a bit like the slave trade, as Jane Fairfax likens it to in Austen's 'Emma'.

One interesting piece of information Wikipedia has provided me with is that prior to the story, Shirley was predominately a boys name, and after the story it has now developed into a girls name. Influential or what? Because Shirley really is a sparkling, unconventional character. She's an heiress, Robert Moore's fortunes lie in her hands, she's generous, big-hearted, proud, refers to herself as a gentleman (Captain Keeldar) by phases...it shows the capability of a woman without actually being masculine, and retaining all the privileges and distinctions of her gender. There's no reason why women shouldn't own land. Lydia in the Bible was a business woman. Yet she never usurped the man's place, and neither does Shirley. She is not masculine by any stretch of the imagination, but sprightly, appealing and independent.

This book is very mixed with context, the impetus for the story being the Napoleonic Wars of 1812 and prior. Industrialisation is putting people out of work, replacing them with machines. Poverty is rife in Yorkshire and other parts of England, and the employers (including millowners like Robert) can't do anything about it because they can hardly scrape by themselves. Mixed in with all this is the effect it has on personal lives - Robert cannot give way to his affections but must court profit instead, leading him to propose to Shirley Keeldar (she owns the land of his mill) for her fortune. It's a terrible mistake. Once friends and equals, she is insulted because she knows they have not a spark of love for each toher, save as siblings might and she scorns the mercentile goals that have prompted this proposal. Actually, she loves his brother Louis who is a tutor for her uncle's family, and was once her own tutor. The social divide means he is by far her inferior, but really, he is the only man who can master her, and she wants someone who can truly be her superior and take care of her. And that man is Louis, just showing the human construct of social barriers can stand in the place of what's meant to be.

It does all work out in the end. Robert learns the plight of the poor, from being at the mercy of unempathising women when he is shot by vengeful rebels who are rioting against the employers replacing them with machines. His rejection by Shirley teaches him to follow his heart instead of material things. And he so when good tidings come, the war is over and the barricade preventing other countries from buying his wool and silk and things falls, he marries Caroline and makes generous plans for employing more, paying better wages, being more humane. They cannot all be achieved, but the thoughts are in his heart, which shows he has developed.

This most excellent book, being a classic, can be read online on any number of book sites, and there's plot summaries and articles galore, for which reason I've only written my impressions of the work and not the broad points.

Anne of Green Gables Series - L M. Montgomery

This is a brilliant series, obviously her crowning work. If you read Montgomery's biography you will find she sufffered bouts of depression which show in her work - because the 'Pat' series is uniformly bland, as are some of her one-off books like the Blue Castle (I classify it as cheap romance). I grew up with this series and so did my best friends, so it has a lot of nostalgia and poignancy beyond the actual work, which is beautiful in itself. I think they're all available from gutenberg but I can't be sure because I have my own series, most of which is in the lovely Angus and Robertson editions you will see below.

Anne of Green Gables

Prior to Anne of Green Gables, there were a lot of these orphan adoption stories. Ruth Fielding, Pollyanna. But I feel, although I don't have the research to prove it, that it all came to an end with Anne of Green Gables, because this book is literature. It is a gem. Not only does it have such beautiful descriptions of Prince Edward Island (henceforth, P.E.I), harum-scarum Anne is immortal. She's a character as never known before - such good intentions, but so far from perfect, always the perpetrator of some "scrape", such quaint language, and such a way with people that readers are as equally charmed as, say, Marilla. Anne is stubborn and strong-willed, an optimist who learns and loves. Her feud with Gilbert Blythe is a thread that binds the book together, to the end where she forgives him and they become such friends. This book stands so well on its own, everytime I read it I get a sense of completion at the end that doesn't come with the other books. You get a strong sense of the town life with all the comings and goings of so many families, and all that clannishness. Although I've always felt Diana was sweet, but not of Anne's calibre and may fall a little short as a best friend, loveable as she is. The scrapes they get into! The haunted wood, jumping on Aunt Josephine, the story club! It's such a laugh-out-loud read. And the cover reflects that, with the chummy smile on the face of a miniature Anne.

Anne of Avonlea

Here, Anne undergoes a metamorphosis. She's slender and dainty and wears something of her soul in her limpid grey eyes, although she still gets into a few scrapes. The book opens with an argument with the new neighbour, Mr. Harris and his disreputable parrot, Ginger. She ends up accidently selling his cow. As it is in the first book, humor plays a large part in this novel, from when falls through the roof of someone's duck house, to when she and Marilla adopt a set of twins. Dora is prim and proper, but Davy is an adorable, irascible "holy terror". She and Gilbert also start the AVIS, the Avonlea Improvement Society, and happen to paint the hall bright blue! Anne is teaching this year and wins the love of every little soul, down to Anthony Pye of the infamous Pyes. And at the end, Gilbert is there to help her cross her threshold into womanhood. It is such an amusing read, with much of the same spirit as Anne of Green Gables. I love the cover and font of this one. Its in the impressionist, hazy brushstrokes that I think conveys Anne's soul very well.


Anne of the Island

This is Anne and her friends' initiation into adult life and the romance of youth. It is choc-a-bloc full of proposals and marriages and courting, and I think that's where a little of the humour comes in. But suddenly things are more serious, Anne is fanciful but fully-fledged, no longer the well-meaning youth always making mistakes. I kind of miss how she is before, but people do have to grow up. As well, it is her magic college years with the warmth of Patty's Place as Anne finally attends Redmond College, as her heart desires. She meets a whole new wealth of friends, among them the loveable and incorrigable Phillipa Gordon, and we also meet up again with the fanciful Stella Maynard and the lovely Priscilla Grant. Halfway through the book, Gilbert proposes, and is rejected kindly but heartwrenchingly. Then Anne's own ideal of Prince Charming comes in the form of the "dark, melancholy and inscrutable" Royal Gardiner and it seems like Anne's future is mapped out with this handsome stranger until... I like this book well, and Anne's final engagement is very satisfactory, but I miss the innocence and amusing tidbits of the earlier books. The reader definately knows before Anne who she is going to end up with.
I really like these editions of the series, by Angus and Robertson. Anne is very true to life, just as a imagined her, with the dreamy face and freckles. It has her down pat, just as Megan Follows has her down pat in the Anne of Green Gables movie.

Anne of Windy Willows (also published as Anne of Windy Poplars)Definately one of my favourites in the series. This book just hums with life. Anne has accepted the principalship of a private girls school whilst waiting out the three years until her marriage to -humm-. Again, the cover is beautiful to behold. I love the quirk of her nose and the richness of her hair, she IS Anne. The cat is Dusty Miller and the little golden girl is little Elizabeth, quaint and pixyish. The illustrator, Margaret Power, must have really enjoyed the series.
It's an epistolary novel punctuated by bits of quaint storytelling. The whole story is charming. Anne is up against the elite of Summerside, the Pringles, who run the place. They have a grudge against her and really wage warfare against her. Suddenly and unexpectedly, she wins their support through the most surprising of events. There's also a prickly vice-principle Katherine Brooke, the lovely aunts she boards with, the immortal Rebecca Dew and many such people. There is the fair share of romance in this story, and Anne has her part in fixing up many people's lives. I think I missed Windy Willows (where she boards) as much as she when she leaves!


