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bickie's review
Runaway children in Devonshire, shapeshifting cat, magical bees in the vicarage, monkey servant in livery (cringe), voodoo, stern uncle with a pet owl, Egyptologist with amnesia, reclusive Lady. Combination of convention-challenging with love and goodness' winning in the end.
leesmyth's review against another edition
4.0
It has some elements of style, tone, and theme that are familiar to me from C.S. Lewis's Narnia stories. I see it, for example, in the narration, which often interprets events or offers judgment; in the ending (once evil is swiftly and thoroughly vanquished, overwhelming joy rushes in); and in the delight in landscape, in the land itself, and nature. (To be clear, I'm not saying that either was influenced by the other.*)
There are some delightfully funny moments and episodes throughout -- some demanded to be shared immediately and I read them aloud to someone who will never read the book but still found them amusing. The "mysteries" are fairly easy to solve (for a grown-up, anyway), and the magic and pagan elements are not necessariily my cup of tea (though they co-exist quite happily with the C of E here), but overall this was a lot of fun, if not perfectly satisfying.
A sample passage to give a sense of the humor:
'I doubt if I could afford it on what I'd make farming,' said [X] gloomily.
'I share your doubt,' said [Y]. 'But farm by all means if you wish. Any one of the local farmers will be delighted to instruct you and your total lack of talent will give great pleasure. In time you may develop some slight efficiency in the art and be able to contribute towards [the desired goal]. But even if you do not, I am happy to inform you that my own financial means will be equal to the strain.'
[FN* I don't know when the book was written, but it was published in 1964, the year after Lewis died. Goudge lived another 20 years.]
There are some delightfully funny moments and episodes throughout -- some demanded to be shared immediately and I read them aloud to someone who will never read the book but still found them amusing. The "mysteries" are fairly easy to solve (for a grown-up, anyway), and the magic and pagan elements are not necessariily my cup of tea (though they co-exist quite happily with the C of E here), but overall this was a lot of fun, if not perfectly satisfying.
A sample passage to give a sense of the humor:
'I doubt if I could afford it on what I'd make farming,' said [X] gloomily.
'I share your doubt,' said [Y]. 'But farm by all means if you wish. Any one of the local farmers will be delighted to instruct you and your total lack of talent will give great pleasure. In time you may develop some slight efficiency in the art and be able to contribute towards [the desired goal]. But even if you do not, I am happy to inform you that my own financial means will be equal to the strain.'
[FN* I don't know when the book was written, but it was published in 1964, the year after Lewis died. Goudge lived another 20 years.]
cimorene1558's review
4.0
Delightful, although with some quite scary moments due to the presence of a seriously nasty witch.
ehays84's review
3.0
An interesting book I read to the kids. It's definitely got done Nesbit and some Masefield in it, which is high praise from me. But it's pretty random, and the vodoo took me by surprise. All in all, a fun book, but in a strange way.
finesilkflower's review
adventurous
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
3.0
A deeply weird and oddly charming novel in the grand tradition of English children's novels about groups of siblings doing things. Written in the 1950s and taking place in 1912, this book follows the Linnet siblings, who, after being left with an oppressive grandmother while their father goes to war in India, decide to escape and live life on their own terms. After an ill-thought-out flight to a neighboring village, including flat-out stealing a pony and cart, they find themselves at the doorstep of their curmudgeonly uncle, who grudgingly agrees to take them in (and of course immediately warms to them). Of course they proceed to do lots of good deeds in the village and make friends with the various quirky townspeople, solving their problems in direct and indirect ways, helping to break magic spells, etc.
What I love about this book is the incredibly detailed descriptions of odd, unusual, and very beautiful settings. In nearly every scene we are treated to a rich description of a sun-dappled forest, a misty mountaintop, a stunning vista, a bizarre and cluttered interior, etc. It truly feels like a Studio Ghibli movie in word form. I wanted to illustrate nearly every scene.
Shower Thoughts: There is canonical magic in this book (you could say that most of the magic has a logical explanation, but at the end they remove the pins from a witch's effigy and a character spontaneously has his lost memory restored, so that feels pretty cut and dried). However, something that isn't addressed but feels too consistent to be coincidental is that children's incredible luck. Although the kids start the book in a tough place, from almost the first moment, we see examples of the characters having too-good-to-be-true luck; for example, when it occurs to one of them that they scale the fence, they randomly find a ladder. When they steal a pony, it happens to belong to their uncle and to bring them home. It feels like the entire book takes place in the Red Dwarf video game 'Better Than Life'. If I were playing the Owl Creek Bridge Game, I'd say the entire thing must take place in the afterlife. I'm not sure if this is an intentional effort to ramp up the wish fulfillment aspect, or simply an overreliance on coincidence on the part of the author, but it gives the whole thing a distinctly dreamlike quality that tbh works.
