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[debodacious.livejournal.com]

In her review of the Girls Gone By Thuggery Affair in the latest Folly Sue Sims suggests that TTA is the least popular book of the Marlow canon because it is the most dated, and includes references to Cilla Black and Cliff Richard, together with the Thuggery brand of idiosyncratic teenspeak. Now, I am actually rather fond of The Thuggery Affair - I love Lawrie and her outrageously unMarlow behaviour in the cinema, I like Peter more here than elsewhere and I always enjoy Patrick and Jukie's drive through the night. When I first read it I think my way of dealing with the slang was to approach it like A Clockwork Orange - I had got to the end of the book and worked out translations for Alex and his droogs before I found the glossary.

Practically everything Girlsownish that I read was written either before I was born or when I was very young and is therefore dated in some way. I was wondering if the reason people are bothered by the datedness of TTA is because it is comparatively recent - does this make it less acceptable than a school story full of 20s slang, or Georgette Heyer's Regency buckspeak?

Tell me what you think.

Comments

[blonde222.livejournal.com]

I agree with much of the above: I like it less because no Nick, Giles and Rowan and too much Lawrie; and because it happens over the space of just a few days.

I also just found the plot too contrived, and there were too many compromises made with the characters' behaviour to make the plot fit. There's the whole weird Lawrie episode, as mentioned above. And I didn't find it convincing that Patrick alone would be able to speak the lingo from overhearing a couple of conversations while sitting in a cafe. I don't see Patrick as the cafe loungeing type at ALL, in fact. And then there's the issue of where were their parents during all this commotion: surely Patrick if not the other two would have had the basic sense to get another adult involved when things started going pear shaped?

[(Anonymous)]

I have to say that despite the absence of my favourite characters, I always found this book totally compelling (even when I first read it aged about 13 - which is 20 years ago now!). Of course it has major plotholes (such as not getting Mrs M. to drive them into Colebridge) but no worse than most books. (I mean, I love Harry Potter, but all the books are based on totally unnecesary and contrived plot devices). I LOVED Patrick setting off quoting "I met a man this morning, who did not wish to die..." and I thought Peter's Old Man Kangeroo was as evocative and utterly memorable as other great AF scenes, such as the boxing-day hunt in Peter's Room and the sailing-back-from-France scene. At 13 I found the slang slightly irritating, but this was more than made up for by the "teenage-ness" of the book which I really enjoyed (I was fascinated to find Laurie acting like quite a few of my friends at that time). And rereading it as an adult, I actually enjoyed the slang - it is now SO dated as to have got beyond any cringe-worthiness!