This is one of my top ten favorite books. It's written by one of my top three favorite authors. So I think saying "I love this book" fails to do it justice. This is the fourth time I've read it, and I never tire of it! After finishing the Sherlock Holmes canon, I was still in such a Holmes mood I couldn't resist rereading this.
The story begins this way:
"I was fifteen when I first met Sherlock Holmes, fifteen years old with my nose in a book as I walked the Sussex Downs, and nearly stepped on him. In my defence I must say it was an engrossing book, and it was very rare to come across another person in that particular part of the world in that war year of 1915. In my seven weeks of peripatetic reading amongst the sheep (which tended to move out of my way) and the gorse bushes (to which I had painfully developed an instinctive awareness) I had never before stepped on a person."
From this inauspicious beginning springs an unlikely relationship: the retired Sherlock Holmes takes on a fifteen-year-old girl as his apprentice, protege, and eventually partner. And a lonely orphan named Mary Russell acquires a teacher, mentor, and friend.
The first part of the book details how they become acquainted, how Holmes begins teaching Russell different aspects of his very specific skill set, and how Russell then helps him solve a couple of fairly trivial mysteries. (Although Holmes is nominally retired, he still takes on quite a few cases, you see.) They then take a case that involves a kidnapped child and is quite exciting. Not to mention its my favorite part of the book.
The second half of the book... I can't talk much about without divulging spoilers. Russell goes off to university, and then something from Holmes' past crops up, and that's all I can say.
Why do I love this book so much? Partly because I see a lot of myself in Mary Russell, I think. Not that I'm a deducting genius or anything, but she's very independent, tired of being treated a certain way because she's female and young, and just generally someone I would like to be more like. Also... I would love to be Sherlock Holmes' protege. Wow. Wouldn't that be amazing?
But a huge part of why I love this book is the portrayal of Sherlock Holmes himself. He's a bit mellower than you tend to see him in the canon, partly because he's aging and partly because Russell avows he's never been as austere as Watson portrayed him. Still acerbic, still abrupt, still uncompromising, but with an underlying humanity that is not always so evident in the canon (though it does peek through often enough that this portrayal does not seem off). I remember that the first time I read this book, I laughed aloud in the break room at work through the first two or three chapters, so delighted was I by how entirely Holmesish Holmes was being.
And yes, Watson figures in here too, though only peripherally. Mrs. Hudson, Mycroft, and an Inspector Lestrade (son of the Lestrade from Holmes' years in London) all appear as well. And that's another thing I love about this book: getting to spend more time with these dear fictional friends. But I think what I love most about this book is how it makes me so very happy. Reading it is pure fun. Simply thinking about it makes me smile.
This is the first book in a series, and I'm working on a post about the series as a whole. But this book works just fine on its own if you don't want to read the whole series. It's the only one I've read more than once or twice, and the only book in the series that I've bought new. While the whole series is great fun overall, this book rises above the others, in my opinion, and is something akin to perfection.
Interestingly, although I'm not a fan of foreshadowing as a rule, it doesn't bother me in these books in the slightest. Which is good, since it does crop up rather often. Maybe because these are presented as Mary Russell's memoirs, and so it feels rather like the way I would tell a story of my life? "Listen, this is why I'm telling you this part -- it was important in hindsight," that sort of thing. I'm not sure.
Particularly Good Bits:
While I grew and flexed the muscles of my mind, the bodies of strong young men were being poured ruthlessly into the 500-mile gutter that was the Western Front, an entire generation of men subjected to the grinding, body-rotting, mind-shattering impossibility of battle in thigh-deep mud and drifts of searing gas, under machine-gun fire and through tangles of wire (p. 37-38).
Had I missed the Simpson case, had Holmes simply disappeared into the thin summer air (as he had done with numerous other cases) and not allowed me to participate, God alone knows what we would have done when December's cold hit us, unprepared and unsupported (p. 90).