Anne's House of Dreams

In this book, Anne is married and lives in a little out of the way place she dubs her house of dreams. Her social circle is much much smaller, being comprised of the man-hating Miss Cornelia who blisters the men with her sharp tongue, but who is very warm-hearted, the tragic and beautiful Leslie Moore, cold and vibrant and resentful in turns, the sailor Captain Jim, the talented Owen Ford and later, the housekeeper Susan. And of course, Anne's husband (I'm trying not to spoil anything but it feels so strange calling him that all the time, as though he's a stranger in the series) and one or two more additions to the family. Like all of the other books, everything works together for best in the end. Apparently this book predated Windy Willows by many years - Windy Willows was written when a movie of Anne of made, and published for publicity. This is the last book in the series that focuses on Anne, for which I cannot be grateful.

Anne of Ingleside

Trixie Belden #8: The Black Jacket Mystery

First thing's first, I kind of abhor these new editions. Don't get me wrong, they have great cover art in fabulous colours (something very lacking in the short and ugly editions where Trixie's face is somewhere between puce and khaki), although the people are between realistic and cartoonish, leaning towards the realistic side. I can't describe it, but they're not quite real and it gets on my nerves. Sort of like Chicken Run, where they had the characters (okay, they were chickens, but whatever!) made out of playdough. Sort of...rounded? No, it's actually the little cameo of Trixie up the top I can't stand, like she's some dumb blonde, more feminine than short and spunky. And the whole =O expression? Where would the Bob-Whites be if she had just stood around looking like that during the climax of the books? That is so not her!


Inside, the art is better. They have a double page of Trixie's supposed scrapbook, which is cute. They're not quite as I imagined, but I think it fits the country, wholesome-lifestyle kids they are, although I can't quite tell the difference between Honey and Diana T_T Honey and Trixie look very childish, too childish, but on the other hand, the artist got Bobby down pat. He's absolutely adorable, with the snub nose and perpetually smiling mouth.


This book was by a Kathryn Kenny who knew what they were doing. It's got the same Julie-Campbell feel about it. Adventurous, wholesome (I keep using that word, but I swear it fits the series to a T, it could've been invented for the series!), and a mystery that is in keeping with their lives. Not overly dramatic, and doesn't require you to stretch your gullibility. Which is why, at the moment, I am thoroughly sick of the Judy Bolton series. The further you go along...!


Anyways, there's a strange boy in town in this one. This was my proper intorduction to Dan Mangan, who I kind of resented all those years ago for intruding in the Bob-Whites, but who I have completely forgiven now. It starts when Trixie overhears Regan talking to her mum at Crabapple Farm, about "something I'm hoping to keep from any of the youngsters". She tries not to hear, but her curiousity is sparked! Meanwhile, Honey and Trixie's penpals in Mexico have their village destroyed in an earthquake. They are particularly upset about the loss of their school library (not entirely practical, but I guess I'd feel the same if my modest little library at home was destroyed). The Bob-Whites decide to have an Ice Carnival in Sleepyside. Entrance fee: books! Another project, yay!


Honey comes to stay over at Trixie's because her parents are away and for once, Tom and Regan are away also at the same time. Curiouser and curiouser, Miss Trask never allows that to happen. She and Honey are determined to respect Regan's privacy, but as usual, things start to happen when they're in the vicinity. She hears Regan talking to someone in the stables, but he won't admit it. When she's trying to find Bobby's skate in the tack room, she upsets a box of Regan's documents and catches the words "Judge Armen is willing to let you try". She's really sorry for snooping, even accidently, but comes to the conclusion that Regan is in trouble with the law! Later, Bobby tells her Regan is trying a "speriman". Translated, "experiment". And she hears a car driving into the back of the Wheeler property, and later finds it is Regan and Tom! A lot of little, seemingly inconsequential details like that add up and really get to Trixie.


Next morning, there's a new boy on the school bus who gets on with Mr. Maypenny. No one takes well to him because he's got a black leather jacket and a black peaked hat and black cowboy boots, which translates to gangster or hooligan in Sleepyside. Sigh. I wish people were as conservative these days, rather than black leather jacket =gangster = cool. Well, the boy is named Dan (which I was expecting, so I was totally unperturbed) and he's a bit of a rebel. Mart is showing him around at lunch time (orders from Maypenny) and Dan completely snubs the BWGs and goes to sit at another table, where he regales them with tough-guy stories of his own bravado. They are naively impressed but Trix isn't.


Later, Trix and Honey meet Dan working for Mr. Maypenny. Honey is nice and willing to give Dan a chance, but he and Trix really do not mesh. He flares up at her disdain (I think they're both quick-tempered) and it's the same for their other encounters throughout the book. Honey is always on teh verge of breaking through his shell when Trix just rubs him the wrong way. It's a very human thing though, and doesn't annoy me. Anyways, he's goaded into riding Susie, who prompting bucks him off into the snow. He's not really hurt, although he seems to black out for a few moments, but he rips his leather jacket sleeve. When Honey offers to repair it, he's about to say yes, but again, a look from Trix puts an end to it all.


The girls continue on to see Mr. Maypenny, and also suggest to Regan that Dan learn to ride Spartan, another Wheeler horse, to help patrol. The girls are sure Dan looks either like Regan or Mr. Maypenny (since one of the similarities is completely coincidental, I really doubt it). They make their way to the clubhouse where they've been preparing posters and everything for the Ice Carnival, which is going full speed ahead. Inside, they find a bear! They're freaked out, but it's only a bear on wheels that the boys borrowed for the Carnival. A funny moment.


A further complication - there's a catamount loose in the Wheeler reserve! It probably came from the mountains close by. There are no catamounts in the city so I had to google them, but they do look really freaky, they are literally "big mountain lions" as Honey says. Trix and Honey are in the preserve when they hear it howling and Susie just bolts. It's only when her reins catch on the tree branch that Trix can catch her. Or else...!


To complicate matters, they keep seeing a black jacketed and black hatted fellow in the woods, and hear about him all sorts of other places. Dan denies it is him and the girsl want to give him the benefit of the doubt, but when Honey loses her valuable gold watch in the snow and it turns up pawned at Mr. Lytell's store, it's all very fishy. [By the way, Mr. Lytell is very nice here. He gives the boy who pawned it $10 even though he thought the watch was worthless, because the boy - Dan? - feeds him a sob story. When he finds out it's Honey's, he gives it straight back and it's kind of hinted here that he's interested in Miss Trask.]

