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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
Well, it was free.
Take all the myths about the childhoods and general character of Presidents Lincoln and Washington and actualize them into an early 20th century female character, and you have Elnora.
She's beautiful, hard-working, kind, beloved, honest, self-educated, good with children, great with animals, and some kind of nature genius in general. She loves to look after the moths, the birds, the trees... and did I mention that she repeatedly demonstrates that she has no qualms about selling the land her family owns for lumber and oil profits? So maybe not that much of a genius after all. That's pretty much a D in Environmental Science right there--if you're feeling generous.
The deeper you get into the book the more it feels like a social tract on ideal femininity. Edith, Elnora's foil, is a glamorous town girl. She's depicted as selfish because she considers herself first, ambitious because she wants social standing above all else, and narrow-minded because she doesn't care to better herself in any way that won't help her own ambition.
(Plus, she doesn't really care about providing her future husband with, and I paraphrase, edible food and red-faced babies. My kind of girl!)
At the end of the book, deprived of her fiance and the respect of her peers, Edith is forced to take stock of her values. Heartbroken, she starts thinking long and hard about why she acts like she does, and concludes by blaming--surprise, surprise!--her mother. Charge: not incubating the right domestic values within her house and home.
On a side note, there's another female character in the book, Angel, who is just about as perfect as Elnora with the added bonus of already having married and had four babies. I think Virginia Woolf might have appreciated this, had she been the type of person to have the bad judgment to read this book, which I suspect she wasn't.
To cut off a rambling review, this book is a collection of thinly veiled, simplistic social mores masquerading as fun story about a feisty girl growing up by a swamp who likes moths. Gets me every time.
Take all the myths about the childhoods and general character of Presidents Lincoln and Washington and actualize them into an early 20th century female character, and you have Elnora.
She's beautiful, hard-working, kind, beloved, honest, self-educated, good with children, great with animals, and some kind of nature genius in general. She loves to look after the moths, the birds, the trees... and did I mention that she repeatedly demonstrates that she has no qualms about selling the land her family owns for lumber and oil profits? So maybe not that much of a genius after all. That's pretty much a D in Environmental Science right there--if you're feeling generous.
The deeper you get into the book the more it feels like a social tract on ideal femininity. Edith, Elnora's foil, is a glamorous town girl. She's depicted as selfish because she considers herself first, ambitious because she wants social standing above all else, and narrow-minded because she doesn't care to better herself in any way that won't help her own ambition.
(Plus, she doesn't really care about providing her future husband with, and I paraphrase, edible food and red-faced babies. My kind of girl!)
At the end of the book, deprived of her fiance and the respect of her peers, Edith is forced to take stock of her values. Heartbroken, she starts thinking long and hard about why she acts like she does, and concludes by blaming--surprise, surprise!--her mother. Charge: not incubating the right domestic values within her house and home.
On a side note, there's another female character in the book, Angel, who is just about as perfect as Elnora with the added bonus of already having married and had four babies. I think Virginia Woolf might have appreciated this, had she been the type of person to have the bad judgment to read this book, which I suspect she wasn't.
To cut off a rambling review, this book is a collection of thinly veiled, simplistic social mores masquerading as fun story about a feisty girl growing up by a swamp who likes moths. Gets me every time.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
I would acutally give this book 4.5 stars. It was wonderful. A friend lent it to me and told me that it reminded her of Ann of Green Gables. And I can totally see how it would. It is a quaint story with morals and values. You can tell that it was written in a different time period and I love that. Definately a classic and one I hope my daughters will read one day.
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I feel a little conflicted since this novel has some genuinely delightful writing and heart-wrenching scenes but was ultimately held back by its stifling old-fashioned moralism. Let's say, it was like a gorgeous swamp moth caught in the net of an older relative asking you why you haven't gotten married yet.
This week's belle of the bog is Elnora who is just such a smart, beautiful, perfect girl that I can't even dislike her, since there's nothing to dislike. All in all, this novel suffers from having much more interesting side characters especially her mother Kate, her dead father and their relationship, Billy and his siblings, the neighbours Sinton, the Bird Woman, anybody except Philip maybe.
The setting is a beautiful little farm near the Limberlost, a wetland that is rapidly being deforested and torn up to drill for oil (which is portrayed as something good, really breaks my heart, especially because Stratton-Porter's nature writing is her strong suit), the nearby town Onabasha, its high school and evil vapid Chicago.
The plot features three trillion moths, school drama involving decidedly too many dresses, dangerous criminals which only exist on the periphery and never do anything, Lamarckian inheriting of violin playing skills which is unintetionally HILARIOUS, Elnora's mean mother having a 180 character change and burning off her face to become young again, Elnora graduating and thinking about going to college, which is never mentioned again once she gets her beau Philip and her new goal becomes to "bear him a gaggle of red-cheeked babies". Ugh. This went from cottage core to trad wife real quick.
This week's belle of the bog is Elnora who is just such a smart, beautiful, perfect girl that I can't even dislike her, since there's nothing to dislike. All in all, this novel suffers from having much more interesting side characters especially her mother Kate, her dead father and their relationship, Billy and his siblings, the neighbours Sinton, the Bird Woman, anybody except Philip maybe.
The setting is a beautiful little farm near the Limberlost, a wetland that is rapidly being deforested and torn up to drill for oil (which is portrayed as something good, really breaks my heart, especially because Stratton-Porter's nature writing is her strong suit), the nearby town Onabasha, its high school and evil vapid Chicago.
The plot features three trillion moths, school drama involving decidedly too many dresses, dangerous criminals which only exist on the periphery and never do anything, Lamarckian inheriting of violin playing skills which is unintetionally HILARIOUS, Elnora's mean mother having a 180 character change and burning off her face to become young again, Elnora graduating and thinking about going to college, which is never mentioned again once she gets her beau Philip and her new goal becomes to "bear him a gaggle of red-cheeked babies". Ugh. This went from cottage core to trad wife real quick.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
Moderate: Child abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Grief, Death of parent
Minor: Child death, Stalking
This book has all the old charm and nostalgia that you could look for in a book. For me the beginning was a little slow (in fact I've started this book several times before getting through the beginning), but after that I wanted to keep reading. It was quaint, made me smile many times, and had the perfect amount of a romance, while also having some deeper underlining messages.
I wish I had read this as a child. Back then Little House on the Prairie books were still cool and I dreamed of being an innocent outdoors-woman. Now... not so much. I found Elnora to be a little too perfect, I would have killed for a fault or two. She always obeys her mother, does, what it right, always helps her neighbors, never encourages young men. She's too good! I wanted some excitement. Her tempestuous mother I could at least relate to even though she was a bitch. This book is the second in the Limberlost series although you needn't have read it. This story follows Elnora as she enters high school, enters society, and starts to earn money by collecting moths, butterflies, and other swamp specimen. She grows from a naive little country bumpkin to a refined little lady who is yards smarter and kinder than anyone else. Slow reading, but not bad. It's written well but would do best for younger readers.
I've read this book twice so far. I recommend it to any one who likes historical fiction.