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quinnviv's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
esshgee's review against another edition
3.0
I liked it but I didn't find it an easy read, I had to really concentrate on the language or I drifted off. All I can say is Melbourne schoolgirls haven't changed much in 100 years!
leemac027's review against another edition
3.0
The Getting of Wisdom raises many issues that we still deal with today - the role of women in society, how they are expected to pander to men, the restrictive boundaries put in place to limit opportunities and the list goes on. So this work is as relevant now as it was then.
I struggled a little with the language as being written in 1910, it took a while to adjust to the quaint phrases and sometimes cumbersome prose. But once I got used to that I was able to engage with the narrative.
Laura is our protagonist, a bit feisty, wants to be independent but also wants to fit in and be approved of. She is sent off to Melbourne to attend school by her mother, who takes in sewing to help pay for Laura's education. Laura goes through all of the angst of being the new girl, then starts to gain some popularity and then sticks her foot in it with a faux pas or two (or three), she goes through a brief period of finding religion and then drops that as it's not really getting her where she wants to be.
The dynamics between Laura and Evelyn, Laura and Mr Shepherd, Laura and Pin are ones that highlight the different aspects of Laura's personality.
An interesting, if not vintage, read.
I struggled a little with the language as being written in 1910, it took a while to adjust to the quaint phrases and sometimes cumbersome prose. But once I got used to that I was able to engage with the narrative.
Laura is our protagonist, a bit feisty, wants to be independent but also wants to fit in and be approved of. She is sent off to Melbourne to attend school by her mother, who takes in sewing to help pay for Laura's education. Laura goes through all of the angst of being the new girl, then starts to gain some popularity and then sticks her foot in it with a faux pas or two (or three), she goes through a brief period of finding religion and then drops that as it's not really getting her where she wants to be.
The dynamics between Laura and Evelyn, Laura and Mr Shepherd, Laura and Pin are ones that highlight the different aspects of Laura's personality.
An interesting, if not vintage, read.
gl_mrtnl's review against another edition
3.0
Giving a whole new meaning to ~DaRk AcAdEmIa lol.. Damn I forgot how cruel schoolgirls in novels can be.
Reading this book was like the pessimistic version of Alcott's An Old Fashioned Girl (childhood staple of mine). Ultimately, no wisdom was actually acquired, and whilst I understood the imperfect heroine's thoughts, she was just selfish and mean with no chance of redemption.
Reading this book was like the pessimistic version of Alcott's An Old Fashioned Girl (childhood staple of mine). Ultimately, no wisdom was actually acquired, and whilst I understood the imperfect heroine's thoughts, she was just selfish and mean with no chance of redemption.
foggy_rosamund's review against another edition
3.0
Laura, at age 12, is sent far from her country home to a strict boarding school in Melbourne. Suddenly she is an unimportant and frequently mocked member of a huge social stratosphere that she struggles to understand. Richardson captures the anxiety and fear of teenage years and trying desperately to fit in with one's peers. My favourite parts of the book are moments when Laura is disgusted and horrified by boys and FURIOUS that she is supposed to mollify them or that her friends show any interest in them. It's extremely relateable. This book ends too quickly and never seems to quite come to a climax, but it's enjoyable while it lasts.
My edition, published by Echo Press, unfortunately had many typographical errors. I would recommend finding another edition if possible.
My edition, published by Echo Press, unfortunately had many typographical errors. I would recommend finding another edition if possible.
theellesbells's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
textpublishing's review against another edition
5.0
‘A gorgeous coming-of-age story that is both charming and deeply moving.’
Guardian
Guardian
ellingtonfeint's review against another edition
3.0
I read this book once very long ago and my only memory of what it was about was that my impression of it was that it was a strange book, as you can see by the three stars I gave it back then. Reading it again now, probably over a decade later, I can see why.
The copy I have is 4 books in one. The others were My Brilliant Career, We of the Never Never and a book by Ruth Park which I didn't like so I tore out and kept the other three without the cover.
I believe that previous to this book I had probably never read much more grown-up than Enid Blyton and other children's authors. Having watched the movie My Brilliant Career drew me to these three and remarkably I read all of them.
However the pleasant and tame worlds of Mallory Towers and St Clare's by Ms Blyton was nothing like this book and I probably found it so alien that I could only put it down as 'strange' and then forget about it.
Some parts of it would have simply gone over my head since I don't remember any sort of connotations in it at all, but they are there, as the girls wonder about things they really don't know anything about.
It is interesting, on rereading it, to see how, without me even realising it some parts of this book have influenced me, things that I didn't change my thinking on for years afterwards! I guess the lesson here is that you can't read strange books with impunity.
Now as for the story itself, apart from my personal story with it, I found Laura to be an overall unlikeable character, although to begin with she was brimming with potential, at least I thought so. The thing that annoyed me the most was that there was not one single mentor for Laura, had she had a real friend, or kindly adult person who had talked to her reasonably and befriended her I feel that she would have ended a very different person than she did in the book. And I suppose that's close to reality for some people, they just never meet the good people that would have helped and guided them and just so muddled through trying to be as like others as possible with no clear idea how to get along.
Laura started the book with curiosity and outspokenness, and through the book gradually had it squashed out of her, trying to be liked and never really succeeding.
I love the ending though,
The copy I have is 4 books in one. The others were My Brilliant Career, We of the Never Never and a book by Ruth Park which I didn't like so I tore out and kept the other three without the cover.
I believe that previous to this book I had probably never read much more grown-up than Enid Blyton and other children's authors. Having watched the movie My Brilliant Career drew me to these three and remarkably I read all of them.
However the pleasant and tame worlds of Mallory Towers and St Clare's by Ms Blyton was nothing like this book and I probably found it so alien that I could only put it down as 'strange' and then forget about it.
Some parts of it would have simply gone over my head since I don't remember any sort of connotations in it at all, but they are there, as the girls wonder about things they really don't know anything about.
It is interesting, on rereading it, to see how, without me even realising it some parts of this book have influenced me, things that I didn't change my thinking on for years afterwards! I guess the lesson here is that you can't read strange books with impunity.
Now as for the story itself, apart from my personal story with it, I found Laura to be an overall unlikeable character, although to begin with she was brimming with potential, at least I thought so. The thing that annoyed me the most was that there was not one single mentor for Laura, had she had a real friend, or kindly adult person who had talked to her reasonably and befriended her I feel that she would have ended a very different person than she did in the book. And I suppose that's close to reality for some people, they just never meet the good people that would have helped and guided them and just so muddled through trying to be as like others as possible with no clear idea how to get along.
Laura started the book with curiosity and outspokenness, and through the book gradually had it squashed out of her, trying to be liked and never really succeeding.
I love the ending though,