So the girls tell Mr. Maypenny their suspicions, and he passes them onto Regan, who sets his mouth and looks grim. He goes to the judge to tell him the "sperimen" was unsuccessful. But meanwhile, the clubhouse is broken into and they find evidence that it couldn't have been Dan who caused all the trouble because there are some footprints the wrong size and other conclusive evidence.

And then they find Mr. Maypenny unconscious in the preserve. They help him back to his house where Dan meets them and is very rude and brusque. Just before Trixie leaves, she knocks over the chair with his black leather jacket...only it isn't his, it has "THE COWHANDS" stencilled on the back in white! Is there another person in the area with a black leather jacket? it seems likely!

When the girls go back to the clearing where they found Mr. Maypenny, they find a clubbed branch on the ground with blood and bits of Mr. Maypenny's hair! it seems the old man was attacked. Actually, he was suspicious all along. And now Dan's run away... Mr. Maypenny confesses Dan is Regan's nephew, the son of his dead sister who he lost contact with.

Now Honey goes home, but Trix decides to stay and practice some more tricks for the ice carnival. She has a great time until Susie bolts again, and she's left completely alone this time in a great wilderness in the preserve. She stumbles around, trying not to panic, and somehow hears Bobby's voice. When she finds him, he's in a hole in a cave, held in place by rock. He's been chasing a great big kitty as he calls it. Actually, it's the catamount and it may come back anytime. I don't know how likely this is in real life - i would've been petrified as a kid. Trix stumbles around to find help, after pacifying Bobby. She sees a campfire in a clearing, and who is there but Dan Mangan with a taller boy who's mocking him because Dan refuses to help him break into the Wheeler house. it's Dan's past come to catch up to him again. When Trixie bursts in, she quickly persuades him to help with Bobby (because of course, Dan's heart is in the right place). Bobby is saved and they are found, and to top it all off, the ice carnival is a great success! The Wheelers even fly over Trix and Honey's penpals as a surprise! And Dan is officially accepted in Sleepyside, also as a member of the Bob-Whites!

Okay, I've realised I am not the best at giving summaries. I don't know which parts to leave out, it all seems relevant and not superfluous to me. I guess practice makes perfect?

Judy Bolton Series

So I deleted all my posts on Judy Bolton. For a good reason too. Firstly, they were just my general impressions and comments on the books I read and they aren't very interesting unless you have read the book and want to discuss it. But also, I don't have any Judy Boltons. All the ones I read are available on googlebooks, so there's no need for me to provide a recap or anything for those people who don't have access. I think I will only do that for the ones that aren't generally available and people might want to hear about.

But here are my general impressions on the series as a whole:

It didn't start off well, to be perfectly honest. I thought the Vanishing Shadow was incredible...ie. everything that happened was unbelievable. I mean, imagine being kidnapped and being held to your word of honour that you wouldn't say anything before you were let go. Um, not very likely. Honestly, they would probably never let you go if you stumbled into the wrong stuff. Also, I found Judy unlikeable. There are people with faults that you like more for not being perfect (like Anne of Green Gables!) but Judy was not one of them in the first book. Horace too was unlikeable, I even think Judy bullied him. Grandma Smeed was terse and crabbed. It goes on and on.

But it gets better. Judy makes friends and people get fleshed out. I especially like Honey, who is just as nice, if not nicer than Trixie's best friend. Judy also learns humility and to control her temper and a lot of other things along the way. However, in the first few books (say, 1-5?) there was still something about a character in every book that would irk me. Some people I can accept as people ie. not perfect and I can't change them, but in this series, I kept wanting to change them. The friendships hover, take steps forwards and backwards. Lorraine pledges friendship (forward), gets suspicious and jealous (backwards), make up again after marriage (forward), won't Judy in on any secrets in the Haunted Fountain (backwards). Etc etc. The stories always have a lot of superstition, supernatural ideas that veer almost onto the occult. There are really enough baffling things in life to prevent this obsession with sensationalised items. The further it goes along the series, the less homey and wholesome and the more dramatic it all becomes.

On the other hand, after Judy marries Peter, the series gets better. There's a smaller group fo friends so you can get to know each one better, especially Peter. Also, it's really nice not having Judy veer between Arthur and Peter and back to Arthur and then Peter all the time. She makes different and varied friends from all over the place. And she and Peter seem to get along great, if a bit lovey-dovey. I think the circle she ends up with (book 20ish onwards?) is the one that works best.

You might think from the way I talk about this series that I don't like it. That's not true. I did enjoy it generally. The mysteries were interesting. But I can't say it's wholesome, unlike the first half of the Trixie Belden series, at least. Judy grows up (BIG bonus to Margaret Sutton) and I like her so much more in the second half, as well with the characters. You can see Sutton gained a lot of experience. But I also don't really like the soapie elements, like being unable to choose between Arthur and Peter. That probably happens in real life, but a secret engagement? And the repercussions when Lorraine finds out? It goes on and on. Surely real people don't live like that?

Oh well, it's a big element of these girls series books it seems. All the mystery ones. If you want to read half the Judy Bolton series, go to googlebooks. If you want really indepth, chapter by chapter summaries of all the books up to #33, go to www.thisisntall.com and click on the icon of Judy. It's a brilliant site. Someone has put a lot of work into it.

Recently, I went to a secondhand store and I found three Sue Bartons! Even better, they were going for 50c each! Unbelievable. I live in a country where these American girls series books are a rarity (or maybe I'm just not looking in the right places). Enid Blytons are much more available and still being sold in Dymocks and chainstores like that which usually have all the new, popular ones, which are not necessarily the best ones. Most of them are pretty trashy. I literally thoguht that if I ever wanted to read any of these girls series books I'd have to buy from overseas or just go to gutenberg (I love gutenberg x3) and I am estatic I found them. They are marked as my 'to read' group on my bookshelf. Unfortunately, just about half my bookshelf is marked like that so it could take me an awfully long time to get to them, especially as I have the 3rd, 4th and 6th one. I like reading series books in order if I can. I seem to gravitate around my favourite ones, rereading them every 2 years or so. I have got to give the other books a chance!

#12. Trixie Belden: The Mystery of the Blinking Eye

I'd like to give some background into my history with Trixie Beldens and my opinions on ghost writers and such. I was first lent some Trixie Belden books (which, as I guiltily remember now, I never returned. Ever. I still have them now and they are the sturdiest of the lot, being Short and Uglies and not the beige oval ones like the one on the left that I have of the Blinking Eye). I read them and ADORED them. Being a kid back them, I didn't have a lot to do so my mum said I'd just read them over and over again. Which is probably why my #3 The Gatehouse Mystery is missing the decorative spine and #7 The Mysterious Code is missing spine AND front cover! (By the way, I've always found the Short and Ugly cover of #3 frightening - could ANYONE'S face really be the sickish grey-green hue Trixie's is?!)

So I'd have to say my ultimate favourite is #7, because it's a fantastic mystery with great adventure and a very homey and friendly atmosphere. The Bob-White interaction is great, which is half the reason I read these books. Growing up as a city girl, I never had my best friends as neighbours, and most of the time they weren't even within walking distance. Except I'd meet up with my absolute best friend at the library and we'd just read together.

