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kirsty's review
3.0
3.5 stars
Amusing collection of 7 stories and one essay, 5 of which involve the characters in High Rising. There are two Christmas stories, an entertaining essay on Shakespeare and dinner parties, and one war time story.
Amusing collection of 7 stories and one essay, 5 of which involve the characters in High Rising. There are two Christmas stories, an entertaining essay on Shakespeare and dinner parties, and one war time story.
paperbacksandpines's review
3.0
Perhaps this was a poor choice to pick up this book when I had only read [b:High Rising|835437|High Rising (Barsetshire, #1)|Angela Thirkell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347849181l/835437._SY75_.jpg|821051] out of the Barsetshire Chronicles. However, I did recognize several characters from that book peppered throughout this collection. The first short story in this collection took place during the Christmas season and others took place during winter. However, some of the stories didn't seem to fit. There was a story about Shakespeare and I ended up skipping the entire chapter, as I know little about Shakespeare and the continued references to his characters were going over my head.
Thirkell's trademark wit sparkled throughout these stories. Despite writing these stories from a span of the 1920s-1940s, her writing style speaks to me and makes me continue to want to read more from her.
My trigger warning for one of the stories is racist descriptions of South Americans that I did not appreciate and did not benefit the story in any way.
Thirkell's trademark wit sparkled throughout these stories. Despite writing these stories from a span of the 1920s-1940s, her writing style speaks to me and makes me continue to want to read more from her.
My trigger warning for one of the stories is racist descriptions of South Americans that I did not appreciate and did not benefit the story in any way.
chills_multiply's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
caroparr's review
3.0
It's always good to get a glimpse of Tony Morland, as well as his mother and the long-suffering George Knox, in these half-dozen stories I had not read before. Unfortunately, one story outside the Barchester canon includes some very offensive language about Italians, presumably standard in 1934 for some English people though very jarring today. Otherwise pleasant though hardly memorable.
thenovelbook's review
3.0
Short stories, some with a few characters that are familiar from Thirkell's series. Those ones are particularly funny.
katypicken's review against another edition
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
rowanrelph's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
verityw's review
3.0
Not my favourite of the Thirkell's I've read in 2014, but this is a very enjoyable collection of short stories featuring characters that we've already come across - and some new ones - set in Thirkell's world. A nice Christmas treat.
spendidsuns's review
2.0
This is a collection of short stories set early/mid 20th century, an era I normally love to read stories set in/from. Unfortunately, I thought these were Christmas stories due to the title, 'Christmas at High Rising'. Actually, only two of the stories were set at Christmas while one was not at high rising, or many of the others. I found the language so outdated, it felt unacceptable in places and I just didn't enjoy the book overall. The cover design is good but I felt mis-sold!