He did not sound hurt, only resigned, and it occurred to me that Holmes was well accustomed to deceiving this man, because he was, as I had said, not gifted with the ability to lie, and thus quite simply could not be trusted to act a part. For the first time I became aware of how that knowledge must have pained him, how saddened he must have been over the years at his failure, as he would have seen it, his inability to serve his friend save by unwittingly being manipulated by Holmes' cleverer mind (p. 183).
This self-contained individual, this man who had rarely allowed even his sturdy, ex-Army companion Watson to confront real risk, who had habitually over the past four years held back, been cautious, kept an eye out, and otherwise protected me; this man who was a Victorian gentleman down to his boots; this man was proposing to place not only his life and limb into my untested, inexperienced, and above all female hands, but my own life as well (p. 258).
"To a mind attuned to observation and deduction, the product reveals the mind of its creator." He squinted up at the great, ponderous blocks that loomed up to hide the sky, and rubbed his hands together slowly. "Take Mozart -- frenzied gaiety and weeping put to music. The agony of the man is at times unbearable" (p. 260).
I became, in other words, more like Holmes than the man himself: brilliant, driven to a point of obsession, careless of myself, mindless of others, but without the passion and the deep-down, inbred love for the good in humanity that was the basis of his entire career (p. 287).
If this was a movie, I would rate it: PG-13 for suspense, danger to a child, the occasional mild curse word, and violence.
This chapter is such a beautiful representation of the cycle of temptation, sin, repentance, confession, and forgiveness. Pippin knows he shouldn't touch that glass ball, and even as he gives in to the temptation and tries to take it while Gandalf is asleep, his conscience is warning him not to. Gandalf later reprimands him for not listening to his conscience here, saying, "You knew you were behaving wrongly and foolishly; and you told yourself so, though you did not listen" (p. 584). Pippin picks it up and thinks it's not really the palantir, but just a bundle of Gandalf's effects or something, and feels "a strange sense of relief" (p. 577). And yet, he gives in to that temptation still more, unwrapping it and then covering it again and sneaking away to hide his sin, not letting anyone see him.
But like all sin, what at first seemed attractive, fun, even harmless has dangerous effects. Pippin not only hurts himself, but puts all his companions and friends in potential danger. And once he realizes how he has transgressed, Pippin cries out, "Gandalf! Forgive me!" He knows he has erred, is sorry he's done so, and wants to be assured he will not be cast away as a result.
But before Gandalf grants him forgiveness, he first demands that Pippin confesses what he has done so Pippin will recognize its harmfulness and ask his help to never do that again.
Only once Pippin has realizes the seriousness of what he has done does Gandalf say, "I forgive you. Be comforted!" (p. 580). He tenderly carries Pippin to his bed and tells him that if he ever feels tempted to touch the Palantir again, to ask Gandalf for help in overcoming the temptation. If only Pippin had done that in the first place, he would have been saved much grief and pain.
Beautiful.
Favorite Lines:
"All Wizards should have a hobbit or two in their care -- to teach them the meaning of the word, and to correct them" (p. 574).
"Perilous to us all are the devices of an art deeper than we possess ourselves" (p. 583).
Possible Discussion Questions:
If Pippin had not used the palantir, do you think that would have aided or hindered Frodo's quest?
Before I'd gotten to page 10 in this book, I put it on my birthday wish list. This is precisely the sort of book I want to have beside me while I read 19th-century fiction so I can figure out the difference between damask and bombazine, why a dwelling is called a house or a park or grange or an abbey, why butlers ironed the newspaper, and so much more. Invaluable! In the Introduction, the author says that he wrote this "to answer some of the questions that nag any half-curious reader of the great nineteenth-century English novels," and that is precisely what it does.
The first half of the book is an explanation of various facets of life in the 1800s, and it links everything back to books by Austen, Dickens, Hardy, and the Brontes, as well as a few of their contemporaries. It also explains how customs and practices and fashions and even words changed over the course of the century. Fascinating stuff if you read or watch a lot of stories set in this era! It's very, very read-able, and I can't recommend it highly enough.
