Summer Half Start Date 7th of July SPOILER thread

[Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂ , She's a mod, yeah, yeah, yeah!]

For open spoilers & final conclusions!

[Susan in NC]

Just finished and posted my review, I somehow forgot to review after my first read, many years ago. I loved reading it both times, this time was delightful as I’ve watched many of these characters grow up and grow old, in some cases. They’re like old friends now!

[Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂ , She's a mod, yeah, yeah, yeah!]

I'm close to finished. One very racist remark (even by Thirkell standards) was very unpleasant. Normally I try to ignore this stuff in early twentieth century fiction but this one I found jarring.

I'm also feeling some of the characters have become a little dull - most notably Colin & Kate.

I'm enjoying the portrayal of Rose though - she is just too sickening for words! 🤣

& I hope to meet Lydia again some day!

[Susan in NC]

Lydia is great - I said in the other thread, in spoiler tags, that she was hilarious in this book, but when I first read it I thought she’d be exhausting to keep up with. But she actually grows up into a delightful young woman! And Rose is great comic relief - but she even grows up, eventually (takes a World War to do it, but she gets there!)😂

I think Lydia’s diabolically clever plot to clean out the pond as a way to escape church and Miss Pettinger’s visit to tea was my favorite part - well, that and watching the sweet, tender, but never cloying growing romance between (view spoiler)[Everard and Kate (hide spoiler)]. I know this is the no spoiler thread, but don’t want to ruin anybody’s read! The resolution doesn’t come until the end. Truly a lovely, summery revisit to some of my favorite characters in Barsetshire - WWII isn’t even thought of yet, one feels as though the sunshine and long, gentle days will last forever. (Sorry to be sappy, but I love this series. These early books give me the same happy feelings I get from Wodehouse!)

[Susan in NC]

Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂ wrote: "I'm close to finished. One very racist remark (even by Thirkell standards) was very unpleasant. Normally I try to ignore this stuff in early twentieth century

I'm also feeling some of the charact..."

I’m sorry, I missed the racist remark, what chapter was it? I listened to a lot of it, some of the accent choices of the narrator were bizarre, I couldn’t quite catch what she was saying.

[Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂ , She's a mod, yeah, yeah, yeah!]

Chapter 6 Page 149. I'll quote it after everyone has finished the book.

[Abigail]

I’ve nearly finished and am loving it. The boys’ school feels very real! It’s extraordinary to see how Tony Morland is growing up; he was pretty annoying in two of the earlier books. Colin started out being rather silly, but it was as if seeing Philip’s silliness sobered him up quickly.

I love Everard and the poignant way Thirkell described his instant attraction to Kate—“Carter thought he saw his journey’s end.” And then when he sees Noel and Kate together and believes they are a pair, he thinks he must end his journey elsewhere. Broke my heart! And the moment when she gives him the honeysuckle and is finally shaken out of her placidity. I do like subtle cues of romance.

Nothing remotely subtle about Rose, by contrast. I’ve always hated jokes about men beating their wives for the wife’s good, but was inclined to let it slide in her case. Everyone winds up wanting to hit her!

[Janetje]

I just finished my first Thirkell novel. I don't think it will be the last! The beginning was great and pulled me in immediately. Colin was a great character and I was a bit sorry that we didn't see much of him anymore in the second half of the book, after we got introduced to his extended family, his colleagues and students and their families etc. etc. There were some passages in the middle bit where so much was going on at once that it was hard to keep all the characters apart (it might have made a great movie!). But the end made up for it, with the hilarious cleaning of the pond episode, the great Mrs Twicker, and the satisfying conclusion of Kate's sweet romance. My favourite was, of course, Lydia, but I also had a soft spot for Swan and Morland, and even Geraldine turned out to be not so insipid as I first thought; her scheme to get rid of a dress she detested showed he to be a worthy friend to Lydia. Rose was a bit overdone in my opinion.
Overall, I loved the summer visit to England and I understand that this is an early installment of a series of 29 novels. I just wonder if the later ones set during or after WWII are as lighthearted? Perhaps one of you can enlighten me. I'll need some mindless holiday reading in the coming weeks.

