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thenovelbook's review against another edition
3.0
Angela Thirkell is a good writer. I think I'd like to try some more of her books.
That said, it's hard for me to know exactly what to say about "High Rising." It feels like a transition between old-fashioned and modern, and for that reason I'm not sure fans of old-fashioned atmosphere would be totally satisfied, though I personally lean towards liking it a good deal.
Laura Morland, a widow (probably in her 40's) with the last of her 4 sons still at home, writes novels for a living. But this isn't about her writing career. Instead it's about her neighbors and their little dramas and joys and sorrows. It's an ironic book and often funny. Whether it's her quick-witted, self-sacrificing secretary, her scholarly and eccentric neighbor who loves to hear himself talk, or any of the other characters, it's fun to read. It's not a love story, although a couple of engagements do happen...it's just a few months in the life of these friends and neighbors. The things that happen loom large in the moment but are, in reality, fairly small. The kind of book where the ending isn't really a big deal, it's more about just taking each page and enjoying the flow of events. Reminded me somewhat of D.E. Stevenson's Miss Buncle books.
That said, it's hard for me to know exactly what to say about "High Rising." It feels like a transition between old-fashioned and modern, and for that reason I'm not sure fans of old-fashioned atmosphere would be totally satisfied, though I personally lean towards liking it a good deal.
Laura Morland, a widow (probably in her 40's) with the last of her 4 sons still at home, writes novels for a living. But this isn't about her writing career. Instead it's about her neighbors and their little dramas and joys and sorrows. It's an ironic book and often funny. Whether it's her quick-witted, self-sacrificing secretary, her scholarly and eccentric neighbor who loves to hear himself talk, or any of the other characters, it's fun to read. It's not a love story, although a couple of engagements do happen...it's just a few months in the life of these friends and neighbors. The things that happen loom large in the moment but are, in reality, fairly small. The kind of book where the ending isn't really a big deal, it's more about just taking each page and enjoying the flow of events. Reminded me somewhat of D.E. Stevenson's Miss Buncle books.
eve_prime's review against another edition
4.5
The Barchester novels by Angela Thirkell are excellent bedtime reading, being both light and humorous. I winced at the moments of incidental racism (Laura, our main character, calls her publisher friend a Jew to tease him about being financially responsible, and a couple of times someone made negative references to dark-skinned people from India and indigenous people somewhere or other), but the book was published in 1933, and I'm confident that these characters would behave better if they had been born much later. The story focuses on Laura Morland, a widow in her mid-40s who makes a living writing hack novels about dramatic events in a particular fashion house. She has a very lively son named Tony who is obviously ADHD and on the spectrum, given his altogether amusing obsession with his model train set. She also has two close male friends, the publisher and also another author, a historian who loves to hold forth and mansplain to an extent that is quite funny, especially to his several female friends. Various things happen in their social circle, and the characters will reappear in later books in the series.
shareen17's review against another edition
3.0
This little book barely has a plot. It's just some comfortable happenings in a small village in England. It involves a romance or two without anything remotely romantic involved. I didn't really like the humor - not at all my style - but I did like the main character and her relationship with her son. It has some casually racist and sexist content like is not too uncommon for books of the period.
jkeenereads's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Hilarious
amlibera's review against another edition
4.0
I've been meaning to read Angela Thirkell forever (cozy, British, Trollope adjacent in the sense that she sets her novels in his imaginary Barsetshire), this was a charming and fun read with well drawn characters (the little boys obsessed with trains, the "Incubus"). Written in the early 1930's and set a touch earlier (I think) so there are uncomfortable moments and comments based in British colonialism and racism that stick out like sore thumbs and made the whole thing much less comfortable than I wanted.
laila4343's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars. It was delightful in a very light, witty, British period between the Wars sort of way. HOWEVER, I am deducting a half-star for a couple of uncalled for, casually tossed anti-Semitic remarks. I know it was written in 1933, but still, I didn't like it.
Also, not as good or smart or deep as Barbara Pym, but in the same kind of vein. I'm most definitely going to read a few more of this series. (BTW, the Virago Modern Classics edition, which I have, has the most BEAUTIFUL cover.)
Also, not as good or smart or deep as Barbara Pym, but in the same kind of vein. I'm most definitely going to read a few more of this series. (BTW, the Virago Modern Classics edition, which I have, has the most BEAUTIFUL cover.)
rebroxannape's review against another edition
3.0
So I finally read an Angella Thirkell Book. And what better place to start than the first in her Barsetshire series? It was a pleasant read: the kind of book you read with a faint smile and a gentle chuckle every so often. Laura, our heroine, "a delightfully vague widow with four sons" on her late unlamented husband:
She knows how to sketch a character in a few strokes and turn a humorous phrase. On her annoying but beloved and oh so talkative 11-year-old son:
She mines the comic out of the most unlikely circumstances. Her description of Laura haplessly trying to change a typewriter ribbon is priceless.
As a mother of two sons, this description of a Valentine terrible Tony sends to his mother from school, really hit the spot:
I'll be reading more of the Barsetshire series in a bit. I hope to meet Laura, and especially her son Tony again.
https://rebekahsreadingsandwatchings.com/
"You see my husband was nothing but an expense to me while he was alive, and naturally he is no help to me now he's dead, though, of course, less expensive...
She knows how to sketch a character in a few strokes and turn a humorous phrase. On her annoying but beloved and oh so talkative 11-year-old son:
She had sent him to school at an earlier age than his brothers...partly, as she remarked, to break his spirit. She fondly hoped that after a term or two at school he would find his own level, and be clouted over the head by his unappreciative contemporaries. But not at all. He returned more self-centred than before, talking even more, and, if possible, less interestingly. Why the other boys hadn't killed him, his doting mother couldn't conceive.. Mrs. Stoker, Laura's no-nonsense, grouchy, but loyal housekeeper, on our villain, the encroaching neurotic secretary to a neighbor and good friend: "Miss Una Grey she calls herself, said Stoker as if the secretary were indulging in a sinful alias."
She mines the comic out of the most unlikely circumstances. Her description of Laura haplessly trying to change a typewriter ribbon is priceless.
As a mother of two sons, this description of a Valentine terrible Tony sends to his mother from school, really hit the spot:
The letter was written with much care and a shocking calligraphy in red and blue ink, and copiously decorated with hearts, pierced by arrows, dripping blood...(A an original valentine poem, too long to quote) "It's lovely Valentine," said Adrian, while Laura's eyes shone with pride.
I'll be reading more of the Barsetshire series in a bit. I hope to meet Laura, and especially her son Tony again.
https://rebekahsreadingsandwatchings.com/
krobart's review against another edition
4.0
See my review here:
https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2021/06/29/review-1684-thirkellbar-high-rising/
https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2021/06/29/review-1684-thirkellbar-high-rising/
paperbacksandpines's review against another edition
4.0
This book reminded me of [b:Diary of a Provincial Lady|249823|Diary of a Provincial Lady|E.M. Delafield|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1408938782l/249823._SX50_.jpg|242076] in terms of humor and tone. It made me yearn for a bygone era during the brief lull between world wars when it seems like life was slower pace and simpler in terms of problems presented.
I enjoyed reading about the everyday life of a widowed mother and writer. Reading that she basically wrote pulp books centering around fashion and that she didn't take herself too seriously as a writer was funny. I also appreciated her repeated comments about how, despite loving her son, she didn't always like him, certainly not a viewpoint I'd ever read from books written within the same time period as this one.
It was also interesting to read about the role of house helpers at a time after the servant class had fought their way out of those ranks. It's always interesting to me to read about how the ladies of the manor view their staff and how the staff view themselves.
I was surprised by some of the lower ratings reviewers gave this book and couldn't help but wonder if some readers aren't used to reading books of a certain vintage where writing style differs somewhat compared to more modern standards. Some readers might also argue that nothing much happens in the story. This book read as more of a series of anecdotes, so if you're expecting a fast moving plot, you'll probably be disappointed. I enjoyed the problem and the solution contained in this story.
My main critique is the way that Jewish people were discussed and disparaged in this book. I thank my lucky stars that I didn't grow up in an era where it was de rigueur to refer to this group of people as somehow sub human and nothing makes me more thankful to celebrate these changes than a trip back into the past. My other critique was the way in which one of the female characters in the story was referred to. She was continually referred to in terms that reinforced how empty headed she was, simple, and her only potential use was as that of a wife. Again, I think this was due to the casual sexism of society at the time, although I'm sure not everyone felt this way. Despite these complaints, I enjoyed the story and will be seeking out more of Thirkell's stories in the future.
I enjoyed reading about the everyday life of a widowed mother and writer. Reading that she basically wrote pulp books centering around fashion and that she didn't take herself too seriously as a writer was funny. I also appreciated her repeated comments about how, despite loving her son, she didn't always like him, certainly not a viewpoint I'd ever read from books written within the same time period as this one.
It was also interesting to read about the role of house helpers at a time after the servant class had fought their way out of those ranks. It's always interesting to me to read about how the ladies of the manor view their staff and how the staff view themselves.
I was surprised by some of the lower ratings reviewers gave this book and couldn't help but wonder if some readers aren't used to reading books of a certain vintage where writing style differs somewhat compared to more modern standards. Some readers might also argue that nothing much happens in the story. This book read as more of a series of anecdotes, so if you're expecting a fast moving plot, you'll probably be disappointed. I enjoyed the problem and the solution contained in this story.
My main critique is the way that Jewish people were discussed and disparaged in this book. I thank my lucky stars that I didn't grow up in an era where it was de rigueur to refer to this group of people as somehow sub human and nothing makes me more thankful to celebrate these changes than a trip back into the past. My other critique was the way in which one of the female characters in the story was referred to. She was continually referred to in terms that reinforced how empty headed she was, simple, and her only potential use was as that of a wife. Again, I think this was due to the casual sexism of society at the time, although I'm sure not everyone felt this way. Despite these complaints, I enjoyed the story and will be seeking out more of Thirkell's stories in the future.