It's been a few years since I read a new-to-me Alistair MacLean book. I really enjoy his writing -- it's streamlined and fast-paced, and I never figure out his plot twists ahead of time. Exactly what I like in a spy novel!
In The Black Shrike, Agents Bentall and Hopeman get sent to Australia to find a bunch of very important scientists and their wives who have gone missing. Bentall and Hopeman never reach Australia, and they spend the rest of the book pretending they're married and trying to figure out what's really happening on a mysterious island.
As MacLean books go, this was not in my top five, but I liked it quite well. Bentall had a self-deprecating sense of humor that amused me -- he was always berating himself for screwing things up that he didn't really, and so on. The suspense was top-notch, the heroics were appropriately thrilling, and the plot twists caught me off-guard as they should.
Particularly Good Bits:
I tried out my carefree laugh to see how it went, but it didn't, it sounded so hollow and unconvincing that it lowered even my morale (p. 27).
I was still giving my impression of one of the statues on Easter Island, carved from stone and badly battered (p. 158).
If This Was a Movie, I Would Rate It: PG-13 for violence and suspense.
Awww. This chapter made me tear up a couple times. Beth is so sweet! And so is Mr. Laurence, once you get past his crusty exterior. I absolutely love that he listens to her play his piano, but secretly. And Laurie stands guard in the hallway so she won't even be bothered by servants -- so completely wonderful! My margins are full of little hearts and smiley faces there.
Not much else to say, actually. We're continuing the whole Pilgrim's Progress theme, each girl getting their turn, which is a fun way to structure this early part of the novel. I think one of the reasons I was disappointed with Pilgrim's Progress when I read it was that this book made it sound way more interesting than I found it to be.
Favorite Lines:
How blithely she sang that evening, and how they all laughed at her because she woke Amy in the night by playing the piano on her face in her sleep (p. 54).
...love casts out fear, and gratitude can conquer pride (p. 57).
Possible Discussion Question: It says that at first Mr. Laurence was too gruff and loud around Beth and scared her away because he was not "aware of her infirmity" (p. 53). What do you think Alcott means by "infirmity" here?
Just a quick note to let you know that Reading in the Dark is giving away four books right now. Go here to learn more!
Ahh, intrepid Jo, bearding the lion in his den, as it were. I love that she likes to do "daring things" and decides actually visiting one of their neighbors is one of them. Off she goes to comfort a sick and bored Laurie, and winds up making friends with his grandfather too.
I didn't realize that the Marches must have moved into their house not awfully long ago. But Jo tells Laurie, "We haven't been here a great while, you know, but we have got acquainted with all our neighbors but you" (p. 45). Do you suppose they moved in when their father went to war? Or when he loaned money to a friend, who lost it? I kind of always assumed they'd lived there for always, but not so!
And so cool that Grandfather Laurence was once friends with Jo's grandfather.
Oh, if you were wondering, like I was, what a "blanc mange" is, it seems to be a kind of cross between Jell-o and vanilla pudding. Also, a "Sleepy Hollow chair" seems to be a really deep easy chair with a back that slants, like this.
Favorite Lines:
"I like adventures, and I'm going to find some" (p. 41).
"It's dull as tombs up here" (p. 42).
"...children should be children as long as they can" (p. 51).
Possible Discussion Question: At first, Laurie and Jo "got to talking about books, and to Jo's delight, she found that Laurie loved them as well as she did, and had read even more than herself," but a bit later, when Jo goes into raptures about his grandfather's library, Laurie says, "A fellow can't live on books" (p. 46). What do you think this says about their similarities and differences?
A bit of a grim title for this one, huh? And not at all subtle about what a big theme of the book is, either! Burdens, and how we bear them, is obviously a major focus of this book.
Speaking of lack of subtlety... Alcott is not afraid to impart lessons to her audience in obvious ways, is she? Like Jo, I enjoy stories that have a morals, "if they are real and not too preachy" (p. 40). What do you think of Alcott's lessons and morals in this book? Do you find them too preachy? That's our Discussion Question for the day.