The second half of the book is a glossary of all sorts of words you'll run across in books about or from the era that we might not understand today. Want to know what a ha-ha is, why the Bennets hoped Lydia and Wickham had gone to Gretna Green, or just exactly what an 'orange girl' did? It's all there!
My only criticism is that the author did tend to repeat himself from time to time in the first half. I suppose that's so that if you only read the section on Occupations you wouldn't be missing some vital information from the section on Servants, but it did get a little annoying now and then. Still, "repetition is the mother of learning," as my dad loves to say.
Particularly Interesting Bits:
In fact, heath and moor are different names for a similar terrain, namely, a desolate, sandy-soiled place, where dead vegetation piles up and accumulates into peat. The difference between a heath and a moor is the greater amount of rainfall on the moor, which, unlike the heath, is characteristically boggy and marshy (p. 161).
It is the gentry from whom Jane Austen draws most of her characters -- educated, comfortably well-off -- they do not work themselves but oversee the work of others and spend their time plotting how to marry off their children, paying calls or seeking to elevate their social standing (p. 164).
We think of afternoon tea as being an English practice of long standing, but in fact the habit began in the 1840s. Before that, tea was frequently offered after dinner, when the ladies and gentlemen had gathered together in the drawing room (p. 209).
I read this book as my way of participating in the Birthday Celebration and Reading Dickens event hosted by Fanda Classiclit. I'm so glad I did! Like I said, this is a book I absolutely want to acquire my own copy of. But I got it from the library, which means it's also my second entry into the I Love Library Books Challenge 2014.
And after the happy little interlude in the previous chapter, we get heavy and serious here. And suspenseful. I mean, for a minute there, I started to think Saruman had totally gotten Theoden under his spell. And I've read this how many times? Seen the movie how many times? But I still got all worried.
Saruman reminds me so, so much of Adolf Hitler. The power of his voice, anyway. Hitler was said to have a kind of mesmerizing thing going on when he made speeches. And the guy convinced a nation to go to war, to either participate in or turn a blind eye to all kinds of atrocities. That's a lot of power, and look at how Tolkien describes Saruman's voice:
Suddenly another voice spoke, low and melodious, its very sound an enchantment. Those who listened unwarily to that voice could seldom report the words that they heard; and if they did, they wondered, for little power remained in them. Mostly they remembered only that it was a delight to hear the voice speaking, all that it said seemed wise and reasonable, and desire awoke in them by swift agreement to seem wise themselves (p. 564).
Just like it's hard to tell what color Saruman's cloak is, it's hard to tell just what he's saying or why. I find that so scary! Not being able to tell just what something is or means... yikes.
Favorite Lines:
"The treacherous are ever distrustful" (p. 568).
"Well, well, things will go as they will; and there is no need to hurry to meet them" (p. 571).
Possible Discussion Questions:
Saruman says to Gandalf, "You are proud and do not love advice, having indeed a store of your own wisdom" (p. 567). Do you think people who don't like advice are that way because they have enough wisdom of their own? Do you think Gandalf actually does not love advice?
Ahh, a happy interlude. I really like this chapter, with the remnants of the Fellowship eating and smoking and exchanging stories and information. That bit where Pippin produces a spare pipe and Gimli calls him a "most noble hobbit" always makes me grin. Same goes for when Pippin tells what Gandalf's reappearance was like -- that time, he got called a "tom-fool of a Took" instead, but it still makes me grin.
And aren't the Huorns nifty? Especially how they can "wrap themselves in shadow" (p. 551) -- that would be such a useful power! They're also a bit scary, and of all the not-evil creatures in Middle Earth, I think I'd want to meet them the least.
Favorite Lines:
"One who cannot cast away a treasure at need is in fetters" (p. 550).
"It is difficult with these evil folk to know when they are in league, and when they are cheating one another" (p. 552).
"A punch from an Ent-fist crumples up iron like thin tin" (p. 553).
"'Wherever I have been, I am back,' he answered in the genuine Gandalf manner" (p. 556).
