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_cecilie_'s review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
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: Mental illness, Child abuse, Death of parent, Grief, and Infidelity
Minor: Stalking and Child death
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