Paula Vince's Blog: The Vince Review, page 16

'Four Thousand Weeks' by Oliver Burkeman

The average human lifespan is absurdly, insultingly brief. Assuming you live to be eighty, you have just over four thousand weeks.

Nobody needs telling there isn’t enough time. We’re obsessed with our lengthening to-do lists, our overfilled inboxes, work-life balance, and the ceaseless battle against distraction; and we’re deluged with advice on becoming more productive and efficient, and “life hacks” to optimize our days. But such techniques often end up making things worse. The sense of anxious hurry grows more intense, and still the most meaningful parts of life seem to lie just beyond the horizon. Still, we rarely make the connection between our daily struggles with time and the ultimate time management problem: the challenge of how best to use our four thousand weeks.

MY THOUGHTS:

My Dad passed away aged 84, at the start of 2017. Along with the grief of losing him I experienced an acceleration of the time crisis I've had simmering for several years. His death really brought home to me how lightning fast is the passage of years. I remembered events which took place when he was my age, which seemed scarily recent. Those sorts of memories persist to this day, and as the gap lessens the sense of urgency increases. Dad had time to retire and tick off many things he aimed to do, yet time still seems to have moved like wild fire. The title of this book by Oliver Burkeman made me wince. 4000 weeks is approximately 76 years; a rough life palette in which to get done the things we want to do. Knowing how fast one week passes, the thought of only having something between 4000 or 4500 to play around with is intended as a wake-up call. It certainly worked for me.    

The book is about changing our relationship with time and how we think about it, rather than offering 'time management hints' as such. I'll outline some of the parts that impressed me most.

Why do we procrastinate good things we really want to do? 

Frittering away our time by ticking small, pressing tasks off our list each day seems an easy default. I'll sweep floors, fold washing, or head off to the shop rather than sit for an extended time writing at my computer. Burkeman believes we must claim time for the great plans our hearts really wish to prioritise, or else they'll remain untouched by the end of the day. (I used to be quite good at what he's talking about. Taking an hour or two to work on my novels when my kids were small was part of my routine, even if there were dishes in the sink and emails awaiting replies. I knew the housekeeping stuff needed to be relegated to second place, where it belonged.) 

Another serious time sucker is outlined in a chapter called The Watermelon Problem, and specifically addresses using social media to procrastinate. The chapter's name alludes to viewers who once watched several large rubber bands being applied around a watermelon. They were hanging out to see at what stage the whole thing would burst in a spectacular shower of red watermelon flesh. The suspense was so prolonged that people started commenting, 'I really should be getting more important things done than sitting here waiting, but I'm hooked.' Eventually, the big smash was an anti-climax, as everyone knew in their hearts it would be. The great spectacle of green rind and red flesh flying everywhere released them to return to other, more important activities they were still, for some reason, strangely reluctant to do. 

Why are we seduced by checking social media and deferring our cool passion projects even when there is a block of time at our disposal? An obvious answer is that we're addicted to the affirming likes, hearts and comments that flow our way, but Burkeman suggests a deeper, more primitive reason that gels with me. It's all to do with an unconscious dread of falling short of our own romantic and passionate expectations! When we make a start on our passion projects, we may even, heaven forbid, find the time spent is mildly boring. It's all because whenever we're free to pursue the great things we want to do, we come painfully face to face with our own limitations. What we produce in reality seldom lives up to the brilliant execution of our imaginations, especially at first. So our impulses to defer the let-down by sitting on social media or carrying out jobs with lower stakes are nothing more than pitiful efforts to shield our fragile egos. 

Whoa, understanding this doesn't solve the problem itself, but does empower us to press on with our passion projects regardless. Oliver Burkeman simply says that we need to stop expecting the discomfort to be otherwise and get on with it. I guess this initial resistance is as true a fact of life as the state of flow we long for. (For my part, I earnestly want to take up fiction writing again, specifically some fan fiction inspired by great books I love. But I fear my nooby efforts to create something accurate and worth reading, let alone fathom fan fiction platforms and make a good go of it may fall short. So my challenge is to still plow on regardless, even knowing this. Knowledge is power.)   

Limit Rods in the Fire

Burkeman suggests having no more than three passion projects on the go at any one time. (I guess keeping this blog must be one of mine because occasional attempts to cut back or quit have been fruitless. But I enjoy curating my thoughts about books, so that alone is reason enough to continue. And it's another point of his. Sometimes even leisure feels like a chore to tick off, so purposely choosing a pastime or two with no personal gain whatsoever is vital.) 

Burkeman suggests that vaguely interesting, second-tier projects ought to be swept aside, because they're insufficiently important enough to form the core of our lives, yet seductive enough to suck our attention away from the things that really are. If we figure out what they are, we can sweep them aside with the finality they deserve. 

And he counsels us to Stay on the Bus, even when something else looks better. When we've decided some activity is a good use of our time, we should resist the urge to veer off toward something seemingly new or novel, which is actually a strong cultural pressure. For when we do that, we leave nothing but a few short, fruitless tracks. (This puts me in mind of Toad in The Wind in the Willows. Oliver Burkeman would surely tell us not to be as unstable and emotion driven Toad of Toad Hall, who always dumped one passion in favour of the next big thing.)

Cosmic Insignificance Therapy

Burkeman has advice for those moments when we doubt the point of whatever we're doing with our lives. Sometimes it's easy to assume our lives, over the long term, don't amount to anything much. We've surely all been there, but he suggests that we've set the bar too high. We become victims of widespread grandiosity, when in actual fact, our life choices don't matter that much, for our couple of thousand weeks on this planet aren't the lynch pin of history. When we decide our lives are meaningless, we've possibly adopted a towering standard of meaningfulness to which few can measure up (or indeed ever have). We surely don't disapprove of a chair for being unable to brew a cup of tea, after all. What a nice reminder for the end of the book.

Finally, he reminds us that whatever compelled our attention from day to day and moment to moment is what our lives will have been composed of. So when we pay attention to something we don't especially value, we're paying with our lives. 

I borrowed this book from the library and got so much out of it that I went and bought a copy of my own, so I can keep coming back and mulling over these points. I think it deserve full marks for this reason alone.  

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟  

'An Old Fashioned Girl' by Louisa May Alcott

It was first serialised in the Merry's Museum magazine between July and August in 1869 and consisted of only six chapters. For the finished product, however, Alcott continued the story from the chapter "Six Years Afterwards" and so it ended up with nineteen chapters in all. The book revolves around Polly Milton, the old-fashioned girl who titles the story. Polly visits her wealthy friend Fanny Shaw in the city and is overwhelmed by the fashionable and urban life they live--but also left out because of her "countrified" manners and outdated clothes.

MY THOUGHTS: 

Louisa May Alcott is one of those old-time authors whose books I find generally satisfying and uplifting. 

This one is set in late nineteenth century Boston. 14-year-old Polly Milton goes for a long visit to the family of her good friend, 16-year-old Fanny Shaw. Somehow this unlikely pair have struck up a bond, even though Polly is a poor, unembellished country girl and Fanny is a wealthy, cosmopolitan young woman. But their gaping differences create uncomfortable friction when they try to get along together beneath one roof. I guess the trope is so familiar because it's a good one, and Alcott brings her own strengths to the way things pan out. These include likeable characters, transparent frankness, and a relatable way of making us take the characters' lessons on board. I was willing to roll with the whole City Mouse-Country Mouse theme as if I'd never seen it before. 

How should you react when your host suggests that your ways are backward, naive and worthy of jest? Adopting Fanny's style seems out of the question, since Polly is certain she couldn't pull it off even if she wanted to try. Yet it feels really awkward to think that her own appearance and presentation must reflect negatively on Fanny. It's a sensitive, seemingly irresolvable quandary for a young teenager to face and I was interested in Polly's unfolding choices. Fashion and finery are hard things to turn your back on and ignore when they are always in your face. 

She must also fit in with all the other members of the Shaw family, including Fanny's tiresome younger brother Tom, who is just the sort of character Louisa May Alcott loved to write, reflecting her own well-known weakness for boys. He's a rowdy, scornful, scatter-brained, restless, brash, testosterone driven, bad decision making and often annoying pain in the neck. Yet there's a certain vibrancy about Tom that appeals to Polly, and plenty of evidence that he hides a heart of gold. 

The story is basically told in two sections. First is Polly's initial visit to the Shaw family, when they are all quite young. The second part picks up six years further on, when she's back in Boston as a self-employed music tutor, trying to be independent so she can help her younger brother through college. That's when a few plots really start to thicken.

There are a couple of cheeky author intrusions which I can't go without mentioning. Firstly, Louisa May Alcott briefly writes herself into the story as a bit character, the author Kate King. ('Kate had written a successful book by accident, and happened to be the fashion just then.') We don't have to be geniuses to guess she's talking about Little Women. Kate starts discussing her personal experience. 'My children, beware of popularity; it is a delusion and a snare...' And Fanny looks at Kate and secretly wonders whether a woman could possibly earn a little money and success without such a heavy toll. For Kate looked 'sick, tired, and too early old.' Ah, poor Kate/Louisa, I guess you've earned the right to step inside one of your own novels for a moment. 

