Okay, so we need to discuss the word "fey" for a minute. I always thought it meant that you had gone a bit... not crazy, but sort of not-quite-here or acting oddly. Kind of high on fairy dust, I guess. But here Eowyn describes Aragorn as being fey "like one whom the Dead call" (p. 780). So I Googled "fey" and discovered here that although it can mean "being in unnaturally high spirits," it can also mean "marked by an apprehension of death or calamity." Huh.
Anyway, isn't Merry great in this chapter? He starts out feeling oppressed by all the mountains and "long[ing] to shut out the immensity in a quiet room by a fire" (p. 774). He's sad because his friends "have all gone to some doom" (p. 779), and I get kind of melancholy myself over the course of this chapter. But he doesn't let that sadness get him down -- he refuses to be left behind, and when Theoden says he can't ride to war with the Rohirrim, he says, "It is a long way to run; but run I shall, if I cannot ride, even if I wear my feet off and arrive weeks too late" (p. 784). Sad and lonely, but undaunted. Dear Merry.
Favorite Lines:
Now all roads were running together to the East to meet the coming of war and the onset of the Shadow (p. 774).
Possible Discussion Questions:
Theoden says, "In the morning counsels are best, and night changes many thoughts" (p. 783). Do you like to sleep on decisions? Or once you've made up your mind, does the passing of a night or two not change your decisions?
Book reviews by a Christian writer/wife/mother
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Monday, April 28, 2014
"Jimmy Stewart and His Poems" by Jimmy Stewart
Anyway, this is a sweet, slim volume, with about as much text devoted to Stewart's reminiscences of how he came to write each poem as there is to the poems themselves. There are only four, and they are by turns humorous and poignant. The final poem, written after the loss of his beloved dog Beau, moved me to tears.
If you're like me and you've seen oodles of Stewart's movies, you can probably hear his voice reading these poems and musings. You might think this is a sort of stunt, an elder actor bored and finding a new way to get his name back in circulation, but I don't think that's the case. Stewart writes very well, with the same dry, understated delivery that graced his movie acting. His poems rhyme, but never devolve into sing-song or predictability. I'm pleased to add this to my poetry collection.
If This Was a Movie, I Would Rate It: PG for an unexpected un-genteel word or two.
Friday, April 25, 2014
LOTR Read-Along: The Passing of the Grey Company (ROTK Ch. 2)
I love when Halbarad and the other Dunedain Rangers arrive -- it's such a bright spot of joy for Aragorn amidst all this Very Important Stuff that's been going on. And it's so cool that Elrond's sons, Elladan and Elrohir, come too. They're quiet, but intriguing. And have grey eyes. You knew I was going to mention that, of course. And I did.
Interestingly, Aragorn says that the Men of the Mountains "had worshipped Sauron in the Dark Years" (p. 765). As far as I can remember, that's the only time the word "worship" gets used in this whole trilogy. They talk about power, they talk about Sauron having control of places and people, but I do not recall any other place where someone is said to have worshiped him. Hmm.
Poor Eowyn. She yearns for Aragorn so much, and he keeps trying to tell her that his heart is not available. He even tells her, "Were I go to where my heart dwells, far in the North I would now be wandering in the fair valley of Rivendell" (p. 766). And yet, she still keeps hoping. She really makes me so very sad -- I'm glad a happy ending awaits her! Still, maybe Aragorn could have been a little more direct and said, "I'm in love with someone else." Stopped paying her compliments like, "I walked in this land ere you were born to grace it" (p. 766).
But moving right along, there's one thing about the whole Paths of the Dead section that has always bugged me. Legolas says he will go with Aragorn because he "[does] not fear the Dead" (p. 764). And when they reach the Dark Door, it says "there was not a heart among them that did not quail, unless it were the heart of Legolas of the Elves, for whom the ghosts of Men have no terror" (p. 769). But what about Elladan and Elrohir? They're Elves too! Has Tolkien totally forgotten about them for a while? I kind of feel like he has, because a few paragraphs later, Gimli says, "Here is a thing unheard of... An Elf will go underground and a Dwarf dare not!" (p. 769). Shouldn't he say, "Three elves will go underground" instead? And then at the end of the chapter, it says, "No other mortal Men could have endured it, none but the Dunedain of the North, and with them Gimli the Dwarf and Legolas of the Elves" (p. 772). AND Elrohir and Elladan! (I actually have that written in my copy.) Is he just lumping them in with the Dunedain? I know Elrond is Half-Elven, but wasn't his wife Elvish? So then his kids are... three-quarters Elven? Legolas does remark earlier that "they are fair and gallant as Elven-lords" (p. 759) -- does that mean they're not Elven-lords? I am so confused. That's our Possible Discussion Question for this chapter: what is going on here????
