and so my final question
Mmm.
Read A Little Princess last night. This one I know I've never read before. Made me realise that my perceptions must have been totally skewed by some saccharine crap film version I'd seen. Because really, she's quite different in the book!
Is it a thing with Frances Hodgson Burnett? Because this is the second novel I've read that features a little girl with a rather fierce side to her very strong will. Another odd little girl even though Sara is far more sociable and 'good' compared to Mary Lennox. I'm sort of falling in love with Burnett because of this. Because Sara is such an intellectual, total bookworm with a quite familiar pagan spirituality. And even though she almost always does the right thing and could totally be interpreted as a saccharine little goody-two-shoes, Burnett always manages to hold back and keep her real, give her that edge of ferocity and enough inner turbulence to make me still like her. No Helen Burns, this. And man, that is so skilful on Burnett's part. Can't help but admire that.
I did remember there was an Indian aspect. And admittedly here I did bristle a bit at the use of the word 'Oriental' but can't blame Burnett for that. Those were, after all, the times. And oh man, did my back ever go up over the diamond mines. "Scuse the fuck out of me, those are not your bloody diamonds to take, you fucking Angrezi bastards!" Also, didn't particularly care for the extra 's' in Ram Dass' name. *quirks brow*
But again, she wrote him with a damned admirable respect and sensitivity. And she must have known someone fluent in Hindi because his speech patterns and syntax are almost word for word. I mean, I could almost translate it into Hindi as I read his dialogue. Bloody AWESOME, Frances Hodgson Burnett! I say 'almost' because my Hindi still isn't that great and of course Hindi to English translation necessitates the reorganisation of verbs. But still, wow. I could hear him. It was great.
I cried. I did. It was rather embarrassing. Cos the Aunt was wandering about and I was here on the blue couch, reading. She was yammering and I was tearing up towards the end. Cos damnit, it was so sad! With her father and his friend and the Large family and the little beggar girl by the bakery. *sobs* And I could totally see how the novel could be curdled and congealed into an absolute meringue to send someone into a diabetic coma. Gah. Burnett so doesn't. At least I think she doesn't. Sara reacts with such control to most things that it makes me love her even more than if she'd collapsed in a heap of tears. And that's definitely not saccharine, is it?
Perhaps I was in an overly sentimental mood? Hmmm. Maybe I'll be in a better position to critique that on the second read. Definitely have to buy it at some point. Zomg, annotated Secret Garden! *drools* Argh.
Me, I'm having a haircut tomorrow. Not before time. Seeing family on Sunday. And although I'm not required Monday, back in Sydney then for good. Sort of.
And argh, the Church are playing in March! I pretty much exploded, then bought two tickets and will most likely be armwrestling someone or the other into going with me. What's amusing me very much at the moment is that I had Arushka say to Josh "someone cool's doing the music for Jeff VanderMeer's Shriek" and neither she nor I remembered that someone cool only happened to be the Church! *lol* Oh jeez. Brain's getting too full, man.
Wow, VanderMeer's actually in the country as I type. *sigh* Not that I have any desire to attend, even if I did have the money.
Mmm. Spicy twisty rice crackers, Indian ishtyle. Yum.
Read A Little Princess last night. This one I know I've never read before. Made me realise that my perceptions must have been totally skewed by some saccharine crap film version I'd seen. Because really, she's quite different in the book!
Is it a thing with Frances Hodgson Burnett? Because this is the second novel I've read that features a little girl with a rather fierce side to her very strong will. Another odd little girl even though Sara is far more sociable and 'good' compared to Mary Lennox. I'm sort of falling in love with Burnett because of this. Because Sara is such an intellectual, total bookworm with a quite familiar pagan spirituality. And even though she almost always does the right thing and could totally be interpreted as a saccharine little goody-two-shoes, Burnett always manages to hold back and keep her real, give her that edge of ferocity and enough inner turbulence to make me still like her. No Helen Burns, this. And man, that is so skilful on Burnett's part. Can't help but admire that.
I did remember there was an Indian aspect. And admittedly here I did bristle a bit at the use of the word 'Oriental' but can't blame Burnett for that. Those were, after all, the times. And oh man, did my back ever go up over the diamond mines. "Scuse the fuck out of me, those are not your bloody diamonds to take, you fucking Angrezi bastards!" Also, didn't particularly care for the extra 's' in Ram Dass' name. *quirks brow*
But again, she wrote him with a damned admirable respect and sensitivity. And she must have known someone fluent in Hindi because his speech patterns and syntax are almost word for word. I mean, I could almost translate it into Hindi as I read his dialogue. Bloody AWESOME, Frances Hodgson Burnett! I say 'almost' because my Hindi still isn't that great and of course Hindi to English translation necessitates the reorganisation of verbs. But still, wow. I could hear him. It was great.
I cried. I did. It was rather embarrassing. Cos the Aunt was wandering about and I was here on the blue couch, reading. She was yammering and I was tearing up towards the end. Cos damnit, it was so sad! With her father and his friend and the Large family and the little beggar girl by the bakery. *sobs* And I could totally see how the novel could be curdled and congealed into an absolute meringue to send someone into a diabetic coma. Gah. Burnett so doesn't. At least I think she doesn't. Sara reacts with such control to most things that it makes me love her even more than if she'd collapsed in a heap of tears. And that's definitely not saccharine, is it?
Perhaps I was in an overly sentimental mood? Hmmm. Maybe I'll be in a better position to critique that on the second read. Definitely have to buy it at some point. Zomg, annotated Secret Garden! *drools* Argh.
Me, I'm having a haircut tomorrow. Not before time. Seeing family on Sunday. And although I'm not required Monday, back in Sydney then for good. Sort of.
And argh, the Church are playing in March! I pretty much exploded, then bought two tickets and will most likely be armwrestling someone or the other into going with me. What's amusing me very much at the moment is that I had Arushka say to Josh "someone cool's doing the music for Jeff VanderMeer's Shriek" and neither she nor I remembered that someone cool only happened to be the Church! *lol* Oh jeez. Brain's getting too full, man.
Wow, VanderMeer's actually in the country as I type. *sigh* Not that I have any desire to attend, even if I did have the money.
Mmm. Spicy twisty rice crackers, Indian ishtyle. Yum.