The second occasion is toward the end, when it appears all the love affairs are shaping up just as most readers hoped. Alcott can't resist a snarky comment when she writes, 'Intimidated by the threats, denunciations, and complaints showered upon me in consequence of taking the liberty to end a certain story as I liked, I now yield to the amiable desire of giving satisfaction.' Whoa, it seems she's still stewing over adverse reactions to her decision not to pair off Jo and Laurie! It's a bit of a cheap dig to vent her resentment in the pages of a totally separate novel, but I had to laugh at how she gets the last word.

Alcott is right, I can't imagine any romantics being unhappy with this book. Oh, slow down my heart, the unrequited love! Polly's ordeals gets really interesting when she rebuffs a noble, sensible catch who is every girl's desire, just because she's nursing forbidden love for intoxicating fruit who may never be hers. Alcott writes in such a way that Part Two practically drips with Polly's hidden desire, but it's never explicitly stated until a specific moment well down the track. That's seemingly out of authorial respect for Polly's privacy, but gives us readers a chance to shout, 'Yes, I knew it!' 

Perhaps my one gripe is that the story is sadly sparse on details regarding men's work. We're not told either Mr Shaw's line of business which folds, or Ned Milton's western venture, which Tom eventually buys into. But Alcott knew this would be peripheral to her target audience, who were girls like Fanny and Polly after all. Still, I would have been interested to know, and I'm surely not alone.  

Overall, life should always include books that make us sigh, 'How sweet,' or cheer, 'Hooray,' and this one does both. Louisa May Alcott, who is so often heavy handed with the preachiness of her stories, has done it again and pulled me right in. She herself may get a bit moralistic but the Shaws and Miltons themselves don't. (I personally love it when fiery Polly threatens Fanny with dire consequences if she should breathe a word to anyone about her discovery regarding who Polly is really in love with.) Poor Alcott might have written her fingers to the bone and carried the weight of the world on her shoulders, but she's done it again for me. 

🌟🌟🌟🌟½ 

The Borrowers Avenged (Book 5)

After their narrow escape from the Platters' attic in The Borrowers Aloft, Pod, Homily, and Arrietty Clock return to their miniature village. But it is no longer a safe refuge, and so once again the Borrowers must go looking for another place to live.
But finding a new home is hard when you're running for your life. The villainous Platters wil not rest until they recapture the tiny family, and they hound the Clocks' every move. When the Borrowers finally do set up house under a window seat in an old rectory, it seems they have found safety at last - until the Platters turn up in the church one night, forcing the Borrowers into a final desperate struggle for their freedom.

MY THOUGHTS:

 Oh dear, I think Mary Norton should never have recommenced this family history again. This surprise installment was first published in 1982, more than twenty years after she wrapped up The Borrowers Aloft.

The story picks up right where Borrowers Aloft concludes. Twenty-one years have lapsed in real time, but only three days in story time. Norton was quite elderly at this stage and I doubt her train of thought on this series was as finely calibrated as it had been at the end of 1961 when she last put down her pen. She might've been doing her younger self a disservice by continuing. 

For a start, we're given an actual date for the happenings, 1911. The former stories merely impart a strong Edwardian vibe which seemed to be her intent and works well. Nailing it down arguably diminishes some of the magic. Not to mention, many readers who took up Norton's invitation to resume the tale of the Clock family with their own imaginations may be disappointed.

Anyway, here's where she takes it. To recap, Pod, Homily and Arrietty arrive back at Little Fordham by homemade air balloon, are reunited with Spiller, and Pod decides it's no longer an ideal place to live. That turns out to be wise, for Sidney and Mabel Platter refuse to accept their loss and immediately decide to track down the little trio and steal them back again. The borrowers escape in Spiller's knife tray boat in the nick of time. Their new destination is a haunted rectory, and Uncle Hendreary's family is living in the church next door, for Spiller re-located them too, while Pod, Homily and Arrietty were trapped in the Platters' attic.

We're introduced to a new young Borrower who also lives in the rectory. His name is Peregrine (or Peagreen) Overmantel, and he walks with a limp due to a childhood injury. You guessed it, he's a member of that same proud and patronising Overmantel family who used to irritate, yet inspire Homily. But Peagreen himself is a pleasant and friendly young man. 

Now, the big question is whether or not Norton was attempting to set up one of those tiresome love triangles, for Peagreen is Spiller's antithesis in every way. He shuns the great outdoors, is very clean looking, loves taking baths, will chat for hours to anyone, and is very creative and classy. He's an artist with a studio in an old nesting box, writes poetry and is also working on a book about the history of the Overmantels. Peagreen limits himself to borrowing from the well-stacked rectory pantry, since his gammy leg prevents him from hunting, fishing or foraging. 

Although it's never stated directly, it seems Arrietty now has two polar opposite borrower boys appealing to the two equally compelling sides of her own character; her passion for the great outdoors and her fascination for culture and literature. But if she ever makes a choice it's not revealed in canon, since this book was the last. Some readers may think introducing a potential love triangle adds a dash of spice, but I'm no fan of this breezy newcomer supplanting our boy Spiller, who has earned his way into our hearts during the last three books. 

The next questionable addition is the ghost thread. The rectory is haunted by three apparitions, each with sad or violent backstories. Now, I have no trouble with teeny-tiny human look-alikes, but I think Norton crosses a line by introducing the supernatural. I don't think I'm alone either. Some other reviews indicate  protective parents objecting to the possibility of their kids getting frightened by the occult, which is fair enough. But my biggest gripe is that these ghosts never do anything other than waft around looking tragic and opaque! Why introduce such a startling element when it has no bearing on the plot whatsoever? 

Finally, the ending is frustrating. (Mild plot spoiler ahead.) Arrietty snaps at Spiller, accusing him of cowardice for not revealing their safety to Miss Menzies, as he'd promised. He responds with quiet fury, stalking off without a word. What's with that abrupt conclusion to such a great series? Apart from the fact that Spiller hasn't had much time to plan his approach because he's been too busy saving their lives yet again, Arrietty seriously needs to sit back and reflect on all he's ever done for them! Norton, who satisfied me at the end of The Borrowers Aloft, leaves me disgruntled and puzzled now. Perhaps she had further plans, (surely she must have!) but we'll never know. 

If ever I wanted to write my own bit of Borrower fan fiction, it's now. 

🌟🌟🌟     

Books with Wonderful Graveyard Scenes

Here's a great list for Halloween. Each of these stories contains an iconic incident that takes place in a graveyard. They range from the charming to the macabre, and I thought I'd count down from the loveliest to the most disturbing. I hope you enjoy my virtual trip through these cemeteries of literature.(Warning: A few plot spoilers of old classics. Proceed at your own risk.)

We'll warm up with some sweet, sentimental examples. These aren't at all scary, but designed to melt our hearts.

Anne of the Island by Lucy Maud Montgomery
Our heroine fulfills a bittersweet dream when she visits Bolingbroke Cemetery, where her parents lie. Walter and Bertha Shirley died while Anne was still an infant, and were buried together in a single grave. Although they were practically destitute, the local school board erected a tombstone to honor him for his faithful service. Now twenty years later, their orphan daughter pays a visit to lie flowers on their grave, in a touching moment of the story. (My review is here.)


Harry Potter (Saint Jerome's Graveyard, Godric Hollow) by J.K. Rowling
This is the burial place of several illustrious witches and wizards. Harry and Hermione pay a visit one snowy Christmas Eve to seek the grave of his parents, and discover that the Dumbledore family and the Peverell brothers of Deathly Hallows fame also lie buried there. Harry weeps tears of emotion, while Hermione considerately conjures a bouquet to place on James and Lily's grave. And on another occasion, two more teenagers pass by, in a visit from the future. (Time gets very twisted here.) Scorpius Malfoy points it out to his best friend Albus Potter and tells him that in their own time, a memorial statue of baby Harry and his parents has been erected. (Here is my review.)

The Professor by Charlotte Brontē
The Protestant Cemetery outside the gates of Louvain is the scene of a happy reunion in this romance by Charlotte Bronte. William Crimsworth is a young English professor whose beloved girlfriend Frances has been banished by the jealous headmistress. He has no idea how to find her. William is taking a leisurely stroll among the tombstones one fine day when he spots Frances paying a visit to the fresh grave of her aunt. It's such a fantastic coincidence, since he'd resigned himself to never seeing her again. (Here is my review.)

Now the chilling factor starts to rev up a bit. Several of these involve wide-eyed little orphans or earnest young men.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
The cemetery is home sweet home for our young hero orphan. A baby boy toddles away from the scene of his family's gruesome murder. Now he's being brought up in the graveyard down the hill by Mr and Mrs Owens, a kindly couple of ghosts who live there. This story takes the typical changeling plot to a whole new level. Young Bod (short for Nobody) has many crazy adventures in both the natural and supernatural realms. But he's restricted to the safety of his graveyard home.