ANWYAYS, I digress again. When I got older, I started collecting them, but only from local bookstores and such. I managed to get my collection of 16, which is great, but less than half the series! When I got EVEN older, I started doing some online research and found they were popular, and there was a ton of information on them, including the ghost writers, which I found really intruiging. I'd always thought Kathryn Kenny was one person and thought she sounded a bit odd from one book to the next. Some lacked continuity. I'd have to say, knowing everything I know now, that my favourite ghost author is probably Stack. Because she authored #7 which is unbeatable in my eyes. I read that one a gazillion times. Which makes me really interested in her other series, Robin Kane, which is supposed to be a 'West Coast Trixie Belden'. Except, living in an obscure area, I can't get any =_=.

But speaking of favourites, #12 has to be another one of my favorites, not sure where it stands on the list. Really have to read my Trixies all in one sitting to find out and I really don't have the time. And I swear, even though a researcher assigned #12 to an anonymous author 'D' who could and could not be Stack, I'm sure it is her because she mentions the EXACT same tip for cooking hamburger patties (ie. soak in milk and breadcrumbs to keep the juice in) as in #7 and yes, I did read it that well. Anyways, #12 has an awesome, coherent mystery (which is why I believe also that #11 could not have been by Stack or else she must have been bipolar or something because that author really did not have a clue), great in-character characters and the whole thing was a lot of fun! It also has in depth knowledge of New York, which makes you feel like a real NY tourist into the bargain, except without the danger of getting pockets picked and such.

So the Bob-Whites are in New York, meeting Bob and Barbara and Ned, their friends from Iowa (#9 The Happy Valley Mystery) and are setting out to see the sights. Trixie helps a frightened Mexican woman find her plane. She claims that she's a real fortune teller and gives her a purse as a gift. Trixie ponders about it for a long time, but unlike #11, she's not bratty and doesn't bully others into getting into a mystery, which means she is IN-CHARACTER!

She and Honey go walking whilst everyone's unpacking and go to an antique store. She picks up this ugly little wooden carving, "so ugly it's darling" and buys it. Really not the thing normal people would do, and Honey tells her so. The owner is out and his friend is looking after the shop (which is significant later on).

After a day of sightseeing, Trix and Honey discover a slip of paper covered in Spanish verse (that rhymes in english!) in the purse the Mexican woman gave Trix. Miss Trask translates it into:
Great-headed man, with blinking eye,
A shaded road, a horses cry,
Foreign words for all to hear,
First clue is so very near.
Watch out for thieves; they're everywhere,
At home, on island, in dead beasts' lair.
Where shines a beacon cross the sky,
Beware, great danger lurks close by.
Be not misled by evening's fun
A villain's work is never done.
While guitars play thieves linger round
But not til later are they found.
Twin rails of steel, a trembling square,
Watch close, you'll see the guilty pair.
A lonesome journey, gleaming gun,
Foolish girl what have you done?
Great-headed man does prostrate lie,
A great big stone in his blinking eye,
All is not lost though, little friend;
Rejoice for peril, danger end
Near silver wings, past river's bend.
Fortune is yours, fit for a king,
And the hearts of little children sing.

From then on, they keep being shadowed by 2 men, one that is short and ugly and has a scar running down his face and one that's just plain tall and ugly. They go for a hansom cab ride through Central Park and the men try to grab Trix's purse. She cuts her leg and Jim, Brian, Trixie and Honey return to their apartment (it belongs to the Wheelers, like every single prop in the whole series =P) where she lets them in on the poem prophecy. In an incredibly short amount of time, coincidently just after they've finished talking, the Iowans and Mart come back from Central zoo and they're let in on the secret. They figure out the prophecy is coming true, because the first 4 lines all happen in the Park.

Then they go to the UN, where they meet a Sleepysider who's now a UN guide called Betty. It seems a little farfetched that she would recognise them, but why quibble? While everyone goes for a tour, Trixie and Honey go to the gift store and have the idol priced. There's a Peruvian expert randomly there and he tells them it's worthless and tries to take it off Trixie, very suspiciously, but she causes a scene and he fails. The real Honey is back in this book, because she tells Trixie he's dodgy and to keep a firm hold on it. When everyone gets back to the apartment, they find it ransacked, but nothing taken! The police are brought in, and the Bob Whites make dinner. Never knew Trixie was a good cook, but she is. Mart does some 'magic' tricks, and the best part is he explains how he did everything. And Bob and Barbara, the Twins from here on, sing and play guitars. A TV man hears them and asks them to perform the next night!

The next day, it's the Statue of Liberty. They climb near the top and they have another run in with the scar-faced man, but it's another failed attempt to grab her purse. At a museum, Honey and Trixie get separated and stay behind accidently after closing time, and one of the men catches them, and it's quite a frightening scene because there's no one else there. They finally get rescued by Brian and Jim who have alerted the museum man (sorry, can't remember the name at the moment) that the girls are still inside. So another close shave.

Then it's time for the twin's performance, which is fun. They sing and song and the show is taped and shown again. They're "showstoppers" according to the title. The next day, it's the Empire State building, and Trixie and Di are separated because she's too afraid to go up high. And one of the men start chasing them, and it's awfully scary, but they duck into a room with two women, who take care of them. They even report it to the police, but they can't do anything until they know what the people look like.

In a museum full of trains, their next destination, they meet Doctor Joe, who is a famous surgeon and an avid train collector. They go over to his house, where his wife and many kids invite them to stay for lunch. There, they watch the video broadcast of the twins and see the thieves lingering in the background! See if you can figure out where in the prophecy it is, it's a little obscure.

At home, Trixie gets a call that the others don't know about. It's from one of the men, saying they're following her because they want the little wooden carving she's got, and how it belongs to some peruvian rich man who's willing to give her $1000 for it back and to meet them at such and such a place in broad daylight. Well it turns out to be in aseedy part of a seedy town and when Trix walks in, not letting anyone else know about it, there's only 3 men there. The 2 that have been shadowing her, and the 'carving expert' at the UN. And they hold a gun to her and tell her to give them the carving. She's really frightened, and it is really terrifying, until the police just come in with guns and the boys of the Bob-Whites. Stack explains their presence pretty well, how they figure out where she is by her scribbling the address on the inside of the public phone book, so it's all believeable. It turns out the 3 who have been following Trixie are hard, international thieves! Back at the apartment, Mr. Wheeler is there and everyone's relieved but it's really emotionally tense.

What I love about this part is that Trixie actually realises the enormity of what she did and how much danger she was in. Unlike her near-death experience in #11 in the sink-hole, that she just completely blows off and gets away with, pretty much, she's actually visibly shaken, as is everyone else. Mr. Wheeler decidfes to accompany them everywhere and Trixie turns over the wooden carving to him.