One last thing: I so sympathize with Gimli. As they walk the Paths of the Dead, "he was ever hindmost, pursued by a groping horror that seemed always just about to seize him" (p. 770). That is exactly what chases me up the stairs if I have to be the last one going to bed at night.
Favorite Lines:
"He was tall, a dark standing shadow" (p. 757).
More than ever he missed the unquenchable cheerfulness of Pippin (p. 762).
And she answered: "All your words are but to say: you are a woman, and your part is in the house. But when the men have died in battle and honour, you have leave to be burned in the house, for the men will need it no more. But I am of the House of Eorl and not a serving-woman. I can ride and wield blade, and I do not fear either pain or death" (p. 767).
Interestingly, Aragorn says that the Men of the Mountains "had worshipped Sauron in the Dark Years" (p. 765). As far as I can remember, that's the only time the word "worship" gets used in this whole trilogy. They talk about power, they talk about Sauron having control of places and people, but I do not recall any other place where someone is said to have worshiped him. Hmm.
Poor Eowyn. She yearns for Aragorn so much, and he keeps trying to tell her that his heart is not available. He even tells her, "Were I go to where my heart dwells, far in the North I would now be wandering in the fair valley of Rivendell" (p. 766). And yet, she still keeps hoping. She really makes me so very sad -- I'm glad a happy ending awaits her! Still, maybe Aragorn could have been a little more direct and said, "I'm in love with someone else." Stopped paying her compliments like, "I walked in this land ere you were born to grace it" (p. 766).
But moving right along, there's one thing about the whole Paths of the Dead section that has always bugged me. Legolas says he will go with Aragorn because he "[does] not fear the Dead" (p. 764). And when they reach the Dark Door, it says "there was not a heart among them that did not quail, unless it were the heart of Legolas of the Elves, for whom the ghosts of Men have no terror" (p. 769). But what about Elladan and Elrohir? They're Elves too! Has Tolkien totally forgotten about them for a while? I kind of feel like he has, because a few paragraphs later, Gimli says, "Here is a thing unheard of... An Elf will go underground and a Dwarf dare not!" (p. 769). Shouldn't he say, "Three elves will go underground" instead? And then at the end of the chapter, it says, "No other mortal Men could have endured it, none but the Dunedain of the North, and with them Gimli the Dwarf and Legolas of the Elves" (p. 772). AND Elrohir and Elladan! (I actually have that written in my copy.) Is he just lumping them in with the Dunedain? I know Elrond is Half-Elven, but wasn't his wife Elvish? So then his kids are... three-quarters Elven? Legolas does remark earlier that "they are fair and gallant as Elven-lords" (p. 759) -- does that mean they're not Elven-lords? I am so confused. That's our Possible Discussion Question for this chapter: what is going on here????
One last thing: I so sympathize with Gimli. As they walk the Paths of the Dead, "he was ever hindmost, pursued by a groping horror that seemed always just about to seize him" (p. 770). That is exactly what chases me up the stairs if I have to be the last one going to bed at night.
Favorite Lines:
"He was tall, a dark standing shadow" (p. 757).
More than ever he missed the unquenchable cheerfulness of Pippin (p. 762).
And she answered: "All your words are but to say: you are a woman, and your part is in the house. But when the men have died in battle and honour, you have leave to be burned in the house, for the men will need it no more. But I am of the House of Eorl and not a serving-woman. I can ride and wield blade, and I do not fear either pain or death" (p. 767).
Monday, April 21, 2014
LOTR Read-Along: Minas Tirith (ROTK Ch. 1)
Time to get back to Middle Earth! Now that Easter is over, with all its attendant busy-ness, I'm ready at last for The Return of the King. Which seems very fitting, now that I think of it, since Easter is all about King Jesus returning from the dead. Randomly great timing!
Here we are at Minas Tirith at last. This chapter makes me a little melancholy, first because it should be Boromir returning to aid the city he loves, and second because Minas Tirith is a very sad place. It's half empty, even before the women and children leave, a withering place filled with long grief.
Anyway, we get to learn about about one of my favorite minor characters: Prince Imrahil of Dol Amroth! Tolkien says that his folk are "tall men and proud with sea-grey eyes" (p. 734). How sea-grey eyes are different from just grey eyes is beyond me, but maybe they're got a bit of blue to them? My husband and my 2-year-old have blue-grey eyes, so maybe they're descendants of the people of Belfalas :-D Later on in the chapter, Prince Imrahil arrives, and we also learn he's a kinsman of Denethor. In fact, if I recall correctly, he had a claim to the stewardship of Gondor if Denethor and both his sons had fallen.