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
It's in the local graveyard where the poor little orphan Pip first meets the desperate fugitive Magwitch, who snatches hold of him right beside his parents' tombstone and demands food and a file. Or else Pip's heart and liver will be eaten alive by a fierce young man. Remember Magwitch's obvious relief when he asks Pip where his parents are, and Pip points down at the grave? I don't blame Pip for being quick to comply with the convict's demand, but he has no idea of the ripple effect he sets into motion, which impacts his life long after he's grown up. (My review is here.)


The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
Walter Hartwright is anxious to talk to a deranged young woman who's been sending dire warnings to the girl he loves. He has good reason to believe that Anne Catherick, the woman in white, likes to spend her nights in the cemetery, near a specific grave. He sets up camp to wait for her, and sure enough, Anne shows up loaded with scrubbing gear. Her personal mission is to make sure her benefactress Mrs Fairlie's grave is always the sparkliest and cleanest in the graveyard. It's her devoted way of paying her respects.

That incident already sets the atmosphere, but way later on, a grieving Walter visits the grave of his beloved Laura, to find Laura herself creeping up behind him, alive and well. I'll bet he had goosebumps on his goosebumps! Can't you just imagine him looking down at the grave, then up to her face, then down to the tombstone again? (My review is here.)

Hamlet by William Shakespeare
Graveyards certainly aren't always the quiet places they seem. While a pair of gravediggers are preparing poor drowned Ophelia's grave, they unearth the skull of Yorick, an old jester from Hamlet's childhood. It inspires the young hero to start one of his long, philosophical rants about the nature of mortality, and we know it doesn't take much to set him off. While he's in full flow, Ophelia's brother Laertes arrives with her funeral procession. He sees red at the sight of Hamlet, who he blames for her suicide, and the two young men start a brawl right beside the newly dug grave.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
In a dramatic moment, poor Victor Frankenstein, the hapless young creator, visits the cemetery where all his loved ones lie. Little brother William, playfellow Justine, best friend Henry, beloved Dad and sweetheart Elizabeth. The one thing they share in common is that they've all been murdered by the monster Victor created with his own hands. He kneels among the tombs and vows to bring that fiend down, if it's the last thing he ever does. A diabolical burst of laughter from somewhere nearby greets his outburst, as if to say, 'OK, game on!' (Review is here.)

The Bishop's Girl by Rebecca Burns
This story's melancholy premise revolves around a graveyard in France. Bishop Anthony Shackleton died a hero's death there in 1917, and decades later his admirers are exhuming the grave to take his remains home to England. To their shock, another crudely wrapped skeleton, which proves to be a young woman, has been buried with him. All they can figure out is that she shares his DNA. Her identity becomes the business of Professor Waller and his archivist Jess Morris. (My review is here.)

Now I'll present my hardcore examples for most spine-tingling, hair-raising or outright weird. These are contenders for the winner.


Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontē
Could the Gimmerton graveyard, out on the bleak Yorkshire moor be the creepiest of all? Halfway through the story, Heathcliff, who's sick with love for Catherine, bribes the sexton to force open her coffin so he can stare at her face. He says it's still recognisable after twenty odd years. It seems that in their icy climate, she's frozen solid for a great part of every year. Heathcliff gives orders that he must be buried beside Catherine with the sides of their two coffins removed so they can disintegrate into dust together. Or else he'll prove that the human soul is not annihilated at death. He appears to prove it anyway, even though they carry out his wishes. Several traumatised villagers report sightings of Heathcliff and Catherine together above ground, doing whatever they used to when they were wild kids who imagined heaven wasn't good enough for them. It would surely be enough to terrify me, since they were both plenty scary enough alive! (My review is here.)

For over a century, I'd say Emily Bronte held the title of the author who gave us the creepiest graveyard incident. But then in the early 21st century, J.K. Rowling popped up to dispute that.

Harry Potter (Little Hangleton Graveyard) by J.K. Rowling
When Harry and Cedric both seize the tournament cup to tie for first place, it turns out to be a portkey drawing them to the Little Hangleton graveyard, where Voldemort gleefully awaits. After disposing of the 'spare' (poor Cedric) he orders Harry to be tied up and arranges a horrific potion which includes blood from his enemy Harry, a bone from his own father who's buried in a nearby grave, and the hand of his willing follower Peter Pettigrew. It's enough for the unthinkable to happen. A reasonably able body for Voldemort is produced. Harry's desperate escape back to Hogwarts involves a mad chase around the tombstones and a staggering collision of spells.

Wuthering Heights or The Goblet of Fire? The struggle was real. And because I couldn't choose between them, I decided to throw in a dark horse. My award for most unexpectedly disturbing graveyard incident comes from a reasonably wholesome coming-of-age classic, and wins for its sheer left-fieldedness and originality.


A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
Somewhere in the block of tenement flats lives a person whose favourite game really freaks young Francie Nolan out. It's 'the boy who plays graveyard.' He puts live caterpillars into matchboxes, digs tiny graves and buries them. Next he makes little headstones by writing on pebbles. Then he holds mock funerals in which he beats his breast and sobs. Needless to say, this seriously disturbs her silent reading time. When he's taken to visit his aunt one day, Francie considers his absence as good as a holiday. I thought I'd give that lad top honour in this blog post, since nobody else probably ever did, although I'd like to think somebody rescued those poor caterpillars and gave them their chance to become butterflies! (My review is here.)

Did any of your favourites make it on my list? There must be plenty of gaps, especially since I overlook the whole horror genre, which isn't a favourite of mine so I don't know many. Please feel free to add more in the comments, or take my list as a morbid (or bittersweet) springboard for your own Halloween reading.

You might also enjoy my wisdom from the graveyard school, who were a truly awesome group of men who pieced together a great philosophy just from hanging out in cemeteries writing poetry.

 

'The Silver Chalice' by Thomas B Costain

The colorful, passionate world of early Christianity comes to vivid life in this story of Basil of Antioch. Basil, a sensitive artisan, is purchased from slavery and commissioned to create a decorative casing for the Chalice that Jesus used at the Last Supper. Basil travels to Jerusalem, Greece, and Rome, meets the apostles, braves the perils of persecution, and finally makes a fateful choice that allows him to “see” Jesus. The dramatic plot, compelling characters, and spiritual depth of The Silver Chalice made it one of the most popular historical novels of the twentieth century.

MY THOUGHTS:

First, I want to describe how this book came into my hands. I was browsing at a secondhand shop, skimmed its blurb and thought, 'Hmm, this looks like one of those Biblical epics. Meh, well, why not?' It joined my stash of old books to be looked at down the track, some of which never see the light of day for ages. A few weeks later, I stumbled across a list of the bestselling books for each year from the 1930s to the early 2020s. And this was on it! It's America's bestselling fiction title of 1952, and Australia probably followed suit. Since I'm keen to tick some off, this serendipitous discovery seemed a perfect starting place. I went in with no expectations.

And it blew me away! 

So we're plunged instantly into New Testament times. Some of the events that take place in the Bible's Book of Acts are happening offstage simultaneously. Our hero is a talented young artisan named Basil, who was adopted by a wealthy businessman to be his son and heir. But Basil is majorly screwed over by his wicked step-uncle, who sells him as a slave to an exploitative silversmith. From there, he's purchased by Luke the Physician (yep, that Luke) who brings him to meet Joseph of Arimathea. The elderly church heroes have a daunting commission for our boy. They possess the modest cup used by Jesus and his apostles in the Upper Room at the Last Supper, and want a special silver chalice created to hold it, which must feature the faces of Jesus's most beloved followers. They've chosen Basil, who is about 19 years old at this stage, to be the artist.

His task involves travelling to key places where each model happens to live, often in exile, to record their likenesses so he can start his job. Needless to say, this takes far more than a snap from a phone camera, or a sketch on a drawing pad. Basil must form accurate little wax models, sometimes surreptitiously, for his records. And the scope of the action includes Antioch, his starting point, Jerusalem, Ephesus and Rome. It's extremely perilous, since several passionate groups want to stamp out his effort, including High Jewish officials, Zealots and the Roman conquerors.  

I loved Basil. He's exactly the sort of protagonist it's fun to stand behind and barrack for. Essentially, he's just a kid with an amazing talent that proves to be a mixed blessing, turning him into something of a puppet. Basil's social status and time period make it easy for several different people to control his destiny, each with their own agendas in mind. Basil is in no position to do anything about it. When people who pull strings say, 'Jump,' he has to say, 'How high?' rather than, 'Get lost!' as he'd often prefer. The cycle starts when he's only ten years old, and Ignatius the wealthy olive oil magnate arranges with Basil's biological father, Theron, to adopt him. The boy himself gets no say in the matter. But one of my favourite examples occurs when Basil is summoned before the Emperor, Nero. 'Caesar does not invite. He commands!'  

There is a fantastic cast of supporting characters. I love the role Luke the gospel writer plays in this story. Paul comes across as bold and bossy as he probably was; the encounter with John was arduous but mind-blowing, and I won't reveal too much about Peter. 