Possible Discussion Questions:
Pippin says that "nobody, not even Elves, will say much about Gandalf's movements when he is not there" (p. 556). Why do you suppose that is?
Aragorn says of Saruman that "[t]here are not many in Middle-earth that I should say were safe, if they were left alone to talk with him, even now when he has suffered a defeat. Gandalf, Elrond, and Galadriel, perhaps, now that his wickedness has been laid bare, but very few others" (p. 553). Do you think that's because they possess the three Elvish rings of power?
It's that time of year again! Kellie Falconer is once again hosting her delightful Literary Heroine Blog Party. I'm particularly excited for this event because, last year, this is the blog party that led me out of my blogging shell, as it were, and introduced me to so many blogs and bloggers that I'm so very fond of now. (Look! I used the word 'blog' or a variant four times in that sentence!)
I'm going to try to answer the questions differently where I can -- you can read my answers from last year here. And if you haven't joined the party already, but want to, click on the banner above to do so. Kellie is offering so many lovely prizes for the giveaway again!
Anyway, here are The Questions:
Introduce yourself! Divulge your life's vision, likes, dislikes, aspirations, or something completely random!
Well, I'm Hamlette. I'm 33, I'm a writer, I've been married for almost 12 years, and I'm a stay-at-home and home-schooling mommy. My son is six, one daughter is nearly 4, and my younger daughter is 2. My house is full of light, laughter, and Legos. Lots and lots of Legos. And books. And movies.
What, to you, forms the essence of a true heroine?
Hmm. I think a true heroine puts others' needs before her own, while not neglecting her own spiritual and physical well-being either. Jane Eyre and Anne Shirley come to mind as characters who achieved this. This is something I'm striving for all the time, to be honest.
Share (up to) four heroines of literature that you most admire and relate to.
I'm trying to be different from last year's answers, so I'm going to choose these four:
Lucy Honeychurch from A Room with a View by E.M. Forster. I just read this for the first (and second) time(s) last year, and I related so much with how she struggled with getting to know her own self, much less those around her. It reminded me a lot of myself in my first two years of college, figuring out was -- and wasn't.
Elizabeth Robinson from The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann Wyss. She's probably my ideal when it comes to resourceful and courageous mothering. She can cook anything, sew anything, care for animals, keep up the spirits of her entire family, and she rarely complains.
Mary Morstan Watson from The Sign of the Four and other Sherlock Holmes stories by A. Conan Doyle. Sure, she agrees to marry Dr. Watson after they've known each other for only a week or two, and that might seem hasty. But she is such a wonderfully supporting wife -- whenever Holmes summons Watson to go on an adventure, she says, "Of course you must go! Have fun and be careful!" and sends him off without even thinking of complaining.
Anne Elliot from Persuasion by Jane Austen. I think a lot of readers kind of shake their heads at Anne Elliot -- that silly girl who let herself be talked out of True Love. But whatever you may think of Lady Russell, she was basically Anne's adoptive mother, and Anne obeyed the Commandment to honor your father and mother when she broke off her engagement with Frederick Wentworth. Significantly, that's the only Commandment that has a promise attached to it: "it will be well with you, and you will live long on the earth." And sure enough, Anne's obedience to God's will over her own is eventually rewarded.
Five of your favorite historical novels?
I'm again going to assume that "historical novel" means novels set in a time prior to our present day. So to choose five I didn't mention last year, I'll say: Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery, Little Men by Louisa May Alcott, Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson, King of the Wind by Marguerite Henry, and The Hound of the Baskervilles by A. Conan Doyle.
Out of those five books, who is your favorite major character and why?
Sherlock Holmes. There are five characters who, over the course of my life, have become infinitely more dear to me than the word "favorite" can imply, and Sherlock Holmes is one of them. I'm talking the Sherlock Holmes of the canon here, by the way, not of any particular TV or movie version, though I do enjoy a lot of those too. I actually just finished re-reading the entire canon (the novels and stories by A. Conan Doyle, not other things written about the characters by other people) in twelve months, and my affection and esteem for this character has only grown. I think one of the things I like best about him is his dogged determination to find answers. He's concerned with higher concepts like justice and truth and right vs. wrong, but his focus is really on finding answers. Solving problems. I admire that level of focus, which I rarely can attain myself. Plus, he's one of those hard-on-the-outside-but-sweet-on-the-inside types that I can never resist.
