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4.06 AVERAGE
4.06 AVERAGE
Finished in the nick of time before book club! This was a childhood favorite and still brought me to tears, despite the silly Victorianness of it all (the imperious children, the belief that mindset and fresh air can cure all ills, etc.) I’ve always been obsessed with the tragic Archibald Craven, so torn up over the death of his wife ten years before that he can’t stand even to look at his own child, but this re-read made me realize just how much I always related to Mary Lennox too — ugly, sour, bored, angry. She literally yells at Colin until he behaves himself, so even though we do get the lovely character arc of her growing enthusiasm for the out-of-doors she still remains unapologetically stubborn and strong and I love that so much. Did my lifelong love of unlikable heroines begin here? My obsession with taciturn English gentlemen who are down bad for a woman they can’t have? Who can tell, really.
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
inspiring
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Reread in 2015 to the boys. Tea (7) enjoyed it a lot, even though he sometimes had to ask what a section meant ("Well, actually, the author just went on a very long tangent talking about what the kids looked like from the nesting robin's point of view... Why? Excellent question. No idea.")
I didn't love it quite as much as I remembered loving it when I was younger, and there was a lot of (innocent) breathlessness and panting and thrusting of things in the garden, which I'll admit, made me want to snort like the immature person I am. I think I am too old and jaded.
I didn't love it quite as much as I remembered loving it when I was younger, and there was a lot of (innocent) breathlessness and panting and thrusting of things in the garden, which I'll admit, made me want to snort like the immature person I am. I think I am too old and jaded.
My Aunt Loa gave me a copy of this book when I was in grade school, and I remember being enchanted by it. I remember being enchanted by Dicken, the nature boy.
I listened to an audiobook version of this book on YouTube in April/May as a way to wind down from the anxiety of COVID-19 and life in general. I did not remember the old gardener, and I did not remember that the book has a lot of detail about nature. That makes sense, but I didn't remember that there were so many specifics about various flowers and such.
Burnett tells a story about how the children of rich parents are healed by children of poor parents. This reminds me a bit of the theme in Tess of the D'Ubervilles. This is a romantic notion (and maybe even true) about how civilization, wealth and colonization corrupt and decay the mind, body and spirit.
Within the pages of the book you see Mary Lennox transform by getting her hands dirty as directed by Dickon, introduced to her by his sister Martha. And then Mary helps rescue her cousin Colin, who lives in the house and is convinced he is deformed. But it turns out that Colin needed fresh air and soil. What Colin is denied is not just nature--but a garden that his mother nurtured before she died. So there's a pretty easy feminist read for this novel as well--how Mother Earth as the Divine Feminine can heal people, particularly men who are alienated from nature. This earth-mother healing extents to Colin's father (Mary's uncle) who warms up by the end upon seeing his departed wife's garden well kept and seeing his son Colin rejuvenated.
Anyway. It was interesting to revisit this after 45 years.
I listened to an audiobook version of this book on YouTube in April/May as a way to wind down from the anxiety of COVID-19 and life in general. I did not remember the old gardener, and I did not remember that the book has a lot of detail about nature. That makes sense, but I didn't remember that there were so many specifics about various flowers and such.
Burnett tells a story about how the children of rich parents are healed by children of poor parents. This reminds me a bit of the theme in Tess of the D'Ubervilles. This is a romantic notion (and maybe even true) about how civilization, wealth and colonization corrupt and decay the mind, body and spirit.
Within the pages of the book you see Mary Lennox transform by getting her hands dirty as directed by Dickon, introduced to her by his sister Martha. And then Mary helps rescue her cousin Colin, who lives in the house and is convinced he is deformed. But it turns out that Colin needed fresh air and soil. What Colin is denied is not just nature--but a garden that his mother nurtured before she died. So there's a pretty easy feminist read for this novel as well--how Mother Earth as the Divine Feminine can heal people, particularly men who are alienated from nature. This earth-mother healing extents to Colin's father (Mary's uncle) who warms up by the end upon seeing his departed wife's garden well kept and seeing his son Colin rejuvenated.
Anyway. It was interesting to revisit this after 45 years.
emotional
hopeful
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes