Thirkell is an ace at portraying the British stiff upper lip so evident in times of stress and she pokes fun at many of her characters, having them lament the lack of good patients at the hospital and thrill at the thought of catastrophic injuries. She presents the London children in all their dirt and coarseness but makes it evident that the ladies of the village have no intention of facing reality in their dealings with the urchins. As the series reader has come to expect, Thirkell's biting wit is just as evident in this war time novel as it is in previous novels. Her characters are a delight with whom to spend time and the reader is easily engrossed in their daily lives. Thirkell is, as always, a writer of domestic fiction par excellence. A reading experience to savour, I look forward to the rest of the series, especially since this book in particular ends with a terrible cloud hanging over it (and enough information to know the outcome despite its perceived ambiguity). If you're not yet reading Thirkell's delightful books, why ever not?
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Review: Cheerfulness Breaks In by Angela Thirkell
Thirkell is an ace at portraying the British stiff upper lip so evident in times of stress and she pokes fun at many of her characters, having them lament the lack of good patients at the hospital and thrill at the thought of catastrophic injuries. She presents the London children in all their dirt and coarseness but makes it evident that the ladies of the village have no intention of facing reality in their dealings with the urchins. As the series reader has come to expect, Thirkell's biting wit is just as evident in this war time novel as it is in previous novels. Her characters are a delight with whom to spend time and the reader is easily engrossed in their daily lives. Thirkell is, as always, a writer of domestic fiction par excellence. A reading experience to savour, I look forward to the rest of the series, especially since this book in particular ends with a terrible cloud hanging over it (and enough information to know the outcome despite its perceived ambiguity). If you're not yet reading Thirkell's delightful books, why ever not?
2 comments:
I have had to disable the anonymous comment option to cut down on the spam and I apologize to those of you for whom this makes commenting a chore. I hope you'll still opt to leave me your thoughts. I love to hear what you think, especially so I know I'm not just whistling into the wind here at my computer.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Popular Posts
-
I first read Kate Atkinson's Behind the Scenes at the Museum more than 20 years ago and was impressed by the creativity and writing ta...
-
Book clubs can make you go outside of your usual reading choices. This can be wonderful, allowing you to discover books that you would ne...
-
I have long been fascinated with Russia. I took two years of Russian in high school and took whatever Russian history classes I could fin...
-
This title makes me want to mimic monster truck commercials. MASSIVE, Massive, massive. BOOK, Book, book. GIVEAWAY, Giveaway, giveaway. ...
-
Cinco de Mayo is not the celebration of Mexican Independence. It's actually a regional celebration celebrating the victory of Mexican f...
-
A tale of adultery that manages to withhold judgment as it traces the impact on all four people touched by an affair, Kylie Ladd's After...
-
Read the synopsis: When Rebecca Brown goes to New Orleans to stay with her voodoo-obsessed aunt, she finds the beautiful city haunted by the...
-
Nantucket, the very essence of summer. An artist who has given up her craft to mother her children. A marriage that is emotionally unful...
-
Thanks to the lovely folks at Hachette Books I am giving away three copies of The Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker. This ...
-
What would you do if you opened the door to find a man you hadn't seen in 14 years standing on your doorstep, a man who disappeared from...
This sounds good and great review!
ReplyDeleteOh! This series definitely looks like one for my shelves! Thanks for the review!
ReplyDelete