The sneaky villain, Simon the Sorcerer plays a huge role, as he attempts to undermine the miracles of Jesus with his chicanery, and the public lap it up. And Basil's intriguing love triangle adds a dash of romance. Two young women are crazy about the young artist. Will his heart swing toward Deborra, the granddaughter of Joseph, or Helena, a former cheeky slave of his stepfather's?  

One of the questions driving the plot concerns Basil's ultimate success. He worries that if his ability to make the chalice will depend on the purity of his own state of mind, it's doomed, for lots has happened to make him bitter and vengeful in his short life. I love it that Bible stories are always drawn from by characters as real and living historical precedents to aid decision making, which is so refreshing in our era, when many people sweep them aside as legends or fairy tales. 

Overall, I'm impressed that in the mid-twentieth century, a Christian fiction (for what else could you call this?) could make it as the bestselling book on secular charts. Times have certainly changed. And the bestselling non-fiction for the same year was probably unsurprisingly, The Revised Standard edition of the Bible. And now I'm definitely interested to find out more about Costain's other historical fiction. Although he had a huge following in his heyday, this is the first time I'd ever heard of him. 

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Trixie Belden series - My prophecies for the Bob Whites

Having finished my re-read of all the Trixie Belden mysteries as a middle-aged mum, I can state with total honesty that I loved them all as much as I did when I was a young teenager, and perhaps even more. Swooping down on hilarious continuity inconsistencies I overlooked the first time round, like a seagull on hot chips, may have even enhanced the experience. This certainly includes the shocking time compression. The characters themselves remain stable and lovable, which makes me inclined to give them all a decent send-off. Having just invested so much time in them, the Bob Whites deserve the courtesy of my prophecies for their futures. 

Here is some of what I see in store for them. I'm taking care to base my predictions on the personality leads I get from the books, and not simply wishful thinking. See what you think.  

 Trixie and Jim

The undercurrents of romance between this pair have always been strong and thrilling (sigh). They've impressed many readers' hearts, but the big question is whether we can feasibly imagine them together for the long term.

My feeling is maybe... with reservations. If these two do end up together it must surely follow a rocky road to get them there. Both can be quick-tempered and stubborn when they get their minds set in a single direction. Friction frequently flares between them within the series itself, such as when Jim determines to fulfill his promise to tutor Trixie in Mystery in Arizona and she chafes under his surveillance. 

Another stumbling block may be an eventual clash between their great and noble ambitions. She wants to be the founder of a detective agency and he wants to establish his own private school for underprivileged boys. Since both passion projects will demand maximum time, toil, sweat, tears and dedication, I can't help wondering what will be left over for each other. It would have to be a true juggling act for two Type-A personalities to inject a full day with a few extra hours for couple time. 

The ultimate question is whether or not two such passionate, 'boss' people whose major goals are so divergent can hope for any type of future together. Hey, I know it's Trixie and Jim, our sentimental favourites, but there are only 24 hours in a day. At the very least, they face heaps of domestic inconveniences and may even have to put off starting a family of their own. After all, Jim's adoptive Dad, Matthew Wheeler, has had to sacrifice plenty of family togetherness for the sake of his intense lifestyle, and I doubt Jim wants to follow in Matt's footsteps in that respect.

Let's be realistic - You can have anything but you can't have everything. (I love to think they can make it happen, but it'll be hard work.)

Honey and Brian

What do you think? Neither of them are flamboyant personalities so their attraction has been presented in a gentle and low-key manner. Honey is definitely compassionate enough to make a great doctor's wife, but Brian will be on-call to patients at all times, for I imagine him as a super-duper specialist of some sort, maybe even a pediatrician. Hasn't she put up with enough fobbing off from family members in her childhood due to work pressures, without setting herself up for more in marriage? But on the other hand, she's used to it, and loves feeling appreciated.

Is their attraction really solid though, or just a thing of tradition? I can't forget that in the final book of the series, Honey has her head totally turned by another guy. And Brian does have a habit of treating her like another kid sister. This relationship might work, but equally feasibly, it might not. 

Personally, I quite like the idea of Honey Wheeler striking out for independence, realising that in her good nature, she's let her path be mapped out by overbearing Beldens. She does have her limits, and I always get the feeling that the Belden-Wheeler Detective Agency is more Trixie's brainchild than Honey's. She tends to let herself get pulled along for the ride out of fondness and gratitude. How about if she realises she'd prefer a different career (gasp!) and another guy (whoa!)

As for Brian, there may come a time when the burden of carrying his great ambition along with the onus of being the sensible, got-it-all-together eldest sibling may make him snap. His frailty has already been hinted at in The Hudson River Mystery. If our boy ever needs to be at the receiving end of care and advice as well as the giving end, it may need to come from an entirely outside source. (I quite liked his relationship with the studious Loyola Kevins, despite her unfortunate Waldorf salad, yet I think that was purely platonic.)

Bottom line is Honey and Brian together could definitely work, but I feel Honey and Brian apart offers lots of potentially interesting possibilities which I might jump on, if I was to speculate. However, they might have to end up coming back together in the long run. 

Mart and Diana

Whoa, on the surface it's admittedly easy to sweep this relationship aside as a flash in the pan, or a brief High School attraction. You may ask, 'Do these two really have anything in common?' She's a beautiful under-achiever who prioritises her physical appearance, claims to be allergic to books and prefers words of very few syllables. And he's the ultimate smarty-pants and trivia buff who thrives on research, loves reading and has a vocabulary the size of Mount Everest which he's never afraid to use. Wouldn't they drive each other insane if they lived together?

These are all valid points, yet somehow it never works when I try to imagine either of them with anyone else. I can never shake off the idea that these two really are perfect for each other, and arguably have more in common than it may at first appear. For starters, they are both highly creative, both grapple with their own forms of deep insecurity, and there's always a strong thread of chemistry woven through the series that never loses its pull. These two are forever shooting surreptitious glances at each other for support and understanding. And they really do lift each other up in an opposites attract sort of way. Therefore, they are not really so different at all. 

I can imagine them working together on a collaborated book, with Mart writing the scintillating story and Di doing the wonderful artwork. 

I picture Mart as quite the traditionalist, maybe more so than his brother Brian, and Di as a happy and fulfilled homemaker. I can imagine them married with a set of twins; a boy and a girl. Twins run in Diana's family, and Mart has always hated being mistaken for Trixie's twin, so why not give him a real pigeon pair of his own for poetic justice? They could be called Cosmo and Lucy, if it's not too heavy-handed. Haha, no, how about Kathryn and Kenny? (Okay, my apologies if you're groaning.)  

Dan Mangan

What's in store for our intense, dark-eyed, dark-haired Irish lad with his regrettable past? Canon has indicated an attraction to Cousin Hallie Belden, yet in true form, he wasn't able to make it to reunite with her in The Sasquatch Mystery, along with the other Bob Whites. If she wants him, she'll have to come and get him, for he never has a spare moment away from work to set foot out of New York State. 

To be honest, I like the thought of threshing around more in Dan's family background and his relationship with Regan. As uncle and nephew, they are clearly committed to each other, yet keep each other at arm's length, as Mystery in Saratoga indicates. There's a black hole that was never explored and I would've appreciated a bit more digging around in it.

This is just my idea, but what if there were dark feelings in the past directed from a very young Bill Regan toward his sister's husband, Tim Mangan, who got a mention in The Black Jacket Mystery. This is obviously something poor Dan has no idea about, and when it comes to light, it hits him out of the blue. Oh, I'd have a field day were I ever to attempt some series fan fiction. It's all about mysteries and what a real life mystery that would be. The Secret of the Regan/Mangan backgrounds. 

Oh course Dan needs some romance too, but I haven't figured out with who. I do have a few ideas.

Bobby Belden

He was always too little to be a true Bob White during the unbelievably short period of time the series claims to cover, but I think he deserves to be included here too. 

Could trouble, romance or a mixture of both be on the cards for the youngest Belden sibling? You bet!

I imagine this imp leading his family a merry dance when he reaches his teenage years. They'll long for those tedious but predictable days when he used to command his sister and brothers to read him 'Peter Rabbit' a hundred times a sitting. In turn, it's not easy being the youngest, and I have a hunch Bobby's rebellion may break out in unique and unexpected ways. 

I imagine him growing up to be a devastatingly cute guy, a bit like Mart but without Mart's solid sense of responsibility or sound work ethic. And unlike his look-alike brother, Bobby will always be willing to let those blonde curls grow wild and free. Perhaps I can even picture an awkward sort of romantic triangle involving him and the two female Lynch twins. And I can also envisage him meeting up again with Gaye Hunya, the melancholic little piano virtuoso from The Marshland Mystery. Make it a sort of lovers' square, with three girls taking vested interest in Bobby Belden. Heck, yeah. 

Yeah, a teenage Bobby Belden. Watch out world. 

Over to you

Okay, that's how I imagine their futures playing out. As far as the three couples are concerned, I foresee a strong 'maybe'; a tentative 'no' and a definite 'yes'! And those dark horses in the form of Dan and Bobby add to the mix to keep us guessing. Isn't there more than enough reason for us to think that even though we've finished the 39-book series, there is enough to keep our collective imaginations ticking for the long term.

But it's goodbye for now.

Bye, Peter and Helen, Brian, Mart, Trixie and Bobby. I'd love to be a guest at Crabapple Farm any day you care to invite me.

Farewell, Matt and Madeleine, Jim and Honey. And a fond goodbye to your faithful and contented staff, Miss Trask, Regan, Tom and Celia. Keep up the good work, folk.

I guess Jupiter, Starlight, Strawberry, Lady and Susie deserve a neigh too. And their friends, Sunny and Spartan. Keep dancing, Spartan.

Cheerio all you Lynches, I know your opulence doesn't always sit well with you, but enjoy it as much as you can. Diana, I hope you can marry your loving, supportive, bookworm farmer boy and escape the tedium of wealth ASAP.

See you Dan, I hope life will reward you for your hard work. 

And bye for now to the other residents of Sleepyside we've come to know so well. Mrs Vanderpoel, keep up the windmill cookies, and likewise Mr Maypenny with the succulent hunter's stews. Good riddance Mr Lytell, you old grouch. And Sergeant Molinson, you might want to seriously consider taking a young female partner on board. 

Bye! I'll visit Sleepyside again soon. 

     

Trixie Belden Series 37 to the Finish

37) The Pet Show Mystery

During a particularly icy winter, the Bob Whites decide to hold a pet show to raise money for the district's starving game birds. They wonder if they're courting trouble, by working with unpredictable animals. However, the pets turn out to be fine. It's other people who prove to be unreasonable and volatile. The Bob Whites' charitable venture gives folk with grudges of all sorts platforms to vent. And what's more, somebody is trying to sabotage the pet show. There is even an ugly rumor circulating that the birds are a ruse, and the Bob Whites plan to spend the proceeds on themselves. If they don't get to the bottom of it, the event will crash and burn. Who is behind the malicious behaviour, and why? 

* The story starts with Trixie complaining that it's such a bitterly cold and freezing winter, she's stumped for things to do. The snowstorms and freezes never seem to end. Yet just three books ago (in The Missing Millionaire) it was such a sweltering summer, the Bob Whites hardly knew what to do with themselves then either. I'm convinced that at this late stage in the series, the Kathryn Kenny authors were just plonking the Bob Whites into any old season that took their fancy. (Incidentally, it was Laura French who wrote both those books.)

* I'm with Trixie; enlisting the help of hunting associations to help feed the hungry birds seems weird. She says, 'You mean we ask hunters to help save the birds this winter so they can kill them next fall?' Brian immediately rebukes her for being narrow-minded, and Jim and Dan agree with him. Hmmm, right, whatever you say, guys. 

* All through the story, the supporting vet on board with the Bob Whites' plans is Dr Chang. I wonder whatever happened to Dr David Samet from The Mystery of the Velvet Gown. He was the lovely chap who treated Reddy when he broke his leg dashing in front of a car. Dr Samet was also the uncle of Jane Morgan, who was so envious that Di scored the role of Juliet in the school play. He doesn't get a passing mention in this book. That leaves us to form our own conclusions. Perhaps he retired or left Sleepyside to set up somewhere else, and Dr Chang took over his practice. 

* During the signing up phase, Trixie makes fun of some outlandish pet names that come to light. She thinks the names of the Bob Whites' dogs make perfect, logical sense. 'Reddy is an Irish Setter, so he's red. Patch has brown and white patches. What else would you call them?' I'm sure some of the other pet owners may consider her approach unimaginative and mundane, but it's all in how you look at it. 

* This story finally brings us into the era of technology, but it's very rudimentary! Mart is taking a computer class that sounds reminiscent of my Year 10 class in 1985, and sure enough, that's exactly when this book was published. He's overjoyed about learning to use an electronic spreadsheet. And Trixie accuses him of coming home sounding like a floppy disc. Anyway, Mart is confident and exuberant enough to kill two birds with one stone. (Figuratively speaking, since this story is all about saving birds and not killing them.) His major class assignment for Computers will be his work on the Pet Show. He plans to enter each pet's data into his program and voila, each animal will get sorted into its own winning category. If there are 100 entrants, he'll have 100 categories. 

* Mart has hassles with Gordon Halvorson, Sleepyside High School's first ever computer geek. Gordon keeps offering to help, but his approach is smothering, breathing down Mart's neck in such a controlling manner than Mart doubts he'll ever learn anything at all off his own bat.   

* The school secretary, Miss Von Trammel, resents Dr Chang with a passion and calls him a quack. Honey wonders whether it's because he's oriental. Gee whiz, that's a bit of a racist suspicion, Miss Wheeler. My immediate thought was that von Trammel must have had a bad experience while Chang was treating a pet of hers. 

* Paul Gale, an angry young man from the World Hunger Foundation, mocks the Bob Whites for supposedly wanting to save starving birds over humans. He doesn't reflect that the ecological balance of the world is vitally important, and all living creatures are part of one web. He sneers, 'Let's not worry about all the people in the world who are starving. They aren't cute. They don't sing pretty for the people here in Sleepyside.' Yeah, this guy is a master of sarcasm. And as Brian says, 'His worthy cause doesn't make ours any less worthy.' 

* For once, I'm right on Bobby's wavelength. The Bob Whites are reluctant to let him enter Reddy into the Pet Show, lest others accuse them of favouritism if he wins anything. Yet since Mart plans to build his computer program so that every pet wins a category anyway, nobody's nose should be knocked out of joint. I'm glad they all come to see this too. 

* The theme of Reddy disappearing is used yet again. Honey says, 'It's not like Reddy to run away.' Is she kidding or what? How about when he runs amok in The Red Trailer Mystery? Or vanishes in the thick of an intense blizzard in The Mysterious Code? Or when he and Patch appear to have killed a deer deep in the game preserve in Mystery off Glen Road? Or when he loses himself in a strange barn in The Headless Horseman? Or when he trails the thief with the stolen Wimpy's patties in The Midnight Marauder? That dog is a total will-o'-the-wisp.

* The motif of other students disliking the Bob Whites for their supposed smugness and cliquiness rears its ugly head again too. Norma Nelson resents the fact that they've surpassed her modest bird feeding efforts with something so much more grandiose, as if to rub her nose in it. And Gordon Halvorson feels indignant that Mart rejects his overbearing efforts to help him with his project. (Gordon and Norma can now join Tad, Ben, Nick, Jane, and any other students who have ever felt the same. As Mart says of Gordon, 'He's really convinced that we're a conceited little in-group.') 

* Hmm, I think the crook spills all his beans a bit too readily, but I guess at that stage, he still thinks he may get away with it all. 

* Now how about the quote of the book? Runner up is Gordon's pointed, 'I just thought one of the Beldens could let someone else be good at something for a change.' But to welcome the Bob Whites to the cusp of the computer age, I thought I'd go with this exchange. Trixie: I thought computerizing the categories was going to be a big labor saver. Mart: It was. Unfortunately the labor that was saved was yours. The labor that was expended was exclusively my own.

38) The Indian Burial Ground Mystery

The Bob Whites are delighted to be offered the chance to help an archaeological dig in a section of the Wheelers' game preserve. It's headed by Professor Victor Conroy who's certain the area is dense with old Indian relics. It soon becomes apparent that foul business from more recent years may be afoot. Are mysterious treasure seekers the same as the ruthless robbers who are targeting local mansions? And is the dig site really haunted by indignant ghosts of old tribal folk who resent their old stamping ground being tinkered with? 

* Trixie is crazy about the opportunity given to High School kids to assist the archaeology college students at the dig. She's so super-excited about getting down and dirty that her mother reminds her not to forget her longstanding commitment to the hospital as a candy striper. Spending part of the school holidays perspiring over shovels, picks and spades searching for something elusive that may or may not even be there doesn't sound like my idea of great fun. But a surprising number of Sleepyside High students volunteer, so the call of the long ago past must be strong.

* Trixie justifies her enthusiasm by reasoning that archaeology is like fascinating detective work, because sometimes the tiniest clue may solve a huge mystery. She goes so far as to say that she'd almost rather be an archaeologist than a detective, because mysteries of the ancient past have their own specific brand of mystique. Yeah, I can buy that.

* Trixie is impressed when Professor Conroy explains that archaeology is really the study of garbage. Lots of what comes to light is essentially gleaned from ancient rubbish tips. In other words, stinky refuge gains romanticism after enough time has passed. (It reminds me of the T-shirt my nephew, an archaeology student, was given to wear on his faculty pub crawl. 'Archaeologists! We'll date anything.')   

* Diana must be doing well with her art, because her skills are getting some recognition. She's assigned to be on the sketching team at the dig because she's now so good at drawing. Go Di! 

* Bobby attempts to play on his age to dodge responsibility. He says, 'Nobody would arrest a six-year-old for not wearing a seat belt, and I think it's dumb. So there!' That's what you think, you cheeky little punk. However, at this late stage of the series, Bobby seems to have remained six years old for a few years, so he's had plenty of time to perfect his lines. 