In the introduction to my copy, there's a mention of the fact that while Alcott does dispense a lot of advice and wisdom, that was pretty usual for children's books in her day. What set Little Women apart from its counterparts was the fact that these girls are not perfect, but struggle to become better people. A lot more realistic (and, to my mind, inspiring) than an already-perfect person like, say, Little Lord Fauntleroy.
Meanwhile, the girls have all gone off to do their daily duties. I feel sorriest for Meg, having to deal with a house full of spoiled brats all day. Amy has to go to school with people who look down on her, which is not pleasant either. I think I'd like to have Jo or Beth's places best -- either read someone to sleep and then curl up in their library, or just stay home and be useful. I think Jo and Aunt March are actually a lot alike, don't you? Both obstinate and peppery and fond of adventure stories.
The whole "works righteousness" thing gets emphasized again here too. First Beth tells herself, "I know I'll get my music some time, if I'm good" (p. 37), and at the end of the chapter, the girls discuss their blessings and "try to deserve them, lest they should be taken away entirely, instead of increased" (p. 40).
Favorite Lines:
"I like good strong words that mean something" (p. 33).
Hurrah! Laurie's here at last! I'm very fond of Laurie, though I have to admit I'm not entirely sure why. Hmm. Maybe because when I was very young, my best friend was a boy, and we had lots of capital adventures together until I was 8 and he was 10 and he decided girls were icky. Laurie never goes through that stage, so I suppose I like him especially much because he remains friends with the March girls.
One of the themes I've noticed in the book so far is what happens when you pretend to be someone or something you aren't. In this chapter, Jo burns Meg's hair while trying to curl it for the holiday party, and Meg says, "Serves me right for trying to be fine." A couple of paragraphs later, Alcott wryly observes, "dear me, let us be elegant or die" (p. 24). Jo had earlier promised Meg, "I'll be as prim as I can and not get into any scrapes if I can help it" (p. 23) at the party, but when she meets Laurie, it's Jo being her usual self that overcomes his shyness, "for Jo's gentlemanly demeanor amused and set him at his ease, and Jo was her merry self again" (p. 27).
Favorite Lines:
Jo, who didn't care much for girls or girlish gossip, stood about, with her back carefully against the wall, and felt as much out of place as a colt in a flower garden (p. 25).
Possible Discussion Questions:
Have you noticed any other themes so far in these early chapters?
A teen named Cori goes on a mission trip to Indonesia with a bunch of other teens. She goes mostly because she broke up with her boyfriend and wants to get away for a while, not because she's committed to spreading the Gospel. The mission team builds a church, puts on puppet shows for local children, and bonds with their host family. And I spent the first 80 pages kind of bored. I kept reading because Kara had written a glowing review of it, and I figured it had to get more interesting. But it took me a week to get through those first 80 pages. And then three days to get through the next 300.
Suddenly, the book kicked into high gear. All the bad things that Cori had kept assuring us were going to happen finally happened. By now you probably know that I am not a big fan of foreshadowing, and one of the reasons I had a hard time getting myself to read this book for the first 80 pages was that so much time got spent warning readers that Something Bad Is Going to Happen. I don't want you to tell me that, I want you to show me the bad thing happening. I had a similar issue with Peace Like a River, which also got really good once it dispensed with all the throat-clearing.
While I didn't love this book, I did like it. I'm drawn to survival stories where people have to make do with what they can find -- it's why I love stranded-on-a-deserted-island stories like Robinson Crusoe and The Black Stallion and Lost. So I very much enjoyed the bulk of this book, and I'm glad I stuck with it.
Particularly Good Bits:
No matter which way I looked, all I saw were pale trunks poking up like giant exclamation marks, forcefully punctuating the end of every thought. You are lost! It's just you and the trees! You'll never make it out! (p. 154).
If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It: A hard PG-13 for some graphic violence and bloodshed, life-threatening situations, and mild romantic content.