When they next go out for a big dinner, they're all talking about it and Mr. Wheeler takes it out of his pocket to show it's safe (which is a silly thing to do in my opnion) and it's promptly knocked out of his hand by Blinky, the short, scarred man. They realise it's lost forever.

Untiil...a phone call late at night from Blinky reveals there was a diamond inside the carving, but it's not there anymore! So they notify the police and are ready to look through the sweepings and rubbish from the restaurant the next morning. But it's not there, and all is lost again.

Until...haha Trixie turns up with the diamond clutched in her hand! Itwas lodged in a crevice in the floor of the restaurant all the time! It was the centre stone in a valuable necklace stolen by the 3 men, and the jewels were separated and embedded into wooden statues that went to the antique shop Trixie went to. But the friend looking after the shop sold it to her, and that's how everything started. Trixie is donating the reward to the station waggon for crippled children, the thing she was as tenacious-as-a-bulldog about in #11.

Awesome story eh? See if you can match up the things in the prophecy with the story!

Trixie Belden #11: The Mystery at Bob-White Cave

I started reading my Trixie Beldens again, right from where I left off at #10 (which despite some people not liking, I quite liked. A lot more than this one). And I must say this one is quite a disappointment. I did some research and this book is supposed to be written by Nicolete Meredith Stack, one of the ghostwriters of Trixie Belden, or an unknown author who also wrote the next book in the series "The Mystery of the Blinking Eye". And I completely disagree because I've started the Blinking Eye and even in chapter 2 it's shaping up to be a great mystery with spot-on characters, whilst this one was a bit hopeless. So the Bob-Whites are at another property of Uncle Andrew (they went to his sheep farm in Iowa in #9) in the Missouris (I think...I never pay much attention to locales which is bad of me >_<) It's raining and Trixie is complaining in a way that is completely new for her. I mean sure, impatience is her middle name, but Trixie has never been bratty before. She flips through a magazine and finds an article about ghost fish, which some scientists are willing to offer $500 for 3 specimens of, all in different stages of change. I would like to point out here that I don't believe in evolution. I know that God created the world, and what people commonly refer to as evidence for evolution is the change in animals behaviour and characteristics, like the ghost fish that spend years underground and their eyes disappear. The Bible never shows that animals do change according to environment - after Noah's ark, God empowered animals to eat meat, whereas before they were all herbivores, which is why Noah was able to bring them on the ark without getting devoured. Anyways, I digress. Trixie has a completely one-track mind about the fish. She keeps harping at everyone to go explore the caves as soon as possible, because she wants the $500 for a vehicle for disabled children. Even while they go fishing and catch a whole lot of fish, she doesn't forget. At one point, she almost gets attacked by a wildcat but an unknown shot kills it. It's the beginning of the mystery. What I hate about this book is how Trixie is like a caricature, the author totally gets her wrong and magnifies her bad points until she becomes some sort of brat that you want to slap. She reduces Honey to her pre-#1 personality where she was afraid of literally everything. Honey has grown so much through the series, it's like the author didn't even read the ones before hand. Her most useful contribution was making curtains in the entire book! The whole out-of-characterisation thing almost killed the book for me. Anyways, eventually Trixie gets her way and they set out to explore a cave on Uncle Andrew's property after he buys a whole lot of expensive equipment and hires a guide for them. Slim is a first-class retard and the Bob-Whites don't get along with him. In the first day, they get one ghostfish, but they still need two more. There's a lot of talk about ghosts in the book, because the people living in the area genuinely believe in them. So when the Bob-Whites rescue a drowning man (before they find the fish) and they discover he's living in the "haunted" cabin, there's a big scare. Uncle Andrew's housekeeper Mrs. Moore's husband died years ago so she na dher daughter have been through some hard times that perhaps compounds their belief. Eventually, the Bob-Whites get rid of Slim because he's really mean. He throws a rock at the bats in the cave and they all fly out and get attacked by eagles, so the Bob-Whites are through with him. So when someone steals the ghost-fish they left in a bucket in the cave, they think it's Slim. Also, after a party Mrs. Moore has for the Bob-Whites, complete with great food and dancing, a deliberate fire is set that almost burns down the property and the surrounding properties. And Trixie thinks it's Slim. But they see a crazy looking stranger around with long white whiskers, and he could be a suspect too. And the man they rescued from drowning (theres gratitude for you) because he has kerosene soaked rags in the cabin. It's a mystery, although it never feels like a mystery, just a few patchy who-dunnits, which is where the failure of the book comes in. Anyways, Trixie has a few near-escapes from death and danger during ghost-fish-hunting so Uncle Andrew makes a hired man, Bill Hawkins, go with them. Except while he's outside keeping the dangerous Slim away (only he doesn't seem dangerous, just a jerk - again, another bad characterisation), Trixie goes down a well-hole in the cave where there's plenty of fish. She hauls some up, but then there's a sudden downpour of rain outside which fills the well-hole and she's in danger of drowning. Saved at the last moment by Jim and his "strong arms", which almost made me retch. I don't like the Trixie-Jim innuendo. She's only 14. It's natural to admire him because he's responsible and a great person, and Brian and Mart are her brothers and Dan is practically non-existent, but no puppy-love please! Bill Hawkins is shocked that Trixie almost drowned under his care, and Uncle Andrew is really upset, but Trixie just blows it all off in a hey-don't-worry-I'm-safe way that is characteristic of her enough, but somehow doesn't quite work here. It turns out they've got another ghost fish they need, but there's still one more. Uncle Andrew accompanies them for the last time. Their visit is being cut short because their mum needs them back home as she's going away to visit a sick relative. This time, they get the fish they need, and they also catch Slim, trying to hurt the crazy guy with the white whiskers. They capture Slim, in this unbelievable scene where Jim is practically boxing him (that doesn't quite work either...as if the rest of them would stand around watching the show =_=) and rescue the man who's been dealt a blow on the head. They take him home to Mrs. Moore to rest him, and it turns out he's her husband, back from the dead. No, kidding, he never died, someone tried to attack him and they both fell down the cliff and the man died. Matthew (the husband) got amnesia (where would we be if amnesia had never been invented?) and the blow on the head has done miracles for his memory. Everyone's reuinited and happily ever after. Except the Bob-Whites, because the fish they've got aren't the real thing. But...wait for it, they've got something even more rare that promises more money. So everyone really is happily ever after. Now, I could never despise or even not enjoy Trixie Beldens, because she's awesome and has a lot of childhood significance for me, but this is probably my least favourite.

