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4.04 AVERAGE
4.04 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
relaxing
It took me a little bit to settle into this book. I think because I'm so used to being 'wowed' or witnessing explosive plots and intense characters and this book is just full of wholesome everyday characters (Marcel's family), and a storyline that unravels like floating down a slow and steady river in the fading sunshine on a warm day. It's just gorgeous. When it ended I was sad to say goodbye but had a lovely warm glow in my heart that wasn't there before.
I started reading this book after watching (for the second time) the wonderful French film adaptations. Because the movies were so faithful to the book, and the story was so fresh in my mind, I put the book down and didn’t pick it up again for over a year. When I did finally start reading it again, I finished it in a few days. Each night I looked forward to returning to the hill country of southern France and vicariously roaming the rocky hills with young Marcel. The book is beautifully written, sensual, evocative and very funny. Pagnol beautifully brings to life the feelings of a child in summer, free from the worries of school, rejoicing in the freedoms of vacation. He also captures the flip side of this idyllic feeling - the doomed feelings of summer coming to an end as the dread specter of going back to school begins to hover over your shoulder.
Being a vegetarian, the only thing I didn’t like about the book were the hunting scenes and the frequent talk of catching small birds in snares. I do realize though that one must look at these things in their context. Marcel’s family was living in the hill country in the early nineteen hundreds with little access to any kind of markets. What they caught, they always ate.
The final two chapters of the book, providing a sort of epilogue to the story, are bittersweet and sad. Without spoiling anything, I think it’s safe to say, you might want to have a handkerchief ready.
“Such is the life of man. A few joys, quickly obliterated by unforgettable sorrows. There is no need to tell the children so.” In these closing sentences to the penultimate chapter, Marcel sums up what he has learned as an adult and how important it is to let children savor their childhoods and protect them from the harsh realities that will fill their lives all too soon.
By the way, if you get a chance, watch the two movies “My Father’s Glory,” and “My Mother’s Castle,” that are based on this book. They are wonderfully faithful adaptations and really bring the time period and the setting to life.
Being a vegetarian, the only thing I didn’t like about the book were the hunting scenes and the frequent talk of catching small birds in snares. I do realize though that one must look at these things in their context. Marcel’s family was living in the hill country in the early nineteen hundreds with little access to any kind of markets. What they caught, they always ate.
The final two chapters of the book, providing a sort of epilogue to the story, are bittersweet and sad. Without spoiling anything, I think it’s safe to say, you might want to have a handkerchief ready.
“Such is the life of man. A few joys, quickly obliterated by unforgettable sorrows. There is no need to tell the children so.” In these closing sentences to the penultimate chapter, Marcel sums up what he has learned as an adult and how important it is to let children savor their childhoods and protect them from the harsh realities that will fill their lives all too soon.
By the way, if you get a chance, watch the two movies “My Father’s Glory,” and “My Mother’s Castle,” that are based on this book. They are wonderfully faithful adaptations and really bring the time period and the setting to life.
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
