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A review by towardinfinitybooks
Miss Hargreaves by Frank Baker
3.0
Confession: I make up people all the time. I've been doing it for several years now, since I was a little kid. I don't remember when it started and I can't seem to stop. It's too addicting, and most of the time, it seems harmless enough.
Until I read this book, madness was the one side effect of creating people that I could imagine. But what if a made-up person somehow became a reality? That sounds like madness too, right? Yet, as humorous as this book could be, at times it was downright freaky (there was one night I remember thinking I saw Miss Hargreaves in the kitchen - I remember thinking, What if she plays her harp and wakes up the whole household? How do I explain that?). I don't know if Baker meant it as such, but this book could be read as a cautionary tale for people with overactive imaginations.
But there are also moments in the book where Norman can't help but feel some pride in his creation and this hinders his ability to get rid of her. I sympathize with him. As inconvenient as Miss Hargreaves can be, there is still a certain charm to her eccentricity. And he invented that? Impressive.
The only dry parts of this book were mentions of church activities, possibly because I'm not at all familiar with the Church of England. But I also wasn't sure why such activities were such a large portion of the story. Anytime Miss Hargreaves disappeared from the storyline, I became a little bored. Baker is at his best in this book when he doesn't stray from the Spur of the Moment. I not only enjoyed this book, but for about a week afterward, I didn't make up any new people. It was, thus, a mild success.
Until I read this book, madness was the one side effect of creating people that I could imagine. But what if a made-up person somehow became a reality? That sounds like madness too, right? Yet, as humorous as this book could be, at times it was downright freaky (there was one night I remember thinking I saw Miss Hargreaves in the kitchen - I remember thinking, What if she plays her harp and wakes up the whole household? How do I explain that?). I don't know if Baker meant it as such, but this book could be read as a cautionary tale for people with overactive imaginations.
But there are also moments in the book where Norman can't help but feel some pride in his creation and this hinders his ability to get rid of her. I sympathize with him. As inconvenient as Miss Hargreaves can be, there is still a certain charm to her eccentricity. And he invented that? Impressive.
The only dry parts of this book were mentions of church activities, possibly because I'm not at all familiar with the Church of England. But I also wasn't sure why such activities were such a large portion of the story. Anytime Miss Hargreaves disappeared from the storyline, I became a little bored. Baker is at his best in this book when he doesn't stray from the Spur of the Moment. I not only enjoyed this book, but for about a week afterward, I didn't make up any new people. It was, thus, a mild success.