lory_enterenchanted's Reviews (582)

Thoughtful and poignant, a lovely little book. 

Unlike some others I don’t find Fanny mousy or dull, but I wish Austen would have given us more of her voice. She is helpless and tender, but not weak. How great it would be to have a scene with her and Henry that shows why he fell in love with her - as it is it seems wildly out of character. 

Around Fanny swirls  the drama of deception and false values, which she sees through effortlessly- making her more of a spectator than a protagonist. The potentially interesting transformations actually belong to the men, Henry and Edmund, but are not quite successful; their changes of heart are too sudden and we’re not privy to their inner lives.  Still, I’m impressed by what Austen was trying to do, even if it didn’t quite work. 

Plodding exposition - show don’t tell ! - and when it came to the demons, I just couldn’t care. Pure evil is BORING. 

A reread for me. Clarke's writing is delightful - with rich associations to folklore and literature, these slightly twisted tales are on the hopeful side of dark, just the way I like it. Will be most enjoyable for those who have already read Strange and Norrell and want more in the same vein, but they could also lead in the other direction. 

Not as groundbreaking and revelatory as I'd expected from a high recommendation from my spiritual director, but it had some useful ideas and exercises. 

It had good materials - the Prague setting, an intriguing situation, musings on the Cold War and capitalism, but it just sort of all fizzled out. 

On one level, a wonderfully imagined tale of "how to be a cat," written with a cat-lover's fondly observant eye for feline characteristics. On another level, a drama about friendship, loyalty, and personal growth, with both Peter and Jennie recovering from the way they have been or feel themselves to be "the abandoned", finding strength through their bond with each other. 

There are humorous and touching and brutal moments, all woven together skillfully; the pace never lets up. Some dated gender expectations do show up at times, but in general Peter and Jennie are well-rounded characters; both of them demonstrate sensitivity and compassion as well as bravery and daring.

The part where Peter was forced to battle another he-cat for his mate was the only one that did not ring quite true to me; could the two of them not just have run away to another part of the city, if he didn't want to fight? Of course, I'm complaining about logic in a story where a boy has inexplicably turned into a cat, and where cats talk in English to each other, but compared to the otherwise quite impeccable internal logic, this didn't make sense.

A lot of children's books I try to read nowadays just offer a series of hair-raising adventures, but are empty at heart, or have some kind of "learning" or "lesson" grafted on. With this one, the learning unfolds naturally along with the adventure, and the heart keeps beating throughout. The ending is almost mystical, with Jennie becoming somehow part of Peter ... softening what would otherwise be a tragic separation. Quite special.

More of Willson's reminiscences, from before The Music Man ... rated down slightly because of frequent name-dropping of people now totally unknown to me. 

For those who love and want more of The Music Man, this account of its development delivers -- with Willson's quirky voice telling a quite impressive story of years of work by Willson, his wife, and others who believed in this little show. 

The details of how some now-iconic numbers came to be are fascinating. It's hard to imagine now that the opening, for example, with a train stopping and starting up again, conveyed only by the words and movements of the actors, was not planned exactly so ... but it wasn't, and Willson demonstrates that process of how a number that doesn't work is altered, again and again, without being quite right, until some genius suggestion makes it burst to life. 

It takes patience and persistence and faith, and I find it inspiring to read about a group of humans being able to pull such a crazy project to its conclusion, basically out of love, rather than greed for profit. Although backers might think they have a sure thing, there's no such assurance up until opening night and beyond.

Willson encapsulates what fascinates me about such accounts of stage production when he describes how everyone pulled together when the star Robert Preston went down with strained vocal chords and his understudy, Larry Douglas, had to step in. This was at a time when the show was still being changed every day and it was hard enough for those actively practicing to keep track. 

"Well, Larry went on. That night we had the great privilege of seeing the heart of Show Business and the pulsebeat that makes it life and death to those smitten with it -- not the explanation as to why they go through what they go through to get to be part of it -- I don't know any explanation for that -- but the amazing raw revealment of what a real pro can do on a stage when he has to, and the strength that rises up in his fellow performers to carry him through. Every member of the company followed Larry's lines and lyrics along to himself in every scene, at the risk of going up, just to be ready to throw a word or cue. There were prompters in every portal -- not only the stage managers but the light men, the stagehands and carpenters. The children were there, too, helping the prop men with Larry's props -- the wig handlers and wardrobe ladies were up from the basement helping the dresser with his changes -- no one getting in any one's way, a feat in itself, a bit loving, zealous human machine taking care of one of its own, and when Larry came out for the final "76 Trombones" march-on the house exploded."

This is what humans can do when we care about creating something wonderful for its own sake and support each other to do our job, no matter how big or small. When one of us is vulnerable, instead of shunning or excluding him, we can redouble our efforts to enable him to perform at his best. 

I did read most of it but then skipped to the end. Implausible and morally muddled. The sudden shacking up of mc with detective with no prelude or explanation was weird and it continued downhill from there. The publishing background seemed promising but also unrealistic - a book manuscript going into instant production with NO editing? What?