* Trixie gives Mart a Bronx cheer, and I had to Google what that means, since I've never heard the term before. Haha, I should have guessed, considering the circumstances. In my corner of the globe, we call it blowing someone a raspberry.

* Trixie is back to her old habit of forming an instant grudge against someone without much apparent cause, just because she doesn't like them on first sight. In this case it's Charles Miller, Dr Conroy's 20-year-old assistant. Charles can join others such as Ben, Neil, Slim, Max, Eric, and their very own Dan Mangan, who have formerly been on the top of Trixie's hit list. Funny how it mostly seems to be young men, although she does make the occasional exception, as with Jane Dix-Strauss. In this case though, I think the fact that Charles is pleasant when he's talking to Brian but prickly when he's talking to her might have something to do with it.  

* For the first time on record, sensible Brian chooses to distance himself from his sister's suspicions, when he thinks they've crossed a line and got too ridiculous. He doesn't care what the other Bob Whites think, he finds Charles Miller a friendly, above-board type of guy, and refuses to waste his time suspecting him of anything underhanded. Hmm, she has led them all on plenty of wild goose chases before.

* As we've no doubt all suspected, Mart seems to benefit from a young male fast metabolism. Trixie says, 'How can he eat all the time and still look like a bag of bones?' And Mart himself refers to the Five Food Groups as, 'fast food, sweet food, carbonated food, pizza and hamburgers.' It might catch up with him one day.  

* This book contains an inaccuracy which I just can't turn a blind eye to. It tells us that Mrs Wheeler's horse, Lady, is supposedly Trixie's favourite, because of the cheeky way she adorably blows herself up when being saddled. No, no, no, no, no, it's always been Susie who Trixie's heart melts for. Even though Susie is technically said to be Miss Trask's horse, Trixie has always considered her to be her own sentimental favourite. It's just so wrong when Trixie trots off on Lady and Honey on Susie, instead of vice versa. 

* Oh, and by the way, Reddy goes missing yet again. Just saying. 

* I'll give quote of the book to Charles Miller. 'You have a way of closing in on someone even if he's innocent.'  

That's it, folks. We've come to the end of the line. There is a 39th Book named The Mystery of the Galloping Ghost, but sadly, it's long out of print, I don't own it, and can't get my hands on one. It was a short run at the outset, existing copies are being sold online for triple figures, and I've read advice from fellow fans not to pay it. They seem to unanimously agree that although it's a good story (hey, it's Trixie Belden after all!) it's not the greatest in the series. Here are a few facts I did acquire through snooping around.

* The only Bob Whites who appear in the story are Trixie and Honey. They are on some sort of horse-purchasing excursion with Regan. No Di nor a single one of the boys.

* Honey falls head-over-heels for someone who isn't Brian!!

* Those two facts alone cheer me up for being unable to acquire a copy. 

BUT: Please stick around for next week. This has been the marathon read of the year, and I intend a big, wrap-up post with my formal farewells to each of the recurring characters and my prophecies for the futures of each of the Bob Whites.  

Catch up here on Series 34 to 36 and then work your way backwards. 

The Borrowers Series (Books 3 - 4)

 3) The Borrowers Afloat

Everyone's favourite little junk foragers are back again. This installment begins once more with Mrs May and Kate trying to follow leads several decades down the track.

Our parents and daughter trio start this tale as the destitute house guests of Uncle Hendreary, Aunt Lupy and their four children. (Eggletina has been restored to them. She wasn't killed by the cat after all, although she's retained post traumatic stress disorder.) Anyway, being recipients of strained charity is a bitter pill to swallow. The Hendrearies consider themselves the magnanimous relatives who get to call all the shots. Then when the human residents prepare to shut up house, the prospect of famine rears its ugly head for all. It appears Pod, Homily and Arrietty will have to keep swallowing humble pie, but the intrepid Spiller arrives once again to save the day and be their guide. He suggests an escape route that had never occurred to Pod; the drains. 

It's a wonderful exodus fraught with exultation and danger, including the need to escape a deluge of scented water from some distant bathtub. We get a more intimate tour of what lurks down our plug holes than we may have ever wanted, but enjoy every moment, since it's happening to them and not to us. Hanging out with the Clock family helps us view our own familiar world from a super-sized perspective, which is always quite fascinating.  

Pod is his usual common-sense self, Homily continues to verge on fastidious hysteria, and Arrietty gets super-excited by each fresh revelation, although she tries to bottle it up. And laconic Spiller is still the scruffiest saviour to be found. The story switches back and forth between reflective nature chapters and action-packed survivalist ones. And all through, they retain their plucky attitude of considering themselves equal if not superior to those oblivious humans they're so fearful of yet so reliant on. 

And we're lured by rumours of Little Fordham, the model village built to their scale which every borrower dreams of settling in. Perhaps that will be their next port of call. Throughout the book are many amusing moments and comments.  (Homily: What's a poacher? Pod: It's a type of human borrower.)  

I get the feeling Little Fordham will be their next stop.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

4) The Borrowers Aloft    

It's a bit sad not to start with Mrs May and Kate this time round, but we're plunged directly into the world of other humans. Mr Pott is the kindly man who built the model village of Little Fordham as his fun hobby. Miss Menzies is his enthusiastic friend who helps with craft work and fills the village with small plaster people. And across the water live the shrewd rip-off merchants Sidney and Mabel Platter, who aim to copy Pott's every move and make an obscene profit from their own tawdry model village, Ballyhoggin. One night, Mr Platter spies tiny live people running around in Mr Pott's village and decides to purloin them to inhabit his. They are, of course, our little Clock family, who don't dream what lies ahead of them.

As a subplot early on, Arrietty keeps a guilty secret from her parents, because borrowers aren't supposed to be 'seen', yet she relishes the pleasure of delighting lovely, harmless folk like Miss Menzies just by showing up. For her, there's always a tension between two good things. Adherence to her strong family traditions on one hand and the thrill of making someone's day on the other. The double life makes her a bit cranky, yet her father attributes that to her awkward age. 

It's a slower burn than the first three books, since a huge chunk of the story sets the family as prisoners in the Platters' attic over a six month period. Mary Norton had to write it so their escape didn't seem a cinch, yet without bogging the story down with the technical details of creating and launching the balloon. She treads a fine line and I think her success depends on the tolerance of mechanical waffle of each individual reader. Personally I felt it dragged in spots, and the title and cover themselves comprise a plot spoiler, as any young reader will instantly see how the Clock family will eventually escape from the Platters' attic. Oh well, sometimes a story is more about anticipation rather than surprise. 

One thing I liked is the sound credibility. The Platters would most certainly have the materials for building the balloon stored up there. After all, balloons and strawberry baskets are part of the afternoon tea hustle they run on the side. So that was all good. And I felt great empathy for poor Pod's hopeless depression, when he foresees the remainder of their lives living behind glass, snooped at and treated like zoo animals. For this time, their unlikely boyish guardian angel Spiller can't come to their rescue, since he has no idea where they are. 

Outside of the attic, the simmering dynamics between Arrietty and Spiller are getting cute. I sense subtle attraction from both sides, along with the angst that so often goes with it. I love Arrietty's irritation because Spiller won't listen to any technical explanations about the building of the balloon unless they come from her father. (He suddenly seemed balloon crazy... there seemed no end to his curiosity which, for some masculine reason Arrietty could not fathom, could only be satisfied by Pod.) 

For over twenty years this was the final book in the series, and I think it's a perfect place to stop and let our reader imaginations take over. Pod has talked Homily into agreeing with him that purposelessness sets in when everything is done for you by others, so he and she look forward to resuming their hands-on lifestyle elsewhere. There is a broad hint that Arrietty and Spiller will end up happily married which satisfies our hearts for romance. In fact the end of the book's older version leaves us in no doubt. What more do we need?

 This neat sense of completion is why I face the fifth installment, The Borrowers Avenged, with trepidation. Surprise sequels way down the track are sometimes facepalms. I hope it won't be one of those cases where an author plunges way beyond where she should have stopped, and undoes all her good work. I'll soon find out. 

🌟🌟🌟🌟½     

   

'The Golden Road' by Lucy Maud Montgomery

When Sara Stanley, the Story Girl, returns to Carlisle to spend the winter with the King family, she comes up with a great idea. To help them through the dreary months ahead, she, Felicity, Cecily, and Dan will publish a magazine.

From "Personals" to "Fashion Notes" to an etiquette column and stories of the most interesting happenings in Carlisle, Our Magazine quickly becomes the most entertaining publication anyone in town has ever read. But seasons pass, nothing is forever--soon it will be time for the Story Girl to leave her good friends on Prince Edward Island, friends with whom she has walked the golden road of youth.

MY THOUGHTS: 

The adolescent gang from The Story Girl are back with more of their charming domestic adventures narrated once again by Beverley. Energy keeps the story flowing, as one and all try to be particularly proactive. They start their own newspaper, make solemn New Year's Resolutions around the kitchen table, and attempt to keep the family pride shining by entertaining a daunting visitor while the adults are away. Along with these collective undertakings are personal quests such as Cecily's goal to get sponsors for her missions quilt, the Story Girl's determination to get to the bottom of the Awkward Man's romantic past, and Peter's ongoing attempts to make Felicity fall for him.