But getting back to Boromir. Gandalf says that Denethor "loved him greatly: too much perhaps; and the more so because they were unlike" (p. 737). That's such a relief to me! Denethor is this dreadful, lurking spider sort of person and I really can't stand him, so I'm very relieved that we get an explicit report here that Boromir was unlike him. Also, I just this minute realized that meant that, who knows, Gandalf may have met up with Boromir before! He's been to Minas Tirith before, obviously, and so... this is just my fanfic-writer self flaring up and getting all pleased at imagining a brief encounter between the two, possibly so inconsequential Boromir doesn't even remember it later, but that gave Gandalf insight into his character even before he "journeyed far with him and learned much of his mood" (p. 738).
We get some cool insight into Gandalf and his purpose in Middle Earth here too. He tells Denethor that "the rule of no realm is mine, neither of Gondor nor any other, great or small. But all worthy things that are in peril as the world now stands, those are my care. And for my part, I shall not wholly fail of my task, though Gondor should perish, if anything passes through this night that can still grow fair or bear fruit and flower again in days to come. For I also am a steward" (p. 742). I love that idea of Gandalf as the steward and caretaker of all Middle Earth.
Also, I think my favorite moment in this book is when Gandalf laughs suddenly, and Pippin looks up at him and sees that "under all there was a great joy: a fountain of mirth enough to set a kingdom laughing, were it to gush forth" (p. 742). I think that might be the moment where Gandalf first became one of my favorites. I love happy people, being overall quite cheerful myself, and that joy lurking under his solemnity is so delightful.
And here at last is the answer to my question about Faramir's ability to "read" Gollum back in the last book! Gandalf says that "the blood of Westernesse runs nearly true" in both Denethor and Faramir, and that Denethor "has long sight. He can perceive, if he bends his will thither, much of what is passing in the minds of men" (p. 742-43). I assume since Faramir has an equal amount of Westernesse-ness with Denethor, he can do the same.
Goodness, this is getting long! And I haven't even mentioned Beregond and his splendid son Bergil. Such a meaty chapter! (And a long one.) I really like Bergil -- he's just about the only youngster in this book, isn't he? And he's such a cheerful kid. I'd like to hang out with him myself.
Favorite Lines:
"Courage will now be your best defence against the storm that is at hand -- that and such hope as I bring" (p. 733).
"If you have walked all these days with closed ears and mind asleep, wake up now!" (p. 737).
"The Darkness has begun. There will be no dawn" (p. 755).
Possible Discussion Questions:
When Gandalf and Pippin are still on their way to Minas Tirith, "Shadowfax paused in his stride, slowing to a walk, and then he lifted up his head and neighed. And out of the darkness the answering neigh of other horses came; and presently the thudding of hoofs was heard, and three riders swept up and passed like flying ghosts int he moon and vanished into the West" (p. 732-33). What is that all about? Who are those three riders? What and who am I forgetting here?
Here we are at Minas Tirith at last. This chapter makes me a little melancholy, first because it should be Boromir returning to aid the city he loves, and second because Minas Tirith is a very sad place. It's half empty, even before the women and children leave, a withering place filled with long grief.
Anyway, we get to learn about about one of my favorite minor characters: Prince Imrahil of Dol Amroth! Tolkien says that his folk are "tall men and proud with sea-grey eyes" (p. 734). How sea-grey eyes are different from just grey eyes is beyond me, but maybe they're got a bit of blue to them? My husband and my 2-year-old have blue-grey eyes, so maybe they're descendants of the people of Belfalas :-D Later on in the chapter, Prince Imrahil arrives, and we also learn he's a kinsman of Denethor. In fact, if I recall correctly, he had a claim to the stewardship of Gondor if Denethor and both his sons had fallen.
But getting back to Boromir. Gandalf says that Denethor "loved him greatly: too much perhaps; and the more so because they were unlike" (p. 737). That's such a relief to me! Denethor is this dreadful, lurking spider sort of person and I really can't stand him, so I'm very relieved that we get an explicit report here that Boromir was unlike him. Also, I just this minute realized that meant that, who knows, Gandalf may have met up with Boromir before! He's been to Minas Tirith before, obviously, and so... this is just my fanfic-writer self flaring up and getting all pleased at imagining a brief encounter between the two, possibly so inconsequential Boromir doesn't even remember it later, but that gave Gandalf insight into his character even before he "journeyed far with him and learned much of his mood" (p. 738).
We get some cool insight into Gandalf and his purpose in Middle Earth here too. He tells Denethor that "the rule of no realm is mine, neither of Gondor nor any other, great or small. But all worthy things that are in peril as the world now stands, those are my care. And for my part, I shall not wholly fail of my task, though Gondor should perish, if anything passes through this night that can still grow fair or bear fruit and flower again in days to come. For I also am a steward" (p. 742). I love that idea of Gandalf as the steward and caretaker of all Middle Earth.
