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Penhallow Group Read June 2017 Chapters 1-11
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message 51:
by
Hana
(new)
Jun 09, 2017 02:00PM
Carolm, this is such an atypical Heyer. There is wit, but it is very, very dry and understated. Adrian adds some comic relief when he arrives. I'm into the second half--there are some real shocker moments that made me glad to stick with the book. I'm fond of darker family sagas and psychological studies but you have to be in the mood. I'm just impressed with Heyer's range--I had no idea she could write this sort of book.
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Well I've just started it. I approached it with caution because there are a lot of mixed feelings about it here. However, I have to say I'm enjoying it. I got totally hooked into it. I can't believe I'm on page 189 and someone hasn't murdered Penhallow yet!! What a truly obnoxious crude cruel man he is. He really is the most horrendous bully I've ever come across in a novel. He must have been a joy to create.
Teresa wrote: "Well I've just started it. I approached it with caution because there are a lot of mixed feelings about it here. However, I have to say I'm enjoying it. I got totally hooked into it. I can't believ..."Haha! I think many readers are just waiting for something horrible to happen to him.
The funny thing for me is that I remember the murder happening early on - but it doesn't...Yes, he's such a complete pig that it must have been an absolute catharsis to let all that spleen out on the page. What fun to not let any redeeming qualities get in the way of writing down such a nasty customer!
I am reading a chapter a day, so probably won't finish before the end of the month. I am enjoying the discussion though and don't mind spoilers, so I am reading all the posts.
I love that you don't mind spoilers, Carolm! I'm the kind that when the kids or my husband try to tell me about a movie I haven't seen yet, I threaten them with grave bodily harm.
I like to know the answers, or else I can't enjoy the journey. Usually with mysteries and sometimes even with regular romances, I read the last chapter after the first or second one. I can then enjoy the story, watching how the author scatters the clues along the way. Suspense takes away my enjoyment, rather than enhancing it.
Your reasons are probably why I love re-reading books! I always gallop through the first reading, and then try really hard to stop and enjoy the details in subsequent readings.
Carolm wrote: "I like to know the answers, or else I can't enjoy the journey. Usually with mysteries and sometimes even with regular romances, I read the last chapter after the first or second one. I can then enj..."i'm the same, I find if I don't know how a book ends i'm in too much of a hurry to get through it to find out what happens. If I know how it turns out it's much more relaxing.
What an unpleasant lot of people! The only one I have any sympathy for is Faith but that's only a little bit. Raymond is the only child with any sense but Char is the most interesting. She is trying hard to be another son when she's with her father but she's not. She seems to have feelings for her roommate. Aubrey is an awful stereotype.There are SO many things wrong with this book that offend modern sensibilities. I am utterly appalled at Penhallow's behavior. They just casually discuss his rakeish exploits. I keep wishing someone would slap him with a sexual harassment lawsuit but I know that wouldn't happen in those days. In fact that part of his behavior is very relevant to recent news headlines.
I don't know yet who the murderer would be but it seems so far that Faith, Cliff, Vivian and maybe Bart have the greatest motive so far.
I lump Faith right along with the rest of them. She's impossibly annoying, but then that could be because she's so darned dumb. Maybe I should cut her some slack.
Faith IS dumb but I give her a bit of sympathy because she was young and naive when she married. Her life is miserable but it could be less miserable if she had a backbone and stood up to her husband. I don't think she's intelligent or brave enough to willingly murder someone but with some help or accidentally, she might. I wish an asteroid would hit Trevellin and destroy them all.
Haha to the asteroid! We've been talking about the up-coming eclipse in August. We're in the 70 mile swath which will be in total darkness as it passes over the U.S. and we're seeing a lot of cautions about not looking directly at it without specialty glasses. I can just picture the whole Penhallow crew running around shrieking in hysteria because they'd been struck blind, since, of course, they'd be too arrogant or dumb to believe any of the warnings!
LOL Karlyne! Adam would command it to stop or claim he caused it. Can't wait for him to die of cancer, clogged arteries, gout, liver problems or murder, whichever happens first.