The main characters are all so lovable and well-realised, it's easy to imagine it all playing out. Felicity is as smug as ever. Although she makes one cooking mishap, I can't see it as her fault rather than Aunt Janet's. And poor Cecily's dilemma is real - ask any book blogger or reviewer. She resolves to improve her mind by reading good books, but finds it extremely hard to persevere when faced with such tedious tomes as 'History of the Reformation in France.' We've got to question if they really are mind-improving books when we dread every page. 

Dan doesn't resolve to brush his teeth more often but truly should. We learn that he brushes them without fail every Sunday, and when his sisters tip him off that Family Guide recommends every day, he scoffs that they must have nothing better to do with their time. Oh Dan! 

Poor Sara Ray is still described by Bev as a 'colourless little nonentity' which offends me on her behalf, although I'm convinced Montgomery's heavy-handed aim is always to contrast her with the other Sara; the Story Girl, whose every thought comes to her in vivid colour. Especially since they even have the same name. (The term 'synesthesia' was possibly unknown by Maud, but I believe the Story Girl had it. It's a condition in which cognitive pathways overlap so that the experience of one of the five senses stimulates another. I've known a few people who have it.)

Peg Bowen, the local 'witch' features strongly in this story. While Montgomery deliberately keeps Peg's supernatural powers ambiguous in The Story Girl, she seems to cross a line of no return in this book, as Peg makes some very remarkable prophecies that come to pass.    

If I was to describe this book, I might call it, 'The one with the Returning Fathers.' No less than three dads show up out of the blue, to break up the great camaraderie the eight kids have going. The Story Girl's wandering artist father, Uncle Blair, arrives one morning, intending to take his daughter back to Europe with him. I never really gel with this flighty guy, since he ticked off on his own for seven years, presuming on the good nature of his in-laws to care for his daughter so he could be a free spirit. But the kids all love him. 

Also, Peter's prodigal father, Newton Craig, gets converted at a tent rally and decides to drop his booze and return to the family he deserted so long ago. I wonder how that will work out. Finally Alan King, Bev and Felix's father, sends a letter announcing that he's moving back from South America to Toronto, and will be coming for them. It all turns out to be very much an 'Auld Lang Syne' sort of story, about cherishing our fleeting fun times while they last. 

What's more, there's some sad foreshadowing from the very start that Cecily is ailing and will suffer the same fate of other Montgomery girls cut off in their teens, such as Ruby Gillis and Bets Wilcox. The slow, wasting consumption has got hold of her, and although she doesn't succumb in this book, Bev's hindsight from the future leaves us in no doubt that Cecily's days are numbered. (He also hints that Felicity and Peter will eventually be married, which gives me a buzz.) 

I tried using my book sleuth skills to pin an accurate time frame on this story. We're clearly in Queen Victoria's reign, but the Story Girl remarks that Prince Albert is already dead, which sets us somewhere within the broad forty year gap between 1861 and 1901. This book itself was published in 1913 but evidently set way earlier, which makes sense since Montgomery's grown up Beverley King is looking back on his early youth. And he must be at least 55, because his cousin Sara sends him a copy of the Awkward Man's tale 40 years after the events take place (when he was almost 15). Maud is making allowances for that passage of time. 

Still, she gets her own wires crossed at times. When Uncle Blair sketches all their portraits, Beverley describes how delightful that was, because 'the days of the camera were just dawning' and none of them had ever had their photographs taken. Oh yeah? How about the family album Cecily drags out to show Great Aunt Eliza earlier in the story, which was supposedly crammed with photos of former generations of Kings from way back? Maud does make occasional continuity glitches. (As we know from Shirley Blythe's fluctuating age in the latter books of the Anne series.) That just makes me laugh. 

There are other minor contradictions too. I'm not convinced that Jasper Dale, aka the Awkward Man, would ever ask a local woman in to scrub and clean for him, since he's always super neat and fastidious anyway, and women supposedly make him break out in stress hives. But since the plot hinges on Mrs Griggs' testimony about his secret room dedicated to 'Alice', we have to take this in stride too. 

Overall, Montgomery has done another cracking job, and it's easy to overlook her occasional inconsistencies since her power of evoking great fun and bitter sweet nostalgia in the same story is awesome. And although I wasn't Uncle Blair's greatest fan, his comforting quote sums up this book's theme. 'Nothing is really lost to us, as long as we remember it.' 

🌟🌟🌟🌟  

Trixie Belden Series 34 - 36

34) The Mystery of the Missing Millionaire

Trixie and Honey discover a lost wallet near Mr Lytell's store, which turns out to belong to Anthony Ramsey, a wealthy man who owns a chain of grocery stores. He has disappeared and his daughter, Laura, is worried sick about him. She borrows money from Mr Lytell to hire a private detective, leaving her flashy car as collateral. But will the Bob Whites trump the professional, Mark McGraw, when it comes to getting to the bottom of Anthony's disappearance?

* Mr Lytell is at his cantankerous worst in this book. His caustic nature is given free reign. Trixie is terrified to even enter his shop for fear of a harsh rebuke, and sure enough, that's just what she gets. He's the sort of adult who assumes he can treat kids and teens like dirt, just because they're young. Would his snappy behaviour extend to adults? Would he bark at Peter or Helen Belden for stirring his irritation? I doubt it. A man of character would make up his mind to treat everyone who crosses his path with courtesy and composure. 

* Having said that, I wouldn't say that he has no cause for being grumpy at all. Trixie finds orange, grape and cola soft drinks in his display fridge, and asks, 'Do you have any strawberry, Mr Lytell?' Perhaps she should use a bit of the deduction she prides herself on. If he did, wouldn't she expect to see a few cans out there for sale? In his place, I might fight the impulse to roll my eyes and reply, 'Does it look like it?' But I wouldn't pay her out in such a nasty manner. 

* Mr Lytell does his business on an old typewriter with a slip of carbon paper between the two documents he wants copies of. 

* Brian expresses his belief that Mart usually can't wait to spill all his secrets to him, but this time he's keeping quiet about whatever is exciting him. Hmm, does Brian really think that extends to everything? I suspect there's a bit of older brother naivety occurring here.

* Bobby likens Snow White's Seven Dwarfs to the Bob Whites. As well as having the same number in their group, they share a similar agenda. The Bob Whites aim to help people, just as the dwarfs helped Snow White. I like the analogy. I guess Trixie and Honey could be re-named Nosy and Tactful. And how about Muscly, Doc, Smarty, Busy and Pretty for Jim, Brian, Mart, Dan and Di respectively.   

* When Laura Ramsey describes how much she loves to read, Di remarks, 'I wish I did.' And she goes on to say that she'd sooner sit in a shady spot without a book than with one. If all this is true, is she really the girl for Mart then? I get the feeling Di is misrepresented in this passage. Although she struggles with her grades in school, I never before had the impression that she hates reading in general. How about the occasional romance novel or Lucy Radcliffe book?

* Having studied an English major myself, I think Trixie's reasons for suspecting Laura's credibility are unreasonably stringent. She finds it strange that Laura, an English major at Columbia University, doesn't recognise a line from Shakespeare when she hears it. Well, I didn't recognise it either! It's far more remarkable that Mart, a fifteen-old-year High School boy, can quote from Shakespeare's Henry V off the cuff to suit the occasion, than it is that Laura Ramsey, an English major, doesn't recognise it. 

* The name of Uncle Mart, who had to go into hospital for tests at the end of The Mystery at Bob White Cave pops up again. It seems he always gives his namesake Mart a subscription for a boys' magazine which he's long since outgrown. I get the impression of a clueless but well-meaning elderly relative who just goes on his merry way, and nobody wants to offend. Ah well, the magazines might suit Bobby down the track.   

* We are back to Mart having a room of his own and not sharing with Brian. He retreats to do his secret business there, which would surely be impossible to hide if it was common ground for the pair of them.  

* Trixie is very formal with the census taker who comes knocking. She reports that Peter is 39, Helen is 37, Brian is 17, Martin is 15, she, Beatrix is 14 and Robert is 6. She doesn't add that they've somehow plunged into a time warp, since they've all been stuck at these same ages for two or three years worth of events, haha.

* Trixie and Honey are excited about having the chance to work with a real private detective, Mark McGraw. Sadly, he's brusque and businesslike and criticises their novice methods of handling the wallet they picked up. This does nothing for Trixie's self-confidence.

* Trixie's insecurities are stirred up again. She's jealous of Laura Ramsey partly because Jim seems to be attracted to her. That lonely, vulnerable voice she sometimes grapples with demands, 'What about me?' Whenever she's in this sort of mood, proving her own importance through mystery solving seems to gain huge significance. She claims her dislike of Laura runs deeper than possessiveness over Jim, but I'm not convinced that's true. 

* Mart's insecurities are stirred in this story too. Since his plight turns out to be a smaller echo of the main mystery, I'll just brush over the details, except that he's taken advantage by unscrupulous people who play on his enthusiasm and vulnerability. And his dad says that since those crooks might be more cluey than Mart when it comes to deception, he has nothing to be ashamed of.  