Also, I think my favorite moment in this book is when Gandalf laughs suddenly, and Pippin looks up at him and sees that "under all there was a great joy: a fountain of mirth enough to set a kingdom laughing, were it to gush forth" (p. 742). I think that might be the moment where Gandalf first became one of my favorites. I love happy people, being overall quite cheerful myself, and that joy lurking under his solemnity is so delightful.
And here at last is the answer to my question about Faramir's ability to "read" Gollum back in the last book! Gandalf says that "the blood of Westernesse runs nearly true" in both Denethor and Faramir, and that Denethor "has long sight. He can perceive, if he bends his will thither, much of what is passing in the minds of men" (p. 742-43). I assume since Faramir has an equal amount of Westernesse-ness with Denethor, he can do the same.
Goodness, this is getting long! And I haven't even mentioned Beregond and his splendid son Bergil. Such a meaty chapter! (And a long one.) I really like Bergil -- he's just about the only youngster in this book, isn't he? And he's such a cheerful kid. I'd like to hang out with him myself.
Favorite Lines:
"Courage will now be your best defence against the storm that is at hand -- that and such hope as I bring" (p. 733).
"If you have walked all these days with closed ears and mind asleep, wake up now!" (p. 737).
"The Darkness has begun. There will be no dawn" (p. 755).
Possible Discussion Questions:
When Gandalf and Pippin are still on their way to Minas Tirith, "Shadowfax paused in his stride, slowing to a walk, and then he lifted up his head and neighed. And out of the darkness the answering neigh of other horses came; and presently the thudding of hoofs was heard, and three riders swept up and passed like flying ghosts int he moon and vanished into the West" (p. 732-33). What is that all about? Who are those three riders? What and who am I forgetting here?
Thursday, April 17, 2014
"Edmund Bertram's Diary" by Amanda Grange
Oh well. This is a very nice book, if not one that I clasped to my bosom with exclamations of joy. And that's all I really expected: a nice retelling of Mansfield Park from Edmund's point of view. It's not Amanda Grange's fault that Edmund is an extremely dull person. She did her best with what she had to work with.
This is the sixth book I've read and reviewed for the Mount TBR Reading Challenge.
If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It: G. Very clean and proper.
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
We Have a Winner!
Congratulations, Heidi P, Lady of Anorien! You won the book of Tolkien Trivia! I'm emailing you right now to ask for your address.
Everyone else who entered -- better luck next time!
 |
| All yours, Heidi! |
Everyone else who entered -- better luck next time!
Monday, April 14, 2014
"Jane Austen's England" by Roy and Lesley Adkins
However, if you want to learn a whole lot about what life was like in upper, middle, and lower classes in England of that day, this would be an invaluable tool. If you happen to be writing a book set during that time, I would highly recommend it. And if you love discussing whether or not a movie adaptation of an Austen book gets all the minor details of hair, clothes, dancing, decorum, farming, etc. correct, you would probably learn a lot of useful stuff here. However, if you're hoping to learn more about things specifically mentioned in Jane Austen's books, this is not the book for you. Go read What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew instead.
This is a meticulously researched book, with exhaustive citations that I wish had been footnotes, but instead were all end notes. That meant I had to have a second bookmark so I could flip back constantly to see if there was any extra info included or if it was just a citation. But that's a minor quibble.
All in all, I think this was well-researched, if not always well-written. Parts of it nearly made me cry, especially descriptions of how horribly young children of the lowest classes could be treated, forced to work in coal mines, factories, as chimney climbers, etc. Horrifying. I'm so glad I live now instead of then!
In fact, that might be the best recommendation I can make for this book: that it's a must-read for those who read Jane Austen's books and watch movie adaptations of them and think that those characters lived in an elegant, refined, gentle, world that was in all ways superior to ours because life and people were just nicer back then. When, as this book shows, the truth is that even the rich lived in what we would now consider to be dirty and unsanitary conditions, wearing the same clothes over and over, bathing very seldom (if at all), and in many recorded cases, only changing their undergarments when they rotted. They often ate food we would now throw away because it's disgusting or dangerous, didn't understand the importance of not polluting drinking water with human waste, and received indifferent or downright destructive medical care, many dying young and often painfully. To quote Thomas Hobbes, life in Jane Austen's day was mainly "nasty, brutish, and short."
I am so, so glad I didn't live back then.
If This Was a Movie, I Would Rate It: PG-13 for discussing scary, gross, and sexual aspects of life.
This is my second book read and reviewed for the History Reading Challenge, and my fifth for the Mount TBR Challenge.
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