Scan barcode
A review by kates
Christmas at Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons
5.0
Ahhhh. It's so satisfying to read a new book and know by the end that it's one you'll return to again and again!
Stella Gibbons wrote Cold Comfort Farm in the 1930's as a satire of the overblown pastoral novels that were then in vogue, but her real target was grandiloquent self-satisfied Serious Literature-ish writing of the kind that, it seems, will never die. Its continuing currency means that the novel's humor is as fresh as ever--Gibbons was essentially mocking the MFA novel before the MFA novel was even a twinkle in a writing workshop's eye.
The contrast between the unflappably charming protagonist Flora and pretty much everyone she encounters at the Farm is another wonderful source of humor. And the plot, defiantly fantastical, gives both Flora and Gibbons the space to work their magic.
Some of my favorite quotes from Cold Comfort Farm:
"The firelight lit up his diaphragm muscles as they heaved slowly in rough rhythm with the porridge."
----------------
"Flora was so startled at being addressed in a respectful and normal manner by anyone in Sussex that she nearly forgot to answer."
----------------
"'Hullo, Flora Poste. Do you believe that women have souls?' And there he was, standing above her and looking down at her with a bold yet whimsical smile.
"Flora was not surprised at being asked this question. She knew that intellectuals, like Mr Kipling's Bi-coloured Python-Rock-Snake, always talked like this. So she replied pleasantly, but from her heart: 'I am afraid I'm not very interested.'"
----------------
"High up, a few chalky clouds doubtfully wavered in the pale sky that curved over the rim of the Downs like a vast inverted pot-de-chambre."
Stella Gibbons wrote Cold Comfort Farm in the 1930's as a satire of the overblown pastoral novels that were then in vogue, but her real target was grandiloquent self-satisfied Serious Literature-ish writing of the kind that, it seems, will never die. Its continuing currency means that the novel's humor is as fresh as ever--Gibbons was essentially mocking the MFA novel before the MFA novel was even a twinkle in a writing workshop's eye.
The contrast between the unflappably charming protagonist Flora and pretty much everyone she encounters at the Farm is another wonderful source of humor. And the plot, defiantly fantastical, gives both Flora and Gibbons the space to work their magic.
Some of my favorite quotes from Cold Comfort Farm:
"The firelight lit up his diaphragm muscles as they heaved slowly in rough rhythm with the porridge."
----------------
"Flora was so startled at being addressed in a respectful and normal manner by anyone in Sussex that she nearly forgot to answer."
----------------
"'Hullo, Flora Poste. Do you believe that women have souls?' And there he was, standing above her and looking down at her with a bold yet whimsical smile.
"Flora was not surprised at being asked this question. She knew that intellectuals, like Mr Kipling's Bi-coloured Python-Rock-Snake, always talked like this. So she replied pleasantly, but from her heart: 'I am afraid I'm not very interested.'"
----------------
"High up, a few chalky clouds doubtfully wavered in the pale sky that curved over the rim of the Downs like a vast inverted pot-de-chambre."