Out of those five books, who is your favorite secondary character and why?
Alan Breck Stewart from Kidnapped. He'ssuch a fun character, with a quick temper and quicker wits, and again, lots of determination. He makes me laugh, he makes me want to hug him, and he almost makes me cry sometimes. Plus, he's based on an actual person of the same name.
If you were to plan out your dream vacation, where would you travel to - and what would you plan to do there?
This year, I pick going to England and visiting all sorts of places connected to my favorite books. I'd find that statue of Sherlock Holmes near Baker Street, visit the Shakespeare stuff in Stratford-on-Avon, attend a play at the Globe, visit the Jane Austen house, stop by Tolkien's grave... I would probably need a year.
What is your favorite time period and culture to read about?
I love the WWII era, all the various cultures involved. Some of my favorite books that take place during that time included The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows, A Memory Between Us by Sarah Sundin, and Catch-22 by Joseph Heller.
You have been invited to perform at the local charity concert. Singing, comedy, recitation - what is your act comprised of?
This year, I'll get some of my college friends back together and perform another Monty Python comedy sketch like we did our freshman year. We performed "Buying a Bed" that time, but I think the one about the penguins on the TV set might be awesome too.
If you were to attend a party where each guest was to portray a heroine of literature, who would you select to represent?
I chose Anne of Green Gables last year, so this year I'll say Jane Eyre. I'm fairly plain, and I could make my husband dress up as Rochester :-D
What are your sentiments on the subject of chocolate?
Favorite author(s)?
I'm going to limit this to ten of the authors I've read in the past year this time. So I'll say Raymond Chandler, Laurie R. King, Ernest Hemingway, Rex Stout, Jane Austen, Arthur Conan Doyle, J.R.R. Tolkien, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jan Burke, and Amanda Grange.
Besides essentials, what would you take on a visiting voyage to a foreign land?
All my cameras, plenty of paper and pens, and books.
In which century were most of the books you read written?
Twentieth.
In your opinion, the ultimate hero in literature is…
Helpful and kind. You want one specific person? I'll go with Henry Tilney this year.
Describe your ideal dwelling place.
Our house, Tir Asleen. Though if it had built-in bookshelves in every single room, it would be even more ideal.
Sum up your fashion style in a short sentence.
If it's not comfortable, I won't wear it.
Have you ever wanted to change a character’s name?
Only while reading Dickens.
In your opinion, the most dastardly villain of all literature is...
Well, "dastardly" to me connotes tricksy and conniving, mean and evil and low-down, so I'm going to go with Rebecca de Winter from Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca.
Three favorite Non-fiction books?
Three different from last year: On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King, I Never Had it Made by Jackie Robinson, and John Gielgud Directs Richard Burton in Hamlet by Richard L. Sterne.
Your duties met for the day, how would you choose to spend a carefree summer afternoon?
Sitting outside Starbucks with a Mocha Light Frappucino, working on my novel.
Create a verbal sketch of your dream hat - in such a way as will best portray your true character.
A cowboy hat of indistinct color, well-worn and sweat-stained, that fits like I've worn it for years.
Share the most significant event(s) that have marked your life in the past year.
My grandma died last summer, at the age of 94. She was a lovely Christian lady, filled with unexpectedly feisty humor and a seemingly endless reservoir of patience. We all miss her.
Share the Bible passage(s) that have been most inspiring to you recently.
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you." (John 14:27a)
Miss Laurie of Old-Fashioned Charm posted a variety of beautiful Valentine's Day cards here, and I'm sharing one with you. I hope you can enjoy today with someone you love, whether it's a romantic, familial, or friendship-based love.
