lory_enterenchanted's Reviews (582)

After Beverly Cleary's autobiographies, I had to read this, her first book. The storytelling holds up today, even if the circumstances of the children's lives make it dated. Henry is an immediately believable, endearing character, with conflicts and crises that are both relatable and amusing. Each of the 6 short episodes is simply but engagingly told - perfect for an early reader. There is no moralizing, no patronizing of children or suggesting their concerns are less important than adults'. Interesting to consider that this was all so unusual at the time of writing, that Henry and his author caused quite a revolution in books for children. Cleary surely wrote better books, but this was the first and it's still a fine achievement.

For some reason I just devoured this autobiography. Cleary's brief description at the end of how she finally finished her first book, after years of aspiring to be a writer, was interesting, with all the details she pulled from her life but changed, and the suggestions from an editor that shaped the final version. One can also feel reassured knowing that a woman who barely scraped through university with a D grade on her comprehensive exam can become a famous author! As a former English major, I had to laugh at her determined avoidance of Milton and her helplessness when confronted by a question like "Describe how English literature was affected by history," never having really studied history.

There is lots about scrimping and saving money during the Depression, but no tone of complaint. It is good to remember how hard it was for people at that time, and to admire their courage and resourcefulness. The resilience of human beings is amazing.

The resistance of Cleary's parents to her marriage to a wonderful man who happened to be Catholic was terribly sad; their relationship continued to be a troubled one through this volume, and in the end she just had to cut loose and make her own life. Refusing to buy her eyeglasses, and shaming her for the amount of money her college education cost them, was just cruel. Again, Cleary does not complain, but it's clear that she was deeply hurt and confused by such unloving gestures. She must have created the warm, connected families in her books that she lacked in her own, showing how often writers write out of what they wish for, not only what they know.

It's been years since I read any of Beverly Cleary's books, but something prompted me to pick this up (probably a list of books by authors who died last year). It was wonderful! Now I want to revisit the Ramona books, which seem to have a lot of Beverly in them. Her troubled relationship with her mother was sad but interesting to read about, something that she seemingly kept out of her children's books.

Reviews and more on my blog: Entering the Enchanted Castle

Another comfort reread from Milford. I think the reviews that complain this one is more of the same are a bit unfair -- a lot of the same elements from GGH appear, but there is a subtle change and growth in Milo that Milford aptly portrays through his creating a new role-playing character. The details about the latter were a little unbelievable, but maybe kids who are really into RPG do imagine themselves into the part so thoroughly? Anyway, in the context of the story I was fine with it. 

Marzana was an intriguing character who could have played more of a role. It's good that she got her own book (The Thief Knot) and I hope we'll still see more of her, maybe together with Milo. I also enjoyed the lore and tradition around the Waits.

I'm going to stop now with Milford as I don't feel in the mood for the darker ones I have not yet read, The Boneshaker and The Broken Lands -- but I'll get to them eventually.

Reviews and more on my blog: Entering the Enchanted Castle

And I went back to the first Kate Milford I read, to remind myself of how The Raconteur's Commonplace Book was related to it. It was fun to discover again the snippets included, impressively worked into a complete story collection - slash - novel in the RCB. I assume they were not complete stories at the time GGH was written!

The book is most enjoyable for its atmosphere and characters; the mystery element is mild. I want the Pines for my innkeepers, they are so solicitous it would be like having a second family. Milo is a lucky boy but his mixed feelings about his ancestry and birth parents are understandable. I like how he uses "role playing" to help him break free of his mental limitations.

Reviews and more on my blog: Entering the Enchanted Castle

I've known of The Color Purple for so long but never read it. The new Folio Society edition finally pushed me into reading it, and I'm so glad I did. This is a beautiful novel about love and human connection and the wonder that is the heart of all true religion, as well as the immutable reality of suffering. Alice Walker describes herself as a "medium" for her characters, and indeed they seem so real that it's hard to think of this as fiction. 

"I remember one time you said your life made you feel so ashamed you couldn't even talk about it to God, you had to write it, bad as you thought your writing was. Well, now I know what you meant. And whether God will read letters or no, I know you will go on writing them; which is guidance enough for me. Anyway, when I don't write to you I feel as bad as I do when I don't pray, locked up in myself and choking on my own heart."

I'm going on a Kate Milford binge after reading The Raconteur's Commonplace Book and needing more background. TLHF was a welcome return to Lucy and Liao, although I thought it was not as successful as Bluecrowne - more muddled and unfocused. The quest for a mysterious object that nobody can really describe or define was not convincing. How on earth could the questers latch onto those particular objects from the cryptic descriptions? I know Nagspeake is not really our regular earth, but still. There were some missing steps, which is unfortunate because usually Milford is careful about making her magic systems coherent.

The romance element was also totally unnecessary and felt tacked-on. Not one of the strongest in the series, although it was fun to visit some new corners of Nagspeake.

I read this to follow up The Raconteur's Commonplace Book, and it gave more information about some of the characters that helped me make sense of that one. (Some info may also be in Greenglass House that I have forgotten.) This was satisfying, plus it was an exciting and heartwarming book on its own. Milford does an impressive job detailing forms of magic -- time walking, firestarting -- that have their own logic and their own consequences, and are not just waving wands and saying Latin words. Her imaginary world, even with its touches of whimsy, feels increasingly solid to me, as if it is indeed as real a place as she asserts. I'm tempted to go on a Milford binge now and put more of the pieces together.

I finally made it through this! I did not always find it easy going, and I know I did not understand everything, while there are other points I might disagree with if I felt more qualified -- but overall I learned a lot and I'm glad I did. I was struck especially by the reasoning behind why learning a language is only possible in early childhood (it takes up a lot of energy and since in most of evolution humans only needed to learn one language, it was more evolutionarily favorable to divert those forces once it has been learned); and why our left brain controls the right side of our body (a 180 degree twist of the head at some point in evolution, during the change from crawling creatures whose spine is on the ground and in "front" to walking creatures with the spine in back and soft parts in front.)

I have enjoyed all the "Greenglass House" books that I've read so far. The hook of this one is that it's the book Milo is reading in the first GGH book; at first it seems a loose connection of travelers' tales, but then it gains complexity as we discover more about the tellers through and between their tales. The weaving together of an overall narrative out of disparate materials is nicely done, although I didn't understand some references and wonder if they come from other works (am I supposed to know who Maisie is?)