Hating Alison Ashley - Robin Klein

I think most people have probably read this classic from Robin Klein. I picked it up recently and rediscovered this - one of my old time favourites. It's told with humor and skill. It focuses on an underprivileged area called Barringa East. Though I can't agree with their lifestyle that involves street gangs and divorces and all sorts of bogan-type occurences, Klein writes it well, establishing that this is a reality, but that she does not necessarily support it either. In the midst of all this low-class existence is Erica Yurken, with one of the most terrible names I have ever heard. She's one of the best characters I have ever come across - precocious, arrogant, yet unbelieveably funny. She feels superior to everything and everyone in her suburb and believes she's destined for great things as a movie star. She's a hypocondriac, belongs to a seriously weird family (her little sister wants to be a horse, dresses like one and acts like one. Unbelievable!). Then Alison Ashley arrives, from a rich nearby area that has suddenly been plonked into the disadvantaged area by a rezoning incident. She's really high class, with the perfect looks, the perfect clothes, the perfect attitude and work. And suddenly, Erica is up against someone who makes her feel incredibly inferior. You can read a lot of psychology into this novel which is one of the great things about it. Erica takes an absolute hatred to her, because she's not used to feeling inferior. Alison Ashley shows her up in every aspect of school life - she knows how to work the photography equipment, she's read all the classic books, she's every teacher's favorite. She's also smooth as butter and Erica can't read her, except she tries and reads everything (wrongly)as some sort of snobbish disdain. Yet for all that, she doesn't seem to make any friends. She and Erica have a few tiffs, and the book is filled with Erica's amusing and jealous commentary. Somewhere along the line, Alison visits Erica's house, where everyone is behaving uncultured as usual, but Alison doesn't bat an eyelid, although Erica's sure she's flinching inside. Erica also visits Alison's house, and it's perfect and spotless, but Alison's mum wakes up from her nap and the visit is cut short as she flames her daughter for being "incredibly selfish" etc. You can tell Alison doesn't get much love on the home front. It all culminates in the school camp, where they are assigned the same room (because they have an instinctive reliance on each other under all that tension and jealousy, and put each other's name on the secret form for roommates). It's Erica's debut as an actress, but she suddenly realises she gets severe stage fright, and tkes up the role of writer and director in the plays they perform for the parents on the final night. Having all her dreams crushed is pretty traumatic, especially as Alison becomes the lead in her place and is pitch perfect and everything. Erica's also homesick and tries to discourage her mum from coming to watch the plays because she thinks she's going to be disappointed that Erica isn't acting a part. At the last minute, everything goes wrong and the props aren't organised and Erica cops it. But she bumps into her mother's boyfriend Lennie (who she's spent the whole book disdaining as a total bogan) and he fixes everything up and the plays go smoothly. Except Erica's too depressed to watch and goes to her camp room where she discovers a book Alison has made for her, out of all the drafts Erica wrote for the play. It is unbelievably touching, and completely restores her sense of self, and she creeps in for the end. And for the last chapter or so, she and Alison become great friends, and you can see warmth blooming. It ends with Erica realising her last name would become Grubb because Lennie and her mother are getting married! Which is a hilarious conclusion. What I love best about the ending is how redeeming it is. Erica's spent the entire time being jealous and condescending and disdainful, but her family really comes through in the end. Her mum is so incredibly supportive of her as the author of the plays, and Lennie is a great help and Erica finally warms to him. She becomes great friends with Alison, who she discovers might have the perfect life in material considerations, but her parents are divorced and her mum hardly cares about her at all. It seems like a new beginning for them both.

The Adventurous Four - Enid Blyton

Not much like Blyton's other series. I get the distinct feeling that this first book was a one-off brought back By popular demand. Apparently the second book wasn't as good as the first, but I don't know, I haven't read it yet. This adventure is good. A family is down at the sea, a mother with her twin daughters Mary and Jill and an older (presumably) son called Tom. They become good friends with Andy, a local and older fisher boy who is obviously their leader, but all this is established in the first chapter. They go off on a trip in Andy's fishing boat very early on, planning to stay 2 days on an island but miss their way in a storm and are shipwrecked on a different small island.

They soon set up a very comfortable 'house' for themselves from the leftover huts of people who used to farm there. One day exploring, they go to the next island in the chain (there are 3) and discover a cave full of food supplies, from which they take a few things. (One of the unbelievable but really fun parts of this book is how despite being shipwrecked on some deserted island Blyton finds all these ways to furnish them with really nice food just like in her other books). But they find a seaplane there from "the Enemy" and quickly realise the second island is being used as a storage point for supplies. Tom has a handy camera in a waterproof case and he snaps a few shots.

On the third island, they find a deep harbour that houses about a dozen enemy submarines! Things have gotten much bigger! They want to set back to inform the authorities, especially as Tom has filled his camera roll with a few more snaps as evidence. So they lug more food from the second island and steal a boat, one of many stored there, and plan to sail away.

Alas, Tom leaves his camera in the cave with food! Feeling like an idiot, he sets off to retrieve it which is even more idiotic, and promptly gets caught. The 'Enemies' question him and search the islands to see if there's anyone else. Andy and the girls have a brainwave and disguise themselves under sand and seaweed as rocks, and are not discovered. This bit was realistic, but something seemed a bit off about it. I don't believe it could be done in real life. But I made special efforts to suspend my disbelief in acknowledgement that this was a kid's book. Andy goes at night to the second island and discovers a hole in the roof of the cave where they're holding Tom. Not as incredible as it sounds, since there must be some way of getting fresh air. They escape later, by enlarging the hole and...wait for it...setting their gramophone into the cave so it sounds like Tom's singing! They rush back, repair their shipwrecked boat (which they've pulled off the rocks and found the damage isn't quite so bad) and are ready to set off ---! when it turns out they've been watched all along. So the boat is confiscated, and they're all stuck on the island, but with a lot of good food.

They're not defeated. Andy thinks up the idea of a raft, built from the hut they're staying in. They make it look like it's collapsed in the storm, get a tent from the enemy, live in that while they stealthily pull the hut apart and make a raft complete with a sail. Tom and Andy get onto that and float away and Jill and Mary stay behind because it's none too big.

Tom and Andy are floating round in the sea, making good way. On the second day, a sea plane comes so they hang in the water from the sides, hoping it doesn't see them. It does, but it turns out to be British! And Tom's dad (pilot in the war) is on it! They tell the big story, the adults are suitably impressed. They go to pick up the girls.

Meanwhile, the 'Enemy' has realised they're gone upon a raft, because only the twins are on the island. They threaten to bring the twins back to their country so they run and hide on the second island in the cave of food in a big box. This is luckily where the rescue plane lands and they're all reunited! They fly away and the islands and submarines are blown up.

All in all, it's quite a thrilling adventure. Blyton carries all the plot twists off well, and the ideas are quite ingenious. I doubt I'd have been able to get off the island at all. The adventure is so good you don't really think about the characters so much, which is best because they're not so distinct, except for Andy who's quite brilliant and skilled with his hands. However, the use of 'the Enemy' did disturb me a bit. I know it wasn't written during war time so it wasn't targeted against any country at all, and Blyton was very careful not to name any whatsoever, but there's a speech at the end:

It's something to cry about, to think that we have to fight so much evil and wickedness. It is right against wrong and we have to be strong and courageous when we fight suhc a powerful and evil enemy as ours. But dry your eyes - you are on the right side and that is something to be proud of!

