Father makes a 'chance remark about the Bronze Age' which gets the conversational ball rolling when Aderik spends the night. Frankly, not much conversational mileage could be gotten out of The Bronze Age here at the van der Stevejinck house. Here's what does and doesn't work here:Black holes, yes.
Bronze age, no.
Aeronautical Engineering,yes.
Delftware, no.
Camping, yes (okay, sometimes).
Celtic ruins, no.
Articles found in the current issue of Pop Sci (that's Popular Science to those of you who prefer the Bronze Age), yes.
Articles found in the current issue of ANY fashion magazine, no.
Would The Bronze Age work as a conversational topic in your house? If not, what conversational gambits would?
Would The Bronze Age work as a conversational topic in your house? If not, what conversational gambits would?
The Reverend Mr. Watts has to do the 'pram service'. Is this like Sunday School for nursery
age kids or just the service that is most frequented by families with small children? Anyone?
age kids or just the service that is most frequented by families with small children? Anyone?Betty Neels was hovering somewhere around her 84th birthday when A Secret Infatuation was published. Chapter Two includes a reference to an 'old lady celebrating her 90th birthday'. I wounder if Betty knew she would still be publishing past her 90th birthday?
Last week it was soggy Scotland, this week...foggy moors! The books in question were actually written 20 years apart...but like taxes, weather is always with us. Or is it, 'like the poor'? Frankly, I don't mind the cold dampness in the books right now. This Betty is suffering from a heatwave and lack of air conditioning - so any glimpse of coolness is appreciated.
He kisses her while engaged and Eugenie ignores the Chick Rule of Thumb: If he'll do it with ya, he'll do it to ya.
I agree there is a lot to love in this book. Firstly, our hero is the one who needs to be rescued! I'm not sure I remember any other RDD who is in that position when we meet him. Eugenie has no illusions about Mr Watts (poor deluded thing) and is a spunky, smart girl. Then La Neels tries to be contemporary by sending them off to Bosnia for relief work. Our RDD doesn't have to break the engagement, he just provides the opportunity to - no one's feelings are really hurt here.
ReplyDeleteBUT - - I just got the feeling that Eugenia fell in love and decided to go after him. Despite all the protestations of "one more look before I say goodbye forever," I felt her decision to go to Holland was because she was smart, beautiful and knew she could stir him up to more than friendship (not an exact quote, but pretty darn close). That is so out of character for a La Neels girl, and just not cricket with me. The only exceptions I can accept are the ones where she has met the fiancee and has realized how unsuitable the match is, as in Heaven is Gentle.
It sort of spoiled the read for me. Sad, as there is a lot of fun in this book. Sigh.
I liked this book. Alot. The engagement thing doesn't bother me so much; engagement is not a marriage nor even a betrothal--I have known plenty of engagements that needed to be broken up (although I never did it myself--at least not to my knowledge--I did once dispatch a guy to break up one though--the subsequent marriage is running on 20 years now...).
ReplyDeleteAs much fun as this book is, my favorite scene is still the RDD lost in the fog--for once a realistic portrayal of the male species--except that he asked for assistance (of course from a passing babe).
I take a position that triangulates nicely with both Betty Barbara and Betty JoDee -- I have all sympathy with Eugenie taking the job in Holland. As far as I can tell, she does nothing inappropriate, not even making the cow eyes at Aderik to get him to kiss her.
ReplyDeleteI have less sympathy with his not hastening the end of his engagement tout suite once he meets Eugenie. Forget whether she'll have him. He should not be marrying another woman while he's having feelings for a pretty English nurse he can't stay away from.
What's dishonorable about saying, "Saphira, my dear, I fear we won't suit. My apologies, and please keep that hideous, and hideously expensive, ring as a consolation prize..."