[Abigail]

They’re all fairly lighthearted though they do acknowledge the gravity of the war years. So glad you enjoyed it, Janetje!

[Susan in NC]

Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂ wrote: "Chapter 6 Page 149. I'll quote it after everyone has finished the book."

Thanks, I have an older used edition, so pages and such probably don’t match up. In my book, the boys are bemoaning that Hacker won a Consolation Race, and it was somehow an embarrassment to their house. I did not understand the fuss, so kind of tuned out of listening, until Rose did something obnoxious again.

[Susan in NC]

Abigail wrote: "I’ve nearly finished and am loving it. The boys’ school feels very real! It’s extraordinary to see how Tony Morland is growing up; he was pretty annoying in two of the earlier books. Colin started ..."

Yes! Everard and Kate are so sweet - it’s those occasional lovely touches in her writing that make me feel so fondly about these books - the humor is also very important to me, but those subtle, poignant scenes are beautiful. Also, when Phillip is walking alone back to the rectory at the end of chapter 9, contemplating the boys in his charge growing up, wondering where his 17-year-old self went.

And I agree about Rose, she was a handful- how two such “common sensical” (if that’s even a word) people had such a daughter is beyond me!

[Susan in NC]

Janetje wrote: "I just finished my first Thirkell novel. I don't think it will be the last! The beginning was great and pulled me in immediately. Colin was a great character and I was a bit sorry that we didn't se..."

No, they aren’t as lighthearted after the war, but believe it or not, the novels set just before and during the war are some of the best, I think. There is plenty of humor, even among the blackouts and rationing!

[Abigail]

Finished. So much fun! Thirkell really came into her own with this one. Can’t wait for our next read!

[Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂ , She's a mod, yeah, yeah, yeah!]

Abigail wrote: "I’ve nearly finished and am loving it. The boys’ school feels very real! It’s extraordinary to see how Tony Morland is growing up; he was pretty annoying in two of the earlier books. Colin started ..."

Yes, the blurb on my edition implied he was still going to be "The demon in the House, but he has grown up quite a bit in this novel.

[Karlyne]

The blurb on my jacket said, "To his parents' dismay, Colin Keith" decides to take a job instead of continuing his law training.His parents' dismay??? Oh, dear, do the blurbers ever really read the books? I wonder...

[Judy]

I've just finished and, while I quite enjoyed it, must admit I found it a bit dull in places compared to the other Thirkells I've read so far. Lydia was a joy, but in terms of the adults I think perhaps my problem was that everyone is so nice and well-meaning - I would have enjoyed someone causing a bit more trouble at times (beyond Rose's tantrums).

Kate in particular struck me as somewhat boring with her endless thoughts about the joys of needlework and mending! And while Rose seemed hilarious to start with, I agree with Janetje that she became rather overdone. I've got the next two books in the series, which I picked up secondhand, so am hoping they return to form.

I also had the misleading blurb, but was quite relieved Tony had grown up a bit from his Demon in the House days!

[Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂ , She's a mod, yeah, yeah, yeah!]

"Kate in particular struck me as somewhat boring"

I also found Colin quite dull, & I know this is partly the fault of the bad blurb, but I was expecting him to be more centre stage.

[Carolien]

I finished this last night and agree that is was enjoyable, but some of the characters are a bit dull. I loved the pond cleaning scene.

I have 2 books left in the Barchester chronicles. I'm going to finish them and then start rereading Thirkell to appreciate that angle. In the last scene of this one, Mr and Mrs Keith are at Courcy castle, another Trollope landmark.

[Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂ , She's a mod, yeah, yeah, yeah!]

Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂ wrote: "Chapter 6 Page 149. I'll quote it after everyone has finished the book."

& the quote that caused me to knock half a star off my rating.

If Desdemona could fall in love with Othello, Philip might be excused for falling in love with Rose, whose worst enemy could not call her black.

This is my copy.

[Abigail]

That quote reminds me that we have come a long way over the course of my life!

[Susan in NC]

Abigail wrote: "That quote reminds me that we have come a long way over the course of my life!"

Very true, thankfully.