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classics
Book Review: A Stranger at Green Knowe
A Stranger at Green Knowe by L.M. Boston
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
In this story, a gorilla escapes from the zoo and hides in the thicket behind Green Knowe, where Ping befriends and hides him.
This is not my favorite of the Green Knowe books, because I’m very “meh” about monkey stories, especially when monkeys are constantly being compared to men. Monkeys, gorillas, or any other primate are NOT like men. Seriously? They are animals. They work on instinct. That’s pretty much it. Are they interesting and majestic? Yes, sure! But it gets so annoying after the first 100 pages to constantly hear how the gorilla’s expression was just SO human. bleh.
But of course, I adore the old house of Green Knowe, and the delightful grandmother Mrs. Oldknow, and the enigmatic Ping! Continue reading
Book Review: The Stones of Green Knowe
The Stones of Green Knowe by L.M. Boston
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
There is nothing like Boston’s writing! She can take a simple story, and make it full of action and meaning. She can introduce a single character, and immediately you are completely invested in this person’s world.
In this book, the magical stories of Green Knowe are told from the perspective of Roger d’Oldknow, whose father is building the new manor house of Green Knowe in the times of the Normans and Saxons. Roger is worried that the house he loves won’t last or stand the test of time, but when he is whisked into the future, he sees the house in all its beauty and his descendants living there in peace. Continue reading
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Book Review: Basil
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I do adore Wilkie Collins’ writing, but this sad Gothic tale was seriously depressing from start to finish. In this story, the main character Basil sees a young woman in the street, and instantly falls in love with her. He meets her briefly, and learns that her name is Margaret. Later he approaches her father, and the two are married within a couple of weeks with the proviso that Margaret remain living with her family until her 18th birthday. So Basil is married in name only and can only visit Margaret with her mother as a chaperone. During this time, Basil meets Mr. Mannion, a family friend of his in-laws, but the man is so strange and mysterious that Basil can’t decide if Mannion is friend or foe.
There’s horror and betrayal and violence, insanity and disease and death; Gothic literature at its finest! Continue reading
Goodreads Guru
Book Review: Shades of Grey
Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Gah! The Ending! What?!? My brain can’t stand it, and my heart is limping along all hurt and crushed and stuff. Dis book!
Okay, let me start from the top. This is the story of a dystopian future world where most people can only see one color or some not any color at all. The Greys are looked down on and oppressed by the Colorgentsia, and everyone’s place in society is determined by the percentage of color they can see.
There’s definitely a “1984-Big-Brother” vibe going on with the government controlling every aspect of the citizen’s lives.
In the middle of it all is Eddie, a high-color Red with a bright future, until he meets and instantly falls in love with a Grey named Jane. Jane is involved with some very deep revolutionary stuff, and Eddie gets dragged into it all, somewhat against his will, but mostly because he’s too good-hearted, kind, and morally upright to cheat and play the system like everyone else does. Continue reading
Luminous Libro 