Content Warning: Racism. The only Black character is an elderly servant. Although he is intended to be a positive character, his depiction is tropey ("magical butler" type), and the fact that his employer's other servant is a monkey isn't doing the author any favors in the assume-good-intentions department.
What I love about this book is the incredibly detailed descriptions of odd, unusual, and very beautiful settings. In nearly every scene we are treated to a rich description of a sun-dappled forest, a misty mountaintop, a stunning vista, a bizarre and cluttered interior, etc. It truly feels like a Studio Ghibli movie in word form. I wanted to illustrate nearly every scene.
Shower Thoughts: There is canonical magic in this book (you could say that most of the magic has a logical explanation, but at the end they remove the pins from a witch's effigy and a character spontaneously has his lost memory restored, so that feels pretty cut and dried). However, something that isn't addressed but feels too consistent to be coincidental is that children's incredible luck. Although the kids start the book in a tough place, from almost the first moment, we see examples of the characters having too-good-to-be-true luck; for example, when it occurs to one of them that they scale the fence, they randomly find a ladder. When they steal a pony, it happens to belong to their uncle and to bring them home. It feels like the entire book takes place in the Red Dwarf video game 'Better Than Life'. If I were playing the Owl Creek Bridge Game, I'd say the entire thing must take place in the afterlife. I'm not sure if this is an intentional effort to ramp up the wish fulfillment aspect, or simply an overreliance on coincidence on the part of the author, but it gives the whole thing a distinctly dreamlike quality that tbh works.
Content Warning: Racism. The only Black character is an elderly servant. Although he is intended to be a positive character, his depiction is tropey ("magical butler" type), and the fact that his employer's other servant is a monkey isn't doing the author any favors in the assume-good-intentions department.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism
foggy_rosamund's review against another edition
2.0
Though I enjoy Goudge's work, and enjoyed some elements of this novel, it is one of her weakest. The Linnet children are staying with their grandmother as their father is serving in the British army. However, their grandmother wants to split them up, sending some to boarding school, and get rid of their dog, so the children run away. This problem is resolved in the first chapter, when their Uncle Ambrose, a vicar, takes them in. Afterwards, this text is essentially a "happily ever after" for the children, and the problems within the story are all superficial and extraneous to their own lives. There is no real sense of danger or tension. Goudge's work celebrates the magic of England: a sense of timelessness, wild beauty, and a love of one's home. Her work has a fairytale feeling, not only in its use of magic, but in its stock characters: servants are always humble and devoted; girls are good and boys are plucky; vicars are noble; widows are sad. In her best works, such as The Little White Horse this can add to the feeling of timelessness, but when her story isn't successful, the clumsiness of these characterisations comes to the fore. As well as that, in this novel the colonialism at the heart of England and English values is highlighted, with the novel's casual mentions of the British army in India, the presence of a grateful African servant, and the plundering of Egypt in order to decorate English drawing rooms. Other reviewers have also mentioned the magical curing of one character's disability as a problem, and while I hate the trope of a magical cure, as soon as disability presented itself I was sure Goudge was going to resolve it in this manner, so I wasn't surprised. It's another way in which her plots are always predictable: and, in this case, reductive. This is probably only a book for Goudge completists: and there are things to enjoy here, particularly her descriptions of food, horses and the Devonshire countryside. But overall, it's a mess.
clairetrellahill's review
5.0
GOOD NEWS sad and depressing children's books are OUT and good and kind books filled with joy are IN!
Linnets and Valerians by Elizabeth Goudge is a fairly simple story about four children who run away to their uncle's home and have some adventures BUT in the vein of books much like The Secret Garden where the magic and wonder of the world from a child's perspective explodes off the page and into your heart to stay forever. This book centers on good people investing in these children and in turn the children help pull an elderly woman out of sadness and despair and reunite families. This book is a crescendo of all things good, quiet, and joyful, a perfect read to recharge your heart and mind. Five Stars.
Linnets and Valerians by Elizabeth Goudge is a fairly simple story about four children who run away to their uncle's home and have some adventures BUT in the vein of books much like The Secret Garden where the magic and wonder of the world from a child's perspective explodes off the page and into your heart to stay forever. This book centers on good people investing in these children and in turn the children help pull an elderly woman out of sadness and despair and reunite families. This book is a crescendo of all things good, quiet, and joyful, a perfect read to recharge your heart and mind. Five Stars.
kwurtzel3's review
5.0
This is such a delightful little book. It's so old-fashioned and quaint and lovely, and even though it's filled with period-accurate homophobia and sexism, it's still so charming and was exactly the kind of wonderful little adventure my wearied heart desperately needed.