We know in real life things are never that clear cut. World War II was awful, there were clear victims then, and Hitler was evil but just reading a little bit of All's Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Remarque will show you the tragedy of World War I from Germany's side. Even Hitler's troops, cruel as they were, had been brainwashed. There will never be a war where there are no innocent deaths. It's devastating to think, that as educated as we are now, there will still be a third and final World War where the world comes against Israel that God tells us about in His Word. But I know Blyton didn't mean to say Britain was always right in everything they did, so I'll leave it at that. But another thing is the treatment of children during war. I kept thinking that the 'Enemy' would have just shot them all, it would've been easier. I've heard of Nazis ripping children bodily apart. They would have hardly fed them and given them tents when their soldiers were starving. But surely, if children were to accidently stumble in on something like this, soldiers must remember their own and take pity on them for that? I'd like to think so, but it's something I hope I shall never know.

LITERARY MERIT: ***1/2 ENJOYMENT: ****3/4

#27: The Bobbsey Twins Solve a Mystery - Laura Lee Hope

A sturdy hardcover I picked up at a second hand book store at the end of last year. A librarian I knew had grown up with them, and we share a love for childrens' books, so when I saw it, I bought it though I'd never read any. And I don't regret it. It's a lovely, wholesome series full of good, old-fashioned fun when everything kids did, no matter how mundane, was interesting and vital. Kind of like Trixie Belden - they have lovely family times. Anyways, my book looks just like that, only it's brown (blechh) and has a different picture and no title or author, just a brown dog in the corner. The story had the most coincidences and unbelievable and understated events ever. I havent' been a kid in a long time, so it was difficult suspending my disbelief but younger kids I know have loved it. The story runs along these lines: the Bobbsey twins (Nan and Bert, the older set, and Freddie and Flossie, the younger set. No one thinks about how much pain it must have been to carry these 4 to life.)comes with their family to Storm Haven, a seaside holiday area. Early on, they meet a Captain Van Pelt, who takes a particular liking to fat, fair-headed Flossie. We later find out it is because of his "secret" ie. he's looking for his wife and daughter who moved away whilst he was shipwrecked on an island, thinking he was dead. And he's spent the rest of his life looking for them, particularly in Storm Haven. Well, maybe people didn't move away so far in those days? If you were to lose someone now, they would probably end up from Africa to Russia or something. Anyways, the Bobbsey twins really want to help him find them. They go aboard his ship for a day-voyage and get caught in a storm. There, they meet an accidental stowaway, a school teacher called Miss Perkin who's down for the summer to earn some money, only she can't get employed. In the storm, Miss Perkin falls overboard in about 2 sudden sentences and is fished out just as quickly, safe. (There is a lot of falling into water in this book). They return after the storm has blown over. Later, the Captain decides to show them his treasure box on the beach, but a humungous (coincidental) wave sweeps it away. He is heartbroken, because it was full of treasure he was saving for his family. The Captain sails away for a while, and the kids go picking huckleberries (which I've never had before) in a bog. There, they meet a bear O_O and he's chasing after them until a dog chases him away. Go figure. They don't seem very frightened either. Then they're lost, get rescued by a muskrat hunter who they tell the Captain's story to. He suggests go see the guestbook in the Old Church and takes them there. Voila. The Captain's wife and daughter, Hannah and Debby Van Pelt, have signed it, with their town name. They can't wait to tell the Captain when he comes back.
Meanwhile, Bert sells his huckleberries to buy cushions for his new catboat in which he is learning to sail. I don't know about prices in those times, but that sounds like a mighty expensive holiday present though they're supposed to get it cheap. He's selling them to the hotel, and similtaneously recommends Miss Perkins as a piano entertainer so she gets her chance to earn some money. The family goes fishing, and Freddie, little chap that he is, fishes up this huge fish just about as big as him. I wish I had a superbrother like that. When the cook guts it, she finds a locket inside that (coincidentally) has the Captain's daughter and wife's photo! They can't wait to give that back either. Flossie meets a prize diver around her age called Marion, who has a close shave from hitting a hard raft when diving in the pool. But like everyone else in this book, she is unperturbed by danger. I don't think she even realises she almost split her head open. They become good friends. The family goes fishing again, and (even more coincidentally) this time Bert fishes up the Captain's treasure chest! The Bobbsey twins are handy to have around, aren't they? So now they've got a whole heap of things to return to the Captain.
Sometime before this, the Captain's come back and heard about his Debby and gone off to look for her in New York, and found out she could be the wife of a man working in insurance. Small world, that New York. Now he comes back and gets a lapful of treasure. The rest of the world, meanwhile, is preparing for a masquerade ball at the hotel where the Captain's staying. On the night, Nan goes dressed as Mary Bo Peep, Bert as a pirate, Freddie as a sailor and Flossie as a fat little fairy. There, they see Marion who's in one of her mother's childhood dresses. She's the spitting image of the girl in the locket, and the Bobbsey twins get excited and call the Captain down, who takes one look and gives Marion a great big hug. The mother comes along and is all "What are you doing with my daughter?!" This is the only part of the book where propriety makes an entrance. There's nothing strange about the Captain's First Mate stripping off his shirt to show the kids his tattoos, of course. But voila, it's a family reunion where everyone is very very happy. Marion is Debby's daughter, the Captain's granddaughter, but his wife has since passeed away. The Captain gives Bert sailing tricks for helping him find his family and Bert (coincidentally) wins the boat race at the hotel. And everyone's happily ever after.
I may wax sarcastic, but it's quite a cute little book. Sure, i didn't believe any of it but that didn't stop me enjoying it all, and guessing who the Captain's daughter was because of course, I knew she would be found. Good for kids. LITERARY MERIT: ** ENJOYMENT: ***

The Girl from Purple Mountain - May-Lee Chai and Winberg Chai

I usually comment on books I've just read, but this seems a precarious situation. After all these people have lived, with faults and with virtues, how can I comment on their story? I can't offer judgments because this isn't an imaginative creation but a piece of raw history.

Still, I have my feelings towards this piece of work. It was sparked by Winberg's mother's mysterious burial plans, in a plot completely surrounded by other graves where her husband could not be buried with her. They went through their ancestors' history and focused on the story of Winberg's mum, or May-Lee's grandmother. It's a turbulent story, spanning the most tumultous years of Chinese history. From a cultural point of view, it's fascinating, a little square of China in its warlord, civil war and then communist era, to their immigration to America. My knowledge of Chinese history is hazy at best, but I could tell they had suffered. The grandmother, Ruth, was something of a pioneer in her time. Her mother refused to have bound feet, saved by Christian missionaries. Ruth was one of the first ladies to go to university, one of the eight chinese female prodigies, who memorised the entire Bible. For someone like me, who struggles over single verses, this is nothing short of phenomenal. Ruth is quick-sighted, she has survival instincts. She chooses her own husband because he had "an honest face", in a split second decision that carries her through the rest of her life. So she must be a good judge of character. She escapes with her family to America soon after the Communists came into power, and missed the whole Cultural Revolution. There's foresight for you. She and her husband had studied overseas previously anyways. I stick to bald facts because I cannot hazzard a response to this interwoven web of character.