* Trixie actually gives Mart an apology. 'I'm sorry for bursting in like that. I really am.' (Yet as she obviously isn't sorry at all, I'm not sure we can take that one.)  

* All the crooks who appear in this story are class acts. Their devious activity is sneaky all round.

* A suitable quote of the book was hard to choose. The boys keep saying noble things. For example, Mart tells Trixie, 'I don't want to just go to school and study agriculture on Dad's money and then become a teacher using Jim's. I want to contribute something too.' And later Jim declares, 'I'm not going to let what someone else is change what I am. I hope I'm nice to everybody.' These are both worthy contenders.

* But the quote of the book is this exchange between Trixie and Burt, the census man, because it made me laugh. Trixie: My mother's name is Helen. She's thirty-seven. Burt: Does she work outside the home? Trixie (uncertainly): Well, she has a big garden. 

35) The Mystery of the Memorial Day Fire

The whole of Sleepyside is out enjoying the festivities of Memorial Day evening when a deafening explosion rips through town. It was set in the basement of Mr Roberts' trophy shop and discovered to be the work of an arsonist. Poor Mr Roberts is accused of the heinous crime for the purpose of collecting insurance. But what other mischief is afoot? Is the presence of Jane Dix-Strauss, a journalist who specialises in arson, at all coincidental? Can Trixie and the Bob Whites figure out who really started the fire? 

* From here on out, I've read none of these remaining books of the series. In my teens I collected and devoured the first thirty-four and went for years thinking that was it. Then suddenly in my twenties, I saw these extra ones at the bookshop which had been published in the mid eighties. I couldn't believe it! I grabbed them of course, but since I was busy with babies and other stuff, I put them aside and never got around to reading them. Until now! 

* I've got to admit I started this with a bit of trepidation. After such a big gap, I had no idea how many inconsistencies might pop up. Quite early on, Regan was referred to as the Wheelers' chaffeur, which didn't augur well. 

* The Bob Whites are enjoying the 117th annual Memorial Day parade together. It sounds like a pageant in which local businesses can observe the season, promoting themselves in the process. 

* Jane Dix-Strauss is the newest addition to the staff at the Sleepyside Sun, keeping up the tradition started by Paul Trent of rubbing Trixie up the wrong way. She starts by snapping a surprise photo of the Bob Whites at the parade, then pokes fun at Trixie's startled reaction. That wouldn't be a problem in our era. Journalists like Jane would be required to ask subjects' permission first. No way could she simply blind subjects with her flash and then demand their personal details for her feature article.  

* The sheep mentality of the crowd in the wake of the explosion disgusts the Bob Whites. People are so curious to find out what happened that they surge forward en masse, blocking the fire vehicles from getting to the scene. 

* The Bob Whites have another clubhouse crisis. Urgent repairs are needed but their treasury is empty. 

* Honey complains about her bad grades and says that she needs to study, or she'll have to do summer school during the holidays. Now that's an inconsistency. She's always been the smart, conscientious one. Trixie and Di are the only strugglers when it comes to school grades. 

* Oh dear, Sergeant Molinson has done it again. He's jumped the gun, interrogating somebody who should be above reproach with insufficient evidence. In The Midnight Marauder it was Mart. In this instance, it's Mr Roberts.  

* It doesn't ring true for me that Trixie (and others) would be able to snoop around the grounds of the explosion site a mere day or two after it happened. Surely it should be cordoned off with tape and KEEP OUT notices for safety reasons! Even back in the eighties. 

* We're told the action takes place in the first week of June. In that case, Mart should have just celebrated his 16th birthday on the first day of the month. Kathryn Kenny doesn't mention it, so I thought I would. It appears he has a learner driver's permit. You need to be 16 for that where I come from, so I hoped this was an indication that time has started ticking again at last. But nope, Trixie and Honey are still apparently 14, so my theory falls flat.

* Mr Roberts comes across as his usual taciturn, uncommunicative self, although in all fairness, we only ever see him in the pages of these books when his business and family life are under great stress. Perhaps he's quite a jolly guy at other times.

* Helen Belden says, 'I think I have the four best children in the whole wide world.' Well, since the older three carry the weight of all those chores on their shoulders, she has a fair case. And Bobby, stuck in his perpetual six-year-old mindset, is still oblivious that he doesn't have a chore, he is one. 

* My biggest question is where the heck was Regan the night the Wheelers' stables were set on fire?!! His personal digs are practically right on the spot. And he's always been super vigilant about his equine friends. So when an arsonist sets the stables ablaze, those beloved horses are threshing and neighing with terror, and the fire department arrives on the scene, are we meant to assume that he just sleeps through it all? No way, Jose!

* Quote of the book goes to Jim. 'Trixie has enough energy to power a locomotive, if there were only some way to harness it.' 

36) The Mystery of the Antique Doll

When Dr Ferris asks Trixie and Honey to do some light housework for Mrs De Keyser, they jump at the chance. She lives next door to a mysterious Antique Barn they've been anxious to check out. Its proprietor, Mr Carl Reid, seems impatient and preoccupied. But when he discovers the girls are off on a long-weekend to Paris, he asks them to pick up a special antique doll for him. The beautiful treasure causes loads of strife, especially when they return to Sleepyside. The doll disappears and Mr Reid accuses the girls of stealing her. What really happened, and are there more secrets to the doll than he is letting on? 

* We're told that Dan is the only Bob White who doesn't attend Sleepyside Junior Senior High School. Huh, since when? He has always been there with them before, and we never heard he'd stopped. In fact, I'd assume he'd have to be there still, if he aims to be a New York City cop. Surely you need to graduate from school to get into police academy. Kathryn Kenny, more information please.

* Dr Ferris asks Trixie and Honey if they'd mind doing some light housework after school some nights for Mrs De Keyser, who has fallen over and broken her arm. They're happy to, since she lives next door to the new antique barn they've been anxious to check out. In fact it's her property, and she's Mr Reid's landlord.

* Mrs De Keyser teaches the girls to make a terrific stew which sounds like it could rival Mr Maypenny's legendary stew, the way they rave on about it. I'd like both recipes in my dream series cookbook, of course. 

* She has a mischievous dog named Willy who seems to be even more of a handful than Reddy. For at least Reddy doesn't attempt to bolt from the door the moment he sees an opening. 

* Trixie originally thinks Mr Reid, the proprietor of the antique barn, seems a bit fishy because he obviously knows zilch about the antique business. Her father tells her that in his line of work, he sees people who know nothing about their products go into business all the time. But come on Pete, do they really know absolutely nothing, as this guy seems to? 

* This story takes place the week after Halloween. If we are splitting hairs then, Brian should have just turned nineteen by now. Just saying. (Of course he's no doubt still seventeen in Bob White time.)

* Trixie and Honey are finalists in the regional spelling bee. It gives them quite a bit of stress.

* The narrator tells us that although Mart is the smartest of all the Belden children, he has a lot of trouble with spelling. Hmm, that's a bit of a blanket statement for something that's highly relative. How about Brian? While Mart is clearly our most creative humanities and literary guy, Brian always takes first place in mathematics and science. And arguably their sister may surpass them both with sixth sense and intuition. ('I don't think up things that are fishy, Honey Wheeler. I only notice them.')

* Jim, Brian and Mart will be taking over cooking for Mrs De Keyser while Trixie and Honey are in Paris, and the two girls wonder if they can even cook. Honey says (sort of disparagingly, I think) 'Jim is actually a pretty good cook. There's no reason why Brian and Mart can't learn something useful too.' Then Trixie agrees, 'You're absolutely right. This will be a broadening experience for them.' That's a bit of a continuity glitch, since the boys are actually excellent cooks. Way back in Mystery in Arizona, they were the only ones Maria the chef would trust to take over her kitchen when she got ready to go AWOL. In fact at the time, she groomed Brian, Mart and Jim to roll out top quality cuisine on demand. 

* Trixie's not above a bit of boasting to Mr Reid, who rubs her up the wrong way. 'We happen to be flying to Paris in Mr Wheeler's private jet, Mr Reid,' as she holds her nose at a lofty angle. Well, la-di-da, Miss Belden. I doubt her parents would approve of her boastful behaviour. Oh well, it comes back to bite her, when he asks them to do him a special favour.

* This story introduces a stereotypical bumbling detective, Marcel Patou from Paris. With his awkward, fumbling fingers, I don't know how he ever made it as far as he did. 

* (Slight spoiler alert) Bobby's role in the disappearance of you-know-what is unbelievably far-fetched to me. We're expected to believe that little Willy, a dog he's never seen before, carries it all the way from his own house to Crabapple Farm, where he's never been! What are the odds? 

* Quote of the book goes to Mrs De Keyser. 'When you get to be my age, an antique is just something that used to be brand new when you were young.' (Her comment is ironic since my set of Trixie Beldens were brand new books when I bought them in my teens, and now I've seen some appear on the shelves of antique shops themselves.)  

Catch up on Series 31 to 33

Stay tuned for 37 - Finish