Renier has a one-eyed dog name Brontes...Francesca is able to correctly identify the name Brontes as being one of the Cyclopes...here's what wiki has to say about that:In the Theogony by Hesiod, the Cyclopes – Arges, Brontes, and Steropes – were the primordial sons of Uranus (Sky) and Gaia (Earth) and brothers of the Hecatonchires. They were giants with a single eye in the middle of their forehead and a foul disposition. According to Hesiod, they were strong, stubborn, and "abrupt of emotion". Collectively they eventually became synonyms for brute strength and power, and their name was invoked in connection with massive masonry. They were often pictured at their forge....They fashioned thunderbolts for Zeus to use as weapons, and helped him overthrow Cronus and the other Titans. The thunderbolts, which became Zeus's main weapons, were forged by all three Cyclopes, in that Arges added brightness, Brontes added thunder, and Steropes added lightning.
These Cyclopes also created Poseidon's trident, Artemis's bow and arrows of moonlight, Apollo's bow and arrows of sun rays, and Hades's helmet of darkness that was given to Perseus on his quest to kill Medusa.
Francesca is practically in indentured servitude to Lady Mortimer. I appreciate her willingness to do whatever it takes to keep a roof over her sister's head. This works so much better for me than the heroines who do the same thing for a cat. Sorry to cat lovers out there...but being willing to starve for a family member makes much more sense to me. But still, where's a union when you need one?
Francesca hands over a glass of water "quelling a powerful desire to pour its contents all over Lady Mortimer's massive bosom." Can I get a raise of hands for anyone who has ever wanted to do that?
Fran offers Peggy a kitten...before asking her mum. I have a problem with this. I know I'm coming off as a cat hater, but the biggest problem I have with kitties is that one of my sons is very allergic. I wouldn't appreciate a stranger offering one of my kids a kitten and then making me the bad guy by turning them down. Did you 
know that cat dander can be viable (as an allergen) for years?
Betty Barbara here--
ReplyDeleteOoops, looks like your charming review has done a temporary vanishing act. Probably in hiding after pouring water on Lady Mortimer!
I enjoyed the story, but like you, I thought the pace was off. I was reading right along and then poof, it was over! I was expecting another 50 pages or so, given how it was meandering along. But the characters were charmingly right in their assigned roles (even our selfish b**** mother of an actress), even if they weren't given much to do.
Betty Barbara here--
ReplyDeleteGlad to see the review has come back out of hiding.
Brontes is an original dog name that I will add to my lists:
ReplyDeleteDog names
I'm in the midst of reading Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief. By the first three chapters I have already met a couple of Furies with a Cyclops on the way (I understand from The Heir and The Spare). So I'll be much more able to comment on this intelligently, if at a 10-year-old reading level, afterward. I actually had a nightmare after the first day of reading! They assure me it's not so scary from here on, but they smiled when they said it. :0
ReplyDeleteMy 10-year-old casual-reader loved those books. His teacher had them all and he read every one this year. For that reason alone, I owe the author my undying gratitude.
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