If Ruth is a strict mother, did she not also save her family? If she has survived whilst others died, was it not for her family? Chinese biographies, memoirs (China is my hobby from an intellectual perspective) show one thing strongly - the Chinese mentality. The rat-pack existence. Because as a Chinese, who make up about a fifth of the worlds population, you are more insignificant than a drop in the bucket. Ruth was extroadinary, and you have to be extroadinary to survive. You cannot care about everyone. These are not God's ways, but even as a Christian, I cannot see any viable alternative.

Ruth was decisive, snappy, sharp, brilliant, intelligent, dominant. She is easily a more powerful person than her husband, Charles, who is less clear-sighted but has a softer heart. He would be welcome in some shelter, early 20th C rural existence, but hopeless in his own. It's all a matter of context. Winberg and May-lee have done well to piece this story together. It is truth, and I can't interfere with that.

In the end, they recognise her surprise burial plans as her way of making sure her story was never forgotten. After all the family had been through, she did not want her sacrifices to be lost. She wanted her descendents to understand, and to do this, she had to shock them into remembering the past. Who can say if this is wise or not? My parents immigrated from China also so we could escape from that oppressive atmosphere. They have suffered as immigrants, not nearly to the extent of this memoir, but more than I will ever know. Do I want to forget this? No, I want to realise and recognise what they experienced. Only recently have I started hearing stories, true stories of our past, and I can hardly recognise that time where everything was so precious. There is something behind the Chinese mindset, shaped by their history. Cheap, even stingy, but for a reason. Success-driven, family-motivated, endurers, workers. I have a root in all this. LITERARY MERIT: **** ENJOYMENT: ****

Mistress Pat - L M. Montgomery

I'm crazy about Montgomery's books, but I've realised lately that it's more than enjoying them. I grew up with Montgomery. As a kid, my best friend and I would meet at the library and devour them and share "chummy" laughs over them, and so now I have this psychological dependence on them because she was my childhood favourite author. That being said, it's kind of disillusioning rereading them and finding all these things to criticise. After Anne and Emily, I'm beginning to see a formula going on. With Anne and Emily, it was successful but after those really vibrant girl characters, Pat is very bland. During the first book (there's only two in this series, Pat of Silver Bush and this one) she was so insipid that when she started having those outrageous boyfriends at the end (which was a really stupid addition to the story) I wondered what they saw in her. She doesn't do anything well except for love things, but Montgomery somehow doesn't make that characteristic work in this book.

Back to the formulas, Pat was a bit of a washed out Emily. Whereas Anne and Emily have almost exactly the same story but are as different as night and day, Pat and Emily have almost nothing in common but somehow Pat contrives to be a foil to Emily. Also, the character of David, the shell-shocked widow, is strongly reminiscent of that creep, Dean Priest in Emily. Someone who's intellectual and stimulating but also cynical and bitter and twisted. Pat's story is very much a home story, which I did enjoy. It's got that wholesome family feel within it, where all the stories centre around the family unit. But unlike Anne and Emily, nothing much seems to happy. It's very insular, and I guess that's in character with Pat who absolutely adores her home, but it doesn't add much for interest. A couple of silly 'love affairs' as Montgomery calls them, within that warm family backdrop, but I really don't like Montgomery's 'love affairs'. They're trashy. She's a great writer and has great pathos with nature and I always think Canada is one of the most beautiful places in the world though I haven't been there, but those silly, shallow little flirtations (which, in Anne, were recognised as flirtations) downgrade her. Sometimes when I'm exasperated, I think she might almost have been a precursor of Mills and Boons. But the story: Pat Gardiner is as much in love with her home as she ever was, so nothing suits her better than staying home and being the homemaker now her mother is an invalid. They get a new hired man (Tillytuck, who's a pretty cool character, bold as brass and quite suits the ambience) her sister "Cuddles" grows up and becomes the beautiful Rae (more on her later) and boys hang around with their tongues out over the Gardiner girls but thankfully, Montgomery squeezes them into small, insignificant paragraphs. Not much happens, just the patterns of town life, except at the end, Pat and David get engaged, break the engagement and the house burns down and she marries another man named Hilary. My nitpicks? Cuddles is a horrible character. I don't know what Montgomery was trying to get with her, but she's shallow and vain and all she thinks about is beaus. Kind of another Ruby Gillis, but Montgomery never tried to pass her off as anything but a social butterfly, unlike Cuddles who's supposed to be quite intelligent but just doesn't pass muster. Cuddles, or Rae, as she grows up to be, only calms down and learns to be sensible after she gets engaged, and after that she becomes a great sister. Secondly, David and Pat? Hello, Dean and Emily much? Only muted down, like everything else. Thankfully we don't see too much of him. But Montgomery is wayy too obvious about Jingle (or Hilary), the one Pat really ends up with in the last chapter or so of the book. Her childhood friend (with the most ridiculous name in history) who's a brilliant architect and has been her rejected suitor for years because of course, she's too clueless to realise she will end up with him even though the readers have known it for years and believe me, you don't hold your breath waiting for it. Her house burns down and everything she loves is gone, and her life is a living hell and Jingle pops up and wants to whisk her away to the house he's built especially for her in goodness knows where, I think it was Vancouver, and everyone's happy ever after. I kind of expected something like a fire to happen because I knew somehow she'd have to stop worshipping it and start worshipping Jingle instead. You may think all this criticism means I don't like it, but I don't despise it. It's okay for a nice, quiet, calm read if you're not looking for literature and can ignore all those 'romantic' contrivances. There were some really effective bits, like Judy's death that touched some chord deep, deep inside you that you doubted this book would reach. Much like Bet's death in the first book, who was Pat's childhood best friend, and that made me cry, but I couldn't cry over Judy, it was different. Also, the deviation from the normal 'happily ever after', because Sid, Pat's favourite brother is entrapped into marrying her worst enemy, snipey May Binnie, who is like Anne's Josie Pye. It's a sobering thought that he'll never get out of it, and to see the family living in one house and all the ruckus because of his petty, selfish wife... It really stood out for me. Apparently Montgomery put more of herself into this book than Anne or Emily (in which case her imagination is better than her life, or she's more boring than her characters, or both) and it makes you wonder... Lastly, I really love Hilary the architect. Ever since I've read all that stuff about the mood of houses, I've had a great appreciation for the way houses are built and how they look, because they really have a personality to them. I live on a really hodge-podge street in terms of architecture, and there's some boring stuff and there's some really beautiful homes that look so at one with their surroundings. But the Lonely House here is just the Disappointed House in Emily recycled and done up less pleasingly. LITERARY MERIT: *** 1/2 ENJOYMENT: ****