Joyce’s Reviews > The Secret Garden > Status Update

Doxology = “Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow”

We sang that in church recently! Not as doxology, though, I don’t think. (Doxology immediately precedes the “Amen”?) As a hymn.

To paraphrase, “A good bit of child’s laughing will beat a fine set of pills anyday.”

Perhaps the beginning (of magic) is just to say nice things are going to happen until you make them happen.

Don’t stop believin’ ... and make it so!

The description of the burgeoning garden is wondrous indeed ,.. I am so tempted to try my hand at establishing one at home,

But I’m sure my first encounter with a grub or an earthworm will cure me of such enthusiasm. 🤢

Tangential thought ...

It has been delightful that I can “read” as I’m driving to & from work & other places.

I’ve just gotten a new offer to come back to Sirius XM, with the rate for a full 12 months now that I’d previously succumbed to for only 6 months at a time. But I’m hesitating to snap up the offer because I’m thinking I can just continue w/the audiobooks instead. (I can also borrow them from the library!)

It just occurred to me ... is the deformity that Colin is afraid he will develop what he thinks his father has now? If so, if it is meant to bring him low as a child, wouldn’t the father have died young of it, too? That his father is still alive should give Colin hope for his future, yeah?

I just realized why the elder Craven is so protective of Colin (and pushing what might be the illusion of Colin’s sickness or frailty).

He was crushed when he lost his wife ... though it pains him to see the resemblance with Colin, he is more afraid of losing Colin as well and so ends up being overprotective. 😢

“Queer” appears frequently in this book. Obviously, it has the traditional connotation of “odd” or “strange”.

My son heard it read aloud on one of our drives, and he reacted to hearing it. “Queer?” I guess for his generation, there’s a different automatic connotation ...

IMDB notes a movie version in post-production that features Colin Firth *swoon* as Mr. (Dr.?) Craven.

The elder Craven thinks he is hunchbacked & fears that his son will turn out likewise. But Mary thinks he’s more of a tall fellow with rolled-in shoulders. I can’t quite picture Colin Firth in such posture (or lack thereof).

Wood sounds like “wuid”
Roots sounds like “ruits”
Shoot almost sounds like “sh*t”

😁

And “wick” is Yorkshire-ese for “alive” or “lively”